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Asset Management, Family, Family Office, Leadership and Strategy, Research Findings, Tax Policy
The Quiet Choices That Shape Family Wealth
Most families assume wealth is lost through dramatic failures—a bad investment, a misjudged expansion, an unexpected crisis. But new research from Columbia Business School reveals something more subtle and far more consequential: long-term wealth is shaped by the small, ordinary decisions families make repeatedly over time. How often you rebalance. When you recognize gains or losses. Whether your advisors follow a disciplined process or react emotionally. These quiet choices—not portfolio size—explain why some families steadily compound wealth across generations while others slowly fall behind. This article explores the unseen mechanisms that drive long-run outcomes and offers tools to help families examine the habits, systems, and governance structures that support true resilience.
Artificial Intelligence, Curriculum, Family, Leadership and Strategy, Research Findings
From Legacy to Algorithms: How Family Enterprises Can Lead the Age of Artificial Intelligence
AI is redefining the meaning of continuity for family enterprises. New research reveals how families can turn artificial intelligence into a new form of capital—one grounded in learning, trust, and shared purpose across generations.
Family, Leadership, Ownership, Research Findings
Beyond Time Off: Regeneration, Burnout, and the Hidden Cost of Always Being “On”
A new study by Blumentritt, Randolph, and Marchisio reframes burnout in family enterprises as a systemic issue—not simply the result of long hours, but of blurred roles, emotional labor, and constant entwinement of personal and professional identity. Unlike in traditional firms, stepping away from work may feel like stepping out of the family. The research highlights that effective recovery goes beyond rest—it requires intentional, identity-affirming experiences and collective shifts in how families structure time, roles, and expectations.
Family, Leadership, Ownership, Research Findings
Family of Choice: In-Laws and the Enterprising Family
In-laws are part of the family — but what does that mean in the context of a family enterprise? This essay explores the hidden influence of in-laws on continuity, identity, and governance across generations. Drawing on research by John Rosso and perspectives from family systems theory, it challenges families to reflect on whether their treatment of in-laws is thoughtful and aligned with long-term goals, or driven by default assumptions that may unintentionally undermine connection and stewardship.
Family, Leadership, Ownership, Research Findings
The Silent Risk in the C-Suite: When Memory Meets Responsibility
New research from Columbia University and a 2025 study in The Lancet Regional Health – Americas challenge assumptions about when Alzheimer’s risk begins. The findings show that cognitive decline—linked to cardiovascular, inflammatory, and neurodegenerative markers—can be detected in adults as young as 24. While family history remains relevant, it’s lifestyle and biological risk factors that may offer earlier, more actionable signals.This has major implications for family enterprise leadership: cognitive health isn’t just a personal issue—it’s a strategic one. In a high-pressure environment where next-gens are expected to carry long-term responsibility, fostering brain health through wellness strategies, annual screenings, and a new definition of “readiness” could shape the future of continuity planning. As Dr. Noble of Columbia University Medical Center notes, the earliest signs often go unrecognized—making proactive awareness a form of responsible ownership.
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Family, Leadership, Ownership, Research Findings
The Silent Risk in the C-Suite: When Memory Meets Responsibility
New research from Columbia University and a 2025 study in The Lancet Regional Health – Americas challenge assumptions about when Alzheimer’s risk begins. The findings show that cognitive decline—linked to cardiovascular, inflammatory, and neurodegenerative markers—can be detected in adults as young as 24. While family history remains relevant, it’s lifestyle and biological risk factors that may offer earlier, more actionable signals.This has major implications for family enterprise leadership: cognitive health isn’t just a personal issue—it’s a strategic one. In a high-pressure environment where next-gens are expected to carry long-term responsibility, fostering brain health through wellness strategies, annual screenings, and a new definition of “readiness” could shape the future of continuity planning. As Dr. Noble of Columbia University Medical Center notes, the earliest signs often go unrecognized—making proactive awareness a form of responsible ownership.
