sponsored by Bond Beebe http://www.dcfamilybusiness.com Fri, 20 May 2011 12:36:19 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.dcfamilybusiness.com/images/M_images/dcfba-logo.png http://www.dcfamilybusiness.com sponsored by Bond Beebe DcFamilyBusinesshttp://feedburner.google.comSubscribe with My Yahoo!Subscribe with NewsGatorSubscribe with My AOLSubscribe with BloglinesSubscribe with NetvibesSubscribe with GoogleSubscribe with PageflakesSubscribe with PlusmoSubscribe with The Free DictionarySubscribe with Bitty BrowserSubscribe with NewsAlloySubscribe with Live.comSubscribe with Excite MIXSubscribe with Yourminis.comSubscribe with Attensa for OutlookSubscribe with WebwagSubscribe with netomat HubSubscribe with Podcast ReadySubscribe with FlurrySubscribe with WikioSubscribe with Daily RotationThe Greater Washington DC Family Business Alliance suggests you sign up for the feed so you don't miss any breaking family business news. http://www.dcfamilybusiness.com/blog/family-negotiations-part-2.html Posting by: Ed Kopf Posting Date: May 16, 2011 Negotiating is critical to any relationship. As reviewed in Part 1 (index.php?option=com_content task=view id=149 Itemid=3), there are numerous factors that complicate family business negotiations. In this conclusion, strategies to combat the complications are reviewed. The first step to avoiding potential negotiation conflicts is to be aware of the special challenges that may arise in important discussions about a family business. Once the need for care is recognized, most of the remedies are simply the thorough application of sound negotiation techniques. Among these principles are: Mon, 16 May 2011 12:05:48 +0100 http://www.dcfamilybusiness.com/blog/ed-kopf.html Posting by: Ed Kopf Posting Date: May 10, 2011 Negotiations are a critical part of any relationship. Husbands and wives, parents and children, business partners, world leaders – all have to agree on how they will live and work together. Discussions may be formal or casual. They may not seem like negotiations. But ultimately, all of us do negotiate about “who does what,” “who gets what” and “who deserves what.” These exchanges must result in productive and mutually satisfying results if a relationship is to survive and thrive. This two-part posting includes the factors that make negotiations difficult in the first part, then strategies to avoid the pitfalls in the second post. Tue, 10 May 2011 14:16:31 +0100 http://www.dcfamilybusiness.com/blog/how-soon-should-you-start-succession-planning.html Posting by: John Morris, CFP® Posting Date: April 27, 2011 These were the words that came out of my two-and-a-half-year-old son’s mouth when I was “inconveniently” blocking his path down the hallway of our house…quite a bold statement from a man who is still in diapers. It may have just been the jumbled parlance of a two-year-old; however, for me it struck a deeper chord, and made me think about the different generations in a family business. Knowing when to “step down” and being ready to “step up” are common dilemmas that the different generations face in family businesses. A successful transition in a family business from one generation to the next can be an extremely difficult task. When done well, it is a thing of beauty, but when done poorly it can have severe consequences for the business. The most consistent mistake family businesses make is not planning for it. There are almost an infinite number of variables that can contribute to a successful multi-generational transfer; however, some of the key ones are effective negotiation and communication, and addressing that which is out of your control. Wed, 27 Apr 2011 11:59:41 +0100 http://www.dcfamilybusiness.com/blog/recovering-from-mistakes.html Posting by: Margaret Wilson Posting Date: April 18, 2011 In a classic case of turning lemons to lemonade, insurance company Aflac held open auditions in six cities last week, searching for its next “quacksperson.” The former Aflac duck voice, comedian Gilbert Gottfried, was fired after posting controversial statements on Twitter about the recent tragedy in Japan. But Aflac found a creative way to turn around a regrettable situation with a sense of humor. In doing so, what could have been a terrible PR incident for the company will probably end up becoming a case study. Lemonade lesson: When mistakes happen, don’t duck and cover. Mon, 18 Apr 2011 13:02:13 +0100 http://www.dcfamilybusiness.com/blog/succession-just-around-the-corner.html Posting by: Geoff Brown Posting Date: April 11, 2011 I recently had a head-on collision with my own mortality when my doctor told me that I needed open-heart surgery to fix a rather unusual problem with my heart. Fortunately we live in a time when it could be fixed, the surgery was successful and I’m back in the swing of things. Of the many things that I thought about, one item – in my role as a family business advisor – was about the family business owner who suddenly becomes terminally ill, or drops dead from a heart attack or is sidelined for an indefinite period of time due to a disability, without a proper succession plan in place. As my wife and I prepared for my surgery, the one thing that we did not have to concern ourselves with was what