Family Business Succession

Introduction: The Final Test of GreatnessThe Pieces of the Succession PuzzleThe CEO's Personal Challenge: Preparing for a New LifePreparing Your Business for SuccessionDeveloping Effective SuccessorsPreparing the Family for a Successful TransitionPreparing the Responsible Owner TeamThe Evolving Roles of Leader and SuccessorImplementing SuccessionUnderstanding Family TensionsOther Pitfalls: Where Are You Most Likely to Stumble?SummaryAppendicesIndex

CRAIG E. ARONOFF Co-founder, Principal, and Chairman of the Board of The Family Business Consulting Group, Inc., the founder of the Cox Family Enterprise Center and current Professor Emeritus at Kennesaw State University, USA. He invented and implemented the membership-based, professional-service-provider sponsored Family Business Forum, which has served as a model of family business education for universities world-wide.

STEPHEN L. McCLURE Principal at the Family Business Consulting Group, Inc. and specializes in family communications and decision making, succession planning and implementation, and governance & management in family firms.

JOHN L. WARD Co-founder of the Family Business Consulting Group Inc. He is Clinical Professor at the Kellogg School of Management, USA, and teaches strategic management, business leadership and family enterprise continuity.

'The authors have written a most useful sequel to their first work on Family Succession. They provide us with a wealth of answers to the succession challenge from specific family case histories addressing the powerful issue of how the family business and it's legacies can be continued. Too many families neglect the succession issue until it is too late to preserve the essence of what made the family great.' - Harry Martin (former Head of the Cargil McMillan Family Office), Family Advisors, LLC, Mystic, CT 'Family Business Succession: The Final Test of Greatness is a must read for those serious about succession.' - Marshall Paisner, Chairman, ScrubaDub, Natuck, MA 'Final Test of Greatness is the standard bearer for an excellent series of booklets that provide practical guidance on tough family business issues.' - Ross W. Nager, Sentinel Trust Company, Houston, TX 'While our father was a great journalist and businessman, and a wonderful parent, his transition planning was inadequate. Fortunately for our family and business we used the principles we found in Family Business Succession: The Final Test of Greatness to help guide us as we developed and implemented our succession plan. As a result, we are a healthier and more prosperous family and family business than we ever dreamed possible.' - Betsy McCool, Chairman, Western Communications, Bend, OR