These articles are brilliant, and fascinating. If you are in a family business, I suggest you find the special report. Links below, and my summation from the special report:

I would adore putting the Economist Embed code for this linked video, but it autoplays… so click here, and a 10 minute conversation which is concise, and excellent.

https://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21648175-distinctive-problems-call-tailor-made-solutions-family-way

Special Report Articles:
Leader – Family Companies are far from declining, but thriving
https://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21648171-far-declining-family-firms-will-remain-important-feature-global-capitalism

Types of Family Companies
https://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21648169-four-main-types-family-business-united-diversity

Upside: Old Fashioned Virtues & Principles
https://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21648172-patience-distinctiveness-thrift-and-trust-still-count-old-fashioned-virtues

Downside: Quirky Humans
https://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21648173-how-families-can-cause-trouble-their-firms-all-too-human

Families in Asia at top of capitalism
https://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21648174-worlds-most-dynamic-region-family-companies-occupy-commanding-heights

The Dark Side: Perpetuating Inequality
https://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21648178-dark-side-family-capitalism-those-have

Management Theory – The Success of Modern Family Business is Teaching Public Companies
https://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21648176-success-family-companies-turns-much-modern-business-teaching-its

Summation of Special Report:

Family firms are not only not declining, they will remain important feature of global capitalism for a long time along side public companies.

Family are suited for early stage capitalism, w/ 2 ingredients for growth: trust and loyalty

Way to transmit wealth and status down the hereditary line

Family companies make up more than 90% of world’s companies, but hard to define

best thing about family companies are sense of ownership, helping w/ two defects of capitalism: conflict ‘tween owners and managers, and focus on short term.

worst thing is succession (& human quirks) – heirs are often dunces, wealth factually corrupts. Every culture has a “clog to clog in 3 gen” motto in biz.

family firms trusted far more than any other firms

Family firms have long term thinking, powerful internal culture, and careful with money

Family firms 3 interconnected advantages: stable employees, distinctive set of stories for customers, and trust. Also value based leadership.

Family firms offer scope for unlikely and revoltionary successions… first to promote women

patient capital and social trust can not be replicated in public company

Capitalism in family focused biz (HUGE companies) can lead to rise of inequality, and perpetuating it with unqualified heirs managing unfair sums of cash, biz.

success of family companies turns modern capitalism on its head, as there was an expectation of family business to retreat as society became more rational and bureaucratic. Most believed they would be pushed to margins as capital intensive biz looked at public funds for growth, but many of the most successful biz in the world are family run biz that have fond exceptional niches.

End result is that Family company will be powerful along side public company b/c of their ability to be quick and better at managing themselves, minimize weakness while capitalizing strengths, and internal dynamics that will make them relevant for decades.

“The company is one of the most powerful instruments ever produced by human beings; it allows investors and workers to pool their resources to serve the needs of strangers to mutual benefit. Successful countries such as America have many millions of companies. Failed countries like North Korea have none. Yet family is even more powerful and uniersal: it allows parents to pass not just their genes and their property, but also their culture and their aspirations on to their children. Put companies and families together, and you have a uniquely potent combination”

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