-Articles

Read articles published by LGA’s thought leaders in family business continuity and governance

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When Silence Speaks: Are Family Business Conflicts a Threat or a Source of Strength?

In a family business, conflict is often perceived as a threat to the family’s very core. When siblings disagree, or when parents and children argue about the business, the stakes go far beyond strategy or finances. The deeper fear is that the relationship itself may crack. The possibility that a disagreement could damage the family creates real, often overwhelming anxiety. It can feel like there’s no safe way forward.

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Breaking the Silence: Leadership of Two Truths

Sometimes, the most dangerous moments in the life of a family business are actually the quiet ones. The moments where everyone is smiling around the holiday table, but beneath the surface, unspoken tension simmers. We tend to think that silence is a sign of harmony, but when it stems from the fear of raising explosive topics, it is not harmony, it is a ticking clock.

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Family Governance: Can AI Become Your Trusted Advisor?

The rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not merely a technological shift; it represents a fundamental transformation reshaping every industry across the world. While the precise nature of its impact on the highly nuanced field of family enterprise consulting remains uncertain, change is upon us.

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Why It Took Me Three Years to Finish HBO’s Succession and What It Teaches Us About How Not to Run a Family Enterprise

I tried to watch the award-winning HBO series on numerous occasions, stopping repeatedly, not because it wasn’t brilliant, but because it was brutal. The cynicism, humiliation, and constant power games felt too extreme. For anyone working closely with multi-generational family enterprises, this world of perpetual chaos and zero-sum power felt not only far removed from our reality, but was also a painful mirror reflecting everything that causes a family enterprise to fail.

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A Family Foundation Won’t Fix What Isn’t Working

Before establishing a family foundation for the purpose of collective giving, it is imperative that families consider their ability to find common purpose and work together productively. A collective approach to giving should build on a foundation of social capital, rather than be a driving tool to create it.

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Beyond the Boardroom: A 360 View of the Board Chair in a Family Enterprise

In most businesses, the Board Chair’s role is seen as relatively straightforward: to ensure the Board and its governance committees function properly. However, in family enterprises, this role is far more complex, with responsibilities that go significantly beyond these traditional expectations.

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The Enterprising Family Tree: Nurturing Your Roots for Lasting Growth

Envisioning the family enterprise as a tree allows us to better understand the practical hierarchy at play: the roots represent the foundational family dynamics, the strong trunk embodies the ownership structure, and the expansive canopy symbolizes the diverse business ventures. This visual framework brings new clarity to the dynamic interplay of roles, responsibilities, and priorities across all facets of the family’s enterprise.

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The Power of a Shared Vision in Enterprising Families

Family philanthropy offers families the opportunity to work together in service of a greater good—and in so doing, strengthen family relationships, transform individual participants, and address pressing social problems. But in today’s evolving landscape, family foundations—particularly more established ones—face a critical internal reckoning. More and more in our work with philanthropic families, we see family members questioning their roles and wondering if their contributions are truly meaningful. This introspection, fueled by a growing emphasis on equity and impact, raises a fundamental question: What is the value of our family in our family philanthropy now?

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What is the Value of Family in Family Philanthropy?

Family philanthropy offers families the opportunity to work together in service of a greater good—and in so doing, strengthen family relationships, transform individual participants, and address pressing social problems. But in today’s evolving landscape, family foundations—particularly more established ones—face a critical internal reckoning. More and more in our work with philanthropic families, we see family members questioning their roles and wondering if their contributions are truly meaningful. This introspection, fueled by a growing emphasis on equity and impact, raises a fundamental question: What is the value of our family in our family philanthropy now?

leadership development
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Succession Plans in Asian Family Enterprises

Jeremy Cheng explains in an article published by Bloomberg magazine why the Lui family, an enterprising family in Hong Kong did a good thing in laying down a plan for succession before the patriarch’s death.