Creating Effective Boards for Private Enterprises: Meeting the Challenges of Continuity and Competition (Jossey Bass Business and Management Series)
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Effective, step-by-step map of the process.
  • A very comprehensive guide to creating boards.
 Creating Effective Boards for Private Enterprises: Meeting the Challenges of Continuity and Competition (Jossey Bass Business and Management Series)
John L. Ward
Manufacturer: Jossey-Bass
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

GeneralGeneral | Organizational Behavior | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
GeneralGeneral | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
LeadershipLeadership | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
NegotiatingNegotiating | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:
  1. Family Business Governance: Maximizing Family and Business Potential (Family business leadership series) Family Business Governance: Maximizing Family and Business Potential (Family business leadership series)
  2. Strategic Planning for the Family Business: Parallel Planning to Unite the Family and Business Strategic Planning for the Family Business: Parallel Planning to Unite the Family and Business
  3. Perpetuating The Family Business : 50 Lessons Learned from Long Lasting, Successful Families in Business Perpetuating The Family Business : 50 Lessons Learned from Long Lasting, Successful Families in Business
  4. Improving Corporate Boards: The Boardroom Insider Guidebook (paper with CD-ROM) Improving Corporate Boards: The Boardroom Insider Guidebook (paper with CD-ROM)
  5. Keeping The Family Business Healthy: How to Plan for Continuing Growth, Profitability and Family Leadership (Jossey Bass Business and Management Series) Keeping The Family Business Healthy: How to Plan for Continuing Growth, Profitability and Family Leadership (Jossey Bass Business and Management Series)

ASIN: 1555423523

Book Description

The most complete handbook on boards for small to midsize private and family businesses, this bbook shows how to build a dynamic board of directors that can enhance the owner's ability to run the business. John L. Ward shows why private firms, facing increasing competitive challenges, need the in-depth expertise and objective feedback that a well-chosen board can provide, and demonstrates how owners and directors can work together to ensure a long and profitable life for the firm. Ward provides owners and directors with step-by-step guidelines for developing and managing a board- from writing the initial prospectus, through conducting lively meetings, to maintaining open, honest communication between owners, directors, spouses and family members, and other stakeholders in the firm. He shows how to-- * Find and attract the right directors- experienced business people * who can contribute the exact knowledge and expertise the company * needs to thrive and grow; * Compensate directors appropriately and protect them from legal liability; * Foster creative thinking about promising new directions for the * company, such as new products, services, or markets; and * Draw upon board expertise to improve the qualit and creativity of decision making about a wide range of issues, such as how to find sources of capital, develop the next generation of leadership, or recruit new talent. Ward illustrates this practical guide with extensive case examples from a wide of small to midsize businesses, including food service, printing, and chemical companies. He also offers sample board prospectuses, company mission statements, effective meeting agendas, and other essential tools for bringing the board together and encouraging its active participation in the business.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Effective, step-by-step map of the process........1999-01-20

As a professional planning consultant, I've recommended this book many times to my clients. It is the best, most thorough and step-by-step map of the process of putting a board together that is available to my knowledge. Anyone with a closely held company who is considering putting an outside board together (and most should), this is the place to start.

5 out of 5 stars A very comprehensive guide to creating boards........1998-08-24

This is an extremely practical, thorough, study about how private companies can use boards to enhance their governance systems. The fact that a family owned compay does not have the legal obligation to have a board obscures the fact that boards are extremely useful management instruments. Prof. Ward shows the way to using this instrument efectively.
Entrepreneur's Notebook: Practical Advice for Starting a New Business Venture
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Nice Guide for Beginners
  • A Must-Have for Entrepreneurs
  • Exellent Book
  • Brief and to the point
  • Invaluable advice for the budding entrepreneur
 Entrepreneur's Notebook: Practical Advice for Starting a New Business Venture
Steven K. Gold
Manufacturer: Learning Ventures Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

