The three-circle family business model was introduced in 1978 by Renato Tagiuri and John Davis at Harvard Business School. The model represents three categories of individuals within a family business and the seven interest...more
Most advisors recommend that a family business have and use a board of directors. In fact, the majority of closely-held corporations are formed with boards of directors, but those boards frequently consist of only a single...more
It is not uncommon these days to see family-owned businesses with two classes of stock. Typically, one class has both voting and economic rights; the other class has only economic rights. With this structure, a couple of...more
Bill Marriott Jr. sat down for an interview recently with family business consultant Andrew Keyt and the Wall Street Journal’s Kate Linebaugh. The real impulse for the article was Mr. Marriott’s decision to reach outside the...more
Almost by definition, a family-owned business consists of multiple generations of owners and operators. The different generations may have different visions for the business, but they are usually all aligned on wanting what...more
The National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) recently released its 2015-2016 NACD Private Company Governance Survey. In an article in the March 2016 edition of “Private Company Director” – a monthly publication...more
Every business is different. Certainly, every family is different. But family businesses, as a group, share certain challenges and opportunities. In order to ensure their businesses survive, thrive and grow, leaders of family...more