Understanding the Four-Room Model

A simple framework for better decision-making starts with a metaphor. Imagine your family business system as a home with four rooms: an Owner Room, a Board Room, a Management Room, and a Family Room. Each room has clear rules about who is allowed inside, what decisions are made there, and how those decisions are made. We call this framework the Four-Room model. It’s a simple but useful way to map out who should make which decisions in your family business. In this video, Josh Baron, Banyan co-founder and co-author of the Harvard Business Review Family Business Handbook, describes the Four-Room Model and the importance of having this kind of structure for decision making.