GuidesGuides | Job Hunting & Careers | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
GeneralGeneral | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
EntrepreneurshipEntrepreneurship | Small Business & Entrepreneurship | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
GeneralGeneral | Small Business & Entrepreneurship | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Business PlansBusiness Plans | Small Business & Entrepreneurship | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:
  1. Business Plans That Win $$$: Lessons from the MIT Enterprise Forum Business Plans That Win $$$: Lessons from the MIT Enterprise Forum
  2. The Startup Company Bible For Entrepreneurs: The Complete Guide For Building Successful Companies And Raising Venture Capital The Startup Company Bible For Entrepreneurs: The Complete Guide For Building Successful Companies And Raising Venture Capital
  3. The Business Startup Checklist and Planning Guide: Seize Your Entrepreneurial Dreams! The Business Startup Checklist and Planning Guide: Seize Your Entrepreneurial Dreams!
  4. What No One Ever Tells You about Starting Your Own Business: Real-Life Start-Up Advice from 101 Successful Entrepreneurs (What No One Ever Tells You About Starting Your Own Business) What No One Ever Tells You about Starting Your Own Business: Real-Life Start-Up Advice from 101 Successful Entrepreneurs (What No One Ever Tells You About Starting Your Own Business)
  5. Start Your Own Business (4th Ed.) (Start Your Own) Start Your Own Business (4th Ed.) (Start Your Own)

ASIN: 0976279045

Book Description

Entrepreneur's Notebook propels you on a whirlwind tour of the start-up process. It is an invaluable reference for new and experienced entrepreneurs that includes chapters on a wide range of topics, from entrepreneurial team building to business plans to financing. This excellent book provides an incredible amount of practical information that will help you make smarter decisions and avoid costly mistakes. The author, Steven K. Gold, is an accomplished entrepreneur who has co-founded and led five early-stage ventures. As an investor and mentor, he also advises many entrepreneurs and young companies. He earned his B.S.E. in Entrepreneurial Management from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and his M.D. from Brown University Medical School.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Nice Guide for Beginners.......2007-06-16

The author writes a nice overview of the entrepreneurial process. It's basically for novices but it does a good job for this audience. The only problem I have with this book is that it is too basic and is therefore non-unique because it is so low-level. Regardless, I must say that for the right audience, it does a fine job over giving the big picture.

If you are advanced or aspire to become advanced, I would recommend "The Startup Company Bible for Entrepreneurs" but only for high-tech entrepreneurs. Even this author has recommended it.

5 out of 5 stars A Must-Have for Entrepreneurs.......2007-05-14

Steven gives great illustrations to drive home his insightful advice for entrepreneurs. As he's "been there, done that," we can take his advice to heart in the hopes of becoming a success like him!

5 out of 5 stars Exellent Book.......2007-05-11

Great book for getting ready to open a new business. Would refer to anyone thinking about opening a business.

5 out of 5 stars Brief and to the point.......2007-04-27

This is a delightful little book that contains a wealth of useful and helpful information and ideas on starting a small business and ensuring that it is viable and succesful. The book is well written and easy to follow and interesting to read.

This is a must read for entrepreneurs, particularly budding ones as the information the book provides is very practical and can help you avoid making costly errors. The book covers a wide range of topics including the start-up process, marketing the business on a small budget, cash-flow forecasting, among other things.

The book is an excellent companion for the entrepreneur that is well worth having.

