Written by Deborah Moskovitch ©2007

The enormous success of the “DUMMIES” book series is self evident.  If ever there was a ‘Divorce for Dummies’, this would be it —  meaning no disrespect. 

It is at once a resource book replete with definitions, practical advice and lists and lists of resources.  It steps the reader through the ‘land of divorce’ with a straight forward pragmatism.  The book is an easy read and informative.  One can imagine it dog-eared and coffee stained on someone’s kitchen table.  Go right out and send this book to any of your friends that might be contemplating a divorce or worst case, who might have been served with papers asking for a divorce.  It will serve as an orientation — a travelers’ guide to the impending terrain.

Written by Loyd H. Rawls 2nd Edition ©1999-2004

The author of this book is a practitioner and a principal in his own financial planning firm.  We emphasize that because therein lies the value and credibility for any family business founder. 

This is an excellent resource for any member of a family business, particularly in the area of financial planning, whether or not one might be ready to ‘exit’ your business.  The information and advice regarding regulations, taxes, estate planning etc. will be invaluable.  Interestingly Mr. Rawls also ably tackles other management and family issues such as succession, communication and family relationships.

The format of the book is quite helpful, with case studies in each section which are additional learning options to the reader should they require more application to the concepts and principles he teaches.  We found the book quite optimistic about a family’s ability to grapple with and finally master major dilemmas in the areas of succession, exit or difficult familial relationships.

This book is not a quick or easy read per se but definitely a resource that any founder/owner would be remiss to have not read.  By the way, if you are going to order this book, be sure to order the 2nd edition, the changes from the first edition are very important.

Renée Montoya Lado M.S., N.C.C

President, Strategic Designs for Learning

Family Owned Business Network  Book Review Chair & Editor

Natalie McVeigh, MBE

Research Analyst, Strategic Designs for Learning

 Family Owned Business Network  Senior Book Reviewer

Written by Mark Voeller, PhD; Linda Fairburn, MSOD; and Wayne Thompson ©2002

This is a small but powerful book – the size was intentional to make it a sort of ready-reference.  It was written to tackle only one part of the sleeveless in three generations problem —exit/transition/succession planning.  The authors are adamant that people start the succession process when they start thinking about exiting without thinking of how it will affect business strategy and processes, the family members or potential successors. This holistically focused book would be a helpful and practical tool to start a discussion around this issue.

This book reinforces systems thinking, life cycles of a business and the role of a trained advisor in the exiting process.  The structure of the book is very unique.  Each chapter addresses an aspect of exiting a business and could stand alone if need be, but definitely do build upon one another. These chapters are process oriented with key questions, underlying issues, exploration questions and action steps for the founder/current owner to consider. Although this book seems to be written for the owner/founder it would be useful for any member of a family business or advisor.

Renée Montoya Lado M.S., N.C.C

President, Strategic Designs for Learning

Family Owned Business Network  Book Review Chair & Editor

Natalie McVeigh, MBE

Research Analyst, Strategic Designs for Learning

 Family Owned Business Network  Senior Book Reviewer

Written by Leslie Dashew, Sam Lane, Joe Paul, Darrell Beck, and Williams Robert ©2011

This recent addition to the Family Business literature is exceptional.  The book’s content is drawn on the expertise of the authors (more than 30 years respectively) who are members of the Aspen Family Business Group.  The Keys to Family Business Success would be helpful for anyone who is in a family business or who works with one.  The overall tone of the book is positive and realistic and is intended to be a helpful resource for family stakeholders who want to know how to deal with some of the challenges that arise whether on their own or in conjunction with the right advisors.  

The structure of the book is very pragmatic.  It begins with a lengthy case study outlining a family in crisis: how they are in crisis and their engagement with a consultant, then the beginning stages of the consulting process.  Each chapter addresses a different challenge and includes helpful activities, checklists/evaluations, and works of literature (poems or fables) to tackle the issues presented.

