A listening path · 8 conversations
Siblings becoming partners
Growing up together is not the same as owning something together. These conversations follow brothers and sisters who share a family business, from the rules their parents set to the ones they made for themselves. I'd start with the parents and finish with the partnership.
Mike Boyd
25Khalid MuhmoodUsing the Family Holding Company to invest in Education
A founder raising children who may one day own together, with three rules: punish both, never compare, never be the judge.
Listen for Which of those three rules does your family already keep?
26Ginny GilderOlympic Medalist, G2 Family Office Founder, Social Entrepreneur & Owner of a WNBA Team
Ginny Gilder on the question to ask before going into business together: why do you want to?
Listen for Have you and your siblings said out loud why you want to be in business together?
29Aaron ChinMy Ceiling is Your Floor - 2nd Gen Leader of Canadian Health Business
Two very different brothers took over Organika, and nobody talked about money, roles or titles until a private equity partner made them name a CEO.
Listen for Who holds which role between you, and has anyone said it out loud?
36Ben GrossmanCo-President Siblings Stewarding a 111 Year Old Family Business
Two brothers run the envelope company their great-grandfather founded in 1910, and neither feels smaller when the other wins.
Listen for What lets two siblings share the top job without keeping score?
06Fred MouawadBillionaire Diamond Owner & 4th Generation Co-Guardian
Three brothers set strategy as co-guardians while professional managers run the business, so nobody blames a brother for an execution problem.
Listen for Where does the siblings' job end and management's begin?
39Moses KaganOn the Shoulders of Giants
Moses Kagan's lesson from business with his brother: fifty-fifty is fine economically, but someone has to be the decision maker.
Listen for If you and your sibling disagreed tomorrow, who would make the call?
01Rob RobsonBuilding & Operating the Business of Family
A family constitution, a quarterly partnership meeting, and replacing equal with fair.
Listen for Where in your family would fair look different from equal?
41Dave SpechtPreserving Families and Perpetuating Businesses
Shared ownership is the hardest thing you can ask anyone to do, so Dave Specht starts families with small shared decisions.
Listen for What small decision could you and your siblings practise making together this year?
Other places to start
The Business Family Diagnostic · Relationships
The relationship comes before the business.
The siblings in these conversations made rules to protect the relationship before anything went wrong. When there's a falling out in your family, can the people involved repair it?
“Difficult topics get raised and discussed rather than avoided.”