5 out of 5 stars Invaluable advice for the budding entrepreneur.......2007-03-04

This book does a terrific job of presenting some of the most important issues entrepreneurs face when embarking on new ventures, touching on topics such as the business plan, funding, team building, and cash flows. Using simple, yet stunningly accurate models of the entrepreneurial process, Steven Gold distills complex subjects into simple, practical, take-away messages. The classification of entrepreneurial personalities (professionals, pragmatists, and inventors) is something I think we can all relate to. I find the metaphor which compares building a new company to making "stone soup" equally compelling. There are countless books out there for budding entrepreneurs, but this one is no fluff. It gets right down to the nuts and bolts so you can concentrate on your business.
Perpetuating The Family Business : 50 Lessons Learned from Long Lasting, Successful Families in Business
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Clear, insightful, personal, terrific for business families
  • A must read
  • Perpetuating the Family Business
  • Enlightening Lessons for Home & Work, New or Old
 Perpetuating The Family Business : 50 Lessons Learned from Long Lasting, Successful Families in Business
John Ward
Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Company ProfilesCompany Profiles | Biography & History | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
GeneralGeneral | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ManagementManagement | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
New Business EnterprisesNew Business Enterprises | Small Business & Entrepreneurship | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:
  1. Strategic Planning for the Family Business: Parallel Planning to Unite the Family and Business Strategic Planning for the Family Business: Parallel Planning to Unite the Family and Business
  2. Keep the Family Baggage Out of the Family Business: Avoiding the Seven Deadly Sins That Destroy Family Businesses Keep the Family Baggage Out of the Family Business: Avoiding the Seven Deadly Sins That Destroy Family Businesses
  3. Family Business Succession: The Final Test of Greatness, Second Edition Family Business Succession: The Final Test of Greatness, Second Edition
  4. Generation to Generation: Life Cycles of the Family Business Generation to Generation: Life Cycles of the Family Business
  5. Keeping The Family Business Healthy: How to Plan for Continuing Growth, Profitability and Family Leadership (Jossey Bass Business and Management Series) Keeping The Family Business Healthy: How to Plan for Continuing Growth, Profitability and Family Leadership (Jossey Bass Business and Management Series)

ASIN: 1403933979

Book Description

Perpetuating the Family Business 50 Lessons Learned from Long-Lasting, Successful Families in Business John L. Ward A comprehensive guide to sustaining a family business based on the practices of the world's most successful family empires ohn L. Ward, a leading world expert on family business, offers the best practices of the most successful and long-lasting families in business. The book provides a framework for the creation of a successful business comprised of five insights and four basic principles for a strong foundation. Ward fills in this foundation with fifty lessons that he has learned from working with and studying family businesses that he believes will be crucial for success. These include: -Irrevocable retirement -Impersonal ownership -Voluntary accountability -Family education -Principle of merit -Family leadership succession -Inclusion of non-family executives -Synthesis of values -Spirit of enterprise -Family mission statement -Flexible dividend policies. Ward provides the reader with a reliable, tested blueprint for the development, management, and continuation of a suc-cessful family business. John L. Ward is founder of the Family Business Consulting Group International, and Professor and Director, Kellogg School Center of Family Enterprises, Northwestern University. He lives in Evanston, Illinois. Business Finance 1-4039-3397-9 $29.95 $44.95 Canadian 61 /8 " x 91 /4 " / 256 pages Includes 3 bw illustrations Palgrave Macmillan June

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Clear, insightful, personal, terrific for business families.......2007-02-01

By 'clear' I mean relatively easy to read, this is not a textbook. Dr. Ward says himself that it is the most personal book that he's ever written, and I would say that it is his best. Because it is insightful.
One example: of the Five Insights and Four P's, one is 'Policies before the need'. This is something that I've been begging business families to do: establish a policy manual with rules for this and that occasion. Just because your family business is relatively small and simple today does not mean that you can delay.
A problem with other books on the subject is that they are written with a certain kind of family business in mind. This one, however, mentions the first three stages of family business evolution, and lists the 50 lessons under one stage or the other. Most helpful!
Appendix C: A Family Business Checklist made me stop and say "Hey, this question isn't for my business yet." but that only means that if the question and its answer is not appropriate for your business yet, it is still beneficial to start planning and educating. In other words, what is not needed by one generation is essential to the next.
Families in business: listen to this wise man, communicate, and educate.

5 out of 5 stars A must read.......2006-11-14

It is simply the best book about Family Businesses that I read. Besides that, it is one of the few books in this field that has a conceptual structure.
It will be helpful to all people interested in the perpetuation of family businesses.

5 out of 5 stars Perpetuating the Family Business.......2006-07-23

Well written and researched, "Perpetuating the Family Business" is a "must read" for anyone interested in passing their own business on to the next generation. John Ward is not only experienced, but insightful regarding the dynamics that make or break families and family businesses.

