Publications

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December 2011
Exercise

What We Carry: Success, Failure, and Happiness in Family Systems

By: Timothy Butler

The purpose of this exercise is to enable participants to identify essential career and life themes. The core task of the exercise is to extract themes, images, metaphors and "dynamic tensions" from a list of exciting careers that have been selected from a larger... View Details

Keywords: Family and Family Relationships; Success; Failure; Happiness

March 2023
Case

For God, Family & Steel: Lerman Enterprises

By: Lauren Cohen, Andres Aradillas Fernandez and Grace Headinger

September 2023
Technical Note

Note on Difficult Conversations in the Family Enterprise

By: Christina R. Wing

The best time to have a difficult conversation is, ideally, as soon as possible. Engaging in challenging conversations early can produce beneficial results for several reasons, such as resolving issues, improving communication, preserving relationships, and increasing... View Details

Keywords: Conversation; Family Business; Interpersonal Communication; Conflict and Resolution

October 2024
Case

Reed Group and Succession in a Family Business: An Impossible Job to Fill?

By: Lauren H. Cohen and Tonia Labruyere

James Reed had taken over Reed Group, the recruitment and career services company his father had founded and built, in 1994. He was now reflecting on succession planning and other challenges that lay ahead: with no obvious choice among his family members, he needed to... View Details

Keywords: Charity; Succession Planning; Family Business; Values and Beliefs; Management Succession; Mission and Purpose; Family Ownership; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Family and Family Relationships; Recruitment; AI and Machine Learning; Employment Industry; United Kingdom; London

May 2025
Case

The Micro-Family Office: Aamir Rehman

By: Lauren Cohen and Sophia Pan

With a successful career and strong academic credentials, Aamir Rehman sought to design a life grounded in autonomy. For him, this meant serving on boards, continuing his professorship, and ensuring a secure and comfortable life for his family. While he didn’t possess... View Details

May 2006
Article

How Do Family Ownership, Control, and Management Affect Firm Value?

Keywords: Family Ownership; Business Ventures; Value

Read Now

09 May 2023
Cold Call Podcast

Can Robin Williams’ Son Help Other Families Heal Addiction and Depression?

Keywords: Re: Lauren H. Cohen; Health; Entertainment & Recreation

September 20, 2016
Article

The 5 Models of Family Business Ownership

By: Josh Baron and Rob Lachenauer

Choosing one is among your most important decisions. View Details

December 2022
Case

The Economics of Growing the Cartwright Family

By: Emily R. McComb and Sara L. Fleiss

August 2021 (Revised March 2022)
Teaching Note

Family Matters: Governance at the Zamil Group

By: Christina R. Wing, Suraj Srinivasan and Esel Çekin

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 620-009. View Details

September 2017 (Revised February 2019)
Case

North Forty: Managing a Microsoft Family Office

By: Luis M. Viceira, Cameron Parker and William Simmons

December 2024
Supplement

Trust and Family at Fuwei (C): Bringing Back Ethan Yang

By: Letian Zhang, Wenjie Ma and Jiaqi Jin

July 2005 (Revised August 2005)
Case

Family Governance at the Cousin Consortium Stage (VHS)

By: Courtney Sampson and John A. Davis

Keywords: Governance; Family Business

19 Oct 1997 - 20 Oct 1997
Conference Presentation

Challenges Facing Family Companies in the Gulf Region

By: J. A. Davis, E. Pitts and K. Cormier

Keywords: Family Business; Local Range; Problems and Challenges; Mexico, Gulf of

April 2014
Teaching Note

CP Group: Balancing the Needs of a Family Business with the Needs of a Family of Businesses

By: William C. Kirby and Erica M. Zendell

September 2000
Article

Challenges Facing Family Companies in the Gulf Region

By: John A. Davis

Keywords: Problems and Challenges; Family Business; Global Range

June 2016
Case

Augustine Heard & Co.: Building a Family Business in the China Trade (A)

By: William C. Kirby, Joycelyn W. Eby and John S. Ji

Augustine Heard Sr. founded Augustine Heard & Company, a commission house focused on trade between China and the United States, in 1840. He welcomed his four nephews into the family business as it expanded in the increasingly complex economic and political environment... View Details

Keywords: Exports; China; Commissions; Family Business; Family and Family Relationships; China; Boston

1997
Book

Finding Time: How Corporations, Individuals, and Families Can Benefit from New Work Practices

By: Leslie Perlow

Why do Americans work so hard? Are the long hours spent at work really necessary to increase organizational productivity? Perlow documents the work life of employees who assume that for their own success and the success of their organization they must put in extended... View Details

Keywords: Time Management; Working Conditions; Work-Life Balance; Performance Productivity