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Family Business

March 1, 2005

According to recent research, family firms have stronger ‘people’ values than non-family firms and are more likely to put customers and employees ahead of profits.

According to recent research, family firms have stronger 'people' values than non-family firms and are more likely to put customers and employees ahead of profits. This doesn't mean they lose any competitive advantage, argues John Ward, Wild Group Professor of Family Business at IMD in Switzerland and Professor of Family Enterprises at Kellogg School of Management.

Rollercoaster ride to reach an ideal governance system

January 1, 2005

The Scotch whisky firm William Grant and Sons is a beacon of good practice in family governance. But this was a hard-won system that has evolved since 1998. Bill Gordon gives some inspiring insights into a bumpy journey that ended in a stable destination

Bill Gordon was chairman of William Grant & Sons' family council for five years

Global greetings

January 1, 2005

From selling postcards in his room at the Kansas City YMCA in the early 20th century, Joyce Hall’s greetings card empire has become a financial giant. Hallmark has also been dubbed a ‘magical place to work’. Scott McCulloch discovers the secrets of its success

From selling postcards in his room at the Kansas City YMCA in the early 20th century, Joyce Hall's greetings card empire has become a financial giant. Hallmark has also been dubbed a 'magical place to work'. Scott McCulloch discovers the secrets of its success

Beating the odds

January 1, 2005

The Simon family’s Publishers Printing Company has held its own against the corporate giants for some time. Loyal employees and reinvested profits have played no small part in the success, as Jim Grote discovers

Jim Grote is a development officer and freelance business writer in Louisville, Kentucky, jimgrote@hotmail.com

The Simon family's Publishers Printing Company has held its own against the corporate giants for some time. Loyal employees and reinvested profits have played no small part in the success, as Jim Grote discovers

Not-so hidden champion

January 1, 2005

The Jenkins family parted ways with OFEX in a media frenzy that exposed anti-family business sentiment. But family principal Jonathan is every inch his father’s son – he remains committed to championing the cause of enterprise. Melanie Stern reports

Melanie Stern is section editor of Families in Business magazine.

The Jenkins family parted ways with OFEX in a media frenzy that exposed anti-family business sentiment. But family principal Jonathan is every inch his father's son – he remains committed to championing the cause of enterprise. Melanie Stern reports

Someone – a distinguished captain of industry whose name and exact words escape memory – once said that a successful entrepreneur is one who manages to keep bouncing back from business failures.

Mature, complex & plenty of notes

January 1, 2005

Marchesi de Frescobaldi may be one of the world’s oldest winemaking dynasties, but that hasn’t stopped the family business from grabbing the mantle of modernisation with gusto. Scott McCulloch reports

Scott Mcculloch is editor of Families in Business magazine.

Marchesi de Frescobaldi may be one of the world's oldest winemaking dynasties, but that hasn't stopped the family business from grabbing the mantle of modernisation with gusto. Scott McCulloch reports

Bloodlines and the new UK economy

January 1, 2005

Family firms represent around half the output of the UK’s privately-held economy. Even so, Grant Gordon believes there’s scope for improvement

Grant Gordon is director general of the Institute for Family Business (UK). www.ifb.org.uk.

Family firms represent around half the output of the UK's privately-held economy. Even so, Grant Gordon believes there's scope for improvement

Family firms are an important part of the backbone of the UK economy and the primary constituency where they are represented is in the small business sector. A Barclay's Bank survey carried out in 2002 noted that three in five firms with turnover of £5m or less are owned or managed by related family members.

With this ring I thee tax

January 1, 2005

Family businesses face continued uncertainty over their tax affairs

Scott Mcculloch is editor of Families in Business.

Family businesses face continued uncertainty over their tax affairs

Never has Britain's taxman been the source of so much pillow talk since a mild mannered Sussex couple were slapped with a stinging £42,000 tax bill. Their crime? They were a family business who shared their wealth.

How to manage family wealth for the next generation

January 1, 2005

Johan Lambrecht and Diane Arijs are respectively director and scientific researcher of the Research Centre for Entrepreneurship, EHSAL-KU Brussel in Brussels.

"Any fool can make a fortune. It takes a man of brains to hold on to it after it is made."

Do good governance practices really make a difference?

January 1, 2005

It takes a lot more than entrepreneurial spirit to sustain a family and its long-term business success – vision, values and planning also play a role. The key, as Amy Braden discovers, is integrating them

Amy Braden is a managing director of JPMorgan Private Bank and head of its Family Wealth Centre in New York. www.jpmorgan.com/privatebank

Wealthy families with problems – business disputes, wayward children, expensive divorces – make for tasty media fare. What you won't often find in the news, however, are the families who have mastered the delicate art of successfully stewarding collective wealth for the benefit of family and society alike.