5 out of 5 stars Enlightening Lessons for Home & Work, New or Old.......2005-02-03

In a short book, John Ward offers many key findings & synthesized concepts (often surprising, even counter-intuitive) without wasting readers' time but with true-life examples enlivening his conclusions. His research & concisely presented insights match the multi-generational history of our multi-$B family holding company. This work should be on best sellers lists, not only because it is the "Built To Last" for private business, but also because it includes management principles that could be used in public companies seeking to endure.
C.U.
Keeping The Family Business Healthy: How to Plan for Continuing Growth, Profitability and Family Leadership (Jossey Bass Business and Management Series)
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • A classic in the field
  • Where to get it
 Keeping The Family Business Healthy: How to Plan for Continuing Growth, Profitability and Family Leadership (Jossey Bass Business and Management Series)
John L. Ward
Manufacturer: Business Owner Resources
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Company ProfilesCompany Profiles | Biography & History | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
LeadershipLeadership | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Organizational ChangeOrganizational Change | Organizational Behavior | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
GeneralGeneral | Small Business & Entrepreneurship | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Business PlansBusiness Plans | Small Business & Entrepreneurship | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:
  1. Perpetuating The Family Business : 50 Lessons Learned from Long Lasting, Successful Families in Business Perpetuating The Family Business : 50 Lessons Learned from Long Lasting, Successful Families in Business
  2. Strategic Planning for the Family Business: Parallel Planning to Unite the Family and Business Strategic Planning for the Family Business: Parallel Planning to Unite the Family and Business
  3. Keep the Family Baggage Out of the Family Business: Avoiding the Seven Deadly Sins That Destroy Family Businesses Keep the Family Baggage Out of the Family Business: Avoiding the Seven Deadly Sins That Destroy Family Businesses
  4. Developing Family Business Policies: Your Guide to the Future (Family business leadership series) Developing Family Business Policies: Your Guide to the Future (Family business leadership series)
  5. Generation to Generation: Life Cycles of the Family Business Generation to Generation: Life Cycles of the Family Business

ASIN: 1555420265

Book Description

Less than one-third of family-owned businesses survive into the second generation. Why? Often they fail because their owners or managers avoid making needed decisions about the company's future. As a result, the firms cannot stay intact through the rapid changes that take place in business. Heads of firms that do survive learn to anticipate the changes, crises, or problems that may arise and effectively plan to deal with these changes. In this new book, John L. Ward provides comprehensive, practical advice on strategies that will help family firms plan for and survive future growth and changes in the business world. He shows how to maintain growing, healthy, and profitable companies; shape future business directions; prepare new leaders; ensure the support of family members for the firm; help the firm continue from one generation to the next; and balance the needs of the business with the needs of the family. Ward describes how to create strategies for the business and the family and combine them to create a comprehensive plan that resolves such issues as how the firm's assets will be shared and who will succeed the founder. He offers tools for doing market and financial analysis of the firm and its competitors- and gives advice on how to use or reinvest funds to build a stronger firm. Ward discusses alternative strategic plans and shows which businesses and families they are best suited for. And he provides examples of family and business strategic plans, sample strategic planning worksheets, a sample financial analysis of a family firm, and a questionnaire on the values of the business.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars A classic in the field.......2000-05-22

Prof. John Ward is a top writer in the field, and this is a classic. Anyone who is interested by this fascinating subject should read this.

5 out of 5 stars Where to get it.......1998-04-20

Order through Amazon.Com, in paperback reprinted edition, from Business Owner Resources.
Skyscraper Dreams: The Great Real Estate Dynasties of New York
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • A book about doers, that made it happen.
  • Schachtman explains how the Dow Jones bubble will burst.
 Skyscraper Dreams: The Great Real Estate Dynasties of New York
Tom Shachtman
Manufacturer: Little Brown & Co (T)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

