Years ago, I attended a seminar for mediators.  One of the instructors shared a case experience along the following lines. After twenty years of marriage, a couple decided to divorce. The wife was CEO of her family’s successful, generational business. The husband also held an executive office in the family business, subordinate to that of…

In the 1930’s a farmer brought a sick calf to researchers at the Agricultural Research Center of the University of Minnesota. Over the previous few months, the farmer’s cattle had grown progressively weak and unhealthy, and many were dying. The researchers emptied the stomach of the calf and discovered a peculiar variety of clover which had…

Consider the following description of marriage: Marriage: a hopeful, generous, infinitely kind gamble taken by two people who don’t know yet who they are or who the other might be, binding themselves to a future they cannot conceive of and have carefully omitted to investigate. – Alain De Botton, The Course of Love This French philosopher’s…

During a period in my career I had the opportunity to do business in China, where I was introduced to the ancient Chinese art of chengyu,idiomatic phrases which convey figurative meaning – a type of short-hand Chinese mythology, if you will. Consider, for instance, the wordsFrog–Well–Turtle–World.  For one experienced with chengyu, these four words might very well trigger…

There are dozens of newsletters targeting the family business audience. The Owl’s Nest is not one of them. This newsletter is solely for trusted advisors to these enterprises. This first edition will provide context for what is to come. If you know someone who would enjoy receiving these monthly insights, please invite them to send…