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Myths and Mortals
Establish credibility as the new family business leader
Myths & Mortals, Family Business Leadership and Succession Planning provides insights and strategies for successors of family businesses. Successors often find themselves in the shadow of their parents making it difficult to establish credibility in the family business and tap into their own strengths. The stress of emulating a parent begins to clash with who they are and who they want to be as a leader.
Written by internationally known business strategist and succession planning expert Andrew Keyt, this guide shows you how to establish credibility, take your place at the head of the table, and run your business your way. In groundbreaking research, Keyt interviewed more than 25 successors of family business legends including Massimo Ferragamo, Bill Wrigley Jr., Christie Hefner, and John Tyson to find out how they overcame the challenges successors commonly face.The analysis from that study formed the basis for the strategies presented here—to help you win the loyalty of those stuck in the old way of doing business, and still focused on their former leader's vision. You'll learn how to take charge without sacrificing your own leadership style, and how to get everyone on board with your vision for the business.
Growing up in the shadow of legendary family business leaders creates a unique challenge for successors to the leadership position. You cannot remove the emotional power of family dynamics from the business, but you can change how you choose to react to it. To be successful, you need to create a sense of identity and credibility, and step out of the shadows of your forbears. This guide provides strategies for doing just that, so you can take the reins and be the effective leader your business needs.
Overcome the obstacles successors commonly face
Win over those still loyal to their former leader
Build your own credibility, separate from your parents
Develop your own leadership style and do business your way
Credibility is elemental to business leadership, but establishing that credibility is the successor's biggest challenge. Myths & Mortals, Family Business Leadership and Succession Planning helps you plan around the obstacles and avoid common missteps so you can lead more effectively right out of the gate.
Myths & Mortals, Family Business Leadership and Succession Planning provides insights and strategies for successors of family businesses. Successors often find themselves in the shadow of their parents making it difficult to establish credibility in the family business and tap into their own strengths. The stress of emulating a parent begins to clash with who they are and who they want to be as a leader.
Written by internationally known business strategist and succession planning expert Andrew Keyt, this guide shows you how to establish credibility, take your place at the head of the table, and run your business your way. In groundbreaking research, Keyt interviewed more than 25 successors of family business legends including Massimo Ferragamo, Bill Wrigley Jr., Christie Hefner, and John Tyson to find out how they overcame the challenges successors commonly face.The analysis from that study formed the basis for the strategies presented here—to help you win the loyalty of those stuck in the old way of doing business, and still focused on their former leader's vision. You'll learn how to take charge without sacrificing your own leadership style, and how to get everyone on board with your vision for the business.
Growing up in the shadow of legendary family business leaders creates a unique challenge for successors to the leadership position. You cannot remove the emotional power of family dynamics from the business, but you can change how you choose to react to it. To be successful, you need to create a sense of identity and credibility, and step out of the shadows of your forbears. This guide provides strategies for doing just that, so you can take the reins and be the effective leader your business needs.
Overcome the obstacles successors commonly face
Win over those still loyal to their former leader
Build your own credibility, separate from your parents
Develop your own leadership style and do business your way
Credibility is elemental to business leadership, but establishing that credibility is the successor's biggest challenge. Myths & Mortals, Family Business Leadership and Succession Planning helps you plan around the obstacles and avoid common missteps so you can lead more effectively right out of the gate.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published July 13, 2015
3 people are currently reading
30 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Keyt
12 books3 followersAndrew Keyt is an internationally known business strategist and succession planning expert for family owned businesses. He has established a reputation globally for his exceptional ability to accurately advise large family owned businesses, resolve family conflict and restore communication. He is one of the few experts called upon in family emergency transitions to help them discover invisible opportunities and solve seemingly impossible problems.
At the age of 22, Andrew became a family business owner of a business he didn’t even know existed. “I had to quickly figure out how to fill the shoes of my father and find my own leadership path. “ His personal story and witnessing the growth and transformation of many successful family business leaders inspired him to write Myths and Mortals: Family Business Leadership and Succession Planning, published by Wiley, July 2015. His book is based on years of research and interviews with great next generation leaders like Christine Hefner, Bill Wrigley Jr., Massimo Ferragamo and more. His acute family business insights have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Fortune Magazine, The Economist and Family Business.
Keyt is the Executive Director at the Loyola University Chicago Family Business Center which is dedicated to helping multigenerational family-owned businesses grow, transition and learn. The Center serves some of the largest family firms in the United States and Canada, approximately 100 member family businesses ranging in size from $25 million - $8 billion in annual sales. During Keyt’s tenure, the Center has increased its membership by more than 100% and has secured more than $1 million in pledges to fund future operations.
Keyt is also President and Founder of Keyt Consulting, a private firm that assists family enterprises with succession and strategic planning, dealing with family conflict and communication, working with adult sibling / cousin teams, and executing emergency management transitions. In addition, Keyt is the president of Family Business Network – North America (FBN-NA), the leading network for business-owning families worldwide. Currently FBN International serves over 6000 members in 40+ countries.
Keyt is an acclaimed keynote speaker on family business topics at conferences all around the world including Campden Publishing Families Business Conferences, Family Business Network in Lasaunne, Switzerland and Bogota, Columbia, United States Association of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, FBE Conference, Independent Grocers Association, Cornell University, Crain’s Chicago Small Business Forum, Presidents Forum Retreat, ABA National Trust School, Shoe Retailers Association, The Northern Trust Corporation, World President’s Organization(WPO), Harris Bank, and Capital Bank & Trust.
Keyt holds a master’s degree in family systems theory from Northwestern University with a concentration in family business and an MBA in Family Business with Honors from Kennesaw State University. He is a cum laude graduate of Kenyon College.
At the age of 22, Andrew became a family business owner of a business he didn’t even know existed. “I had to quickly figure out how to fill the shoes of my father and find my own leadership path. “ His personal story and witnessing the growth and transformation of many successful family business leaders inspired him to write Myths and Mortals: Family Business Leadership and Succession Planning, published by Wiley, July 2015. His book is based on years of research and interviews with great next generation leaders like Christine Hefner, Bill Wrigley Jr., Massimo Ferragamo and more. His acute family business insights have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Fortune Magazine, The Economist and Family Business.
Keyt is the Executive Director at the Loyola University Chicago Family Business Center which is dedicated to helping multigenerational family-owned businesses grow, transition and learn. The Center serves some of the largest family firms in the United States and Canada, approximately 100 member family businesses ranging in size from $25 million - $8 billion in annual sales. During Keyt’s tenure, the Center has increased its membership by more than 100% and has secured more than $1 million in pledges to fund future operations.
Keyt is also President and Founder of Keyt Consulting, a private firm that assists family enterprises with succession and strategic planning, dealing with family conflict and communication, working with adult sibling / cousin teams, and executing emergency management transitions. In addition, Keyt is the president of Family Business Network – North America (FBN-NA), the leading network for business-owning families worldwide. Currently FBN International serves over 6000 members in 40+ countries.
Keyt is an acclaimed keynote speaker on family business topics at conferences all around the world including Campden Publishing Families Business Conferences, Family Business Network in Lasaunne, Switzerland and Bogota, Columbia, United States Association of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, FBE Conference, Independent Grocers Association, Cornell University, Crain’s Chicago Small Business Forum, Presidents Forum Retreat, ABA National Trust School, Shoe Retailers Association, The Northern Trust Corporation, World President’s Organization(WPO), Harris Bank, and Capital Bank & Trust.
Keyt holds a master’s degree in family systems theory from Northwestern University with a concentration in family business and an MBA in Family Business with Honors from Kennesaw State University. He is a cum laude graduate of Kenyon College.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 4, 2015
If only they would read it!!! "They" being all the next generation successors to their family businesses. Hopeful, encouraging and informative - Keyt brings clarity and compassion to the challenge successors face as they step into their own leadership style and address the relationship between his/her parent and family leader and themselves. Best of all are the stories of 25+ successors, sharing the wisdom of their own experience - both successes and failures.
This is the book every person with a family business should read.
This is the book every person with a family business should read.
July 17, 2020
A lot of recycling of content but I really enjoyed the read, family business or not, there is much fodder for self reflection here.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews