OMBI designs and delivers customized educational seminars, of various lengths, to suit the particular needs of individual family businesses and networks of companies such as dealership organizations. OMBI programs introduce families to advanced concepts and best practices on important topics such as succession, shareholder practices, family work relationships, and business and family governance. Our seminars are interactive and thought provoking and encourage families to plan for individual, family and business success, guard business professionalism and build family stewardship of the business.

Examples of customized seminars include our trade association programs, our work over many years with Caterpillar dealers and our seminars with chapters of the Young Presidents’ Organization.

• Caterpillar Dealers: Most Caterpillar dealers are family-owned and managed. OMBI programs have encouraged the development of proper skills, values, communication and teamwork within the Caterpillar dealer families. These four-day seminars, through case discussions, lecture-discussions and exercises, outlined a continuity management process that encouraged dealer families to develop constructive rules and policies and to maintain family cohesion through annual family retreats and regular family council meetings. Periodic consulting assistance reinvigorated the process for dealer families, helping to assess successors’ talents and styles and resolving succession conflicts.
  
  
• Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO): OMBI has conducted a variety of family business seminars at YPO chapter meetings. A recent program delivered to the Aegean Chapter of the YPO in Athens is a good example of what we typically accomplish. This two-day event for chapter members, their families and invited guests covered topics, through lectures and discussions of: Strengths and Challenges of Family Businesses, Dynamics and Life Cycles of the Family Business, Governance of the Family Business, Managing Succession and Continuity, Developing the Next Generation, Practices of Successful Family Business Dynasties.

OMBI Presentation Topics

OMBI educators have insights on successful family business practices based on years of firsthand experience working with families in business and from their research on family business topics. Our research and consulting experience has revealed proven strategies that resolve complicated issues and keep family companies thriving for generations. Among our most recent and most requested presentations are the following:

FOLLOW THE DYNASTIES: SECRETS OF LONG-TERM SURVIVAL AND SUCCESS

• Summarizes John A. Davis’ decade-long research on family business dynasties—family companies that survive at least three generations
• Identifies the principles, practices, and identities that help family business dynasties survive and succeed for generations

MAINTAINING FAMILY SUCCESS

• Describes the principles and practices for a family to remain industrious, united, and successful for generations

FUNDAMENTALS OF FAMILY BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

• Describes the family business system, its competing interests and norms, and how to manage them
• Discusses the typical strengths and challenges of business-owning families and family businesses

THE LIFE CYCLE OF THE FAMILY BUSINESS SYSTEM

• Describes the typical evolution of a family business system through the three major ownership stages
• Explores the predictable obstacles that business-owning families and their companies face in each ownership stage, and how to successfully navigate through these issues and plan for the future

EFFECTIVE BUSINESS GOVERNANCE FOR THE FAMILY BUSINESS SYSTEM

• Describes the purpose and activities of effective business governance for a family business system
• Explores how to design and compose a family business’ board of directors (or board of advisors)

EFFECTIVE FAMILY GOVERNANCE FOR THE FAMILY BUSINESS SYSTEM

• Describes the purpose and activities of effective family governance for a family business system, including a family assembly, family council, and family constitution
• Explores how to design and compose your family council

FAMILY WORK RELATIONSHIPS

• Describes the factors that determine whether family members who work together will have a productive and satisfying, or conflictive working relationship, and how the relationship naturally changes over time
• Describes practices to strengthen a family work relationship
  • Option 1: Lecture only
  • Option 2: Lecture + “The Pellegrins” case discussion about a father and son working together, who reach a decision-point because the son feels he is ready to become president at the age of 32

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT AND COMPENSATION OF FAMILY EMPLOYEES

• Describes the principles of managing the performance of family employees, and how to compensate them
  • Option 1: Lecture only
  • Option 2: Lecture + “George Barker” case discussion about the CEO of his family’s business, who must deal with the unsatisfactory performance of his brother who also works in the business
  • Option 3: Lecture + “Postman Development Co.” case discussion examining the tension in a family and business over how to compensate two siblings working in their family business

MANAGING SHAREHOLDER RELATIONSHIPS

• Describes the appropriate role and responsibilities of shareholders in a family business system
• Identifies the practices that build shareholder competence and commitment, and why this is important to do
• Discusses how to prepare for and manage shareholder conflicts
  • Option 1: Lecture only
  • Option 2: Lecture + “J. Perez Foods” case discussion examining the tensions in a sibling shareholder group after the death of the patriarch and founder
    

SUCCESSION AND CONTINUITY PLANNING

• Discusses the issues to navigate during a management and ownership succession transition, including what inhibits the effective “taking charge” and confident “letting go” of responsibilities, and provides concrete recommendations to facilitate the process
• Discusses how to properly develop the next generation as managers in the company and future owners
  • Option 1: Lecture only
  • Option 2: Lecture + “Precista Tools” case discussion about a manager in her family’s business whose path to becoming her father’s successor abruptly changes when her brother enters the business and becomes the heir apparent