Family Enterprise Sustainability
Sustainability, a term easily applied to the environment, can also be equally applied to families who seek to sustain their family capital across generations. We guide families in their efforts to prioritize their needs and develop their ability to sustain their family and its assets over time.
We have created an online “Sustainability Index” that helps families define how they fit along the five major dimensions that comprise sustainability: Family Legacy and Connection; Governance Structure and Processes; Financial Accountability and Management; Human Capital and Leadership Development; and Generosity and Gratitude. As a result, they are better able to answer a central question: “Is my family enterprise prepared to bridge multiple generations in an enduring manner?”
Articles
FAMILY ENTERPRISE in the center of it all
In the January 2021 issue of Trusts and Estates magazine, Fredda Herz Brown and Patricia M. Angus explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on family businesses. Read the Article >>
Sustaining Family enterprise and resilience
This article that appeared in Trusts and Estates, March 2017 focuses on the 5 dimensions for family enterprise sustainability and resilience. Read the Article >>
HOW TO MAKE LEMONADE: BUILDING RESILIENCE IN CHALLENGING TIMES
Carolyn Greenspon and Rebecca Meyer discuss how big challenges present a great opportunity for families and family enterprises to build resilience so that they can survive and thrive together. Read the Article>>
A Development Plan for the Next Generation
In the January 2012 edition of Family Business Magazine, Relative Solutions principal Fran Lotery details critical questions that emerge as family enterprises anticipate a future generational transition, including:
What does the next generation need to be prepared for?
How big is this challenge, and how will it be met?
What is the priority? Is it to develop the human capital of the family or future leaders, or a combination of both?
Case Studies
Maximizing Resources: Vision and Mission
A third generation garment importer employed five cousins, all of whom earned modest but equal salaries. Substantial dividends were also paid to shareholders, which included non-working cousins. Read the Case Study >>
Reconnecting Family Branches after Business Related Separation
A number of years after their business was sold to a single sibling business leader, several cousins wanted to reconnect with cut-off branches. Read the Case Study>>