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Succeeding Generations: Realizing the Dream of Families in Business
by Ivan Lansberg
Hardcover - 379 pages (July 1999)
Harvard Business School Press; ISBN: 0875847420
Book Description
Finding the right successor to a well-loved founder or president
is often the most difficult task an organization can face-and the
challenge is often even greater for family-run businesses. Succeeding
Generations explores leadership transitions in family businesses,
offering a clear-eyed assessment of the different options, from
direct succession to building partnerships between siblings and
cousins.
Family-owned companies may 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, examines the reasons behind this high failure
rate, and reveals the factors that contribute to long-term success.
Succeeding Generations offers a framework for understanding the
succession process, as Lansberg highlights the need for families
to share a "dream" much like a business has a vision.
He also offers practical 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. With a
wealth of examples from companies in the U.S., Europe, and Latin
America, Succeeding Generations provides a thoughtful and comprehensive
look at the sensitive dynamics of leadership succession in family
businesses.
Planning for continuity is a life-long process for families in
business, and Succeeding Generations is the first book to provide
in-depth answers to the questions that arise at every stage in the
evolution of the family firm.
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