The Family Business Succession Handbook
The original Family Business Succession Handbook, published in 1997, was so successful that every copy was sold. This completely revised edition, featuring up-to-the-minute content, serves as a critical guide to the many issues that arise when a family-owned firm looks to transfer leadership to the next generation. This all-new handbook includes advice from leading family business researchers and consultants as well as real-life family business leaders.
“The Family Business Succession Handbook is an indispensable resource for family business owners. The information explores all aspects of the succession process — from initial planning through installing a well-prepared leader in the role of family business owner—as well as the many issues such a transition generates among all family members. The real-world experiences included in the profiles are invaluable."
—Dick Emens, Executive Director, Conway Family Business Center of Central Ohio
“The topics in The Family Business Succession Handbook cover a wide range of issues for many stages of corporate development. The handbook format is extremely user-friendly, as it is very easy for readers to find the situations they are interested in.”
—Larry Colin, Principal, Faminomic$ LLC, Alpharetta, GA; co-author of Family, Inc. and advisory board member, Stetson University Family Enterprise Center
1. Planning for the transition
- The jigsaw puzzle of succession planning - Mike Cohn
- Succession is one key to strategic renewal - Ellen Frankenberg
- The family dramas of succession and inheritance - Dennis T. Jaffe
- How to prepare your family for the succession process - Jane Hilburt-Davis
- Education is key to succession preparedness - Ivan Lansberg
- Succession logistics are not the main focus - Andrew Keyt
- Financial implications for family business transition - Norbert E. Schwarz
- Avoid the pitfalls of trust planning - Domingo P. Such III and Ryan M. Harding
- Non-financial challenges for successors and stakeholders - Joe Paul and Sam Lane
- Facing reality prevents nightmare scenarios - Henry C. Krasnow and Kay Vogt
- Leadership development and succession execution - Fred G. Steingraber
- Creating a plan for succession in the event of an emergency - Keith L. Alm
2. Choosing the successor
- Making the right choice for a family successor - Dennis T. Jaffe
- Don't pin all your hopes on one family successor - Barry S. Cain
- Profile: Deciding for themselves - Margaret Steen
- Family business daughters' leadership potential - Sharon Nelton
- Can a non-family successor add value to your business? - James Olan Hutcheson
- Profile: My son-in-law, the successor - Larry Hollar
- What if the successor isn't working out? - Jane Hilburt-Davis
3. Learning to lead
- The secrets of successful family business successors - Dean Fowler
- Don't take the easy way out - James Olan Hutcheson
- Family enterprise leaders need extra social skills - Fredda Herz Brown and Fran Lotery
- Making the leap from doer to leader - Ivan Lansberg
- Success without outside experience - Stan Luxenberg
- Seniors and successors working together - Sharon Nelton
- Profile: Finding my own path - David Weiss
4. Stepping up
- Negotiating a rise to the top - Debbie Bing
- Selling the business to the successors - Stan Luxenberg
- Seniors: Proceed cautiously when advising successors - James E. Barrett
- When the successors don't take charge - Aldonna R. Ambler
- Managing the relationship with shareholders - Ivan Lansberg
- Profile: Breaking the mold - Kristi P. Wetherington
- Profile: Succession surprises - Sandra Westlund-Deenihan
- Profile: Amid tragedy, reconstructing records - Kathryn Levy Feldman
- Profile: Keeping the company on the right track - Julie Copeland
- Profile: The gift of good-bye - Lynda Barness
5. Working as partners
- Sibling partnerships involve insight and foresight - Ellen Frankenberg
- Profile: Siblings carry on the Vanderbilt legacy - Jonathan Poston
- Shared power: Look out for landmines - James E. Barrett
- Blood is not enough - Joe Paul
- Cousin collaborations require a change in board design - John L. Ward
- The challenges of a large shareholder group - David Klett and Ralph Wiechers
- Keeping titles in their proper perspective - Ivan Lansberg
- Leading the family - Sharon Nelton
Resources