Family Business Strategy Articles and Presentations - by topic

Dr. Davidow's articles are organized here by category. Click each topic below to read relelated articles.

About TD&A

Advisors

Communication

Family Dynamics/Relationships

Governance

Inter-generational Dynamics/Succession

Managing Significant Wealth

Mediation

Performance

Values

Women in Business

Other

About TD&A:

Thomas D. Davidow - Interview

By Dennis Warren

Business Leader Post, March 22, 2013

Voice of Reason - Thomas Davidow Counsels Families About One of the Biggest Threats to Their Businesses: Themselves.

By Hannah Grove Shaw
Hannah Shaw Grove, executive editor of Private Wealth, recently spoke with Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D., founder of consulting firm Thomas D. Davidow & Associates, about his specialty practice helping families increase the success and value of their biggest asset - their privately owned businesses. Private Wealth, November/December 2010 (469kb PDF file)

Advisors:

GETTING PERSONAL: Estate Advisers As Surrogate Parents

By Arden Dale
From a Dow Jones Newswires Column

Good Not Great: Why It's Time To Reconsider Your Professional Advisors

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, July 11, 2011

Lawyers Not Always Equipped to Work with Family-Owned Businesses

Massachussetts Lawyers Weekly, July 17. 2007, 56kb PDF file

What about the “Michigas” in Family Businesses?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, June 13, 2013

What Is the Advantage of the Interdisciplinary Method of Consulting to Family Owned Businesses?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, May 30, 2013

Communication:

Communications Techniques

Do you believe in confrontation?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
October 22, 2014

During the holidays, what is the best way to handle family business discussions?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
December 21, 2015

How Can I Live Up To Their Expectations?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, November 29, 2011

How come it so difficult to listen?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
January 19, 2015

How come they don’t listen?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
January 6, 2015

The Trouble with Family Secrets

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From the Campden Wealth Bulletin, May 13, 2013

Family Dynamics/Relationships:

Executive Coaching 101

Beware Thy Brother . . .

Families in Business reprint, Jul/Aug 2007, 76kb PDF file

The Brooke Astor case: It Wasn't About the Money

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D and Patricia M. Annino, Esquire, 131kb PDF file

Can tensions between siblings be reduced?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
April 15, 2015

Can trust be a problem?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
March 27, 2015

Divorce: Is it Possible for a Business to Survive?

Families in Business reprint, May/Jun 2007, 92kb PDF file

How Can Relationships Improve?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, January 24, 2012

How Come Brothers Have Such a Difficult Time Working Together in the Business?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, November 15, 2011

How did you know that the brothers had a problem?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
March 2, 2015

How Do You Bring In-Laws Into the Business?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, June 26, 2012

How do you deal with in-laws in the FOB?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, January 3, 2014

How Do You Distinguish the Role of Father From the Role of Boss in the Family Owned Business?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, November 29, 2012

How Does a Family Business Owner Respond to Being Told That He Has a Terminal Illness?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, June 13, 2012

Is “Happy Holidays” an oxymoron?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, December 19, 2013

Is it Possible to Control Your Emotions with Other Family Members?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, May 16, 2013

It's Never About the Money

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
Posted September 10, 2010 in Our Family Business at Odds

The Key Issues that Can Help Family Businesses Gain Control of Sibling Rivalries

Making Peace between the Generations in Family Businesses

Should My Spouse Have a Say in the Family Business?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, February 14, 2012

Should you include the extended family/Spouses in family business issues?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
November 12, 2014

What are the risks of bringing in an outside CEO to run the family business?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, November 8, 2013

What Do I Do When There is Conflict in My Family?

Families in Business, Jan/Feb 2008, 70kb PDF file)

What do you do when you are caught in the “middle”?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, September 25, 2014

What Makes for a Successful Husband and Wife Business Team?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, July 3, 2012

What's Up With Turning 70?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, June 5, 2012

Which is more important, nature or nurture?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, October 31, 2013

Why Should You Avoid Family Business Litigation?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, April 24, 2013

Governance:

Family Business Advisory Council: Purpose And Structure

My Sister Wants to bring in an advisory board. What's the difference between an advisory board and a board of directors?

By George Burns Esq.
From a column in the Business Leader Post, May 9, 2012

When Is Governance Important?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
December 3, 2014

Inter-generational Dynamics/Succession:

Building Intergenerational Dialogue

Families in Business reprint, Mar/Apr 2007, 55kb PDF file

Can the Senior Generation Keep it's Authority and Still Allow Succession to Happen?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, January 11, 2012

Can success create conflict in family owned businesses?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
August 25, 2015

Can You Rule From the Grave?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, March 20, 2013

Can You Teach an “Old Dog” New Tricks?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, June 6, 2013

Does age have an impact on one’s ability to let go?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
February 16, 2015

Does DNA play a role in families and, therefore, in the family owned business?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, November 13, 2013

Does the answer to succession lie in the next generation?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, July 29, 2014

Does the business serve the family or does the family serve the business?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
August 2, 2015

How come the senior generation has a hard time training the next generation?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, October 18, 2013

How come there are late bloomers?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, July 26, 2012

How do I sell the need for policies and procedures in our family enterprise to my parents and grandparents?

By George Burns Esq.
From a column in the Business Leader Post, April 24, 2012

How do you address the senior generation's mixed messages about letting go of control?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, March 6, 2012

How do you deal with anger in the family business?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, December 11, 2013

How do you reach out to the next generation?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, September 18, 2014

How does the loss of a loved one affect the succession process?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, October 25, 2013

How does the next generation deal with mixed messages from the senior generation?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, May 30, 2012

How Is Self-sacrifice Connected To The Family Business?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
December 10, 2014

How Multi-Generational Family Firms Transfer Management Control Successfully

How much do you tell your employees about your succession plans?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, April 11, 2012

In family businesses, which are harder to address--intergenerational issues, or those between siblings?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
December 21, 2015

Joining the Family Business: Bringing it All Back Home

By Jenny Davidow, M.A.
From an abbreviated version to be posted in 'Our Family Business at Odds'

The Key Issues that Can Help Family Businesses Gain Control of Sibling Rivalries

Making Peace between the Generations in Family Businesses

Lessons Learned from the Market Basket Conflict

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From an opinion in Cape & Plymouth Business, September 2014

Market Basket does not appear to have a future

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From an opinion in Cape & Plymouth Business, September 2014

Minimising succession risks: a definitive guide

Families in Business, Sep/Oct 2007, 110kb PDF file

Orderly Succession

Families in Business reprint, Jan/Feb 2007, 148kb PDF file

Retirement

Families in Business, October/November 2006

Reshaping - not retiring

Families in Business reprint, Sep/Oct 2006, 199kb PDF file

Walking the Walk: Facing the Succession Process in My Own Business

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From an abbreviated version to be posted in 'Our Family Business at Odds'

Walking the Walk: #2

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From an abbreviated version to be posted in 'Our Family Business at Odds'

What can we learn from the Demoulas debacle?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, August 13, 2014

What can you do to help the next generation perform?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, May 15, 2012

What do you do when the senior generation has Alzheimer's?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, April 16, 2012

What Happens to Sibling Rivalry During the Succession Process?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, December 10, 2012

What is it about Market Basket and the Demoulas family?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, August 5, 2014

What is the biggest obstacle to inter-generational dialogue about succession?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, March 20, 2012

What is the Most Difficult Part of the Succession Process?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, September 26, 2012

What Is the Role of Parents in the Family Owned Business?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, December 26, 2012

What Motivates People to Plan?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, January 24, 2013

When does fantasy trump reality?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, November 26, 2013

When does the senior generation begin to lose control in the Family Owned Business?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, June 28, 2013

When Is It Time to Back Off?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, December 17, 2012

When does "old school" get old?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
June 26, 2015

Managing Significant Wealth:

Debate: "What's the best thing to do with a family business whose members have lost their emotional attachment?"

CampdenFB, Summer 2009, 101kb PDF file

How Did We Get Here? When family firms get to the third generation. it's time for some serious analysis.

Massachussetts Family Business, Fourth Quarter 2009, 440kb PDF file

Standards for Managing Significant Wealth

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
CampdenFB.com, December 2, 2009 (529kb PDF)

Best Practices for Successful Transfer of Financial and Social-Emotional Wealth to the Next Generation

by Lilli Friedland, Ph.D.

Sudden Money Loss: A Seven Step Plan for Families on the Edge of a Financial Cliff

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D and Patricia M. Annino, Esquire, 44kb PDF file

Surviving Madoff

Campden FB, Winter 2009 (689kb PDF)

With collapse of financial institutions, should trusted advisor become trustee?

Massachussetts Lawyers Weekly, November 10, 2008)

Mediation:

Family Dynamics Consultants and Lawyer-Mediators

By George F. Burns, Esq.
Dispute Resolution Magazine, Winter 2010

How can mediation be helpful?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, May 23, 2012

What Is the Advantage of Mediation?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, October 25, 2012

Performance:

Enhancing Team Performance

How Do You Deal with Underperforming Family Members in the Family Owned Business?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, September 5, 2012

How Do You Deal with an Underperforming Family Business Member? — Part II

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, September 10, 2012

Is this article for men only?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, July 20, 2012

Performance Appraisal in the Competitive 21st Century

Should there always be one person in charge in the FOB?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, November 20, 2013

What Does “The Shrink” Think about the Role Emotions Play in Family Businesses?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, March 28, 2013

What does the term “boundaries” mean in family owned businesses?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, December 4, 2013

What is a Key Ingredient for Success?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, November 7, 2012

What is it about Anger?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, October 15, 2012

What Is the Best Method of Compensation for Family Owned Businesses?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, June 20, 2013

What Is The Difference Between Power and Authority in Family Owned Businesses?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, January 16, 2013

Why is it so important to follow your instincts in business

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, May 2, 2012

Values:

