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Forming Family Enterprise Governance
Creating structures and processes to ensure success and continuity
One of the most critical times in a family enterprise's evolution is moving from the processes, people and structures that proved successful for a controlling owner to those that support a sibling partnership. Providing your stakeholders with education from the leading academic experts on family enterprise governance can increase your confidence that you understand the challenges in developing effective governance, and can move forward with the right systems that fit your stage and needs.
This program is focused on what skills owners need to design appropriate governance architecture, lead effective decision making across all stakeholders and set a vision that will guide multi-generational continuity. Leading faculty from the John L. Ward Center for Family Enterprises and across Kellogg, in addition to insights from successful families who have made this transition, will provide you with engaging and thought provoking approaches and frameworks.
Groups are encouraged but NOT REQUIRED. No more than 5 participants per family enterprise are permitted to attend at one time. Requests for groups of more than five in a single session must be approved by the program’s Academic Director. Please direct your inquiry to the John L. Ward Center for Family Enterprises at c-bath@kellogg.northwestern.edu.
VIDEO: Learn more from Academic Director Jennifer Pendergast
Family Enterprise Blended Programs
The Family Enterprise suite of programs are a blend of three different learning modes designed to maximize both convenience and impact:
- Pre-Program: Pre-Program: Establish bonds before your learning begins, aided by a custom participant-profile book, live virtual sessions and a diagnostic tool.
- Live Virtual Component: Virtual half-day sessions on Kellogg’s state-of-the-art interactive platform will establish a foundation for the rest of the program. You’ll be introduced to the core concepts of the program and equipped for the meaningful, productive and transformative in-person experience to come.
- Program Diagnostic: At the end of the live virtual foundation models, each family group will take a diagnostic that identifies family governance priorities. The diagnostic will guide selection of a meaningful family project to apply the concepts from class to address a governance priority for the family.
- Family consultation and project: A three-week period between the live virtual and in-person program modules gives you the time to identify and work on your family project, engaging other family stakeholders in the work as needed. You will have access to a family consultation to gain faculty input on the challenges your family is facing
- In-Person: An immersive experience where you are encouraged to unplug from work in a university living-learning environment Kellogg's Miami campus. Forge deep connections to a global network of peers and engage with faculty formally and informally. Program sessions, meals and supplemental and social activities are face-to-face, giving you the opportunity to focus completely on learning and growth.
Our blended format, scheduled over multiple weeks, allows more time for deeper reflection and exploration. It also gives you the opportunity to share learnings with family members who haven’t enrolled in the program, include them in your consultation, put concepts into practice and spend more individual time working on the group project.
Participants in earlier blended programs have told us the format was excellent for those who attended with more than one person, while others appreciated the opportunity to reflect and absorb afforded by time spent at home and a slower pace. We’re proud of the improvements we’ve made to our offerings, and we’re sure you’ll agree.
Who Should Attend
- Members of enterprising families and non-family executives with businesses in the founders and/or sibling stages of growth. Consultants or advisors are not eligible unless attending with a family member.
Download Past Participant Profile
Key Benefits
- Learn the governing structures families must consider to promote multi-generational continuity
- Understand the heterogeneity of each stakeholder in family enterprises - family, owner and management
- Appreciate the unique challenges of operating in the sibling stage of ownership, as well as the requirements to transmit the business beyond this stage
- Acquire tools and language to put these concepts into action with the rest of the family
- Learn from other families in a similar stage of evolution through exposure to other participants and cases
Program Content
- Develop a theory of family business governance
- Design an appropriate, optimal governance structure for your enterprise
- Learn how governance structures and policies interact to elicit constructive shareholder engagement and organizational effectiveness
- Acquire skills needed to effectively lead the processes of governance
- Understand the roles of owners and the responsibilities of family, boards, and executive management
- Maximize board and family leadership effectiveness
- Differentiate ruling from governing
- Explore the use of influence within a family system
- Build awareness of the process of creating and refining a family constitution
Faculty
Matt Allen - Co-Academic Director; John L. Ward Clinical Professor in Family Enterprise and Executive Director of the John L. Ward Center for Family Enterprises
Jennifer Pendergast - Co-Academic Director; Adjunct Professor of John L. Ward Center for Family Enterprises and Adjunct Professor of Kellogg Executive Education
Gail Berger - Clinical Associate Professor of Management & Organizations; Deputy Director, Center for Executive Women; Associate Professor of Instruction, Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences, McCormick School of Engineering
Michelle L. Buck - Clinical Professor of Executive Education
Richard Jolly - Clinical Associate Professor of Management & Organizations
Ivan Lansberg - Adjunct Professor, John L. Ward Center for Family Enterprises Executive Education Programs
What Participants Say
“This program provided an excellent overview of the issues surrounding early governance formation and transition in family business. Each time that members of my family or I take time away to wrestle with these issues, I inevitably notice growth and change in a positive direction for our family and our business.”
Owner and Neurologist, Centre for Neural Skills
“Excellent material regarding the structural dynamics of a family enterprise. Class sessions presented a mix of interesting lectures, interactive exercises and case studies. The instructors are experts in the field and very engaging in the classroom.”
General Partner, Audrey's Kitchen
“This program provided a great opportunity for me and my family to learn more about the unique issues affecting families in business, to connect with other families considering similar issues, and to carve out valuable time to discuss these issues as a family.”
COO, Corporate Settlement Solutions
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Address the unique challenges of running a family business
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