Understanding Family Business brings you articles and tips from Family Business Experts who understand family values and business systems.

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Understanding Family Business

We recently read a great book that we recommend to all those involved with family budinesses - owners, family members, and their advisors.

Wealth: Grow It, Protect It, Spend It and Share It, [Stuart E. Lucas; Wharton School Publishing; 2006] is written by an heir to the Carnation fortune [evaporated milk; non-dairy creamers; a family business until sold to Nestle in 1985]. It identifies the Eight Principles of Strategic Wealth Management that Lucas uses in managing his family's wealth, his own personal finances and as a professional manager of other people's wealth. They are:

1. Take charge and do it early.

2. Align family and business interests around wealth-building goals and strategies.

3. Create a culture of accountability.

4. Capitalize on your family's combined resources.

5. Delegate, empower, and respect independence.

6. Diversify but focus.

7. Err on the side of simplicity where possible.

8. Develop future family leaders with strong wealth management skills.

As a financial professional who has worked for years with family businesses and their owners, I can assure you that his advice is sound. Makes for a great read - and you can get used copies at eBay or Amazon or new copies at most any bookseller.

-David

Don't forget one of the most popular features of our web site is our initiative called Family Business Profiles.

Rumpke Consolidated Companies, Inc.

Rumpke Consolidated Companies, Inc. - over 2000 employees, 75 family members active - has mastered turning negative perceptions into positive opportunities. Learn how a high degree of integrity is key to their success.

Our new Financial Management section wll be getting some new pages in the next few weeks...

Financial Management - Tips and Tricks for the Family Business Owner Who Doesn't Have or Need a CFO... Yet!

Financial management - for the family business owner who doesn't have or need a CFO and all the trappings of big companies.

Let's face it - big companies need and can afford to have a whole arsenal of specialists and professionals to help them. They already know the tips and tricks.

But, many of our smaller - and some that are not so small! - clients don't have professional financial managers. But you still need to run a a tight ship financially. So, this section is for you.

And an article that we had been asked to write for another publication.

Professionalizing Family Business Management

Professionalizing family business management is the most difficult and emotionally destructive problem confronted in family businesses. Learn how to handle it by evolution rather than revolution.

Don't forget the new feature on our site that will become even more prevalent. Our Family Business Blog [Blog is short for "web log"] mini-journal will keep you updated about site changes and other family business matters. Check it out regularly on the site from the NavBar button. Better still, subscribe to the blog using the RSS feed information on any of our pages, such as

Understanding Family Business.

LP28. Managing the New Technologies

Managing the new technologies is the process of integrating new technologies (process and product technologies and information systems) with changes in the organization's means and in its applications. The organization listens to problems and searches for opportunities to ensure consistency among the organizational means, its technologies and their application. Finally, the organization regularly monitors the results produced by the introduction and application of the new technologies.

Take our fr*ee assessment on the 29 Leadership Practices...

That's it for this issue. If you have any comments, or if there are any topics you'd like to see covered, please let us know.

Comments, requested topics, blog messages...!