Our Latest Content

April 20, 2026 - Issue #164

When Family Business Reputation Helps—and When It Hurts Family firms often enjoy strong consumer goodwill, until they engage in deliberate misconduct -- when higher expectations can produce deeper disappointment and sharper backlash.

Why Perspective Taking Might Be the Most Underrated Innovation Skill A new study finds that perspective taking is not just a soft skill. It helps insiders generate more novel ideas and outsiders generate more useful ones.

AI in Family Business: Why Brain Capital Is Your Real Competitive Advantage Family firms need AI, but it can't build trust or regulate conflict. Here's why Brain Capital—judgment, resilience, and governance maturity—will determine whether they thrive across generations.

How Families Can Move From Conflict to Forgiveness Set boundaries clearly and often, understand your own hot buttons, and be genuinely curious about why the other side thinks the way they do.

Family Offices Are Booming—But Do They Actually Work? Research still can’t clearly explain when they deliver real value. A review shows what we know, what we don’t, and how families can close the needs-to-services gap.

Before You Grow the Family Business, Know What Not to Break The challenge during succession is that not every inherited element deserves to be preserved. But not every piece of the legacy is safe to disrupt, either.

How Families Can Override Emotions to Make Better Judgments When decisions become emotionally charged, it becomes harder to think clearly just when clear thinking is needed most.

What the Public Gets Wrong About Family Businesses A new study shows that insiders see ambition, innovation, and complexity, but outsiders see tradition. Bridging that divide is key to future success.

How to Stand Out When Your Competitors Have Had a 100-Year Head Start New businesses can still win in crowded markets dominated by long-established brands. Here are practical ways to differentiate, take smart risks, and build loyal customers.

Why People Risk Belongs on Every Family Business Board Agenda Boards routinely scrutinize financial and strategic risk. But talent shortages, leadership culture problems, and succession gaps can erode long-term value just as quickly.

What Japan's Oldest Businesses Can Teach Us About Longevity Should longevity always be the goal? And if so, what exactly should endure—the operating company, a particular business model, or the family enterprise system itself?

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Family Businesses Must Prepare for the Unthinkable

What Nonfamily Managers Need From Family Firm Leaders

How Families Can Re-Engage Reluctant Successors Without Pressure

Family Offices Are Expanding Their Role

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Recent

How Families Shape Successor Motivation—and the Firm’s Long-Term Direction

by Alexandra Dawson / Research Insight

Family firms don’t have goals—people do. The rise and fall of Italy's Florio dynasty shows how successor motivation shapes the balance between growth, legacy, and community—and how families can build more durable, values-led leadership. Read more...

Will Your Nonfamily Employees Defend Your Business?

by Sarah Burrows, Craig Crossley, Catherine Faherty, and Jim Combs / Research Insight

A stewardship climate, where employees feel trusted and truly valued, mobilizes nonfamily employees to defend the family firm against reputational threats. Read more...

You're Adding a Board of Directors. Is Your Management Team Ready?

by Rostyslav Vovk / Commentary

A Ukraine-based family business installed a board to provide structure as it scaled globally. Here's how the owners overcame top managers' fears and won their support. Read more...

The 11 Digital Warning Signs of Conflict Escalation in Business Families

by Christina Strauss, Arist von Schlippe, Franz Kellermanns, and Torsten Pieper / Research Insight

Digital communication speeds up family business decisions—but it also accelerates conflict. Based on 100+ pages of real emails and texts, here are 11 signs that an all-out brawl is coming. Read more...

by Sara Stern

How to Run a Family Business Successfully

by Kerry Hannon

Why Do We Treat Strangers Better Than Family Members?

by Kimberly Eddleston

Define Your Legacy, and Strengthen Your Business and Your Impact

by Matthew Fox, Kimberly Wade-Benzoni, and Jeffrey Covin

Listening to the Family: The Strategic Value of Surveys

by Claudia Binz Astrachan

Planning Succession? These 10 Decisions Are Critical

by David Deeds