Author: Lisa O'Brien

Succession planning is changing. Preparing for a family enterprise’s next generational transition has become more complex and challenging in recent years.

This is due to factors such as increased longevity, industry consolidation, a rise in M&A, evolving business models, and changing next gen career interests.”

In this live discussion, Prof. John Davis reflects on ways succession is being reshaped and answers audience questions about how families and owners need to approach succession with new insights for today’s changing dynamics.

Hear the full video here >

Professor John Davis joins the YPO Brazil podcast “Extraordinary Leaders.”

In this exclusive episode, Prof. Davis shares his extensive experience and knowledge of the unique challenges and opportunities that surround family business management. Through an in-depth conversation, they explore topics such as the importance of planned succession, family dynamics in the business environment, and how businesses can thrive across generations.

In addition to practical tips for entrepreneurs and successors, Prof. Davis brings inspiring stories and valuable insights into leadership in the family context.

Hear the full podcast here >

In this webinar, John Davis offers his insights for how owners lead effectively through turbulent times to build organizational resilience, maintain long-term enterprise performance, and sustain family enterprise success.

Times of turbulence—high volatility mixed with some disruptive change and high uncertainty about what’s next—demand even more from owners of companies. Even in relatively steady times, owners need to broadly guide their company and approve key changes (such as with investments and leadership).

In times like these, the importance of the owners’ role increases because more key decisions rise to the owners’ level.

Learn more from Davis during his course: Future Family Enterprise: Sustaining Multigenerational Success.

Periods of volatility, disruption, and uncertainty require more from owners of family enterprises. Owners of family companies typically focus on strategic oversight and approving major decisions. During times of turbulence, owners need to let stakeholders know that “We are here to stay and we can manage this.

We have the vision, unity, agility, resilience, and resources to steer and guide the family enterprise and our family through these challenging, changing times.” In this webinar, Professor John Davis offers his insights for how owners can lead (as owners) through these times.

Watch this Webinar and:

• Learn how the active owners of a family enterprise can lead through turbulent times.
• Explore how governance needs to change to enable faster decision-making during periods of volatility and disruptive change.
• Have the opportunity to ask Professor John Davis questions about challenges you are facing related to owning a family enterprise in these times.

MIT Sloan faculty John Davis and Deborah Ancona discuss why building an owners team is crucial, and what makes an owners team strong and effective.

Given the critical role and contribution of owners in the long-term success of a family enterprise, it is important that the owners remain a strong, unified, and capable team. This requires deliberate effort, especially over time and across generations as the ownership group grows larger and more diverse and complex. MIT Sloan faculty John Davis and Deborah Ancona will discuss why building an owners team is crucial, and what makes an owners team strong and effective.

Equip your family enterprise with the tools and knowledge to cultivate a united and resilient owners team for lasting success. Learn more from Davis and Ancona during their course: Future Family Enterprise: Sustaining Multigenerational Success Future Family Enterprise: Sustaining Multigenerational Success.

Key takeaways:

• Why capable owners—especially active owners—are a key advantage for family businesses
• The qualities of a strong ownership team and how they are developed
• The challenges and practices of building a cross-generational team of owners in your family enterprise

In this webinar, MIT Sloan Professor John Davis explains how your family needs to excel at owner-level decisions—the most crucial capability for a family business to succeed in today’s turbulent environment.

Professor Davis is joined by third-generation family business owner, Karim Zahran, who will share his family’s story about the transformative power of an Owner’s Mindset in his family enterprise.

To learn more, visit MIT Management Executive Education >

A podcast conversation with John Davis, Chairman and Founder of the Cambridge Family Enterprise Group and Senior Lecturer in Family Enterprise at MIT Sloan and Jason Jay, Senior Lecturer and Director of the Sustainability Initiative at the MIT Sloan School of Management. In this podcast, John and Jason discuss systemic investing. 

In this podcast, Jason and John discuss Jason’s year of researching and discussing systemic investing with the FFI community.

More Information >

Is your family growing the value you want to be building?

Learn from MIT’s family enterprise experts about the two latest trends that help families build value (of various kinds) across generations, particularly in this era of rapid change and global uncertainty.

MIT Sloan faculty John Davis and Jason Jay discuss their latest insights on two emerging trends: how an owner strategy and systemic investing are being put to use by families to grow value, develop family talent, and build family unity across generations.

This webinar is especially relevant for the owners and leaders of family enterprises and family offices who want to stay ahead of the curve and gain new insights about family enterprise success.

Key takeaways include:

• Why family enterprises need to pivot their value-creation strategies, given today’s turbulence
• How families are putting to use two strategies to build value: an owner strategy and systemic investing
• How your family can make use of these strategies in your family enterprise or family office
• The latest thinking on family enterprise out of MIT
• Information about the upcoming Future Family Enterprise program

Learn more from their course: Future Family Enterprise: Sustaining Multigenerational Success

February 1, 2023

Today, family business leaders and owners face some of the most challenging and high-stakes decisions seen in a generation.

How are YOU navigating the complex decisions that your family enterprise faces? Let’s dig into them together in this important conversation—a Q&A with Professor John Davis.

Learn more from Davis during his course: Future Family Enterprise: Sustaining Multigenerational Success.

MIT Management Executive Education
November 15, 2021

This is a new era for family businesses. To succeed in this turbulent period, family businesses must adopt new practices at not only the operations level, but also at the ownership level.

Professor John Davis explores the owner perspective, owner-level decisions, and how to architect governance to make these strategic decisions for the family business and family assets.

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