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Family Wars: The Real Stories behind the Most Famous Family Business Feuds
Many of the world's greatest businesses are family owned, and with this comes the threat of family feuding, sibling rivalries, and petty jealousies. Family Wars takes readers behind the scenes on a rollercoaster ride through the ups and downs of some of the biggest family-run companies in the world, showing how family in-fighting has threatened to bring about their downfall. Covering families such as Ford, Gucci, McCain, Guinness, Gallo, and Redstone, Family Wars is an astonishing expose of the way families do business and how family in-fighting can threaten to blow a business apart. Whether it's Brent Redstone's court case with his father and sister or the family feud over Henry Ford's $350 million trust fund, the book reveals the origins, the extent, and finally the resolution of some of the most famous family feuds in recent history. Family Wars also provides valuable advice for anyone involved in a family business, offering suggestions on how to avoid such problems.
- GenresBusinessNonfiction
288 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2008
26 people are currently reading
104 people want to read
About the author
Grant Gordon
12 books2 followersDr. Grant Gordon is an experienced pastor, active church consultant, and a recognised specialist in 18th century British church history. He earned his M.Div. from Gordon-Conwell Seminary near Bosto,n and afterwards completed M.Th. and D.Min. degrees at Princeton Theological Seminary. After being a pastor for eighteen years with the Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches in Canada, he served as Director of Supervised Ministries and Lecturer in Baptist History at Tyndale Seminary in Toronto.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 2, 2008
Gallo, Ford, Guinness, IBM, Gucchi, Mondavi, Reliance and Addidas… Global brands? Before they were these brands they were family owned companies (or family run in the case of IBM). Authors Grant Gordon and Nigel Nicholson do a fairly decent job in their research of these family business as well as many others. They give summarized histories of the businesses germinating and taking off. They even give genealogical breakdowns of the families in question. But where they really score is that they have been able to analyze these situations on both an organizational behavior level as well as that of a psychological level.
The authors are quick to point out in the beginning of this book that there are many advantages to being in a family run business. Decisions are made quicker. Conflicts can often tend to be resolved in a more efficient manner. The businesses are often more profitable and last longer than a “corporate” business, that is, with professional management and not family management. They also point out that family friction can be good for the business in certain instances. But it is the struggle for control that generally unwinds everything.
The book itself is written in a very interesting style. It could pass for a professional business book, a university text book or a non-fiction book that is written for pleasure. I have to commend the authors on this – especially since this was a joint effort and not one man doing all of the written production.
Throughout Family Wars we see the causes of the inter-family strife and are generally walked through the resolutions – and sometimes there really aren’t any. Gordon and Nicholson show us the several models where familial business friction occurs: When the head of the family doesn’t want to release control, sibling rivalry, disagreements in company direction, etc. It would seem that no matter what the background, nationality, era, product or business model these same issues tend to manifest themselves in family companies. That in and of itself lends to the mystique of this book.
The authors are quick to point out in the beginning of this book that there are many advantages to being in a family run business. Decisions are made quicker. Conflicts can often tend to be resolved in a more efficient manner. The businesses are often more profitable and last longer than a “corporate” business, that is, with professional management and not family management. They also point out that family friction can be good for the business in certain instances. But it is the struggle for control that generally unwinds everything.
The book itself is written in a very interesting style. It could pass for a professional business book, a university text book or a non-fiction book that is written for pleasure. I have to commend the authors on this – especially since this was a joint effort and not one man doing all of the written production.
Throughout Family Wars we see the causes of the inter-family strife and are generally walked through the resolutions – and sometimes there really aren’t any. Gordon and Nicholson show us the several models where familial business friction occurs: When the head of the family doesn’t want to release control, sibling rivalry, disagreements in company direction, etc. It would seem that no matter what the background, nationality, era, product or business model these same issues tend to manifest themselves in family companies. That in and of itself lends to the mystique of this book.
June 15, 2009
In-depth focus on family business
The TV show Dallas intrigued audiences worldwide. It was a sensational hit because it centered on a rich family, and dealt with scandalous, sinister themes, such as love, hate, jealousy, rivalry, wealth and revenge. However, according to authors Grant Gordon and Nigel Nicholson, these issues are not purely the fabrication of a Hollywood studio, but often take center stage in real-life family businesses. Gordon and Nicholson examine why some family businesses turn schizoid or malignant. They provide numerous shocking cautionary tales of warring families. From wide-ranging fictitious stories, including Hamlet and The Lion King, to infamous family boardroom battles at firms such as the Bata Shoe Company, the Seagram Corporation and Koch Industries, each account teaches a powerful lesson. The authors also proffer recommendations on how relatives can amicably resolve ownership, management or control differences concerning their family firms. getAbstract believes that anyone who is involved with a family business, even those who are not currently at each other’s throats, can benefit by reading this insightful, instructive book. Forewarned is forearmed.
The TV show Dallas intrigued audiences worldwide. It was a sensational hit because it centered on a rich family, and dealt with scandalous, sinister themes, such as love, hate, jealousy, rivalry, wealth and revenge. However, according to authors Grant Gordon and Nigel Nicholson, these issues are not purely the fabrication of a Hollywood studio, but often take center stage in real-life family businesses. Gordon and Nicholson examine why some family businesses turn schizoid or malignant. They provide numerous shocking cautionary tales of warring families. From wide-ranging fictitious stories, including Hamlet and The Lion King, to infamous family boardroom battles at firms such as the Bata Shoe Company, the Seagram Corporation and Koch Industries, each account teaches a powerful lesson. The authors also proffer recommendations on how relatives can amicably resolve ownership, management or control differences concerning their family firms. getAbstract believes that anyone who is involved with a family business, even those who are not currently at each other’s throats, can benefit by reading this insightful, instructive book. Forewarned is forearmed.
August 13, 2016
C2010: More academic than I was expecting. It would be a fairly good addition to the library for any business student. There is no salacious gossip though but plenty of citations. Recommended to the more studious of the normal crew.
January 13, 2018
Well written, informative, and analyzed well on organizational and socio-organizational levels. I would recommend. The stories are quite interesting and the book is used as a university text book I presume but It is interesting enough just to read for general interest.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews