Family Wars: The Real Stories Behind the Most Famous Family Business Feuds

by Grant Gordon, Nigel Nicholson

Overview

Many of the world's greatest businesses are family owned - but with this comes the threat of family feuding, sibling rivalries and petty jealousies. Family Wars takes you behind the scenes on a rollercoaster ride through the ups and downs of some of the biggest family-run companies in the world - and shows how family in-fighting has threatened to bring about their downfall.

Covering families such as Ford, Gucci, McCain, Guinness, Gallo, Redstone and many more, Family Wars is an astonishing exposé of the way families do business and how family arguments and in-fighting can threaten to blow a business apart. Whether it's Brent Redstone's courtcase with his father and sister and his accusation of them "misappropriating millions of dollars", or the family feud over Henry Ford's $350 million trust fund, the book reveals the origins, the extent and finally the resolution of some of the most famous family feuds in recent history.

More than telling the stories behind some of these dramatic showdowns, Family Wars also provides valuable advice and insight for anyone involved with a family-run business. With insight into issues such as board-room power-struggles, family inheritance or the rights to use the family name, the book offers practical suggestions on how similar problems can be contained and solved, avoiding the disastrous consequences of family feuding.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780749453725
Publisher:	Kogan Page, Ltd.
Publication date:	04/28/2008
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Nigel Nicholson has been honored by the American Academy of Management for his contribution to business theory and method.  He is a professor at the London Business School, where he leads the Family Business Research Initiative.  A former journalist, he is a frequent commentator in the media on business affairs and has published 15 books and over 200 articles.

Grant E. Gordon is the Director General for the Institute for Family Business. He is a fifth generation member and Non-Executive Director of William Grant & Sons, a family business that changed over from family to non-family leadership in 2000.

Grant E. Gordon is the Director General for the Institute for Family Business. He is a fifth generation member and Non-Executive Director of William Grant & Sons, a family business that changed over from family to non-family leadership in 2000.

Nigel Nicholson is Professor of Organization Behaviour, Research Dean and Chairman of the PhD Programme at the London Business School. He is the Director of the London Business School Survey Unit.

Table of Contents

List of figures     ix
Acknowledgements     xi
Family wars     1
The ideas: the roots of family warfare     5
Families at war     6
The roots of conflict     10
Gene politics and the family firm     15
Family dynamics     22
Culture and personality     27
Brothers at arms     35
Introduction     35
Koch Industries - destructive redress     38
The Reliance story - the myth of unity     42
The Dassler family - racing for supremacy     50
The Mondavi family - a bitter cup     55
The Gallo family - vintage conflicts     60
Fighting for the crown     68
Introduction     68
The McCains - when the chips are down     73
IBM - the Watsons - a struggle for identity     85
Bata Shoe - a struggle for strategy     90
The house that hubris built     96
Introduction     96
The Ford family - parental oppression     99
The Dart Group - an excess of willpower     105
Chateau d'Yquem - the perils of condescension     109
The Redstone family - the leader's iron grip     114
Solid Waste and the Waxman family - greed, deception and destruction     118
Heads in the sand - the insularity trap     123
Introduction     123
The Guinness story - sliding into scandal     125
The Sakowitz story - the unchecked leader     131
The Steinberg story - falling apart, together     140
The Louisville Times and the Binghams - losing the legacy     149
Seagram and the Bronfmans - the runaway leader     159
Schism - the house divided     166
Introduction     166
Pritzker - fighting for the spoils     169
The LA Times Group and the Chandlers - the centrifugal family     179
Freedom Communications and the Hoiles - a battle for control     185
The Pathak family - spice wars     188
Un-civil war     191
Introduction     191
U-Haul and the Shoens - a shattered dynasty     192
The Gucci family - a tragic Italian opera     208
The lessons - the price of war and the prize of peace     220
From poisoned roots to the fruits of success - the essential lessons of warfare     221
Warning signs and practical measures     238
In praise of conflict     244
Notes      247
Index     271