The Business of Family Business

"The business and family love are two different, mutually exclusive issues.

When the two mix, both self-destruct."

More than 90% of businesses worldwide start as family businesses but less than 15% make it to the 4th generation. This however need not happen if some important steps are taken. 'The Business of Family Business' is for all those who are interested in ensuring that their business outlasts them.

The book has been written not by researchers or professors but by a businessman who started with $ 10 in his pocket and built a global brand. This book is not only about what happens but about what to do to bring about change without destroying the family in the process. It is about how to implement change keeping the social, cultural and family fabric intact. It shows the reader how to grow the business through multiple generations without dividing the family. It focuses on anticipating the most common problems and suggests working structures that can be created to preempt complications.

The book speaks primarily to the family business owners of Africa, Asia and the Middle East, with the voice of an 'insider' because it speaks from the perspective of the East. Critical decision making in family businesses is hugely influenced by culture and social ethos. Unless we understand that and appreciate its workings, it is not possible to suggest workable solutions. That is the reason why though there are many Western writers who have written about family businesses you don't see many of their ideas being implemented in businesses in the Middle East, India or Africa.