The Two Sides of the Business Family

Arist von Schlippe is a Professor and heads the Endowment Chair of Leadership and Dynamics in Family Businesses, 'Witten Institute for Family Business' (WIFU) at the Witten/Herdecke University, Germany. He is one of the leading family psychologists in Germany, and his research spans across the fields of family governance, succession; the role of stories and value transmission in business families; transgenerational entrepreneurship, negotiation and conflict resolution; parental coaching in non-violent resistance.

Torsten Groth is a Senior research fellow at the Witten Institute for Family Business (WIFU) at the Witten/Herdecke University, Germany. He is specialized in leadership and organization and serves as one of the leading systemic coaches for family businesses and organizations.

Tom A. Rüsen is a Professor and the Managing Director of the Witten Institute for Family Business (WIFU), and an Honorary Professor at the Witten/Herdecke University, Germany. He is one of the leading speakers on family business topics in Germany and serves as a consultant to business families. His research focuses on conflict and crisis management in family businesses, mental models, and family strategy development in business families, family governance and professional ownership development.

Part I Introduction
Family strategy over generations

Part II Managed by neglect: solutions that create problems
Riding a ghost train: »What happens if ›nothing‹ happens?«

Part III The Witten theory of the business family
Family and business — the »impossible endeavour«
Family and business family at the same time: the duplicated family

Part IV Core issues of family strategy
Appointment decisions: a sense of belonging and drawing limits
Legitimation: decide without deciding!
Being aware of mental models
What's the point of it all? Cross-generational meaningful purpose

Part V Developing a family strategy
Re-inventing the wheel! The Witten model of family strategy development.