Beyond Frameworks: Unlocking the Full Potential of Family Business Leaders (Part 2)

Unveil the emotional complexities that make or break leadership in family businesses—beyond what traditional frameworks can address. In Part Two of our series, we identify five unique roadblocks to effective leadership and offer practical exercises to enhance your leadership effectiveness immediately.

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Beyond Frameworks: Unlocking the Full Potential of Family Business Leaders (Part 1)

Discover why traditional frameworks fall short for family businesses and how emotional intelligence and identity can unlock leadership potential. In this first installment of our three-part series, explore the unique dynamics of family enterprises and gain practical insights to enhance leadership effectiveness.

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Navigating CEO Succession in Family Businesses: Choosing Between Family Contenders and an Outside CEO

Navigating CEO succession in family businesses requires balancing emotional dynamics and legacy considerations with the objective expertise and strategic focus an external CEO might bring, ensuring the best interests of both the family and the business are prioritized for long-term success.

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Healthcare Cost and Family Business - Time for a Change

Family businesses are known for caring for staff and their extended families. Relationships are essential. Health care options are an important component of this care - but costs are spiraling out of control. We discuss this challenge and seek to identify options.

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Going Slow to Go Fast Pays Off

This mini case study is designed to help you learn how pausing helps you prepare for and move through significant transition points in your family business.

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When the Crisis Ends the Hard Work Begins... Are You Ready?

As we come to grips with this surreal environment the focus shifts to helping business owners identify their best options for surviving the crisis with an eye toward thriving during recovery.

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Snowflake Effects in the Business...

Snowflakes are one of nature’s most intriguing structures. Closely held businesses with multiple shareholders (particularly family businesses) are very much like a snowflake.

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4 Things Skilled Leaders Prudently Manage = PACI

Manifestation of power, authority, control, and influence (*PACI) among shareholders and employees in closely held businesses serve as leading indicators for the likelihood of success at points of significant transition.

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Dinosaurs In The Workplace

The dinosaur effect results from leaders having blind spots about how their words and actions impact staff, derail alignment, and erode organizational outcomes.

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5 Tips for Effective Problem Framing

In framing a problem we set the psychological parameters against which we endeavor to solve the problem. A mis-framed problem will have mis-framed solutions.

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#1 Reason Succession Fails & How to Get it Right

When I met Aaron and Janet they were engaged in their third attempt at family succession. In many ways this attempt is no different than the first two abandoned attempts.

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9 Pain Points Owners Face & How to Fix What’s Broken 

Owners report experiencing these 9 pain points when working with advisors…

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Conflict: Learning to Embrace It!

“Conflict”… what is the first thought, feeling, or image that crossed your mind when you read that word?

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Axial: Why Successful Exits Start With Psychology

Axial talked to Dr. Allie Taylor about how Orange Kiwi is different from a typical advisory firm, the most surprising thing she uncovered in her research on business owners, and more.

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1+1 = 44? The Exponential Complexity of Multi-Owner Business Transition

Successful entrepreneurial owners are: dynamic, resilient, driven, focused, goal-oriented and the businesses they build tend to reflect this nature.

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2017: The Art of Reflection Bears Fruit

The art of reflection does not come naturally when you are “wired” with a bias toward action and execution. It was not until a mentor challenged me to create space for reflection that I realized its power.

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Beating Business Transition (Sale/Scale/Succession) Odds - New Research

Owner experience, advisor observations, academic literature, and popular books agree – significant transitions (scale, sale, succession) fail more often than they succeed in the low to mid-market business environment.

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7 Steps to Improve Management Team Decision-Making

Decision-making is the single most important function of a management team, yet few spend any time thinking about the ruthless pursuit of effective decisions.

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