Publisher Description

This powerful study of the threats to business survival draws compelling parallels between the Titanic and family firms, serving to motivate family business stakeholders into corrective action before it's too late.Family-owned businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy, responsible for 65 percent of wages paid, adding 78 percent of all new jobs, and contributing over half of the nation's GDP. Unfortunately, less than one-third survive the transition from first to second generation of family ownership.Now more than ever, many family businesses are in danger of going under as rising health care costs, lack of access to capital, and increasing costs of doing business shrink profit margins. Sink or Swim: How Lessons from the Titanic Can Save Your Family Business provides critical strategies for identifying and managing risks—obvious and hidden—that threaten family business survival. In part 1 of the book, the authors relate the design, construction, and operation of the ill-fated Titanic to the challenges facing family-owned businesses today. Part 2 examines the five fatal flaws that contributed to Titanic's sinking and reveals how family firms can have the same vulnerabilities. The final section supplies guidance that will help family-run businesses avoid unanticipated tragedy.

Author Biography

Priscilla M. Cale, MBA, is an advisor, consultant, lecturer, author, and communications strategist with experience in both the private sector and academia.David C. Tate, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and assistant clinical professor at Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.

Table of Contents

AcknowledgmentsIntroductionPart I Genesis of a Disaster1 The Birth of a Dream: How Titanic Came to Be2 The Life and Death of TitanicPart II The Five Fatal Flaws3 Overconfidence4 Ineffective Leadership5 Lack of Planning and Preparation6 Frail Architecture7 Team FragmentationPart III Listening to and Learning from Titanic8 Establishing Safe Passages9 LegaciesAppendix: National and Regional Survey DataNotesBibliographyIndexAn unnumbered photo essay follows page 108

Promotional

This powerful study of the threats to business survival draws compelling parallels between the Titanic and family firms, serving to motivate family business stakeholders into corrective action before it's too late.

Long Description

Family-owned businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy, responsible for 65 percent of wages paid, adding 78 percent of all new jobs, and contributing over half of the nation's GDP. Unfortunately, less than one-third survive the transition from first to second generation of family ownership. Now more than ever, many family businesses are in danger of going under as rising health care costs, lack of access to capital, and increasing costs of doing business shrink profit margins. Sink or Swim: How Lessons from the Titanic Can Save Your Family Business provides critical strategies for identifying and managing risks--obvious and hidden--that threaten family business survival. In part 1 of the book, the authors relate the design, construction, and operation of the ill-fated Titanic to the challenges facing family-owned businesses today. Part 2 examines the five fatal flaws that contributed to Titanic 's sinking and reveals how family firms can have the same vulnerabilities. The final section supplies guidance that will help family-run businesses avoid unanticipated tragedy.

Promotional "Headline"

On April 14, 1912, the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg and sank, killing 1,888 people. Only 30 percent of the passengers and crew survived. For family-owned businesses, it's a similar story: a mere 30 percent make it past the first generation. There are many more parallels between the tragic end of Titanic and family businesses in America.

Description for Reader

* Uniquely addresses both the "hard side" (business) and "soft side" (psychology) of family-business dynamics * Provides and explains current and specific data relevant to the family business audience rather than statistics on general business * Makes use of the Titanic metaphor/case study to convey both practical ideas and emotional urgency, and to provide readers with a deeper understanding of key concepts * Written by authors who have firsthand familiarity with the unique dynamics that result when "family" intersects with "business"

Details