GeneralGeneral | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
BusinessBusiness | Professionals & Academics | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
GeneralGeneral | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
GeneralGeneral | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
GeneralGeneral | Real Estate | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
EntrepreneurshipEntrepreneurship | Small Business & Entrepreneurship | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
GeneralGeneral | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
New YorkNew York | State & Local | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:
  1. From the Ground Up: The Business of Building in the Age of Money From the Ground Up: The Business of Building in the Age of Money
  2. Empire: A Tale of Obsession, Betrayal, and the Battle for an American Icon Empire: A Tale of Obsession, Betrayal, and the Battle for an American Icon
  3. Maverick Real Estate Financing: The Art of Raising Capital and Owning Properties Like Ross, Sanders and Carey Maverick Real Estate Financing: The Art of Raising Capital and Owning Properties Like Ross, Sanders and Carey
  4. Shaping the Skyline: The World According to Real Estate Visionary Julien Studley Shaping the Skyline: The World According to Real Estate Visionary Julien Studley
  5. Maverick Real Estate Investing: The Art of Buying and Selling Properties Like Trump, Zell, Simon, and the World's Greatest Land Owners Maverick Real Estate Investing: The Art of Buying and Selling Properties Like Trump, Zell, Simon, and the World's Greatest Land Owners

ASIN: 0316782130

Book Description

“Fascinating history, showing how the city has been molded by the edifice complexes of risk-takers. The stuff of grand comedy.”

—Business Week

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars A book about doers, that made it happen. .......2005-05-25

Skyscraper Dreams

The book Skyscraper Dreams; The Great Real Estate Dynasties of New York by Tom Shachtman covers the dreams and despair of the visionary real estate moguls that built and traded the skyscrapers of New York like Monopoly properties in the board game.

The book visits most big name real estate operators starting with the nineteenth century's John Jacob Astor and the Roosevelts, Beekmans and Rockefellers to the Tishmans, Rudins and Roses who came to this country penniless. Then it moves into the flamboyant developer "Big Bill" Zeckendorph, who they say was the model for Donald Trump. Then there is the master of the real estate universe Harry Helmsley and the Kennedys, Tisches, LeFreks and many others dynasties that made and sometimes lost fortunes in the violent cycles of the New York real estate market.

The concept that hit me the hardest and stayed with me was how Harry Helmsley danced through the decades while building an empire, counting on inflation to make his fortune. He would scoop up properties in tough recessionary markets and count on a turn around that he knew would inevitably come to lift prices and build fortunes. While many of the empire builders in this group stretched and overextended by taking on more projects than could be carried during a slowdown, Harry was slow and steady, over the course of several decades, constantly accumulating income producing properties and running a tight ship, always chipping away at expenses. Many of the names above ran into financial squeezes, even bankruptcy during a real estate slump, often to reinvent themselves, and make remarkable comebacks.

The book gives you a refreshing insight into not only the actions of many real estate icons but the thoughts behind those actions. Sometimes cut thought competitiveness played in pushing architectural limits to add another 100 feet on a building so it's taller than a competitor; other times great compassion played in setting the tone for modern day philanthropy.

It's always a boost to read about an immigrant who came to America on borrowed boat fare and rose through this countries capitalistic society to own some of New Yorks most prized possessions.

I loved the book, it's about doers, people that made it happen!

By Kevin Kingston author of, "A 20,000% Gain in Real Estate"

(...)

5 out of 5 stars Schachtman explains how the Dow Jones bubble will burst........1999-04-20

