Spotlight On: Disruptions to the Family Business
Surviving the Four Common Disruptions to Family Business Continuity
New People in the Family
How you treat new family members, especially spouses, as they enter will have long-lasting implications on family business continuity. We provide resources that offer guidance and advice for bringing individuals from outside the family into the business, and how to navigate the different dynamic it creates.
How to Integrate New Family Members
Welcoming new people into a business family can be complicated. But there are a few best practices.
When the Family Gets Bigger
Adding new people to your family — new spouses, new children, new in-laws — can be joyous. That doesn’t mean it’s not going to get complicated. Advance planning helps.
Marrying into a Family Business
Making an effort to understand the “system” you’ve married into can help you figure out where you fit in. PLUS: best practices to onboard new spouses
Working with Your In-Laws Isn’t Always a Terrible Idea
How can in-laws work effectively and successfully in their spouse’s family business?
The Second Wife
Is a second wife always destined to be a force of disruption in a business family? Absolutely not. New spouses can have a positive impact on the family’s culture.
The Ripple Effects of New People
Any new person in your system can have a destabilizing effect. You have to be ready — in advance.
Family Inequalities
Inequality is inevitable in business families. You can’t avoid it, but you can manage it. Inequalities can arise from different positions within the family business, relationship dynamics between family members, and succession planning and discussions. These issues are common, and navigable.
The Inevitable Creep of Inequality
Parents may try to ensure that their children are all treated equally. But inequality is inevitable. Here’s how to deal with it.
Life’s Not Always Fair. Get Over It.
It’s inevitable that inequality will develop in a business family over time. What matters is how you respond.
When One Sibling Has More
Sibling rivalry is inevitable. But when they fester into adult relationships and affect self-worth, that’s a problem.
When One Sibling Is Worth More…
In families, we’re all born equal. Until we aren’t. You have to be ready to talk about that.
Behavioral Health Issues
Behavioral health issues are common in all families, and can have a big impact on business families. Our collection of resources can help guide you through family business ownership when the often complex dynamics of behavioral health issues are present.
10 Tips for Dealing with Behavioral Health Problems
Navigating behavioral health issues can be especially tricky for business families.
Confronting Substance Abuse in Your Family
What do you do when you suspect — or you know — that a family member has a substance abuse issue?
Why I Hired an Executive with a Mental Illness
Our mental health is vulnerable just like any other aspects of our health.
Are We the Worst Family Ever?
Most businesses are not hotbeds of conflict. But they do have to make difficult decisions together. That’s not easy.
Ignoring Behavioral Health Issues
Behavioral health issues are common in many families. The real problem comes when you pretend they’re not there.
Death in the Family
Proper family business estate planning and an emergency succession plan are critical for reducing the impact of a death on your family business (and business family). We have a multitude of resources to help you develop an estate and succession plan so you will be prepared and are able to successfully navigate these difficult circumstances.
4 Ways to Prepare for Death in the Family
Death is difficult for any family. But for business families, the challenge is even more complicated…
Top Tips for Estate Planning with Dave McCabe
Are you prepared for the inevitable? You must do these three things.
Picking up the Pieces
How a family chooses to work together after the death of a loved one can make – or break – them.
A conversation with a trust & estates expert
There are five barriers to effective estate planning. Here’s what you need to know.
Steer Your Family Business Through an Unplanned Transition
With some preparation and creative action, family businesses can rebound quickly in less-than-ideal circumstances.
Downton Abbey: Real Life Lessons for T&E Advisors
The desire to try to control everything future generations can do with family assets is almost always a mistake.
It’s Never Too Soon to Start Succession Planning
If you want your legacy to outlive you, you need to prepare the next generation.
Setting Up Your Family for Financial Disaster
Lack of having an estate plan can destroy a family business.
How to Stabilize After a Disruption
Once you survive a disruption within the family business, it’s not the end of the story. Stabilizing after a disruption is just as important as surviving one – if not more. So how do you get things back on track? Our resources provide clear guidance on moving forward following a disruption to the family business so you can enjoy continued stability and success.
Escaping the Shadow of an Iconic Founder
The next generation will only grow and develop if it’s not trapped by a legendary founder’s legacy.
Stabilizing the Business Family
Sometimes, working together as a family can be the best remedy.
Rebounding from a Disruption
By working together, you and the rest of your family prepare your business to react constructively.
When the Family Gets Smaller…
Divorce within a business family can be complicated. There are, however, a few best practices to make the transition easier.
The Aftermath: Getting back on track
No one says it will be easy, but if you stick together, a crisis can bring out the best in your family.
It’s Never Too Soon to Start Succession Planning
If you want your legacy to outlive you, you need to prepare the next generation.
Disruptions Thought Leaders
Josh Baron
Partner
There’s nothing wrong with your family if you’re struggling with any of these challenges. Rather than assigning blame, focus on how to support each other, as well as what you can learn for the inevitable next time you experience a disruption.
Nick Di Loreto
Partner
Disruptions are inevitable both in life and in family business. But how you prepare for those disruptions and the decisions you make in the face of them can fundamentally shape or reshape your family and your business.
Ben Francois
Partner
The source of disruptions to your business family aren’t always one-time event. Sometimes a disruption can have a long tail. But once you understand what’s triggered it, you can begin to course correct.
Alison Isaacson
Principal
New spouses can play a significant role in the fate of your business family. Find ways to engage them and leverage the unique experiences they bring. You don’t want them to feel like outsiders.
Dennis Jaffe
Senior Research Fellow
In an uncertain, volatile world, you can’t anticipate what will happen or when. But there are two things you can do: create a structure and family mindset that is open, flexible and responsive to change, and put in place processes for managing the most likely disruptions.
Rob Lachenauer
Managing Partner
Business families face tough decisions together. Disruptions often challenge your status quo and require a new set of decisions.
Judy Lin Walsh
Partner
It’s inevitable that inequality will develop among business families over time. But what’s not inevitable is how you respond. You can choose to be upset or you can choose
to grow.
Marion McCollom Hampton
Senior Research Fellow
In the best cases, people marrying in to a family business bring that outside culture of their own family, and that makes the business family stronger.
Aline Porto
Partner
We’ve seen many leaders for whom being an engaged shareholder is a better fit than a day-to-day manager, and vice versa. Find you own path, and remember: it is possible to respect and honor the family legacy and seek personal fulfillment at the same time.
Ana Resende
Principal
Transition and succession are a process, not an event. So, use time in your favor: the sooner you start thinking about it and making intentional choices, the easier the eventual transition will be.