Not Every Family Is Meant to Stay Together
Forced family unity without an exit strategy breeds toxic conflict and disengagement that destroys wealth. When internal friction outweighs the benefits of shared capital, a peaceful separation preserves both assets and relationships. Proactively discussing an exit transforms structural gridlock into an antifragile future.
Signs of a Fragile Family's Command Structure
A fragile family chain breaks easily when reliance on a single leader creates single points of failure. Isolated knowledge leaves the entire legacy exposed to sudden shocks. Decentralizing authority and empowering capable heirs transforms these vulnerabilities into a resilient network.
Signs of a Fragile Family Balance Sheet
A fragile family balance breaks easily under pressure when hidden tensions are ignored. Shifting from temporary survival mechanisms to open, transparent dialogue is crucial. Addressing these warning signs directly transforms systemic vulnerability into a resilient foundation.
The Undeclared Family
The undeclared family suffers from a lack of clear vision and unexpressed expectations. Without an explicit declaration of values, a dynasty's wealth and purpose can quickly fracture across generations. Defining the family’s ultimate mission keeps the legacy aligned and antifragile.
The Neurodivergent Heir: an Introduction
Neurodivergence is a competitive advantage, not a disability. By embracing cognitive diversity, families transform perceived weaknesses into strategic strengths. A culture that adapts to the individual ensures every heir can contribute to a truly inclusive and antifragile legacy.
Shocks to the Family
Every family faces crises - sudden, slow, or recurring. The difference lies in whether those shocks cause breakdown or spark renewal. With strong foundations, families can turn risks into opportunities for growth and lasting resilience.
Turning Your Family Conflict into Opportunity - Why Emotional Stability Protects Your Wealth
The secret ingredient to family business success is productive conflict. We can turn conflict into an opportunity with the right mindset and processes. While it is a key ingredient for success it is also the number one reason for wealth loss.
Why Every Company Needs a Crisis Management Team
Crisis response or crisis management team is a term well known to many of us. In my opinion, every company needs one. But do we know what this term means and what the purpose of these teams is?
The Basics of Intuitive Decision-Making
We have all experienced “gut feeling” before. Should we follow it and what exactly is it?
Opposing Forces in Crisis - How to Deal with Paradoxes
In a crisis one will face multiple challenges. A lot of these challenges present themselves as paradoxes - a problem that has two opposite forces. If you solve one side of the problem, the other gets worse and vice versa. What do you do then? Isn’t this hopeless?
Crisis Management Starts with Self-Management
Your resources are scarce, and you are under immense time pressure. Your peers have already declared you are/your business is done for. What are you left with? You are left with yourself and that is where managing your own personal reseources comes in. The better you do this, the better you are equiped to face anything that life throws at you.
How to Define a Crisis
In the Stanford Design Thinking Process one out of the 5 stages of the design process is called “Define”. This stage highlights the importance of defining a problem, in order to solve it. Usually in product design you will do this with a problem definition followed by a product specification. The same applies to a crisis. In order to solve a crisis, you first need to define the crisis.
10 Learnings from Managing a Crisis in a Family Business
In 2015-2018 I had the privilege to manage a crisis in our family business. In his article I share my top learnings from this experience and hope that this will help many in the current situation.
How to Incorporate Probabilistic Thinking into Decision-Making
Especially in crisis you will not have many decisions with a clarity about them. Thus, your ability to think in probabilities becomes incredibly valuable. By using probabilistic thinking your chances of success in a crisis will increase dramatically.
How to Apply Design Thinking in Crisis Management
Coming from an engineering background, I principally use the Design Thinking Process when solving problems. After much reflection, I have noticed that the way designers and product developers think is not used a lot in management. So, how does one apply Design Thinking in crisis management?
9 Tips for Effective Decision-Making in Times of Crisis
Making the right decisions is probably the most important skill you can have in life. In a crisis scenario, the decisions you make are even more crucial than under normal circumstances. Therefore, in this article will cover nine tips for effective decision-making in times of crisis.
What The Stoics Teach Us About Crisis
In this article we shall have a look at how the wisdom of stoic philosophers can be applied in a crisis or rather how stoic wisdom will help you get through a crisis.