Drafting a Family Business Bill of Rights: Try Your Hand at It.
Posting by: Edward J. Kopf. Date: October 22, 2010. The genius of the American political system is that it tries to assure every individual at least enough fairness and respect to keep us working within the system. Even if we are unhappy with current policies and practices, almost all of us are willing to address our grievances by the rules – so long as we know we can speak our piece, be treated fairly in the legal system and be reasonably secure in our persons and property. That’s the function of the Bill of Rights. Our political disagreements can get pretty disagreeable. But they rarely threaten to tear the country apart. That’s not always true in families – especially those that own and operate a business. The stakes can be very high when disagreements develop in a business-owning family…
Can You Hear Me Now? The Continued Importance of Clear Communication
Posting by: Joel Susco. Date: July 7, 2010. Have you ever heard or said, “Boy, this task would be much easier if we had better instructions,” or “I wish this task had been better communicated to us?” No matter what your business is, much of your success is dependent on good staff communication…
“Hello. Have We Met?” How Well do you Really Know your Family Members?
Posting By: Margaret Wilson. Date: April 22, 2010. One night after work a few weeks ago, my husband and I were having dinner and sharing tidbits from our day.
“So how was your day?” I asked.
“Not bad,” he said. “I did some work on my internet marketing strategy.”
“Sounds interesting. Who are you working with on that?”
“Todd Baylor. I really like his approach.”
“Todd Baylor? From ABC Marketing Strategies?” I asked.
“Yeah, that’s the guy. Do you know Todd?”
“Sure, I know Todd. How did you meet Todd?”
“Oh, I haven’t actually met him yet. I just know him from LinkedIn.”
With the explosion of social networking, it seems that we all know a lot more people than we used to. But do we really know all these people, or do we just know a little about them?…
Talkin’ Bout My G-G-G-Generation: When Generations Collide in Family Businesses
Posting by: Debra Andrews. Date: March 26, 2010. If we weren’t talking about family businesses in this blog, and instead were just focused on businesses in general, this same topic could be approached – generational differences in the workplace. But since we do focus on family businesses, the issue has an added dimension…
Business-First/Family-First: Did “Dear Abby” Get It Right?
Posting by: Edward J. Kopf. Date: March 24, 2010. When I think of prominent family business advisors, Abigail Van Buren isn’t on the list. But on March 19, 2010, “Dear Abby” was probably the most widely-read writer on family business issues. What follows is the advice millions of her fans read in that day’s edition of their newspapers. (Read carefully. There will be a quiz at the end of this post.)…
Accidental Partners… What’s a Father to Do?
Posting by: David Gage. Date: March 16, 2010. [The names of the characters and a few details have been changed to protect the innocent.] Richard is a 78-year-old successful entrepreneur in real estate development and management. He bought his first apartment house in Baltimore in the 1960’s with two partners. They continued building, buying and managing apartment houses and warehouses for two decades until mounting disagreements with his partners brought their growing empire to a standstill. The most contentious issue with his partners revolved around hiring his wife to work in the office and then wanting to give all of his children – three daughters – the opportunity to work in the company with them. It seemed the only way out of their stalemate was to buy out his partners and that’s exactly what he did.
Thanksgiving Dinner: There Be Feasting or Feuding?
Posting By: Margaret Wilson. Date: November 17, 2009. Have you ever noticed that family conflict seems to surface more around the Holidays than at any other time of year? For many families, Thanksgiving is a time to gather together, share a meal and renew family ties. Unfortunately for others, it’s an opportunity to get together and resume the family feud…
Armani and Dangerous: When the Family Business is Really About One Person
Posting by: Debbie Andrews. Date: October 22, 2009. When the product or service of a business is primarily the creativity itself, as in fashion design, the differentiator and the branding is that creative mind. Such is the case with Giorgio Armani SpA, where anyone in the capitalist world knows what is meant when an Armani suit is worn. Because up to this point, it’s been all about Giorgio, his designs, his presence, his business decisions. Although this is a family business, it’s really a Giorgio Armani business…
He Ain’t Fired-He’s My Brother: When a Family Business Should Put Non-Family First
Posting by: Debra Andrews. Date: June 17, 2009. Whether you are currently part of a family business or not, the vast majority of us have experience being in a family. If we have siblings, we may have had some tests of equality given to us – such as, “I had to go to community college, but mom and dad sent little Suzie to Harvard!” And most of us have also learned that being related does not mean we are completely, or remotely, alike. We may have different skills, interests, strengths & weaknesses. And we may especially have different dreams for our future. Now apply these family challenges to a family business…
Generation XX – Women Heading Family Businesses, at Multimedia Empires and Down on the Farm
Posting by: Debra Andrews. Date: May 22, 2009. Smith & Sons Hardware. Twenty Brothers Pizza. The Law Offices of Smith, Smith, Jr. and Smith III. What do these fictional family businesses have in common? The primary members of the family business are men. When one thinks of a family business passing from generation to generation, the picture most people initially get is: a man starts a business from scratch, perhaps partnering with a brother or other male family member, hires the sons to work in the business when they’re old enough, and passes it on to them when they’re ready to retire – hoping they’ll then pass the business on to their sons when the time is right. Of course, women are in family businesses everywhere, and have been since the start of the family business…
Birth Order in a Family-Owned Business: The First Shall Be Last, and the Last Shall Be First
Posting by: Jacqueline Thompson. Date: May 12, 2009 . I recently read an article about family-owned businesses that referenced a survey done by McKinsey & Co. This survey suggested that a firstborn son may be the worst choice to run your family business. This was an interesting concept to me, given the tradition of primogeniture (preference for firstborn males in inheritance). If one looks at some common characteristics of firstborn children, the words used are: perfectionist, critical, well-organized, reliable, and list-maker…
