Profile
Member Since 2019
Public Member, Family Business Editor, Reviewer - FB.org
Claudia Binz Astrachan
Head of Governance Practice at Generation 6 | Family Enterprise Advisors / Lucerne School of Business / Affiliated Researcher at Jönköping University (CeFEO) and Witten/Herdecke University
AUTHORED RESOURCES
Why Family Business Succession Does Not Have to Be Smooth to Succeed
103600 views
Conflict is a natural part of succession. Strong families anticipate it, communicate often and build the resilience needed to keep the transition moving forward. Read More...
COVID-19: Understanding the Board’s Key Role During a Crisis
23918 views
The board must balance the interests of family and business, and help build and preserve commitment and continuity when tough decisions must be made. Read More...
How Values-Based Communication Can Promote Racial Justice and Equality
4474 views
Messages that proclaim solidarity can backfire if they are perceived as opportunism rather than a genuine commitment to the cause. Is your company walking the talk? Read More...
How Family Dynamics Shape Family Businesses
3406876 views
Want your family business to run more smoothly? Examine your own relationships with parents, siblings and other relatives -- and talk to one another often. Read More...
Research Reveals How Business Families Have Coped With COVID-19
8073 views
Researchers surveyed more than 1,000 family businesses around the world to see how they're handling the pandemic. Here is what they learned. Read More...
Four Things that the Best Family Business Boards Do Well
5095 views
Independent directors hold others accountable and encourage change even when firmly entrenched relationships or operating philosophies make it seem impossible. Read More...
Should You Brand Your Family Business? Evidence from Research and Practice
8377 views
Touting its family ownership may help a firm impress some stakeholders, but may deter others. The family must be strategic in its branding efforts. Read More...
The Best Family Business Boards Embrace Candor and 'Necessary Endings'
2716 views
Boards are there to help you be more successful. Here's more advice on how family business leaders can harness their board's full potential. Read More...
Developing Competent Owners and Stewards for a Lasting Family Business
271960 views
Educating family members to become such competent, responsible stewards of the family enterprise is a responsibility, and not a choice. Read More...
The Hybrid Workplace is Here to Stay: 5 Ways to Make it Work
32376 views
Elon Musk is swimming against a global tidal wave of employee sentiment about how work gets done. Why it's best to go with the flow. Read More...
What All Family Businesses Can Learn From the Merck Family
10851 views
The Germany-based global health care, pharmaceutical and performance materials firm has kept its vast family ownership team aligned for 13 generations. Read More...
Family CEO Burnout: How to Prevent, Recognize and Deal With It
7232 views
How can leaders keep themselves from getting worn down or recognize burnout in themselves? And what should family members do if they see their leader struggling? Read More...
Don't Send Your Kids to Work Outside the Family Business Just Yet!
5189 views
It's naturally assumed that future leaders should toil in the trenches somewhere else first, but this has some significant drawbacks. Read More...
Why Don't You Educate Your Owners?
98091 views
Everyone agrees that families should train members to become competent owners and stewards of the family business – but few of them actually walk the talk. Read More...
Growing Pains: Helping a Family Office to Evolve
6132 views
The Single Family Office should be a strategic partner that ensures future stability, but this family saw them as a piggybank. Read More...
Do You Treat In-Laws Like the Family Business Outlaws ?
16794 views
Families differ in their willingness to integrate outsiders into their family circle, but be careful: these actions influence the included or excluded individuals in different ways. Read More...
Punishment, Reward, Control: How Money Shows Up in the Business Family
15968 views
Talking about money can be taboo, but deeply engrained attitudes towards it can stir complex emotions, setting the stage for conflict and dysfunction. Read More...
Attitudes Towards Money Can Cloud Family Business Decisions
18064 views
A family’s orientation towards money and wealth can harm the business and sell future generations short. Read More...
A False Sense of Urgency Helps Neither Family Nor Business
4248 views
Rushed decisions tend to lead to bad outcomes. So does avoiding decisions because we’re afraid of conflict. This framework helps businesses think realistically about decision urgency. Read More...
Involve Next-Gens in Developing Your Social Media Policy
5992 views
Consider a social media policy as a relatively “low-hanging fruit” to introduce the next generation to family governance work. Read More...
How to Boost Your Board's Performance
6402 views
On an ideal board, directors with different levels of experience, backgrounds, and interests form a cohesive team that pulls in the same direction, and that achieves more together than Read More...
Include the Extended Family in Your Ownership Strategy
8667 views
Your ownership strategy should consider that in future generations the family firm will likely have many more owners. Take a broader focus when you develop it. Read More...
How Family Businesses Can Recruit the Best C-Suite Candidates
35451 views
Family-owned businesses often struggle to compete with non-family firms when it comes to recruitment, and understanding the expectations of job seekers is crucial to attract the best talent. Read More...
Tariffs, Turmoil, and Family Tiffs: Navigating the Current Chaos
71590 views
You can support your business through economic uncertainty and maintain unity and commitment. Read More...
Turbulence Ahead: How Businesses Can Navigate Tariffs and Uncertainty
130681 views
Legal interpretations, taxes, regulations, judicial rulings, trade agreements, and the like change daily. How to keep your business and stakeholders on an even keel. Read More...
Listening to the Family: The Strategic Value of Surveys
723933 views
Surveys can reveal differing perspectives, surface hidden tensions, and – when done well – build trust, and serve as an educational opportunity. Read More...
The World is Changing Faster Than Your Strategy
110410 views
Families that learn to use their cohesion, trust, and long-term orientation as strengths can implement strategies more effectively than their non-family peers, especially in times of uncertainty. Read More...
Your Investment Strategy Should Reflect Your Family Values and Goals
12877 views
A family investment policy defines how a family manages its collective financial assets in alignment with its shared values, goals, and risk preferences. Read More...
Why People Risk Belongs on Every Family Business Board Agenda
31127 views
Boards routinely scrutinize financial and strategic risk. But talent shortages, leadership culture problems, and succession gaps can erode long-term value just as quickly. Read More...
Fair Does Not Always Mean Equal: Ownership Decisions in Family Business
33071 views
Families often struggle to decide whether shares should be divided equally among children or reflect leadership, sacrifice, and “sweat equity.” Read More...
Build a Family Governance Talent Pipeline Before You Need One
160 views
Don’t wait for a vacancy. Prepare family members now — through education, mentoring, clear expectations, and hands-on experience — to serve on boards, family councils, and committees. Read More...