Family Business Forum
Connect with fellow family business leaders in a confidential peer learning community designed specifically for the unique challenges you face.
Why a Family Business Forum?
Leading a family business can be isolating. Your non-family business peers don't understand the complexity of navigating family dynamics alongside business decisions. Your family members are too close to the situation to provide objective perspective. Your employees and advisors, while valuable, aren't in your shoes.
That's why peer forums have become one of the most valued resources for family business leaders. In a confidential setting with others who truly understand your challenges, you can:
- Discuss sensitive issues you can't raise with employees or family
- Learn from others who have navigated similar challenges successfully
- Gain fresh perspectives on problems you've been struggling with
- Build relationships with trusted peers who become long-term advisors
- Stay current on family business best practices and emerging trends
- Celebrate successes with people who understand what you've accomplished
- Find support during difficult periods from people who care and understand
Our Forum members consistently report that their peer connections become one of their most valuable business resources—relationships that last for decades.
How the Forum Works
Monthly Meetings
The Forum meets monthly for half-day sessions that combine education and peer discussion. Each meeting typically includes a presentation from an expert speaker on a relevant family business topic, facilitated discussion where members share experiences and advice, networking time to build relationships, and updates on member companies and family situations.
Meeting Topics
Our Forum curriculum addresses the full spectrum of family business challenges:
- Succession planning and leadership transition
- Family governance structures and family councils
- Compensation systems for family businesses
- Working with the next generation effectively
- Board development and getting value from advisors
- Managing conflict in family businesses
- Strategic planning for multi-generational continuity
- Ownership education and shareholder alignment
- Estate planning and wealth transfer
- Growing the business while maintaining family culture
- Selling, merging, or exiting the family business
- Balancing family needs with business requirements
Confidentiality
What's shared in Forum stays in Forum. We maintain strict confidentiality standards that enable members to discuss sensitive issues openly. This confidential environment is what makes authentic peer learning possible.
Member Composition
Our Forum brings together family business leaders from diverse industries and company sizes. This diversity enriches discussions—insights from a third-generation manufacturer can be invaluable for a second-generation service business. What matters isn't your industry but your commitment to family business success.
Members typically include founders and CEOs, next-generation leaders stepping into leadership, family board members and owners, and siblings in partnership. We limit Forum size to ensure quality discussion and relationship building.
Forum Member Benefits
Beyond monthly meetings, Forum membership includes:
Expert Speaker Access
We bring in leading family business consultants, attorneys, accountants, psychologists, and industry experts who provide cutting-edge thinking on family business challenges. These speakers offer practical frameworks you can implement immediately.
Resource Library
Members access our library of articles, case studies, book recommendations, and templates on family business topics. This curated collection saves you time finding quality resources.
Peer Advisory Relationships
The most valuable benefit is often the peer relationships you build. Forum members exchange phone calls, meet for coffee, visit each other's businesses, and serve as informal advisors to each other between meetings. These relationships become trusted resources for years.
Special Events
Throughout the year we host additional events for Forum members including spouse/partner events that build family support networks, next-generation programs for rising leaders, annual retreats for deeper dive on strategic topics, and networking receptions and social gatherings.
Member Company Features
We regularly profile member companies, sharing your story with fellow members and celebrating your achievements. These features help members understand each other's businesses and identify potential collaboration opportunities.
What Members Say
"Joining the Forum was one of the best decisions I made for our business. The peer relationships I've built have helped me navigate challenges I couldn't discuss with anyone else. My Forum colleagues have become trusted advisors I call regularly."
— Second-generation CEO, manufacturing company
"The Forum helped me prepare for succession in ways I couldn't have anticipated. Hearing how other founders navigated letting go gave me the confidence to start delegating to my daughter. Three years later, she's leading the company beautifully and I'm enjoying semi-retirement."
— Founder transitioning to next generation
"As a next-generation leader stepping into the CEO role, I felt isolated and uncertain. The Forum connected me with others in similar transitions. Their advice, support, and friendship have been invaluable. I don't know how I would have navigated this without them."
— Third-generation CEO, service business
Forum Membership
Who Should Join
The Forum is designed for family business owners, executives, and rising leaders who are committed to the long-term success of their family enterprise, facing the unique challenges of family business leadership, open to learning from peers and sharing their own experiences, and able to commit to regular attendance and confidentiality.
Time Commitment
Forum meetings occur monthly and typically run from 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM. We encourage consistent attendance—the relationships and learning compound over time. Members report that the time investment pays dividends many times over in improved decision-making and reduced stress.
Investment
Forum membership is an annual commitment. We believe in the value of long-term peer relationships—family business challenges don't resolve in a single meeting. Most members remain active for many years, finding ongoing value as their businesses and families evolve.
Application Process
To ensure good Forum dynamics, we have a brief application process. This includes completing a membership application describing your business and family situation, participating in a conversation with Forum leadership to ensure mutual fit, and meeting current members to experience the Forum culture.
We're selective not because we're exclusive, but because the right member mix ensures everyone receives maximum value. We want to ensure the Forum will genuinely serve your needs and that you'll contribute meaningfully to other members' learning.
Join the Forum
If you're ready to connect with peers who understand your unique challenges as a family business leader, we invite you to explore Forum membership. The relationships you build and the learning you gain can transform both your business and your family experience.