Harvard Business Review Family Business Handbook

Your Comprehensive Resource for Thriving Family Enterprises

“Family businesses are not for the faint of heart. Even in the best of situations, the complex relationships between family and business are hard to navigate. The authors of The Harvard Business Review Family Business Handbook bring the experience, insight, and wisdom to help families wrestle through hard decisions and land in better places.

I highly recommend this book.”

Bill Haslam, Haslam Family Capital, former Governor of Tennessee and President of Pilot Flying J 
Four Room Model

Section 1: Cracking the Code of Your Family Business

How to decode your family business by understanding the influences of key individuals, multi-dimensional relationships, and system dynamics.

5 Rights of Owners

Section 2:

The Five Rights of Family Owners

The core work that needs to be done in any family business to continue its lasting legacy, including:

  • Designing the right form of ownership
  • Building the right governance structures
  • Developing an “Owner Strategy”
  • Creating an approach to communication
  • Establishing your transition plan
Owner Strategy Triangle

Section 3: Challenges You Will Face

The core challenges you may face in your family firm:

  • Preparing for the inevitable disruptions to your family business
  • Succeeding while working in your family business
  • Setting a Family Employment Policy
  • Managing your family’s wealth responsibly
  • Getting the level of conflict just right
  • Building a family office
  • Minimizing the risk of losing what you have built
Four Room Model
5 Rights of Owners
Owner Strategy Triangle

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Reviews

4.7 stars on Amazon, see what readers are saying

“WOW!!! This is a must read. Running a 4th generation family business, I have read A LOT of books on the subject. Hands down The HBR Family Business Handbook is the most succinct, applicable and useful of them all. I read it cover to cover. This will be a dog-eared book on my bookshelf and referenced often. Easy to read, but full of substance, the handbook covers everything you need to guide your family business across generations!”

Dr. Jodi Berg

4th generation President & CEO, Vitamix

“Want your family business to endure, not just for years, but for generations? This is the book for you! Baron and Lachenauer fully understand the challenges and opportunities of family businesses and provide excellent and actionable guidance and advice. As a mother and daughter in a 5th generation family business, we know such guidance is invaluable. This Handbook is approachable and a great resource for every generation.”

Pamela Mars Wright and Charlotte Rossetter

4th and 5th generation Mars family 

“The Harvard Business Review Family Business Handbook is a must-read for family business owners, family members, advisors and employees. Easy (and dare I say fun!) to read, the authors mix great storytelling with actionable guidance and advice. Highly recommend!”

Robert Pasin

CEO of 3rd generation family business Radio Flyer

“Family businesses are not for the faint of heart. Even in the best of situations, the complex relationships between family and business are hard to navigate. The authors of The Harvard Business Review Family Business Handbook bring the experience, insight, and wisdom to help families wrestle through hard decisions and land in better places. I highly recommend this book.”

Bill Haslam

Haslam Family Capital, former Governor of Tennessee and President of Pilot Flying J

“Our family’s legacy has always been steeped in a foundation of core values and a heart of service. As described in The HBR Family Business Handbook, Banyan’s approach is genuine, thorough, balanced and wholistic, effectively ensuring our legacy is alive vs. historical. The tools, tactics and strategies detailed in the Handbook meaningfully impacted our family’s successful generational transition to the 4th generation and aligned strongly with our philosophy of Values Based Leadership.”

Peter J. Holt and Corinna Holt Richter

4th Generation Owners of HOLT CAT

“Purpose-driven, values-based, people-focused generational family businesses can and do change the world. They create and retain jobs, they enhance communities, and they provide all of their stakeholders with opportunities to pursue work that really matters. But, all of this can only happen if they first run a great business. The Harvard Business Review Family Business Handbook shows you how!” — Steve Shifman, President & CEO of multi-generational family business Michelman

“Family Owned Businesses — the pride of generations of families and, for that matter, all Americans — are the backbone of so many communities. They create vast economic opportunity and value for their owners and employees. The HBR Family Business Handbook lays out in proven fashion the frameworks, tools, and advice that should be instrumental to families to propel their businesses over many multiples of generations. A must read and invaluable resource.”

Douglas R. Oberhelman

Retired Chairman and CEO of Caterpillar Inc.

“Finest book written about family business since the classic "Generation to Generation" “‘Handbook’ does not do this book justice. As a family business advisor I found this book incredibly thoughtful, well-written, clear, concise and extremely helpful. Not only does it dispel outworn myths like "shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves", but it makes a major contribution to the field by focusing on the need for families in business as well as consultants and advisors to pay close attention to the importance of ownership transitions…”

Steven S. Rolfe M.D.

Amazon Reviewer

“This book does a great job of capturing many of the key challenges that a family business faces, and starts laying out the groundwork on how to assess the system's strengths and weaknesses so an appropriate action plan can be developed. I expect this Handbook will also be a useful reference for many of our family members that are less hands-on in the day-to-day work. When you only hear about something like succession planning on an annual basis, it's easy to forget even the basics, and this book can be an accessible refresher for them…”

Albloch

Amazon Reviewer

“Invaluable resource. Great book. Well written, concise and informative. The authors have extensive experience and knowledge they share with us. From our perspective as estate planning attorneys and owners of a small family business this book is an invaluable resource. Well done!”

Mark Nale, John Nale, Nale Law Offices

Amazon Reviewer

“Great Book for Families in Business. One of the best Family Business books I have read.”

Karl M. Weiler

Amazon Reviewer

“This handbook is full of insights, practical advice, and comprehensive discussion on how to handle the challenges unique to family businesses. The authors shared their expertise on dealing with family members/owners as well as the non-family leaders. This book also provided many pieces of wisdom in communicating within the family businesses. This book is highly recommended to those who have family businesses as well as those who work for them.”

Greg

Amazon Reviewer

Also, see the Family Business Handbook’s accompanying Toolkit to help you:
  • Map the complex roles within your family business
  • Find a healthy middle ground where difficult issues can be raised, addressed, and resolved without doing lasting damage to relationships or shared assets
  • Define clear objectives in your family business using an Owner Strategy Statement
  • Construct a deliberate communication strategy, establish a family employment policy, and much more

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