Do You Have a Pet Peeve?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, May 23, 2013

Everybody is Entitled to be Treated with Dignity

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, February 29, 2012

How do you resolve materialism versus spirituality?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, April 3, 2012

How do you teach humility?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, March 20, 2012

Is It Ever Too Late to Pass On the Family Values To the Next Generation?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, November 15, 2012

Philanthropy: A Lifetime Commitment

What did I learn from a Family Business conference?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, June 26, 2014

What Does Responsible Capitalism Mean?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, December 27, 2011

What is the Importance of Loyalty in a Family Owned Business?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, February 27, 2013

Why leadership and values matter

campdenFB.com, March 12, 2009

Women in Family Business:

What Do Women Really Want? Estate Planning Tailored to Women's Needs

Women in Family Business: What Keeps You up at Night?

By Patricia M. Annino J.D., Thomas D. Davidow Ed.D, Cynthia Adams Harrison Ed.D, Lisbeth Davidow Ed.M. Addresses the psychological, relational and financial issues impacting women in family owned businesses: women who want their husbands to retire; mothers who want to treat their children fairly; widows who don't know whether to keep or sell the business; stepmothers who feel like outsiders; daughters who want their fathers' approval; sisters who want the same opportunities as their brothers; and daughters-in-law and sisters-in-law who wanted to be treated with respect. The book informs, entertains and provides those women in the family owned business with survival tools for taking care of themselves and their families.
(Click link above to order from Amazon.com)

Other:

85 Years and Four Generations Later...

By Joanne Ray
New England Construction, September 2010, (394kb PDF file)

Can people change?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
July 14, 2015

Communications Techniques

Compensating the working family

Families in Business, May/Jun 2008, 220kb PDF file

Dealing with Major Health Issues in the Family Business

Debate: "Should the business hire a non-family CEO from the inside or reach out to find the best in the market?"

CampdenFB, Summer 2010, (2.4mb PDF file)

Does everybody have a story about family owned businesses?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, August 18, 2014

Does life ever get easier?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
December 21, 2015

Dual class shares: aristocracy or meritocracy?

CampdenFB, Sep/Oct 2008, 142kb PDF file

Executive Coaching 101

Family business - to sell or not to sell?

Families in Business, Nov/Dec 2007, 210kb PDF file

Family Fortune Telling

By Russ Robb and Thomas Davidow
Massachussetts Family Business Magazine, Fourth Quarter 2010, (118kb PDF file)

Has the Market for Family Business Consulting Changed?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, April 11, 2013

How come Change Is So Hard?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
February 1, 2015

How do you convince people to be patient?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, July 4, 2014

How Do You Find Out What Your Client Is Thinking?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, March 6, 2013

How Do You Make Decisions Between Family and Business Interests?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, October 1, 2012

How important is structure in the family business?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
November 4, 2014

How should family owned businesses deal with visibility in the community?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, September 11, 2014

Is that a light at the end of the tunnel or a train heading the other way?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, August 27, 2012

Is there more to the Paterno/Murdoch syndrome?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, August 2, 2012

Placing a Family Business in Trust: Identifying and Resolving Inherent Conflicts

Profit Sharing: Entitlement or Motivator?

The Provisional Audit Committe

Quitting the family business

Family Business Management, Fall 2007, 60kb PDF file

Re-vitalizing the Family Business

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a 'Webinar Wednesday' presention by the Family Business Association, March 7, 2012

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002: Why it is Relevant to the Closely Held Family Business

Selecting and Working With Valuation Firms

Mark K. Harder, Esq., May 20, 2004, 86kb PDF file

Should you always try to stay in business together?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, June 21, 2012

The "Unreal Repeal": A Closer Look at the 2001 Estate Tax Law

Using Phantom Stock to Compensate Executives in Privately Held Businesses

What about the Good? (as opposed to the Bad and the Ugly)

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, May 8, 2013

What Do You Do When Your Client Is Not Listening to You?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, February 4, 2013

What Have Been the Characteristics of My Five Most Impressive Clients?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, January 2, 2013

What is a fair compensation structure for family-owned businesses?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, August 23, 2012

What is countertransference?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, November 1, 2012

What is Duende?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
March 13, 2015

What is the counter intuitive challenge in family owned businesses?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, July 14, 2014

What is the First Thing You Should Do When You Meet a New or Prospective Client?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, February 20, 2013

What Is the Joe Paterno/Rupert Murdoch Syndrome?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, July 12, 2012

What was the scariest but best decision a family business had to make?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, July 23, 2014

What makes some opinions better than others?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, August 9, 2012

What Were the Results of My Request for Information?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, May 1, 2013

Who can you trust?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, October 13, 2013

Why Is It So Difficult to Work with the Ones You Love?

By Thomas D. Davidow, Ed.D
From a column in the Business Leader Post, April 4, 2013

With the Continuous Collapse of Major Financial Institutions, Should a Trusted Advisor Become a Trustee?

wealthstrategiesjournal.com, March 22, 2009, 168kb PDF

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