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Consulting, Family, Leadership, Practitioner Perspectives, Research Findings
Advising Enterprising Families: The Role, the Gap, and the Opportunity
Advising enterprising families calls for more than just business savvy; it requires understanding trust, legacy, and emotion. While advisors are often skilled in governance and strategy, many overlook the “human architecture” that truly drives family enterprise success. Below, we explore how to bridge this critical gap.
Family, Leadership, Research Findings
How Family Enterprises Can Benefit from The Employee Advantage by Stephan Meier
At the 2025 Family Enterprise Conference, Nepotism & Nurturing: Challenging the Narrative, Stephan Meier—author of The Employee Advantage—moderated our panel of family CEOs with one central theme: employees are a strategic resource, not just a cost. Meier spotlighted how family enterprises can unlock innovation and loyalty by combining their signature relational strengths (like trust and tradition) with transparent, merit-based HR practices that prevent favoritism and ensure non-family employees thrive, too. It’s an approach that research in family business fully supports: tapping into caring cultures is a proven source of competitive edge—but only when balanced with structures that keep the door open to all.Learn more about The Employee Advantage
Family, Leadership, Research Findings
Family First: An Integrative Conceptual Review of Nepotism in Organizations
In anticipation of our February 21 conference, Nepotism & Nurturing: Challenging the Narrative, this month’s newsletter dives into the complexities of nepotism in family enterprises. As coauthor Constantin Lagios explains in Family First: An Integrative Conceptual Review of Nepotism in Organizations, nepotism—“the practice of giving preferential treatment based on kinship or familial ties”—can have profound effects on an organization’s legacy and sustainability. While it fosters trust and unity among family members, unchecked nepotism can undermine fairness and efficiency, even contributing to misconduct. This issue explores how families can navigate these challenges and strike the right balance between relational bonds and professional merit. Join us at our upcoming conference to learn practical strategies for creating equitable, high-performing family enterprises.Read "Family First: An Integrative Conceptual Review of Nepotism in Organizations"
Governance, Leadership, Practitioner Perspectives, Research Findings
Life After an Exit: How Entrepreneurs Transition to the Next Stage
Entrepreneurs are different from other people. Their talent lies in imagining a new solution or a fresh approach that gives the world something it may not have even realized it needed. Building a successful enterprise from start-up to sustained profitability demands total immersion.
Family, Leadership, Ownership, Research Findings
Dynastic Control Without Ownership: Evidence from Post-War Japan
Dynastic-controlled firms are led by founding-family CEOs while the family owns an insignificant share of equity (defined as less than 5%).
Explore Further
Consulting, Family, Leadership, Practitioner Perspectives, Research Findings
Advising Enterprising Families: The Role, the Gap, and the Opportunity
Advising enterprising families calls for more than just business savvy; it requires understanding trust, legacy, and emotion. While advisors are often skilled in governance and strategy, many overlook the “human architecture” that truly drives family enterprise success. Below, we explore how to bridge this critical gap.
Family, Leadership, Research Findings
How Family Enterprises Can Benefit from The Employee Advantage by Stephan Meier
At the 2025 Family Enterprise Conference, Nepotism & Nurturing: Challenging the Narrative, Stephan Meier—author of The Employee Advantage—moderated our panel of family CEOs with one central theme: employees are a strategic resource, not just a cost. Meier spotlighted how family enterprises can unlock innovation and loyalty by combining their signature relational strengths (like trust and tradition) with transparent, merit-based HR practices that prevent favoritism and ensure non-family employees thrive, too. It’s an approach that research in family business fully supports: tapping into caring cultures is a proven source of competitive edge—but only when balanced with structures that keep the door open to all.Learn more about The Employee Advantage
Family, Leadership, Research Findings
Family First: An Integrative Conceptual Review of Nepotism in Organizations
In anticipation of our February 21 conference, Nepotism & Nurturing: Challenging the Narrative, this month’s newsletter dives into the complexities of nepotism in family enterprises. As coauthor Constantin Lagios explains in Family First: An Integrative Conceptual Review of Nepotism in Organizations, nepotism—“the practice of giving preferential treatment based on kinship or familial ties”—can have profound effects on an organization’s legacy and sustainability. While it fosters trust and unity among family members, unchecked nepotism can undermine fairness and efficiency, even contributing to misconduct. This issue explores how families can navigate these challenges and strike the right balance between relational bonds and professional merit. Join us at our upcoming conference to learn practical strategies for creating equitable, high-performing family enterprises.Read "Family First: An Integrative Conceptual Review of Nepotism in Organizations"
Governance, Leadership, Practitioner Perspectives, Research Findings
Life After an Exit: How Entrepreneurs Transition to the Next Stage
Entrepreneurs are different from other people. Their talent lies in imagining a new solution or a fresh approach that gives the world something it may not have even realized it needed. Building a successful enterprise from start-up to sustained profitability demands total immersion.
Family, Leadership, Ownership, Research Findings
Dynastic Control Without Ownership: Evidence from Post-War Japan
Dynastic-controlled firms are led by founding-family CEOs while the family owns an insignificant share of equity (defined as less than 5%).
Leadership, Ownership, Practitioner Perspectives, Research Findings
Sustainable Growth Drivers for Family Enterprises
In collaboration with the Columbia Global Center Nairobi, Kenya, Patricia M. Angus, Adjunct Professor and Managing Director, Global Family Enterprise Program, joined a panel of experts to explore how family businesses in Africa are evolving as sustainable growth drivers.
Family Voices, Leadership, Management
2022 Conference Recap: Navigating the Post-Pandemic World
Leaders in retail, real estate, and spoke about how their businesses pivoted during the pandemic and what the “new normal” looks like.
Family, Family Voices, Leadership, Ownership
Five Tips for Leading a Successful Family Business
Razak Dawood ’68, chairman of Descon, a multinational, family-owned corporation based in Pakistan, offers his best advice for those entering or running their family businesses.
Family, Family Voices, Leadership, Management, Ownership
Co-President Siblings Steward a Century-old Family Business
111 years since its founding as Massachusetts Envelope Company, Ben Grossman ’06, along with his brother, David, are the 4th generation of Grossman Marketing Group. This podcast, from The Business of Family, explores legacy, leadership and life lessons.