The family enterprise, whether an operating business, a family office, or both, is the backbone of the US and international economies. These enterprises cut across industries and geographies and can be first-generation entrepreneurial companies or multi-generational businesses with family offices. This book offers a foundation in and understanding of how family enterprises work, including working definitions and the key characteristics of family enterprises, as well as useful concepts for working with and in family enterprises, either as a professional or as a family member.

• Written by the experts at the Family Firm Institute, a global network of professionals, educators, researchers, and owners of family enterprises
• An ideal resource for professionals in law, finance, management, and behavioral science, family office and fund managers, and others interested in an multidisciplinary approach to this field

For over a quarter century, The Family Firm Institute, Inc. (FFI) has been engaged in educating, connecting, and inspiring professionals who serve family enterprises. FFI is the leading association worldwide for family enterprise professionals and the organization of choice for the advisors, consultants, educators, and researchers who help perpetuate transgenerational family business wealth. In adopting a multidisciplinary and genuinely global perspective, FFI understands family enterprise as a fundamental driver of global economic growth, prosperity, and stability. For its global network of professionals, educators, researchers, and family business owners, FFI provides opportunities to participate in multidisciplinary educational programs and earn professional designation; enables collaboration at conferences, seminars, and online; and creates a single space for interaction, cross-pollination of ideas, expertise, and perspectives to further the field of family enterprise.