Harvard Business Review Family Business Handbook

6.

Inform

Use Effective Communication to Build Trusted Relationships

Sophie was growing increasingly frustrated. As a professor at a leading business school, she was sought after by many companies for her expertise. But apparently not by her husband Matthew’s fourth-generation media business in Asia. Concerned about what seemed like a blasé attitude toward the need for change in an industry that was undergoing serious disruption, she began to inquire about the company’s long-term strategy. But she was offered vague responses, which frustrated her more. As she started asking more questions, the executive team began sharing less information at the annual shareholder meetings, to which spouses had long been welcome. Worse, Matthew’s siblings instructed ...