Developing Family Business Policies Your Guide to the Future

Developing policies to guide decision making can help the family business avoid serious problems. When everyone in the family understands the basis for decision making there is very little room for feeling slighted-- yet few businesses take the time to work together to develp their policies. The authors provide a step-by-step process for engaing family members in developing policies which cover issues such as: dealing with conflicts of interest; retirement timing; distribution of profits; loan programs; compensation and succession.

Craig E. Aronoff is Co-founder, Principal Consultant, and Chairman of the Board of the Family Business Consulting Group, Inc., the founder of the Cox Family Enterprise Center, and current Professor Emeritus at Kennesaw State University. He invented and implemented the membership-based, professional-service-provider sponsored Family Business Forum, which has served as a model of family business education for universities world-wide. Joseph H. Astrachan is Wachovia Eminent Scholar Chair of Family Business, Executive Director of the Cox Family Enterprise Center, and one of the founders of the executive MBA for Families in Business at the Coles College of Business, Kennesaw State University. He is editor of the scientific journal, Journal of Family Business Strategy, and immediate past editor of Family Business Review. John L. Ward is Co-founder of the Family Business Consulting Group, Inc. He is Clinical Professor at the Kellogg School of Management and teaches strategic management, business leadership, and family enterprise continuity.