Family Business Wiki LogoNew Ideas from
Family Business Wiki
Sharing Family Business Knowledge Around the World  
 
October 2009 
Quick Links
 
 
 
 
FB Wiki Audio
Lawrence Barns
Listen to a panel discussion on
 Hosted by Lawrence Barns and the Canadian Association of Family Enterprise (CAFE)
 
Regional Focus:  LATIN AMERICA
Guillermo Salazar
Guillermo Salazar reports on "A Family Business Renaissance in Latin America."
  (In English and Spanish)
(Brazil will be featured in a later issue.)
 
Featured Article from the Wiki Encyclopedia 
Family Business Wiki Logo
Enmeshed family  Characteristics of an enmeshed family.  Negative impact of an overly enmeshed family on the family business. 
(As with Wikipedia, you are invited to edit the article to make it better).
 
What I'm Reading 
Greg McCann
There's a reason that Greg McCann keeps re-reading this book -- because it deepens his understanding of systems thinking. 
Greetings!

It was great to see many of you in New York at the recent Family Firm Institute conference.  Your enthusiastic response to Family Business Wiki was most encouraging.  Please join us in "sharing family business knowledge around the world" by adding your ideas to the the Wiki encyclopedia or Town Square -- and maybe see your blog featured in a future newsletter!
 
This month we are proud to feature Francois de Visscher and Pramodita Sharma in our new series of video interviews with prominent family business professionals.  Future interviews will include Laurent Roux, Michele Desjardins, Walid Chiniara, Greg McCann, Denise Pare-Julien, Mattias Nordqvist and Ann Kinkade. 
 
If you enjoy receiving this newsletter, please invite others to also subscribe.  Just click on the link "Forward to a friend or colleague" found at the bottom of this newsletter.
Thought Leader Blog:  Dennis Jaffe  
Dennis JaffeHow Wealthy Families Respond to Financial Losses -- and How Advisors Can Help Them
 
It's been a bad year for money - even for people with lots of money.

Maybe cutting back on vacation homes or country clubs doesn't seem like a real trauma, but many families who are still "wealthy" have indeed been going through an emotional crisis. They may have lost the feelings of safety and stability which came from their wealth - and they may have lost the trust which they invested in their financial stewards.

Some families end up getting "stuck" in this crisis (read more and add comments) 
 
Watch for our next Thought Leader Blog from Christine Blondel. 
FBWiki TV:  Francois de Visscher 
Family Offices Providing Capital for Family Businesses
  
Francois de VisscherFrancois calls it "Families investing in families." 
 
Family offices understand the family business culture, and are often willing to provide "patient capital."  This can make them a good match for family businesses who are seeking to raise capital. (Click here to see the video.  Run time 3:29).
 
FBWiki TV:  Pramodita Sharma
Recent Trends in Family Business ResearchPramodita Sharma
 
Pramodita Sharma talks about three current areas of special interest in family business research:  women in family business; family wealth; and finance and accounting for the family business.
 
Pramodita comes from a family business herself, so she is able to describe how family business research is relevant for a busy family business leader.  (Click here to see the video.  Run time 3:32).
 
Family Business Leader Blog:  George Stevenson 
A Near-Death Experience:  How a Lack of Understanding by Professional Advisers Almost Killed Off a Family Business
 
George StevensonI was in despair. I had tried all my traditional sources of advice - either there was no advice on offer or the advice had simply made things worse than they were before. Maybe I was the problem. If so, was there any viable exit route other than suicide? When you are married into a business, probably not. But there had to be another way and in my darkest hour I stumbled across it (read more and add comments) 
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