Many family business owners and leaders have no real intention to make the lives of those around them miserable. Yet many times, I find, that they manage to achieve just that. In various instances the root cause is due to the fact that many family business owners and leaders are actually poorly trained managers that …
Continue reading Bad time Management – Ultra Short Termism Galore!
A recent report by the Central Bank of Malta, based on interviews with non-financial corporations (NFCs), provides a detailed overview of the key trends and challenges that shaped the Maltese business environment in 2024. The report is based on the information that was gathered through 45 interviews conducted between October and December of 2024. This …
The first month of the year is soon over and yet again I keep facing several & repeated issues with family businesses. I find myself reflecting many times on the common problems I see in different family businesses, even if in different contexts. As a person who just loves joining the dots, I have come …
The 2025 Future of Jobs Report, published by the World Economic Forum, a few days ago provides a comprehensive analysis of the global labour market trends and projections for the period 2025-2030. This report is based on a survey of over 1,000 employers representing more than 14 million workers across 22 industries and 55 economies. …
Every time I hear about a family business that is closing down its shutters once and for all, my mind races about the delicate yet important subject of succession planning. This happened recently to me as the closure of a 90 year old family business in Valletta was recently all over the news. It is …
Continue reading Does your family business have a succession plan?
Over the Christmas period I read Daniel Kahneman's book "Thinking, Fast and Slow" and I could relate much of what he said in this book to the unique challenges and opportunities faced by family business owners and leaders. Kahneman's central thesis revolves around the interplay of two cognitive systems: System 1: Operates automatically, quickly, and …
Continue reading Thinking Properly – A Family Business Perspective
I meet many business owners and leaders, who are so engulfed in their day-to-day operations that they just have no time for anything else, including listening. They are so taken up to keep their hamster wheel running, that the noise of that hamster wheel is not allowing them to listen to anything else. Which is …
Anyone that has been in my office knows that I have a framed photo stuck to the wall with the words "Mindset is Everything". I hang it there as I firmly believe that the best business leaders are those that have a growth mindset versus those with a fixed mindset, as clearly outlined by Dr. …
As I am writing this blog article, everything is seeming very bleak on the international front. Trump is about to take the most powerful seat in the world. The largest two economies in Europe have virtually no government, whilst the far right is gaining ground in both countries. In the meantime the war in Ukraine …
This week, we had an interesting lecture as part of the Award in Leading a Family Business course. As part of Module 2, the focus is how a family business can build a strategic mindset, use strategic planning to align family needs and commitment to the business needs and also build a solid strategic plan …
Continue reading The need for a Strategic Approach in Family Business
A Business Blog for SMEs & Family Businesses 