Family, Leadership, Research Findings
The Power of Belonging in Times of Transition
In Tribal, Professor Michael Morris reveals that tribes—groups bound by shared identity, rituals, and purpose—aren’t just social constructs; they’re fundamental to how humans survive and thrive. Family enterprises, too, function as tribes. But as families grow and change, tribal cohesion requires intentional leadership. Drawing from Morris’s work, we explore what it means to build inclusive, evolving tribes that balance tradition with transformation. As our students graduate and our alumni grow in their journeys, we’re reminded that the bonds forged at Columbia—like all resilient tribes—are rooted in meaning, shared purpose, and belonging.
Climate and Sustainability, Family, Leadership, Ownership, Research Findings
Beyond Earth Day: What Legacy Are We Leaving?
Earth Day may come once a year each April, but its call to action reverberates far beyond a single month. Corporations respond with net-zero pledges, families with tree-planting rituals, and policy leaders with bold targets. Yet behind these headlines lies a quieter, more complex force: enterprising families.
Consulting, Family, Leadership, Practitioner Perspectives, Research Findings
Advising Enterprising Families: The Role, the Gap, and the Opportunity
Advising enterprising families calls for more than just business savvy; it requires understanding trust, legacy, and emotion. While advisors are often skilled in governance and strategy, many overlook the “human architecture” that truly drives family enterprise success. Below, we explore how to bridge this critical gap.
Family, Leadership, Research Findings
How Family Enterprises Can Benefit from The Employee Advantage by Stephan Meier
At the 2025 Family Enterprise Conference, Nepotism & Nurturing: Challenging the Narrative, Stephan Meier—author of The Employee Advantage—moderated our panel of family CEOs with one central theme: employees are a strategic resource, not just a cost. Meier spotlighted how family enterprises can unlock innovation and loyalty by combining their signature relational strengths (like trust and tradition) with transparent, merit-based HR practices that prevent favoritism and ensure non-family employees thrive, too. It’s an approach that research in family business fully supports: tapping into caring cultures is a proven source of competitive edge—but only when balanced with structures that keep the door open to all.Learn more about The Employee Advantage
Family, Leadership, Research Findings
Family First: An Integrative Conceptual Review of Nepotism in Organizations
In anticipation of our February 21 conference, Nepotism & Nurturing: Challenging the Narrative, this month’s newsletter dives into the complexities of nepotism in family enterprises. As coauthor Constantin Lagios explains in Family First: An Integrative Conceptual Review of Nepotism in Organizations, nepotism—“the practice of giving preferential treatment based on kinship or familial ties”—can have profound effects on an organization’s legacy and sustainability. While it fosters trust and unity among family members, unchecked nepotism can undermine fairness and efficiency, even contributing to misconduct. This issue explores how families can navigate these challenges and strike the right balance between relational bonds and professional merit. Join us at our upcoming conference to learn practical strategies for creating equitable, high-performing family enterprises.Read "Family First: An Integrative Conceptual Review of Nepotism in Organizations"
Family, Research Findings
Legacy: A Reflection on the Year and a Vision for the Future
As we close another year, the concept of legacy invites us to pause and reflect on the enduring impact of our actions and choices. Legacy, as explored in family enterprises, goes beyond financial inheritance. It encompasses values, decisions, and the footprints we leave for those who follow. This month, we consider legacy not just as a gift we bestow but as a lens through which we view our past, present, and future.Read "Legacy: The Meaning of Lasting Impact for Family, Business, and Beyond"Read "Leaving a Legacy: Intergenerational Allocations of Benefits and Burdens”
Family, Research Findings
Thanksgiving and Beyond: The Science of Gratitude in Family Enterprises
November, the month of giving thanks, inspired us to review the latest interdisciplinary research on the role of gratitude in families. Over time, multiple studies have shown that gratitude practices not only strengthen emotional bonds but also build resilience within families, enabling them to navigate challenges and adapt to change more effectively.Among the most recent articles on the topics, evidence highlights how gratitude improves individual well-being and enhances family dynamics and functioning. Read "Gratitude Improves Parents' Well-Being and Family Functioning"
Practitioner Perspectives, Research Findings
New Ideas in Family Firms: 2023 Academic-Practitioner Conference Recap
The New Ideas in Family Firms Conference is an invitation-only thought leadership platform that was launched in 2018 to bring together a small group of the world’s leading academic researchers and practitioners to discuss the latest ideas in family enterprise research and advisory work.