Family business course
Governance
Owners, boards, councils and the rules a family agrees on.
- 10 units, at your own pace
- Online: lessons, case films and assessments
- Certificate anyone can check
What you will learn
- Recognize the agency problems that only family firms have
- Run shareholder meetings and shape a shareholder agreement
- Give a board the right tasks and the right mix of members
- Choose between family meetings, an assembly and a council
What the course covers
Short lessons, each with a few questions, and a checkpoint at the end of each unit.
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Unit 1
Why ownership needs governing
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Lesson
Governance in Three Parts
See what corporate governance is in a family business, and why it starts out informal
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Lesson
When Owners Disagree
See why family firms have agency problems of their own, starting with those between owners
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Lesson
When Owners and Managers Are Relatives
Recognize the agency problems between relatives who own and relatives who manage, and between managers
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Checkpoint
Checkpoint: Governance and Agency
Five quick questions on corporate governance and the agency problems of family firms
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Unit 2
Responsible owners
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Lesson
Responsible Owners
See why the ownership structure is the cornerstone of governance, and what responsible owners do
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Lesson
Five Types of Owner
Tell five types of family owner apart by how they treat the group and the family's wealth
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Checkpoint
Checkpoint: Responsible Owners
Five quick questions on responsible ownership and the types of owner
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Unit 3
Shareholder meetings and agreements
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Lesson
The Shareholder Meeting
Turn the ownership assembly from a formality into a meeting that protects every owner
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Lesson
The Shareholder Agreement
See what a shareholder agreement is, what it covers, and how it differs from the articles of incorporation
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Lesson
Passing On and Selling Shares
Choose how shares pass between generations, and the limits a family puts on selling them
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Lesson
An Agreement That Lasts
See why each family needs its own shareholder agreement, and why it should change with the family
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Checkpoint
Checkpoint: Meetings and Agreements
Five quick questions on the shareholder meeting and the shareholder agreement
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Unit 4
Ownership across generations
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Lesson
Ownership Across Generations
Follow how family ownership changes, from the founder to a consortium of cousins
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Case lesson
Case Lesson: LEGO, Hermès and The Factory
Three families and their ownership: two that united it, and one that kept it in the dark
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Review
Review: Ownership Governance
Eight questions across all four units
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Case film
The Phone Call
His sister is on the line. What does he do?
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Unit 5
Why a family business needs a board
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Lesson
Does a Family Firm Need Governance?
See why family firms put off business governance, and why that advantage does not last
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Lesson
The Board of Directors
Learn what a board does and how one-tier and two-tier systems differ
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Lesson
Five Tasks of the Board
Name the board's five tasks and how it keeps the other governance bodies informed
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Checkpoint
Checkpoint: Why a Board
Five quick questions on business governance, the board and its tasks
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Unit 6
Who sits on the board
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Lesson
Who Can Sit on the Board?
Classify board members by their family and business ties, starting with outsiders and family
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Lesson
Insiders on the Board
Meet the four board members who work in the firm, from the triple crown to nonfamily executives
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Lesson
Getting the Mix Right
Judge a board's composition with two ratios, and see why balance matters
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Checkpoint
Checkpoint: Board Members
Five quick questions on the types of board member and the mix of the board
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Unit 7
Building a board that works
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Lesson
From Rubber Stamp to Professional Board
Follow how the board changes with the firm, and what pushes a family to build one
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Lesson
Four Myths About Boards
Recognize the excuses families give for avoiding a board, and how to move past them
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Lesson
Size, Recruiting and Rules
Set the board's size, recruit its members and write the rules it works by
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Case lesson
Case Lesson: Al-Wadi, Volkswagen and Amber Holding
Three family firms and their boards: one reformed, one failed and one split down the middle
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Review
Review: Business Governance
Eight questions across all three units
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Case film
The Deciding Vote
The board is split. You cast the deciding vote.
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Unit 8
Why families govern themselves
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Lesson
What Family Governance Is
Define family governance and see why it aims at family cohesion
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Lesson
Four Types of Family Cohesion
Place a family by the source of its cohesion and the kind of bond that holds it
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Lesson
The Family Leader
See what a chief family officer does to keep a growing family together
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Checkpoint
Checkpoint: Family Governance and Cohesion
Five quick questions on family governance, cohesion and the family leader
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Unit 9
From the dinner table to the family council
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Lesson
From Informal to Formal
See how family governance becomes formal as the family grows, and what it should achieve
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Lesson
Family Meetings
Turn dinner-table talk into meetings with an agenda, minutes and the right people
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Lesson
The Family Assembly
Learn when a family needs an assembly and the four roles it plays
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Lesson
The Family Council
See how a small council represents a large family, and compare the three structures
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Checkpoint
Checkpoint: Family Governance Structures
Five quick questions on family meetings, the assembly and the council
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Unit 10
Policies, wealth and the constitution
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Lesson
Three Family Policies
Write the employment, succession and conflict-resolution policies a family needs
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Lesson
Governing Family Wealth
Decide how a family organizes its wealth, from dividends to a family office or a trust
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Lesson
The Family Constitution
See what goes into a family constitution, and why writing it matters more than the document
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Case lesson
Case Lesson: Al Handal and Merck
Two business families that organized themselves to stay together across generations
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Review
Review: Family Governance
Eight questions across all three units
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Final test and certificate
Questions across the whole course. Pass it and you receive a certificate with your name and a number anybody can check, ready to add to LinkedIn.