Conflict Resolution & Family Relations

Into every life a little rain must fall, and in the evolution of the family business, nearly everything in the realm of family relations that can go wrong sooner or later does. Drugs and alcohol, death, divorce, disinterest, ineptitude, even crime at one end of the spectrum, jealousy, dislike, disinheritance, a fierce reluctance to give up the reins of leadership, and many other challenges, at the other . . . How does the successful family business deal with and resolve conflict?

Is it time for outside help? Would a counselor or special expert advisor or psychologist make sense? Are the conflicts what they seem or merely the symptoms of deeper issues? Who can a family turn to for help, while maintaining or even growing the business and establishing a level of confidentiality and trust that permits wounds to be aired and healing to take place? This timeless theme has been the subject of literally hundreds of articles in Family Business Magazine over the past two decades.