Family business is big business
How to structure for success
The number of family businesses is so big that Harvard Business School offers programs, courses, research and training to help families navigate the complicated waters. John Davis, author and senior lecturer at Harvard Business School, advises starting with governance and organizational structure.
Davis summarizes the model as follows:
The family council sets policy for the family and recommends policy that concerns the family to the board (e.g. policy about family employment in the business). The board of directors sets policy for the business and also may make recommendations to the family council in matters that concern the business. These boards and family councils will ideally coordinate their work, but they should not step into each others’ domains.
