Entrepreneurs in Every Generation: How Successful Family Businesses Develop Their Next Leaders

by Allan Cohen, Pramodita Sharma Narrated by Tiffany Williams

Overview

Discover What Makes Family Businesses Beat the Odds and Thrive over Generations

Families are complicated; family businesses even more so. Like other companies, family-run enterprises must develop leadership and entrepreneurial skills. But they must also manage family dynamics that rarely mirror the best practices in the latest Harvard Business Review.

Allan Cohen and Pramodita Sharma, scholars with deep professional and personal roots in family businesses, show how enterprising families can transmit the hunger for excellence across generations. Using examples of firms that flourished and those that failed, they describe the practices that characterize entrepreneurial individuals, families, and organizations and offer pragmatic advice that can be tailored to your unique situation.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

It was very hard for me to put the book down. Growing up in an entrepreneurial family, so much rings so true. I wonder had I read this years ago how my life might have been different. The book documents so much of what our family is living through! It has lots of great ideas for preparing the next generation to continue their roles as stewards of the brands and family participants.”
—William S. Fisher, Board Member, Gap Inc.

“Allan Cohen and Dita Sharma have written a highly insightful, clear, and pragmatic argument that innovation in family companies is essential for multigenerational success. This will help families understand how to innovate in every generation and how to develop leaders who can bring about needed change in the family business.”
—John Davis, Chair, Families in Business Program, Harvard Business School, and Chairman, Cambridge Advisors to Family Enterprise

“The entrepreneurial spirit in my family and our business has been one of the most important factors in our continued success through six generations. Finally, a book that not only acknowledges the importance of entrepreneurship to the long-term success of family businesses but also provides a practical guide to families who want to keep that entrepreneurial spark alive from generation to generation. This book is a joy to read and will transform the way you think about families in business.” 
—Sylvia Shepard, former Chair and Founder, Smith Family Council, Menasha Corporation, fifth generation

“This is the clearest and most comprehensive list I have ever come across of all the key practices necessary to ensure the development of the entrepreneurial spirit in every generation. This ‘Magna Carta’ of transgenerational entrepreneurship should be made compulsory reading for all members of family businesses.”
—Cyril Camus, fifth-generation owner and CEO, House of CAMUS Cognac

“I am so excited to see that finally a book has been written on entrepreneurship through generations. Entrepreneurship is generally abundant in the founder, and somehow the desire to do something different starts to fade away with the next generations. In my family I encourage and support entrepreneurship for the next generation.”
—Surya Jhunjhnuwala, founder and Managing Director, Naumi Hotels, Singapore

“Cohen and Sharma adopt a distinctive structure that advances the discussion of entrepreneurial issues in families and includes chapters that describe what to do and how to go about doing it. The text is inspired by research evidence and introduces key concepts that are illuminated by some recognizable family business cases drawn from many countries. The research does not clutter the presentation but rather highlights the intellectual origins of the ideas described.”
—Ken Moores, former President, Bond University, and Consultant and Executive Chairman, Moores Family Enterprise, Australia

“Entrepreneurs in Every Generation is an inspiring read. Not only do the authors beautifully tie in the important role entrepreneurship plays in the sustainability of family enterprises, but they also provide real case studies and tools for change. A must-read for business owners and their families.”
—Ramia M. El Agamy, Editor-in-Chief, Tharawat magazine, Dubai and Switzerland

“This new book by two well-respected academics in the family business field integrates insights from psychology, strategy, and change management with cases studies from family companies around the world. An interesting and readable book that is especially useful for next generation family business members.”
—Judy Green, PhD, President, Family Firm Institute

“Cohen and Sharma shed light on the key points needed to ignite the entrepreneurial spark within generations. They bundle this up in a beautiful and interactive way. A great read!”
—Willy Lin, Managing Director, Milo’s Knitwear and Milo’s Manufacturing, Hong Kong, second generation

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171711160
Publisher:	Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Publication date:	06/06/2016
Edition description:	Unabridged

Read an Excerpt

Foreword

The field of family business is undergoing dramatic change. The definition of success now surpasses firm survival and continuity to include family success. The family business field also recognizes that family success and sustainability increasingly embrace other forms of collective family purpose—joint philanthropy, new businesses, family offices, family cohesion, learning, and fun.

While most all family business writings focus on the business and/or the family, Entrepreneurs in Every Generation shows readers how success is assuring next generation entrepreneurial leadership in three dimensions: the business, the owning family, and the organization that nurtures both. Applying the entrepreneurial mind-set to all three dimensions, authors Allan Cohen and Pramodita Sharma define the challenges and the role for leadership; applying the entrepreneurial mind-set in all three dimensions is what sets family enterprises apart.

This book captures fresh insights by going beyond best practices. Viewed through the diverse lenses of the authors themselves, cases from all over the world are exciting to study and compelling to replicate. But the book goes further. In each dimension it not only reviews best practices, but it also urges special attention to the uniqueness of context. Even further, it guides the reader through helpful work sheets on how to understand and adapt to context. Fo r e w o r d xii Entrepreneurs in Every Generation

By examining how evolving and improving organizational practices fuel sustainability, the book’s lessons provide special insight into the art of continuity, providing actionable ideas on what successful entrepreneurs do and how they do it. By using the example of past generations to light the way for succeeding generations, nextgeneration entrepreneurial leaders can maximize the benefits of a family enterprise culture. The authors stimulate by highlighting many values that drive sustainability. Some of the values that stand out in their cases are

stewardship;
long-term thinking;
attending to all stakeholders;
innovation;
adding value to customers;
hunger for excellence;
continuous improvement;
and walking in the shoes of others.

These common values remind readers that there are many age-old truths to synthesize with the new insights for next generation entrepreneurs.

Perhaps the biggest challenge for family leaders is how to lead change in a densely developed and long-established organization and/or family system. To address this challenge, the authors introduce a powerful and succinct model for leading change—the “Iron Laws of Influence for Enterprising Families.”

Pramodita Sharma and Allan Cohen are thought leaders in the new field of family enterprise, or enterprising families. Entrepreneurs in Every Generation champions growth—business growth, family growth, and organizational growth. Next-generation leaders have the talent to find the new ways to create that growth.

John L. Ward, Clinical Professor of Family Enterprises
Center for Family Enterprises
Kellogg School of Management
Chicago, USA

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