Singapore, Malaysia, Australia -- Dennis Jaffe recently found tremendous energy and enthusiasm for sharing and learning about family business.   His travelogue highlights the similarities and differences of family businesses around the world.

A buy-sell agreement is the critical centerpiece for a family business to address issues of ownership control, succession and business continuity.  

Just as with Wikipedia, this article is a first draft -- and awaits further input from others in the Family Business Wiki community. 

Don Levitt reviews a new book from Dennis Jaffe entitled "Stewardship in Your Family Enterprise."   Don suggests that this is not a book you're going to want to read cover to cover -- but you may very well refer to it every day.

The CEO's job comes in three stages. The first stage is years one to three, what I call the "CEO Apprenticeship" or learning on the job.  The second phase of a CEO's career is the longest, years three to ten, and is dedicated to delivering financial, market and organizational results based on his or her business strategy. This is the "Performance Period" where the CEO generates new sales and earnings based on their leadership; driving the firm to new levels of performance.

 

The final stage of a CEO's career, around the tenth year, is a time of reflection and changing focus from building the business to building the organization and leadership team. Developing people has been a part of the CEO's strategy since the beginning, but in this "Nurturing Stage" their efforts should be on transmitting values and empowering to support the ongoing the leadership succession process that is underway.

 

(Read more from Randel Carlock and add comments.)

  

In this video, Michele Desjardins describes a process of rethinking governance structures for complex family enterprises.  As an example, she describes a family business client which had a board of directors at both the operating company and the holding company -- but the roles and levels of authority were not clear.  By redesigning the overall governance structure; more clearly defining the required competencies for members of each board; and clarifying their respective mandates, the boards were able to operate more effectively and in a coordinated manner.  

Building a family office takes time.  In this blog, Walid Chiniara talks about working with a client for two years to build their family office.  Yes, there is stress and strain in such a lengthy relationship, but gathering sufficient information to "build a customized solution" which will be sustainable takes time.

 

Walid also describes the unique challenges faced by family businesses and family offices in the UAE.  A carefully crafted structure of family governance -- to complement the traditional  corporate governance -- can lay the groundwork for longterm success.  (Read more from Walid Chiniara and add comments.)

 

For some individuals, working in a family business can be an incredible gift. For others, the family business is a prison, without any chance of parole. For those who are feeling trapped in the family business, ownership of the business is more burden than pleasure. The freedom that their family business allows is overshadowed by a lack of business process and clear structure. Having their name on the door is not worth being "on call" 24/7, or never being able to really take a vacation.  (Read more from Michael Klein and add comments.)