ABSTRACT

Meet the JacMar family: successful, committed, and--like every other business family--trying to strike a balance between their professional and personal lives. The JacMars are a composite of actual business families. As Gerald Le Van follows them from the bedroom to the board room, he identifies the key issues and problems faced by every business family today. Le Van, a highly sought-after speaker and consultant, has helped many business families successfully navigate through times of turbulence and transition. In The Survival Guide for Business Families, he makes his secrets available to the public for the first time. He leads the reader step-by-step through thirty-nine questions that everyone involved with a family operated business must address in order to plan for the future. Designed as a self-help book, The Survival Guide for Business Families teaches families to recognize the emotional and organizational work that only they--and not their lawyers, accountants or financial advisors--can do to secure their future. It gives them the communication and coping skills to get through crises, such as a leadership transition. Le Van shows that business families are not alone in their struggle, and that they can not only survive, but prosper.

part One|41 pages

The JacMar Business Family

chapter 1|4 pages

Introducing the JacMars

chapter 2|5 pages

JacMar's Business Profile

chapter 3|7 pages

The Family Dimension

chapter 4|5 pages

Restless Successors and Unspoken Opinions

chapter 5|9 pages

Generational Issues

chapter 6|6 pages

The Family and the Future

chapter 7|3 pages

Today and Tomorrow

part Two|127 pages

The 39 Critical Questions

chapter 8|4 pages

Commitment

chapter 9|5 pages

Keep or Sell?

chapter 10|7 pages

Who's in and Who's out?

chapter 11|11 pages

Growing up Wealthy and Healthy

chapter 12|4 pages

Results Count!

chapter 13|5 pages

Fathers, Sons, and Succession

chapter 14|13 pages

Succession

chapter 15|7 pages

Activating Your Board

chapter 16|10 pages

Reconciling outside and Inside Shareholders

chapter 17|5 pages

Buying Out Family Shareholders

chapter 18|10 pages

Understanding Needs

chapter 19|15 pages

Family Councils and Family Decisions

chapter 20|5 pages

Key Employees

chapter 21|3 pages

The Community

chapter 22|2 pages

Jack's Dream

chapter 23|15 pages

From Questions to Answers

chapter 24|4 pages

To My Successor. . .