would happen if I did not survive, as we had planned for that possibility in years past. One less thing for me to be concerned about as my date with the surgeon approached. Mon, 11 Apr 2011 14:11:43 +0100 http://www.dcfamilybusiness.com/blog/fairness-and-pay.html Posting by: David Gage and Liubov Sivokhina Posting Date: March 25, 2011 Ms. Liubov Sivokhina is a 2nd year MBA student at the Kogod School of Business at American University. She is from Moscow, where her father, an engineer, was a co-owner of a small custom furniture business during the 1990s. Dr. David Gage is a co-founder of BMC Associates, a Partner in the Greater Washington DC Family Business Alliance and an adjunct professor at the Kogod School of Business. A popular saying goes, “Treat your business like business and your family like family.” But what do you do when business is family? What’s fair then? It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that many conflicts in a family owned business arise from a feeling of unfairness. Oftentimes that “unfair” feeling revolves around money. Can you imagine two siblings with very different jobs in Company A electing to take the same salaries? Can you imagine comparable siblings in Company B with very different jobs electing to base their salaries on market benchmarks? Can you see the advantages of both methods? What happens if there are parents in Companies A and B who decide to set their adult children’s salaries the same (in Company A) and different (in Company B). Does it matter whether it’s the siblings or the parents who decide? When is the “right” time to discuss compensation structures in a family business? Is it your sense that your family members are all on the same page about how your compensation system works? Are you one of the few who have had a frank and open conversation about it? Fri, 25 Mar 2011 09:01:27 +0100 http://www.dcfamilybusiness.com/blog/marketing-family-owned.html Posting by: Debra Andrews Posting Date: March 17, 2011 For some people long ago, it was preferred to keep the “family-owned” status of your company hidden, as it might imply to prospects that your firm was very small or less professional. As members of the Greater Washington DC Family Business Alliance, naturally we believe that being a family business carries many advantages, for both the company and for its customers. So why not point out some of those advantages in the marketing of a family-owned and/or –operated business? There’s no reason not to! Thu, 17 Mar 2011 13:12:43 +0100 http://www.dcfamilybusiness.com/blog/health-care-reform.html Posting by: David M. Morris, Principal, FranklinMorris Posting Date: February 28, 2011 During the preliminary stages of health care reform legislation, Americans were told, “If you like your current coverage, you can keep it.” In order to fulfill this promise, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 each include a grandfather clause. In order to be eligible for grandfathered status, your health care plan must have been in effect on or before March 23, 2010 and not undergone any changes that would disqualify the plan. Mon, 28 Feb 2011 08:59:54 +0100 http://www.dcfamilybusiness.com/blog/invaluable-or-indespensable.html Posting by: Margaret E. Wilson Posting Date: February 21, 2011 When you were younger, did you ever participate in a spelling bee? I recently reconnected with some childhood friends and it reminded me of something I hadn’t thought of in a long time – the day I lost the 5th grade spelling bee. I lost on the word “indispensable.” Though the sting of that day is long gone, the lesson has stayed with me. That’s how it is with things that don’t come easily to us – once we’ve mastered them, we rarely repeat the mistake. Which is a good thing, because that word “indispensable” comes up a lot in working with owner-managed family businesses. “If I want it done right, I have to do it myself.” If you’ve ever said that, or even thought it privately to yourself, it’s understandable. Most of today’s family businesses were started by entrepreneurs who were willing to risk it all for the chance to build a company under their own control. But that word control comes with a price. After risking so much, many leaders are reluctant to let other people take over from them. Even if those people are highly qualified. Even if those people bear the same last name. And yet one of the most important lessons family business leaders can learn is that they are most valuable when they become dispensable. Here are four important reasons why: Mon, 21 Feb 2011 12:59:28 +0100 http://www.dcfamilybusiness.com/blog/express-night-out-article.html Alliance Partners David Gage of BMC Associates and Margaret Wilson of Tandem Partners were both contributors for a recent Washington Post Express Night Out article on the unique challenges that family businesses can face. This piece profiles several D.C. family businesses and highlights various pertinent issues – including managing conflict, maintaining boundaries, and building trust. Read the full article here: All Up In The Family Business: How to Work With Parents and Not Lose Your Mind (http://www.expressnightout.com/content/2011/02/all-up-in-the-family-business.php) Tue, 15 Feb 2011 10:26:44 +0100