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ideaiconQuick-reads and practical insights on a range of topics—from organizational development to hiring and recruitment, family governance to developing effective succession plans. Browse the selection below for tips and strategies to improve your practice.

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Lighting the Flame and Carrying the Torch Many people ask me, how can the new generation of leadership honor the family legacy and tradition, while still putting their own ‘stamp’ on the company culture?… 
Your Business Prospectus Business owners planning to transition out of their business someday often ask me what I recommend as the first step…
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Forget About Succession Planning
The great myth of succession planning is that it means finding someone who will buy out the current owners. That is NOT succession planning—that is a transaction. Succession planning means planning and building a transition process for the long-term success of a strong and viable company.
Advisory Boards An Advisory Board consists of a group of carefully selected advisors, chosen for their knowledge, expertise and interest in your business, to provide feedback, ask challenging questions and offer ideas and advice to maximize the potential of your company…
Breathing Life Into Your Strategic Plan In the US today, only about 10% of business owners develop a strategic plan. In fact, most owners tell us that they have lots of plans and goals for the company, but they tend to walk around with those in their head, rather than writing them down on paper. Why is this?… 
Bridging the Past and the Future Recognizing and honoring balance between family and business is not new to Galliard and the Family Business Advisor network. Undeniably, the vision of a family bound together by its values and traditions and thriving in tandem with a growing business is appealing… 
Changing the Way We Change The world is a busy and crazy place these days…We are inundated with messages to be leaders, to innovate, and to bring new products, services and marketable ideas to the marketplace…   
Everyone Hates Performance Evaluations I recently gave a speech to a very large audience of state and federal employees.  The room was filled with young and old… and I was talking about the differences between the generations.  At one point I said that one thing all generations had in common in the workplace is that we all hate the evaluation process.  This got a quick round of applause.  Then I said, “I think we should do away with performance evaluations” and this got a standing ovation!  
Finding Your Trusted Advisors You may have heard these complaints and more. Unfortunately, stereotypes abound, sometimes preventing our use of much needed professional help… 
Making Sibling Management Teams Work These are common complaints and questions in family-run businesses.  Many small companies simply overlay large corporate, hierarchical structures on their small, dynamic businesses without realizing that they have options… 
New Generation Workforce Every generation takes a slightly different approach to life and work. With the millennial generation entering the workforce, these different approaches are affecting how business owners think about the workplace and the future of their companies. The gap can feel particularly pronounced in family-owned businesses where parents and children are working together…
Professional Advisors Friend or Foe Do you work with a trusted estate or tax attorney? Have you found a CPA who speaks your language?… 
Sharpening the Competitive Edge How an effective advisory board can increase skills, professionalism, and effectiveness in the family business… 
So Disconnected in a Highly Connected World So, who or what did you “like” today? How many times did LinkedIn ping you, telling you who had made a new connection or who had posted something new?… 
The Perils of Traditional Retirement Why, you might ask? And why does retirement negatively impact men more than women?… 
There’s No “Leaning In” On A Unicycle As an avid cyclist, I find it easy to compare the challenges in my personal and business life to tackling the tough hill climbs, exploring new territory and enjoying both the times to push and the times to glide… 
Women, guilt and the “Happy Family” Myth I recently shared several articles with a friend, all regarding the topic of the guilt or stress that so many women feel when they work outside the home. This included the recent comment by professional powerhouse, PepsiCo CEO Indra K. Nooyi, who removes the sugar-coating and reminds us that there really isn’t such a thing as “having it all”undefinedthat even mothers who manage well and seek a wide variety of help and resources still feel guilty…