Building Collaboration and Competencies in the Rising Generation
Thinking Column
Posts by Aspen Family Business Group partners and associates on all topics related to family owned businesses.
This article is being written collaboratively by two people. That fact of two people working together on something is by itself the single most important element of this article.
The Aspen Family Business Group often talks about the crucial role of values and vision in building and growing a multigenerational family business. They are essential tools especially in challenging times. Today’s news calls for a fresh look at values and vision. And, today’s look is both personal and geopolitical, of the present and looking back a hundred years.
When we say miracles happen, we are saying something of this world, something real and often even measurable.
In family business we often stand at crossroads. In these moments we seek guidance which, broadly speaking, comes from realms of the spiritual and of the empirical. Here, we focus on the spiritual.
In family business we often stand at crossroads. In these moments we seek guidance which, broadly speaking, comes from realms of the spiritual and of the empirical. Here, we focus on the spiritual.
Imagine you are an owner of a company and you need to set up a board of directors to help govern and guide the business
In Best Practices for Families in Business: Part 3, we discuss catastrophe planning, succession planning and ownership planning.
In Best Practices for Families in Business: Part 2, we discuss job descriptions, performance management, strategic planning and advisors.
In this column we focus on five of the Best Practices: having a shared vision, embracing shared values, engaging in productive dialogue, understanding the roles and responsibilities of owners, and building trust.
A video interview with Leslie Dashew who shares some key insights on vision as a guiding principle for family businesses.
An interview with William Roberts about having a shared vision and how it relates to family business planning strategies.
We can withstand and overcome obstacles and challenges better when we provide ourselves with a strong foundation in various aspects of our lives.
The New Normal; if it’s new, it’s not normal. Yet, even in tumult, humans want normalcy. This is where good Family Business practices come in.
As we find ourselves, our families, our global community in the grip of the COVID19 pandemic, I believe we must stay focused on a view of leadership that was put forth by scholar Bernard Bass.
Looking for the positive for your family business in the midst of a pandemic is important. Across the country non-essential businesses, or non-lifesaving businesses, have been told to close their physical operations. While you are undoubtedly focused on the current and future economic implications for your business, and concerned for your team members…
I recently had meetings with several families where it became very clear that members of the family did not feel psychologically (or even physically) safe. As I reflected on these situations, I realized that the concept of “safety” is not one that we have discussed, but is essential to comfort and collaboration in families, especially business-owning families…
Every family in business has its way of knowing what it knows, its own epistemology. Knowledge could be for some a hunch, for others a market analysis. Every family also has its means of engaging its members with that knowledge. That base of knowledge is the foundation on which communication is built. It’s common ground on which grows common language.
Where is your buy sell, is it buried in your operating agreement for your LLC, or is it in a file in a drawer not opened in years. For those of you who are up to date with your agreement, the above scenarios would seem unthinkable. However, years of experience in asking business owners “ How long has it been since you reviewed your buy sell agreement with your partners?” only to be met with a vacant look has taught me this is too often a “misplaced document”…
The Board of Directors is where the will of owners turns into action. It is also one of the most challenging steps to take for a business owner as they may be advised to do things differently. To be more specific, in almost all family business governance assignments that I have been involved globally, the top of actionable items list has been to add independent directors to the board. Yet only a small portion of business owners easily adopt this idea to change the board composition…