Teaching Kids To Respect Wealth
How do we teach responsibility and respect for wealth to the next generation?
Management Issues in Family Business
The Faith Driven Business Model
November 18, 2013
For many business owners, their Christian faith serves as a resource, but often it isn't clear how to draw upon this wellspring of wisdom. Can the Bible help us deal specifically with the unique...
To Pay Or Not To Pay
February 18, 2013
How farm families reward themselves in peak income years can become a point of contention.
Determining Family Compensation
July 18, 2012
Over the years I've witnessed a number of family business members work for a very low wage in anticipation of a financial or farmland windfall at some later point in their career. They are promised...
How to Fire a Family Member
June 18, 2012
In the family business, firing a family member may not make you more popular, but if everyone knows that a particular family member needs to go, actually letting them go may provide a significant...
Get the Right Stuff in Family Transition
December 18, 2011
A few weeks ago, I moderated a breakout session at DTN's annual Ag Summit where two members of Lenz Farms of Wray, Colo., described their family farm's "boot camp" for beginners. With eight partners...
Scout Your Team's Talent
September 18, 2011
Many business owners say that their people are their most valuable asset. Without family members, business partners, and good employees possessing a range of talents, the business cannot grow or...
Unity Builds Family Farm Success
June 18, 2011
Will Rogers once said if you want to be successful, "it's just this simple. Know what you are doing. Love what you are doing. And believe in what you are doing." As I travel the country working with...
Hiring a Non-Family Leader
May 18, 2011
Investment firms have a quote that flashes at the end of their commercials or is written in small-type on their marketing materials: "Past performance is not an indicator of future results." Because...
Together, Three Towns Pursue the Positive
April 18, 2011
In Meade County, They're Turning 'Me' Into 'We' The "C" word-consolidation-is mentioned often in rural America these days in light of budget cuts and shrinking populations. But there is another "C"...