Family Enterprise Insights
Family enterprises face unique challenges as family relationships, ownership structures, and operating businesses evolve across generations. This collection of articles reflects Generation6’s research and advisory experience, exploring the frameworks and decisions that shape alignment, leadership, and continuity over time.
Explore Thought Leadership by Topic
FAMILY DEVELOPMENT & DYNAMICS
Family relationships shape how effectively governance and ownership systems function over time. These articles examine communication, cohesion, and generational transitions that influence alignment and continuity.
FAMILY & BUSINESS GOVERNANCE
Family enterprise governance defines how decisions are made, roles are clarified, and accountability is sustained across generations. These articles explore governance structures, boards, and frameworks that support alignment and long-term continuity.
FAMILY OFFICE & ENTERPRISE STRUCTURES
Family offices and enterprise structures sit at the intersection of family, ownership, and shared assets. These articles explore how structures are designed and evolve to support coordination, clarity, and long-term performance.
STEWARDSHIP & OWNERSHIP
Ownership in a family enterprise carries responsibilities that extend beyond financial interests. These articles explore ownership roles, decision-making, and the development of capable stewards across generations.
STRATEGY & DECISION-MAKING
Family enterprises face complex strategic and financial decisions shaped by both business realities and family priorities. These articles explore how families approach growth, investment, risk, and long-term decision-making.
ADVISORY APPROACH
Effective advisory in family enterprise requires both structural clarity and relational understanding. These articles reflect how Generation6 works with families, including our philosophy, partnership model, and perspectives on long-term continuity.
Our Recent Articles
People Risk: The Blind Spot in Your Boardroom
How can private boards apply the same analytical rigor to people strategy as they do to succession planning and capital allocation?
What Makes For An Effective Family Constitution?
Many business families have a family constitution – but far fewer have one that truly guides behavior, and even fewer have one that strengthens alignment over time.
Drafting a Shareholder Agreement that Fits Your Family’s Needs
Shareholder agreements are among the most consequential governance tools in a family enterprise. However, few families have a shareholder agreement that truly supports them in becoming the ownership group they aspire to be.
Include the Extended Family in Your Ownership Strategy
Your "owners' strategy" should consider that in the future, the family firm will likely have many more owners. That’s why you might want to take a broader focus when you develop it.
Involve Next-Gens in Developing Your Social Media Policy
Family businesses should consider a social media policy as a relatively “low-hanging fruit” to introduce the next generation to governance work.
Frozen by design: Why your family governance system could keep you stuck in the present
Once established, family governance mechanisms are rarely revisited or evaluated. The result is that family governance gets stuck focusing on the past and present - instead of supporting your family on its journey to where it wants to be.
Case Study: Renewing the family council of a 5th generation business family
How do you keep a shareholder group of dozens, even hundreds of shareholders united and aligned? Family councils can counteract the growing family’s tendencies to grow apart - but they must evolve alongside the family’s changing needs, wants, and objectives.
Selecting and electing family members for governance roles: Why the ‘right’ choice may not always be the obvious one
Should you select family members for governance roles based on family branch or generation, their qualifications, or based on how well-respected they are within the family? Every choice comes with benefits and disadvantages.
Let’s Continue the Conversation
Many of the topics explored in our articles arise directly from conversations with multigenerational families navigating complex transitions.
If your family is considering governance development, leadership transition, or strengthening alignment across generations, we welcome the opportunity to connect.