Family, Inc.: How To Manage Parents, Siblings, Spouses, Children, And In-laws In The Family Business

Chapter Title 1 Family, Inc. How to Manage Parents, Siblings, Spouses, Children, and In-Laws in the Family Business By Larry and Laura Colin The Career Press, Inc. Franklin Lakes, NJ 2 Family, Inc. Copyright © 2008 by Larry and Laura Colin All rights reserved under the Pan-American and International Copyright Conventions. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or hereafter invented, without written permission from the publisher, The Career Press. FAMILY, INC. EDITED AND TYPESET BY GINA TALUCCI Cover design by The Design Works Group Printed in the U.S.A. by Book-mart Press To order this title, please call toll-free 1-800-CAREER-1 (NJ and Canada: 201-848-0310) to order using VISA or MasterCard, or for further information on books from Career Press. The Career Press, Inc., 3 Tice Road, PO Box 687, Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417 www.careerpress.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Colin, Larry, 1959– Family, Inc. : how to manage parents, siblings, spouses, children, and in-laws in the family business / by Larry and Laura Colin. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-56414-985-5 1. Family-owned business enterprises—Management. 2. Family corporations—Management. I. Colin, Laura. II. Title. HD62.25.C645 2008 658'.02--dc22 2007050993 Chapter Title Larry: To Grandpa Sam, whose amazing courage positioned our family for reaching the American dream. To my beloved father, George, whose warmth, love, and kindness is forever etched in my heart. To my loving wife, Laura, who made this book a reality. Laura: To Alexander, Sean, and Larry the loves of my life. D 3e d i c a t i o n This page intentionally left blank Chapter Title We would like to thank: Michael Alvear, developer of Blabber Mash.com, whose facility with words helped bring this book to life. Robyn and Willy Spizman of The Spizman Agency, for helping develop the concept. Our agent, John Willig, of Literary Services, Inc. John Ward, PhD, professor and codirector of The Kellogg School Center of Family Enterprise, for his time and expertise. Drew Mendoza, managing principal of The Family Business Consulting Group International, for some candid advice. Joseph H. Astrachan, PhD, executive director of Cox Family Enterprise Center, for his expertise. Robert Arogeti, Habif, Arogeti, and Wynne LLP, for all the doors that opened for us. Mike Mullman and Fred Lipman, Blank Rome LLP, for their legal advice. Marshal Steinman, Marks Panet, and Shron LLP, an old friend and advisor. 5 A c k n o w l e d g m e n t s This page intentionally left blank Chapter Title Prologue: Who Are You in the Family Business? 7 9 Introduction 13 Author’s Note 19 Chapter 1: Dad the Decider 21 Chapter 2: Mom the CFO 45 Chapter 3: The Hard-Charging Son 63 Chapter 4: In-Laws Under the Influence 89 Chapter 5: The Father With Farewell Paranoia 111 C o n t e n t s 8 Family, Inc. Chapter 6: The Sibling Rivals 135 Chapter 7: Uncle Ben Marries...Again 157 Chapter 8:The Savvy Sister With the Killer Resume 175 Chapter 9: The Parents in a Pickle 193 Chapter 10:Mr. and Mrs. Inc. 209 Chapter 11: The Perplexed Parent 225 Conclusion 245 Bibliography 247 Index 249 About the Authors 255 Prologue 9 Who Are You in the Family Business?