Family businesses are the most prevalent form of business in the world. Yet, they are also the most complex form of organizations since they must serve three masters: members of the family, leaders of the business and owners. Often the interests of these "masters" come into conflict and these differences must be addressed or the business and the family may be destroyed. The book offers readers a comprehensive guide to understanding family businesses and how to address the unique challenges they face. The authors share stories that will sound familiar to readers who are in family-owned businesses. They also identify typical hurdles and tools that can be used to help overcome those hurdles. The book is particularly helpful in the wide-range of perspectives offered to the reader; you can read case studies, you can learn about best practices for family businesses, and you can readily apply the ideas found here to your own family and business.
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About the Author:
The authors of this book are members of the internationally renowned Aspen Family Business Group. They understand the perils faced by families in business and have developed many of the best practices used to address these perils and to help families and their business to succeed.
Review:
Amount the book's highlights are a list of questions that should be asked as part of the succession-planning process (chapter12) and advice related to financial management (in various places in the text). A helpful analogy likens a company's board to the owner of a house under construction, and the senior managers to the contractors who build the house. The readers will discover some gems that are worth highlighting for easy reference when times get rough. (Examples: "Typically in a family business one knows what the right thing to do is. The challenge is having the will to do it"; "Successors who assume leadership often become the lightning rod for unfinished business others have with their father or mother"; "Understand each person as an individual, rather than the person we think they should be.") "Remember: Hope is not a plan," the authors assert. Those preparing to move fro hope to planning should consider taking the time to do the exercises suggested in the Aspen group's book. --Excerpted from Family Business Magazine Summer 2011
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