Two Sides of the Business Family

Arist von Schlippe is a Professor and heads the Endowment Chair of Leadership and Dynamics in Family Businesses, 'Witten Institute for Family Business' (WIFU) at the Witten/Herdecke University, Germany. He is one of the leading family psychologists in Germany, and his research spans across the fields of family governance, succession; the role of stories and value transmission in business families; transgenerational entrepreneurship, negotiation and conflict resolution; parental coaching in non-violent resistance.Torsten Groth is a Senior research fellow at the Witten Institute for Family Business (WIFU) at the Witten/Herdecke University, Germany. He is specialized in leadership and organization and serves as one of the leading systemic coaches for family businesses and organizations.Tom A. Rüsen is a Professor and the Managing Director of the Witten Institute for Family Business (WIFU), and an Honorary Professor at the Witten/Herdecke University, Germany. He is one of the leading speakers on family business topics in Germany and serves as a consultant to business families. His research focuses on conflict and crisis management in family businesses, mental models, and family strategy development in business families, family governance and professional ownership development.

• Part I Introduction.- Family strategy over generations.- Part II Managed by neglect: solutions that create problems.- Riding a ghost train: “What happens if ‘nothing’ happens?”.- Part III The Witten theory of the business family.- Family and business - the “impossible endeavour”.- Family and business family at the same time: the duplicated family.- Part IV Core issues of family strategy.- Appointment decisions: a sense of belonging and drawing limits.- Legitimation: decide without deciding!.- Being aware of mental models.- What's the point of it all? Cross-generational meaningful purpose.- Part V Developing a family strategy.- Re-inventing the wheel! The Witten model of family strategy development.