Research and reports

Senior Gen Guide – Supporting the next generation in your family business

Welcome to this short guide, designed to help you support your next generation as they find their way in your family business. Being a next generation family member can be extremely challenging. They may be balancing conflicting emotions towards the business, struggling with family expectations, or feel unsure what they want to do with their […]

Navigating Non-Family CEO Succession (Guide)

When selecting the leaders for a family business, it is important to assess family and non-family candidates with the expectations of the family and the needs of the business in mind. This Challenges guide offers information, resources, and guidance for CEO and equivalent senior leadership positions, specifically focusing on succession planning for non family candidates. […]

Next Gen Guide – Finding your way in the family business

Welcome to this short guide for the Next Generation, designed to help you find your way in your family business. Being a next generation family member can be extremely challenging. You may be balancing conflicting emotions towards the business, struggling with family expectations, or just really not feel sure what you want to do with […]

Succession Planning (Guide)

Transferring ownership and management of a family business to the next generation is complex. Some owners regard succession as simply a question of handing over a tried and tested way of running the business from one generation to the next. In fact, succession triggers a system change – a transition to a different business structure […]

How multi-generational working can give you the edge

BY FAMILY BUSINESS UK Working collaboratively amongst different generations is at the heart of long-lived family business success. Whether they are involved in the daily management of the firm or not, family members still have a key role to play as responsible owners. Contributing to the strategic direction of the family business, engaging their talent […]

How to manage conflict in your family business

BY FAMILY BUSINESS UK As hard as you might try to avoid any conflict in your family business, it is not always possible. People are at the heart of family and business, and where there are people there will always be different opinions and emotions at play. Some level of conflict is inevitable. In this […]

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Do you need a family constitution?

BY FAMILY BUSINESS UK Anyone who owns a family business knows that sometimes the family might not agree on how the business is run, or the role of individual family members. Having a written set of rules and guidelines can help the family navigate disagreements, as well as harness the benefits family ownership can bring. For many families, this written set of rules take the […]

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5 keys to successful succession planning

BY FAMILY BUSINESS UK Research shows time and again that only a minority of business owners have a succession plan in place for their business. In this article we share some key tips to help you start tackling succession and to future proof your family business. Plan early It is vital to start planning for […]

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What role will you play in your family business?

BY FAMILY BUSINESS UK If you own a family business and don’t work in it every day, it can be difficult to find a voice and the right place for you. You’ll likely want to have a role in the ongoing success of the business, but might not have the chance to join its daily […]

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Engaging the Next Generation (Guide)

How to inspire the next generation? Without applying unfair pressure, how can seniors involve, educate and inspire the next generation to ensure they develop a real interest in the business that will be needed when they take on ownership or management roles? This practical guide offers advice and tips on inspiring and successfully bringing the […]

Who do you turn to?

FAMILY BUSINESS UK You know your family business better than anyone. But that doesn’t mean you have all of the answers all of the time. So where can you turn when you need support? Fellow Family Business Owners Every family business is different, so there is no one size fits all answer to the challenges […]

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Working with non-execs: getting it right

BY FAMILY BUSINESS UK Non-Executive Directors (NEDs) are appointed to provide objective and strategic advice within a board. They can provide invaluable support to a family business journey, but their appointment should be carefully planned to avoid challenges further down the line. In this blog we’ll explore some of the benefits of hiring a non-family […]

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Enhancing Communication with the Board (Guide)

There should be structured dialogue between the board of directors and the family shareholders based on a mutual understanding of objectives. Family owners must articulate why they wish to be in business together, and communicate these agreed objectives to the board so that the directors understand the family’s goals and how they will be held […]

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Selling the Family Business (Guide)

Family management succession or ownership continuity may not be realistic. In these circumstances, or if the family has no desire to carry on, selling the business may be the right decision. Selling may also be appropriate because of external pressures – for example, structural changes in the firm’s market, or receiving a very high-value offer. […]

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Professionalising the Board (Guide)

The family business challenge often centres on resistance to “professionalising” the board of directors. Many families fail to recognise that their business has grown beyond the point where it can be effectively managed by their family partnership. Even when they recognise the turning point, they may have fears about confidentiality and other worries. This practical […]

Building Family Governance (Guide)

Successful family business owners learn to manage two facets of governance. Corporate governance, covering the direction for business operations and strategy, and secondly, family governance, providing a framework of rules that define family members’ roles and responsibilities, and how the family interacts with their business. This practical guide helps owners of family businesses establish and […]

Employing Family Business Advisors (Guide)

Family businesses can outgrow their traditional advisers. Families are loyal and want to retain the professional advisers (lawyers, accountants and bankers) who supported them in the early years. But, as the business grows, these relationships must be reviewed for impartiality and against current needs. This practical guide offers tips on choosing advisors, and getting the […]

Promoting Sustainability (Guide)

Sustainability in family businesses is often seen as relating to stewardship, focusing on the responsible governance and management of the business and handing down ownership to the next generation whilst ensuring enhanced legacy to future generations. This guide offers practical advice on how family-owned companies can manage their financial, social and environmental risks, obligations and […]

Family Business Ownership and Wealth Transfer (Guide)

This guide provides evidence-based guidance for family-business owners on inter-generational business ownership and wealth transfer. It focuses on the justice dilemmas that can arise in intergenerational ownership and wealth transfer decisions, its importance to business-owning families, and the role that perceptions of fairness play in ownership and wealth transfers. The guide also presents actions to […]

Embedding Long-termism (Guide)

Long-term orientation (LTO) is an important attribute of many family-owned businesses, and some researchers argue that it might even be their distinguishing asset. Family firms generally apply longer time horizons in their decision-making than their non-family-owned counterparts. This practical guide offers advice on how long-termism can contribute to competitive advantage and sustainable family business. Click here […]

Strengthening Family Communication (Guide)

Communication – the conduit for sharing information – is the basis by which families establish common values, goals and expectations. Families in business often assume they’re communicating effectively – “because we’re family” – but, in fact, the opposite is frequently true, and close contact is mistaken for communication. This practical guide offers help on effective […]

Managing Differences (Guide)

Family businesses are especially vulnerable to conflict. Within a non-family enterprise, expressing conflicting views is generally encouraged as a healthy part of business creativity. But business families are often wary about this, with family members preferring to avoid disagreeing with each other, resulting in suppression of normal communications. This practical guide offers help on how […]

Maintaining Family Values (Guide)

Values bind the family and the business together. Families need to have a clear and cohesive answer to the question, “Why are we in business together?” This practical guide offers help on the role values play in developing a shared vision and goals, and help ensure long-term family business success. Click here to review or download the […]

Developing Stewardship (Guide)

“Stewardship” – an evolving concept. Historically, stewardship reflected the need for stewards (owners or managers) to account for their actions to resource-providers, but in a family firm the concept takes on a much broader meaning. Families in business often view themselves as stewards of the family wealth: in particular, they have a long-term orientation and […]

Family Business Branding Strategies (Guide)

Putting the family at the centre of brand identity is not for everyone. While branding the family firm may work for certain products it may not add value in other contexts. Families require a systematic approach when they choose to promote themselves as a family business. This guide presents the keys to successful family business […]

Maximising People Capital (Guide)

Unique relationship and human resource issues emerge in family firms. Family businesses are able to create a special and positive relationship with their non-family employees, but need to work especially hard on recruiting and retaining non-family talent, especially in leadership roles. This practical guide looks at how to incentivise, engage and motivate non-family in the […]