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Succeeding Generations

Succeeding Generations

Ivan Lansberg · 1999 · 379 pages

ManagementFamily-owned business enterprisesEntreprises familialesGestionBUSINESS & ECONOMICSCorporate & Business History

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About this book

Finding the right successor to a well-loved founder or president is often the most difficult task an organization faces-and the challenge is even greater for family-run businesses. From mom-and-pop grocery stores to vast multinationals, family-owned companies dominate the worldwide business landscape, yet surprisingly few are successfully passed down from one generation to the next, and fewer still reach the third generation intact. Author Ivan Lansberg, an organizational psychologist who grew up in a family business, explores the reasons behind this high failure rate, and reveals the conditions that allow family businesses to endure through the generations. Family enterprises are highly personal, says Lansberg, and many elaborate succession plans are thwarted because deeper psychological factors are overlooked. Lansberg stresses the need for families to share a common "dream" for their company, much like a business has a unified mission. Succeeding Generations helps us to understand all aspects-the practical and the emotional-of the succession process, as Lansberg offers advice on how to mentor successors, how to set up a systematic selection process, and how to make the best use of the board of directors during times of transition. He also provides the first clear assessment of the different options, from direct successions between a parent and a single appointed heir to more complex partnerships between siblings and cousins. With a wealth of examples from companies in the

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