The authors provide a practical framework for recognizing a challenge before it becomes insurmountable, and is, therefore, a great contribution. 

Renée Montoya Lado M.S., N.C.C

President, Strategic Designs for Learning

Family Owned Business Network  Book Review Chair & Editor

Natalie McVeigh, MBE

Research Analyst, Strategic Designs for Learning

 Family Owned Business Network  Senior Book Reviewer

Written by Irving Katz, MBA. ©2010

Family Business Secrets is a book that reminds family business owners how easy it is to only focus on our clients or products and services, and to forget about our business as a business. 

The author’s expertise as a family business advisor really helps make this book a practical support to bringing the business of our business back into focus.  Mr. Katz effectively incorporates case studies from previous clients as well as more well-known family businesses to further illustrate critical family business issues i.e. cash flow management, strategic planning, and succession planning .  His use of self-assessments at the beginning of each chapter helps the reader create a pragmatic baseline from which to learn from the material. 

This is a quick read that is quite useful for family business owners, family business members, and family business advisors alike.

Renée Montoya Lado M.S., N.C.C

President, Strategic Designs for Learning

Family Owned Business Network  Book Review Chair & Editor

Natalie McVeigh, MBE

Research Analyst, Strategic Designs for Learning

 Family Owned Business Network  Senior Book Reviewer

Written by Patricia Annino, J.D.; Thomas Davidow, Ed.D. & Cynthia Adams Harrison, Ed.D., LSCSW with Lisbeth Davidow Ed.M., M.F.A. ©2009

Women in Family Business explores the purview of  women who are not themselves founders of family businesses but who nonetheless impact and are impacted by them.   The authors take a candid look at the constellation of roles these women play in the family business arena including spouse, mother, widow, stepmother, daughter, daughter-in-law, sister, and sister-in-law.  The reader is taken through challenges they may face as well as  given practical solutions to work around some of the challenges that may arise.

This book focuses less on the business and more on the impact the business has on their roles as the family businesses evolve. The authors provide a look into the developmental, emotional and psychological perspectives of these women and the influence they have on their family businesses.  An interesting read that could well be helpful to women and men alike.

Renée Montoya Lado M.S., N.C.C

President, Strategic Designs for Learning

Family Owned Business Network  Book Review Chair & Editor

Natalie McVeigh, MBE

Research Analyst, Strategic Designs for Learning

 Family Owned Business Network  Senior Book Reviewer

Written by Thomas William Deans, PhD ©2008, 2009

This surprising little book packs a punch with ideas that will have many of us scratching our heads and wondering why we never thought of them.  The book’s context is a dialog between two strangers on an airplane who happen to have their respective experiences in family businesses in common.   The readers are drawn into this flight and experience as though they were present.  William, as the author refers to himself in the book, starts out by saying that family businesses begin for many reasons, but all of them amount to being born of love. This is what makes family businesses “a powerful and emotional idea” that should be respected and treated as such. This book is dynamic in that is has two people on opposite ends of the same FOB situation.

The author, William Deans was a 3nd Generation family business member who was very involved in the selling of his company with his father. He is on a plane to Barbados with another man who happened to be a former 1st Generation business owner who sold his business without the involvement of his 2nd Generation family members who were employed in the company. Both men began talking about their respective  experiences and how those experiences affected them and their relationships with their families in both positive and negative ways. By the end of the flight these two men knew that they had a lot to learn from each other and possibly to offer to many people who are going through a similar situation.

William describes to his flight partner the 12 questions that his family used  to ensure that they had a smooth transition. These questions do need the context of the preceding chapters, so I will not write them here, but they all hang on this single premise: the family business will always be for sale to the highest bidder (whether or not that person is in the family).  What makes this book so interesting is that it makes the selling of a family business no longer a taboo. He argues that this actually saves the family and eliminates the conundrums  existing in a family business regarding employment of relatives, performance based or relationship based compensation etc.  He has the temerity to wonder whether even acknowledgement of family relationships within a family business contributes to destroying it!

