"It's a Wonderful Life" is not only a classic Christmas movie, it is also a classic example of the issues facing the next generation of Family Business owners. George Bailey, the oldest son at Bailey Brothers Building and Loan, faces terrible personal and...
My Succession obsession began four-months ago when my wife bought her Succession ringtone and started counting down the days to Season 3; Episode 1. I did not watch Succession for the first two seasons because I cared about the real-world issues facing family...
For those of you who don’t have a PhD in Family Business Studies (you can actually get a PhD in Family Business Studies), welcome to The Fredo Effect. Named for Fredo from the "Godfather", the Fredo Effect refers to an immediate family member who is less capable than...
Everybody growing up in the family business has the “Moment” when they decide whether they want to be part or not part of the Family Business. That Moment can occur when they are 5, 15, or 35 years old. A number of items factor into the decision including gender,...
The opening sequence of Season 1, Episode 1, of Succession shows Logan Roy stumbling out of bed and peeing in the closet instead of the toilet. This neatly summarizes how Logan will treat his children during the next three seasons. As the Chairman and CEO of Waystar...
Question – Does it really matter whether Shiv, Kendall, Connor or Roman become the CEO of the company? The family is filthy rich and successful and so they’ll simply continue to be filthy rich and successful. Answer – It matters a lot. Frances Stroh, in her book,...
There are two sets of families within every family business: 1) the relatives including parents, grandparents, siblings, cousins, aunts, and in-laws; and 2) the long-time employees that have spent a vast majority of their life working in the business. Somewhere in...
Even though I hear it ten times a day on my wife’s cellphone, I admire Nicholas Britell's opening theme for “Succession”. The theme features piano over bells and continues building in intensity adding choral, percussion and strings creating an eerily captivating...
Here’s the thing…in the non-Family Business world, being an in-law is a straightforward value proposition. You get married, you gain an entire new family who you’re sure is crazier than your family, and you hope that your in-laws live close enough to babysit but not...
Three years ago, HBO announced the launch of “Succession”, a not so thinly veiled fictional account of the Rupert Murdoch Family and his Fox empire. While the announcement of a new television show doesn’t normally rattle my innards, I was faced with a watching...
Complicating factors include inflation, interest rates and midterm election fallout. Over the past two years, the virus on everyone’s mind was COVID. Today, the virus is inflation. As the cost of goods and wages rise, the country’s biggest private employer segment —...
Following many conversations with philanthropists over the course of two decades, one thing is clear: it’s important for them to continuously enhance the work they’re doing to support the causes they care about. But no matter the mission, foundations can enrich their...
Bipartisan Group of Congressional Members Launch Congressional Family Business Caucus Focused on Family-Owned Businesses Today, Representatives Jodey Arrington (R-TX), Tom O’Halleran (D-AZ), Claudia Tenney (R-NY), and Brad Schneider (D-IL) launched the bipartisan...
Nieke and Daan Renssen PrideStaff Co-Owners, Strategic Partners Temp-to-Hire Staffing and Direct Hire What led you to start the business? Nieke -- Daan and I are from Holland and we both had professional careers there. Daan spent 20+ years in a variety of corporate...