Talking About the Family in the Context of the Family Business but Not About the Business

The dining room table in my childhood home was the place for family meetings. That’s where I learned some of “what it means” to have your own business. Undertaken in a more structured way, family meetings are the place where policies get established. It’s where family members learn about the rights and responsibilities that accompany being a business owner and part of a family business. As family businesses develop, family meetings provide the forum for delivering information to stakeholders, whether working in the family business or not, about the state of the business, its financial performance and plans for future growth.

A well-structured family meeting is worth its weight in gold; done poorly it turns to lead.