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- February 21, 2025
- Article
How a Company’s Ownership Model Shapes the Mistakes It Makes
By: Josh Baron
Why do some companies continue to thrive for decades and others die after an initial run of success? Like many kinds of accidents, company failure is generally the consequence of cascading effects that combine to overwhelm a previously effective strategy. But the... View Details
- 2025
- Working Paper
Why Companies Thrive Or Die: Ownership and the Path to Perpetuation
By: Josh Baron
Why do some companies continue to thrive for decades and others die after an initial run of success? Much like an airplane accident, company failure is generally the consequence of cascading effects that combine together to overwhelm a previously effective strategy.... View Details
- May 11, 2020
- Article
Steer Your Family Businesses Through an Unplanned Transition
By: Josh Baron and Nick Di Loreto
In a perfect world, family businesses will transition leadership from one generation to the next along a predictable and well-planned process — whether that’s determined within the business, the ownership group, or the family itself — passing the baton after years of... View Details
- April 27, 2020
- Article
A Crisis Playbook for Family Businesses
By: Josh Baron and Ben Francois
In a business crisis, the power of family business owners is magnified. Unlike public companies, which typically focus on maximizing shareholder value, family owners value objectives that usually go well beyond financial returns (e.g., family legacy, reputation). This... View Details
- April 15, 2015
- Article
What to Do If a Feud Threatens Your Family Business
By: Josh Baron and Rob Lachenauer
- September 26, 2022
- Article
Is Your Family Office Built for the Future?
By: Josh Baron and Rob Lachenauer
Family offices can provide a number of benefits, including privacy, customization, and having your own team to handle a wide range of services, such as guiding family philanthropy, managing shared properties, or even managing household help. Successful principals in... View Details
- September 12, 2022
- Article
Merit or Inherit: How to Approach Succession in a Family Business
By: Josh Baron
One of the most critical questions facing family businesses is how to treat the next generation. They are clearly different from other employees, as current or potential owners of the company, whose wealth and reputation are on the line. On the flip side, most parents... View Details
- July 19, 2021
- Article
Do Most Family Businesses Really Fail by the Third Generation?
By: Josh Baron and Rob Lachenauer
Perhaps the most commonly-cited statistic about family businesses is their failure rates. Most articles or speeches about family businesses start with some version of the “three-generation rule,” which suggests that most don’t survive beyond three generations. But that... View Details
- January–February 2021
- Article
A Culture of Continuity Is Key to Family Business Longevity
By: Josh Baron and Rob Lachenauer
- January–February 2021
- Article
Build a Family Business That Lasts
By: Josh Baron and Rob Lachenauer
Judging from how they’re portrayed in the media, it would be easy to dismiss family businesses as hotbeds of power-playing, backstabbing, and favor-currying, ultimately destined to fail; think of the Murdochs and News Corp, or the Redstones and National Amusements, to... View Details
- 2021
- Book
Harvard Business Review Family Business Handbook: How to Build and Sustain a Successful, Enduring Enterprise
By: Josh Baron and Rob Lachenauer
Navigate the complex decisions and critical relationships necessary to create and sustain a healthy family business--and business family. Though "family business" may sound like it refers only to mom-and-pop shops, businesses owned by families are among the most... View Details
- August 23, 2019
- Article
Every Business Owner Should Define What Success Looks Like
By: Josh Baron and Vlad Barbieri
Owners need to decide between growth, liquidity, and control. View Details
- January 15, 2019
- Article
Is Your Company's Strategy Aligned with Your Ownership Model?
By: Josh Baron
The legacy of Vanguard founder John Bogle has brought attention to the transformative influence of ownership structures within the business world. Bogle's revolutionary insight into the limitations of active fund management led to the widespread adoption of index... View Details
- December 26, 2018
- Article
Why Family Businesses Need to Find the Right Level of Conflict
By: Josh Baron
Many families avoid conflict because it makes them uncomfortable. For families that own and manage businesses, this is a problem. Conflict avoidance leads people to avoid difficult–but necessary–conversations and decisions. Instead of avoiding conflict, the people who... View Details
- May 29, 2018
- Article
Building Your Own Network When You're Part of a Family Business
By: Josh Baron and Judy Lin Walsh
- November 6, 2017
- Article
The Common Traps of Working in Your Family's Business
By: Josh Baron
When your family’s name is on the door, you will never just be one of the gang — and everything you do could be fodder for the office rumor mill. Your actions are amplified because of your status in the company, and even seemingly small gestures can unintentionally... View Details
- April 7, 2017
- Article
Signs You’re Losing Control of Your Family Business
By: Josh Baron and Rob Lachenauer
These red flags signal the need to reassert authority. View Details
- 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