legend

Mining the past: How ‘history scripting’ strategies can help family businesses achieve competitive advantages

November 4, 2021

While many might consider history as just something that happened in the past, it is found in our research to have the potential to create important competitive advantages for family businesses and even new entrepreneurs.

“Spanning almost a hundred years, the story behind this restaurant [is told in] the lives of three generations of remarkable Chinese women. Their extraordinary journey takes us from the brutal poverty of village life in mainland China, to newly prosperous 1930s Hong Kong and finally to the UK. Their lives were as dramatic as the times they lived through.” – Sweet Mandarin.

Do most family businesses really fail by the third generation?

July 22, 2021

Many articles or speeches about family businesses include a reference to the “three-generation rule,” which says that most don’t survive beyond three generations. But that perception could not be further from the truth.

If you’re a fan of the HBO show Succession, or if you’re aware of the conflicts playing out publicly and perennially among some of the most visible family businesses in the world—think the Murdochs or Sumner Redstone’s family—you might assume that family businesses are more fragile than other forms of enterprise.

Transitioning from a family business to a family brand

July 17, 2021

One of the greatest challenges any business experiences in transforming from a profitable small business to a legacy enterprise is navigating the waters of succession. An effective succession plan requires more than just moving names around on an org chart or a legal charter. To invest in its future, a family enterprise must build the power of its brand.

Many family enterprises develop strong branding around their visionary founders. But what happens to this brand when the next generation assumes leadership? We explore how a family enterprise should build the power of its brand in conjunction with succession planning.