A good read — enjoy!

Additional Book Information

Renée Montoya Lado M.S., N.C.C

President, Strategic Designs for Learning

Family Owned Business Network  Book Review Chair & Editor

Natalie McVeigh, MBE

Research Analyst, Strategic Designs for Learning

 Family Owned Business Network  Senior Book Reviewer

Written by Peter Thornton ©2009

This book reads like a novel.  The author is more than frank in his narrative about the array of complications and joys that happened in his family business and in his life.  He is as honest about his failings as he is about the failings of his family i.e. “I identified so completely with the company that my own identity and self-respect was entirely dependent on it… My life had been totally dedicated to the Thornton Family Business”….  While in some cases, his candor may be too graphic for some readers, this book is a compelling story for those who are drawn to an autobiographical account of life ‘inside a family business’.

Mr. Thornton is in the third generation of his family business (family tree graphic inserted here). His Grandfather was the founder.  His Father and Uncle successfully ran the business in a mutual partnership.  During the first three generations the males in the family did not have a choice about what they wanted to do/be.   Mr. Thornton describes the norm to be fit to the career instead of the career being fit for the person.

As the reader moves through Mr. Thornton’s family business story, s/he will notice his story is replete with points of failure that are common to many family businesses i.e. triangulation, ineffective succession planning, ineffective leverage of independent directors, ineffectual preparation of heirs for family wealth transition and stewardship.

That said, however, the Thornton family did two critical things well —  they have consistently and effectively leveraged their family mission statement and business principles regardless of family circumstances; and they remained true to their value of putting their employees first, thus creating a very important foundation for business stability and profitability to this day.

Renée Montoya Lado M.S., N.C.C

President, Strategic Designs for Learning

Family Owned Business Network  Book Review Chair & Editor

Natalie McVeigh, MBE

Research Analyst, Strategic Designs for Learning

 Family Owned Business Network  Senior Book Reviewer

Written by Ron Chernow, ©2004

Titan (a national best seller and over 600 pages long) is a delightfully sweeping narrative about one of America’s wealthiest and most prominent family and their family business.  The book is set against the backdrop of almost 100 years of American history including slavery and the Underground Railroad, the Civil War, the temperance movement and prohibition, the expansion of the railroad, the Industrial Age, the regulation of corporate America, the inventions of the automobile and airplane, and on and on.

There is much to be learned from their family practices inside and outside of their business.  Some of the most relevant to family business practitioners are discussed below.  Enjoy this synopsis of a family that overcame the odds by prioritizing.

Family First

As a child Rockefeller, Sr. left secondary school to attend a brief business training program and take up a job to support his mother and siblings. After taking his first job, Rockefeller Sr. brought his brother William into the company as an apprentice. Although he was initially against his youngest brother joining the Civil War, he did pay for his uniforms and rifles. While he was the President of Standard Oil, he allowed his brothers to be his employees. Rockefeller, Sr. and his wife, Cettie were dedicated to raising their children and preferred home life to social and work life.

Collaboration with Spouses

Rockefeller, Sr. married Cettie and for years she was his confidant and counsel.  Rockefeller, Jr. married Abby, who encouraged him to take his rightful place as heir in the company. Both men married women who were equal or superior in education, and collaborated with them in how they raised their children and what causes they would support.

Philanthropy

World renowned is the Rockefeller legacy of philanthropy – perhaps not as well known is how early it started. Rockefeller, Sr. always gave a portion of his income to church and those less fortunate than he, even before he could really afford it. Before Sr. could find a systematic way of donating money in the amount it was coming in, he had the whole family gather around the table and vet potential applicants for various donations. The grandchildren credited their conceptions of philanthropic stewardship as much to their grandfather as their father.

