Despite its tough nature, running a
family business can prove to be fruitful - if family meetings are conducted in the correct manner.
Henry Hutcheson, a business expert writing for
News Observer, believes that effective communication methods - such as a organised family meeting - can stand businesses in good stead for the long term.
Naturally, family firms need to create a code of conduct in order to harness their meetings effectively. Furthermore, planning the meeting beforehand to make sure everyone has a say - almost an extension of the code of conduct - is key. By giving everyone a chance to put their item on the agenda for the meeting, everyone can be assured of getting the chance to speak and be heard in the meeting.
Hutcheson explained the code: "The purpose of the code of conduct is to lay the ground rules of how the meetings will take place to ensure that everyone gets a chance to be heard, and the behaviours that impede communication are left outside.
"The key to an effective family code of conduct is that it must be created from scratch by the family members themselves," he added.
If family businesses can get it right, they too could land themselves on Bloomberg's Billionaires List; as, according to
campdenfb.com, many of the businesses listed are born from family-run firms.