Never buy a building. That's the rule which allowed penniless refugee families to create the New York skyline over two centuries. People with more money than sense should read Schactman's excellent history of making and keeping family wealth. The obvious message is that land currently not in its "highest and best use" is the fundamental investment vehicle. REIT's are vivid proof that the Wall Street mentality does not comprehend the difference between real and financial assets. We will see a switch from absurd PE's to neglected urban locations . Re-print this important book!
Keep the Family Baggage Out of the Family Business: Avoiding the Seven Deadly Sins That Destroy Family Businesses
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Down-to-earth
  • Anyone with a Family Business must read this!!!
  • Must read for familys who work together
  • More Truth Than Many of Us Want to Admit
  • okay, although I understand that it's the best of it's type
 Keep the Family Baggage Out of the Family Business: Avoiding the Seven Deadly Sins That Destroy Family Businesses
Quentin J Fleming
Manufacturer: Fireside
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Company ProfilesCompany Profiles | Biography & History | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
GeneralGeneral | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
GeneralGeneral | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Decision-Making & Problem SolvingDecision-Making & Problem Solving | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
EntrepreneurshipEntrepreneurship | Small Business & Entrepreneurship | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
GeneralGeneral | Small Business & Entrepreneurship | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:
  1. Perpetuating The Family Business : 50 Lessons Learned from Long Lasting, Successful Families in Business Perpetuating The Family Business : 50 Lessons Learned from Long Lasting, Successful Families in Business
  2. Strategic Planning for the Family Business: Parallel Planning to Unite the Family and Business Strategic Planning for the Family Business: Parallel Planning to Unite the Family and Business
  3. Family Business Succession: The Final Test of Greatness, Second Edition Family Business Succession: The Final Test of Greatness, Second Edition
  4. Keeping The Family Business Healthy: How to Plan for Continuing Growth, Profitability and Family Leadership (Jossey Bass Business and Management Series) Keeping The Family Business Healthy: How to Plan for Continuing Growth, Profitability and Family Leadership (Jossey Bass Business and Management Series)
  5. Developing Family Business Policies: Your Guide to the Future (Family business leadership series) Developing Family Business Policies: Your Guide to the Future (Family business leadership series)

ASIN: 0684856042

Book Description

Family businesses epitomize the best of the American Dream: you work hard, you're your own boss, you leave a lasting legacy to your children -- or do you? Statistics show that only 30% of family businesses survive to the second generation, and a paltry 10% survive to the third generation. Family businesses are in trouble, and their survival is crucial to us all. Their success ensures our country's success -- and their failure can drastically affect our economic health.

In Keep the Family Baggage Out of the Family Business, family business expert Quentin Fleming has identified the Seven Deadly Sins that are invariably responsible for a family business's demise. Keep the Family Baggage Out of the Family Business presents practical and accessible advice geared toward the average family business owner or employee and is an invaluable tool for helping family businesses not only survive but thrive.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Down-to-earth.......2007-03-26

I wish I'd had this book years ago! My husband's family business was recently in bankruptcy and was bought out by another company. They committed practically all of these "deadly sins". The information is practical, appliable, and very real life advice. Heed his warnings!

5 out of 5 stars Anyone with a Family Business must read this!!!.......2007-01-27

I spent ten successful years working for my fathers very successful business. He told me I would take over the business "someday", he had a heart attack and retired but could not give up control. This is VERY common as I learned from this book. I spent the last 3-4 years waiting for him to deal with the future of his business. This book and some others I read finally convinced me to move on with my life. It was a difficult decision, but ultimately freed me to begin my life on my terms. If any owners of a family business are reading this, please read this book and talk with your heirs. Eventually you will die and someone will have to keep your business alive, if they have the desire and interest it may as well be one of your children... This was the best of the family business books I read (I made it through 6). Good luck!!!

5 out of 5 stars Must read for familys who work together.......2006-01-25

This book, in a very neutral way, captures where families can go wrong, in the family business. Must read for all generations, both in and out of the business. Even if things are going great right now, read this book!

4 out of 5 stars More Truth Than Many of Us Want to Admit.......2004-05-16

As a family business counselor and consumate reader, I continually look for new materials that can help clients--family members and non-family managers--better understand the family business enterprises in which they are employed...or enmeshed.

The title of this book turned me off. I know of no family business that can avoid the "socalled 7 deadly sins." Family baggage is part of family business.

Nonetheless, I recommend the book. My usual use of the book is education of non-family managers who work for family business. My favorite reading references for professional managers are by John L. Ward: Keeping the Family Business Healthy, and his revised, expanded update, Strategic Planning for the Family Business.

Family members may be willing to read the book, although I have limited experience with that. I would refer them to books like Working With The Ones You Love by Dennis Jaffe.

4 out of 5 stars okay, although I understand that it's the best of it's type.......2003-05-13

Depending upon the health of your family (and family business) most of this book does not really apply. The author also openly states that. However, he does say that it only takes one of the "7 sins" to take down a family business and it does allow for some forewarning of things that should be avoided.

He does cover a lot of ground, including immigrant businesses, a good section on succession of the business, and touches on both small and large family businesses.

I found quite a bit of it to also be his sales pitch, implying that every family business should hire, in the foreground or background, a consultant, a lawyer, an accountant, and possibly a therapist =D

Overall, it's an okay book covering topics which hopefully most people are aware of and warning you about things you may not be. If you are facing problems, this book may help you either diagnose it yourself or he suggests things to look for in an outsider to help you diagnose it.

Good luck!
The Family Business Conflict Resolution Handbook
Average customer rating: Not rated
    		The Family Business Conflict Resolution Handbook

    Manufacturer: Family Business Publishing Company
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

    ManagementManagement | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
    GeneralGeneral | Parenting | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
    Conflict ManagementConflict Management | Relationships | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
    Similar Items:
    1. The Dynamics of Family Business: Building Trust and Resolving Conflict The Dynamics of Family Business: Building Trust and Resolving Conflict

    ASIN: 096737457X

    Book Description

    Every business family has its share of disagreements...but not every one knows how to resolve them.

    That's why the editors of Family Business Magazine have developed The Family Business Conflict Resolution Handbook.

    Filled with real-life examples, written by experts -- advisors and company owners alike -- it focuses on the myriad special problems that beset family companies and presents innumerable strategies, skills and practical techniques to solve them.
    Against All Odds: The Story of the Toyota Motor Corporation and the Family That Created It
    Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    • Excellent read!!!
    • Toyota Production system (TPS)
    • I thought the book was a facinating read
    • This book is loaded with the history of Toyota.
    		 Against All Odds: The Story of the Toyota Motor Corporation and the Family That Created It
    Yukiyasu Togo , and William Wartman
    Manufacturer: St Martins Pr
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

    Company ProfilesCompany Profiles | Biography & History | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
    EconomicsEconomics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books | Agricultural | Commercial Policy | Comparative | Consolidation & Merger | Cooperatives | Debt & Deficits | Development & Growth | Econometrics | Economic Conditions | Economic History | Economic Policy & Development | Exports & Imports | Free Enterprise | Inflation | International | Labor & Industrial Relations | Macroeconomics | Microeconomics | Money & Monetary Policy | Natural Resources | Privatization | Public Finance | Statistics | Sustainable Development | Theory | Unemployment | Urban & Regional
    GeneralGeneral | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
    Production & OperationsProduction & Operations | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
    JapanJapan | Asia | History | Subjects | Books
    IndustryIndustry | Automotive | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
    ForeignForeign | Automotive | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
    GeneralGeneral | Transportation | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
    Similar Items:
    1. The Toyota Way The Toyota Way

    ASIN: 0312097336

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars Excellent read!!!.......2007-06-15

    I simply loved the book. The history of "Toyoda"....does a great job of describing the Japanese culture from the early 1900's to the 1980's. Although Toyota is the subject....the reader is exposed to the resilience of the Japanese people. Sakichi Toyoda is a rural country boy destined to be a carpenter like his father. He chooses a different path and becomes one of the greatest inventors in the world. He conceivably is the first author of the "Six Sigma" methodology using the "5 Whys" problem solving method (fixing the source of the problem). His son Kiichiro Toyoda is obsessed with manufacturing cars and bankrupts an empire trying to build them. The spawn of this failure is born after World War II. While basically bankrupt, Toyota built and sold trucks to the US for the war in Korea. The Marshall plan infused the company with money and engineering. The result: Toyota Motor Company the Worlds largest Automaker. The story covers everything from the loom factories to the creation of Lexus....a must read for anyone who loves history.

    5 out of 5 stars Toyota Production system (TPS).......2002-03-30

    Excellent book. Highly recommond for any one who would like to know "What is TPS?". As you see in this book one can try to copy a system but to understand and implement the philosophy behind such a system is very very difficult. Once you start reading it you will not put it down till you finish.

