Family Business Consulting by Dean Fowler Associates, Inc.

For families-in-business and families of wealth . . . today and tomorrow

200 S. Executive Drive - Suite 101 - Brookfield - WI - 53005

Fostering Healthy Communication

On March 24, 2010 I will be leading a workshop for the Wisconsin Family Business Forum at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh on the topic of healthy communication. Registration is still open and if you are interested in attending click here.

What do healthy families do right?

As I thought about the many successful families-in-business that I have worked with over the past 27, three common elements characterized their healthy and positive communication patterns:

Who – Healthy families address issues directly and in a timely fashion rather than avoiding conflict and letting issue fester until they explode.

How – Healthy families practice “active listening, “ or as Steven Covey puts it – “ Seek first to Understand, then to be Understood.”

What – Healthy families talk about what really matters. They get to the heart of the matter rather than dealing with the immediate symptoms.

To foster healthy communication talk about what really matters, and listen for understanding, so that you are able to deal directly with one another, rather than avoiding the most critical issues you face.

To read the entire article that includes examples to illustrate these three key elements, click here.

The Prime Minister - Leading Sibling Teams

Family Governance

Last year we wrote several articles on the Successful Habits of Successors. (Click here for a CD presentation on those Habits). The focus of those articles was on the individual characteristics of these successors. Based on our long term involvement with sibling and cousin teams in multigenerational family businesses, we have been intrigued by how these individual characteristics translate into the successful habits of teams -- one of the most important of which is building confidence in leadership.

Ideally, the sibling leader of a family business with multiple shareholders -- either siblings or cousins -- should be elected by the Board of Directors, and be evaluated by the Board on a regular basis. But beyond interaction with the Board, the "Prime Minister" of the family business must communicate effectively with and gain the support, trust and confidence of the broader shareholder group. For example, one sibling team recently declared, "We are moving from a Kingdom to a Village!"

To create a stronger role as the Prime Minister and build confidence among family shareholders, sibling and cousin team leaders should make a commitment to implementing some of the following solutions that have been very effective for our clients:

1. Hold regular formal Family Council Meetings (Click here to read more about Family Councils.)

2. Implement an education program about the company, and the responsibilities of family shareholders.

3. Create a Family web-site for the easy sharing of information.

4. Develop a regular family newsletter

5. Visit one-on-one with shareholders to review key issues and understand their needs.

6. Rotate locations of meetings to interact with family members in their own region of the country.

7. Use the Family Foundation as a vehicle to promote family values and communication.

8. Have the Family Council interact with the Board of Directors on a regular basis, so the Board understands the objectives of the family.

To read the entire article on The Prime Minister click here.

Please call us at Dean Fowler Associates 262-271-5979 to discuss Sibling Teams and Cousin Consortiums or email us by clicking here.

Round Table Peer Groups

Forums for Family Business meet every month for a half-day. Membership is limited to family members actively employed in their family owned businesses.

Family Business Presidents - We are actively looking for Presidents and CEOs who could benefit from membership in our Advisory Board process. A group of Presidents meets every month for a half-day to explore the unique issues and challenges that have a strategic impact on their family business.

Please call if you would like to be invited as a guest to these meetings

262-271-5979 or send us an email.

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