July 24, 2021

Many experts talk about the Venn diagram with three circles—family, business, and ownership. These diagrams describe the different roles and perspectives an individual can have in

I have worked with several families who have had all progress, all decisions, and all attempts to change or move forward stymied by one simple word.

Many families create a family council to fulfill short-term goals, like developing policies and planning meetings. Once all of the policies are completed and the

I worked with a family a few years ago who had decided they wanted to do an analysis of the dividend policy. The family had

Ten years is half a generation—a long enough time frame that a ten-year vision will help guide families through major transitions, but a short enough

A family’s mission statement documents who you are today, what your priorities are, and how you agree to interact with one another. It spells out

Family values are a statement about the fundamental agreements of a family. This provides a framework, based on an agreement that helps a family set

Often, people think of closeness and unity with a family as being solely about their social events. Do they get together when the work is done?

When people think about what kind of legacy they’ll leave after they die, they usually think about financial legacies—property, a family business or trust funds.

Many families think that a 4th or 5th generation business-owning family should act and feel like a 1st generation family. That leads to strain and