Equal is not Always Fair

Rockefeller, Sr. understood that keeping parity between Jr. and his three sisters was of paramount importance. When the federal government boosted inheritance taxes twice in 1916 and 1917 the largest intrafamily transfer of money in history happened between Sr. and Jr. This act outraged Sr.’s daughters since the transfer made Jr.’s inheritance greater than theirs. Sr. had decided that the girls did not accept the importance of stewarding the family money, and therefore entrusted his son with the legacy (as well as mitigate the rise in inheritance tax). Rockefeller, Jr. said “anything he gave me would be administered with the same sense of duty and stewardship which compelled his giving.” The two remaining daughters (one had passed) Alta and Edith were each given an equitable trust. Many times Edith tried to show her father’s talent in business and would blow large sums of money, all of which Rockefeller, Sr. would cover. Jr., also set up equal trust for his children but the stipulations of the trusts were different for his children, who did not understand or appreciate the stewardship of their money.

 Reinvest in the Business

It was important for Sr. to buy up as much stock as allowed when shares became available. He wanted those shares to stay in family hands. Rockefeller, Jr. went so far as to set up trusts for his children where they could draw income but the principle withdrawals had to be approved by trustees.

 Early Education of Children about Wealth/Philanthropy

Rockefeller, Sr. seized every opportunity to teach his children about the importance of money. He had his children keep ledger books of their expenditures and gave them allowances much smaller than children of their socioeconomic status. He allowed them to earn extra money by doing household chores. He reinforced the importance of philanthropy and often had his children deal with their money in thirds: philanthropy, savings, and spending. Interestingly, they appeared not to be aware of the large wealth they would one day inherit until much later. Jr. imposed the same rules for his children. From the 1st to the 3rd generation many of the children were under the impression that they were not wealthy. 

 Encourage Children to Pursue Their Own Careers and Dreams

Neither Rockefeller, Sr. nor Jr. exerted any pressure on their children to enter into Standard Oil or the Rockefeller Trust. In true testament to this when Rockefeller, Jr. had to resign from standard oil and devote his life to philanthropy “to live with his own conscience” Rockefeller, Sr. replied “I want you to do what you think is right.”

Non-Family Management/Transition

When Rockefeller stepped down he left John D. Archibold, his protégé, in charge as early as 1896.

Family Members in the Business

Rockefeller, Sr. and his brother Frank always had a rocky relationship and kept him on the payroll despite Frank’s underperformance, outward resentment, and public interviews against Standard Oil.

Family Privacy

Rockefeller, Sr. often kept tightlipped about Standard Oil with his children even in the face of wide, negative press coverage. He often refused interviews or public statements to defend his character in the media. When his grandson, Nelson, asked if he could write a report clearing the family name for one of his classes in business school, Sr. refused and began a 3 year interview process with William O. Inglis to serve as a private family archive.

Additional Information:

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Renée Montoya Lado M.S., N.C.C

President, Strategic Designs for Learning

Family Owned Business Network  Book Review Chair & Editor

Natalie McVeigh, MBE

Research Analyst, Strategic Designs for Learning

 Family Owned Business Network  Senior Book Reviewer

Some of the reasons cited for this lack of management success in family firms are:

1. A small pool of talent like one’s children does not mean there will be the best talent available. They provide an example of Olympic candidates coming from former gold medalists.

2. “The Carnegie Effect”: when Andrew Carnegie made his intentions to pass on all of his wealth to his heir, what then became the incentive for the heir to work hard?

3. Inheriting management seems to have a demoralizing effect on other talented managers in the firm. There is little incentive to work when you know there is a glass ceiling.

Interestingly, the data shows that family firms with an outside CEO fare better than those that do not.

Defending Family Firm Management:

The article provided a few reasons why family management of a family firm might be prudent:

1. Heir learns directly from the founder

2. Greater trust between the organization and management since they are family.

 For the full article: Family Firms Need Professional Management

As practitioners at a family firm or advisors to family firms, what do you think about this data? Does it seem to cover the whole picture of family firms?