    5 out of 5 stars I thought the book was a facinating read.......1999-03-10

    I thought the book was as informative as interesting. I learned a lot about Toyota, and management in general. More impressive was the writing I could not put this book down. It was exiting from start to finish.

    5 out of 5 stars This book is loaded with the history of Toyota........1997-11-13

    This book will open your eyes to the unique story of men and machines in Japan, USA and Europe. There are also accurate accounts of the history of the automotive industry in the early days. You will come to realize a new appreciation for the honor and ethics of the Toyoda family and the companies and systems they founded and developed.
    Smart Growth: Critical Choices for Family Business Continuity
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      		Smart Growth: Critical Choices for Family Business Continuity
      Ernesto J Poza , and Ernesto J. Poza
      Manufacturer: University Publishers
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Hardcover
      ASIN: 0964510510
      Passing the Torch: Succession, Retirement, and Estate Planning in Family-Owned Businesses
      Average customer rating: Not rated
        		Passing the Torch: Succession, Retirement, and Estate Planning in Family-Owned Businesses
        Mike Cohn
        Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Companies
        ProductGroup: Book
        Binding: Paperback

        GeneralGeneral | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
        Systems & PlanningSystems & Planning | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
        New Business EnterprisesNew Business Enterprises | Small Business & Entrepreneurship | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
        Tax PlanningTax Planning | Taxes | Accounting | Industries & Professions | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
        Civil ProcedureCivil Procedure | Procedures & Litigation | Law | Subjects | Books
        Civil ProcedureCivil Procedure | Procedures & Litigation | Law | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
        Similar Items:
        1. Keep or Sell Your Business: How to Make the Decision Every Private Company Faces Keep or Sell Your Business: How to Make the Decision Every Private Company Faces
        2. Family Business Succession: The Final Test of Greatness, Second Edition Family Business Succession: The Final Test of Greatness, Second Edition

        ASIN: 0070116040

        Book Description

        Passing the Torch is for growing numbers of business owners and entrepreneurs who realize the need to begin planning for the orderly transition or sale of the family business. The book shows businesspeople and their advisors how to put together a plan that ensures financial security for the owner, his or her family, and-eventually-heirs. Family business expert Mike Cohn clearly explains all the options for planning a smooth, orderly transfer of the business to family, key employees, or outside third parties. He shares valuable insights into wills, trusts, insurance, value shifting, value freezing, and discusses the role of partnerships and joint ventures in succession strategies. His sensitive treatment of emotionally charged issues-letting go, resolving family conflicts, and deciding whether to sell to outsiders-promotes confident decison-making.

        Books:

        1. Custody for Fathers : A Practical Guide Through the Combat Zone of a Brutal Custody Battle
        2. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV-TR Fourth Edition (Text Revision)
        3. Elementary Teacher's Discipline Problem Solver: A Practical A-Z Guide for Managing Classroom Behavior Problems
        4. Facing the Wolf: Inside the Process of Deep Feeling Therapy
        5. Family Therapy Sourcebook: Second Edition
        6. FEMININE MISTAKE, THE: ARE WE GIVING UP TOO MUCH?
        7. For Men Only: A Straightforward Guide to the Inner Lives of Women
        8. For One More Day
        9. For One More Day
        10. Get Ready! For Standardized Tests : Grade 5

        Books Index

        Books Home

        Recommended Books

        1. Recursive Methods in Economic Dynamics
        2. History: Fiction or Science
        3. Accounting and Finance for Non-Specialists
        4. Escape!: The Story of the Great Houdini
        5. Essentials of Modern Business Statistics
        6. Notes from the Hyena's Belly: An Ethiopian Boyhood
        7. History: Fiction or Science
        8. Accounting for Changing Prices: Replacement Cost and General Price Level Adjustments
        9. Competition and the World Economy: Comparing Industrial Development Policies in the Developing and T
        10. Practical Approach To Toxicologic Investigations