Engaged Ownership: A Guide for Owners of Family Businesses - Hardcover

Praise for ENGAGED OWNERSHIP

"Ownership is strategy. The controlling shareholders of Google, Facebook, and LinkedIn, along with Patek Philippe, Hermès, and Ford know this. But you never hear that from business academics and management consultants. Engaged Ownership responds to the need to get the record straight. Engaging owners and creating the governance system that mediates their relationship with their wealth and enterprises is the fundamental challenge of family enterprises. Amelia Renkert-Thomas nails it in this book. Engaged Ownership is a timely book; read it and practice it!"
—Ernesto J. Poza, Founder and owner of E. J. Poza Associates, Inc. and family-business.com; Professor Emeritus, Thunderbird School of Global Management

"The story of the Owen family over several generations vividly illustrates how engaged owners can make not just a great difference in the success of a company, but add a form of value that cannot be duplicated with good management alone. I will share this book with my clients who are looking ahead to how they will organize their ownership structure to cross generations."
—Dennis T. Jaffe, PHD, Wise Counsel Associates

"Amelia captivates the reader with a family business case study that illustrates key steps and best practices to building engaged ownership in a family. A must-read for founders and those looking to pass on the family enterprise to future generations."
—Kirby Rosplock, PHD, author of The Complete Family Office Handbook; CEO, Tamarind Partners Inc.

"Amelia's work offers empathy and experience dedicated to creating a road map for 'engaged ownership' and meeting the challenges of 'shared purpose' in family businesses. Her book is a living tutorial which offers readers 'Aha' moments of awareness and motivates them to take the well-articulated steps to achieve truly engaged ownership. I highly recommend it to family business owners and their 'constellation' of advisors who seek to preserve and perpetuate the family legacy and its core capital. It is insightful and instructive."
—Lorraine F. George-Harik, Partner, HPM Partners LLC

"Engaged Ownership explores the question confronting all multi-generational business families: 'Why do we want to be owners of this business together, if at all?' Amelia Renkert-Thomas has crafted a tightly written guide for family enterprise owners and their consultants and advisors that will help them make decisions that are right for the individual family members, the family enterprise, and the family as a whole. A must-read for family business advisors!"
—Michael T. Hartley, CFP, CEO, DKE Inc., Family Office Division

As Baby Boomers retire in record numbers, business founders and entrepreneurs worldwide face the challenging task of transferring ownership of privately held enterprises to their children. Engaged Ownership offers owners and successors alike a new way to approach ownership of the family business. The time-tested process inside gives you hands-on tools for growing core capital, including how to manage the transfer from controlling owner to shared ownership with minimized risk, while inspiring a sense of teamwork to sustain success for future generations.

Exclusive guidance from the recognized authority on family business governance and succession lets you act with confidence as you:

• Learn to work effectively with your fellow owners, management, and the board of directors
• Get everyone on the same page in terms of vision and direction
• Understand and manage the unique challenges that arise when a managing owner, trust, or outside investor is part of the ownership group
• Practice the actionable steps owners must take to develop and maintain engagement

Engaged Ownership offers families and their advisors a road map for integrating owners into the decision-making fabric of the company to carry on the family's legacy, vision, and strategic direction.