Welcome to the Family Ties^© e-letter brought to you by Pervin Family Business Advisors Inc.

Lately, I have been ruminating on family development and organization and how family history and patterns have both a productive and destructive influence.

The result: consultations that assist client families in yet another beneficial way on how to get unstuck, repair relationships, choose progressive listening skills, feel empathy and develop a positive trusting business family relationship.

Given this success, I felt primed to tackle the 'always waiting' writing activity. My booklet on family governance is organized into two file boxes and five computer files; it is ready to review. I looked at the information last week and hope to get this booklet published by early next year. It might take longer than I think!

In upcoming issues, the business family topics will address beneficial aspects of governance, leadership, organization, planning and relationships, to offer a few ideas. If you have a question, a great idea for inclusion in this e-letter, or if you just have some comments you would like to share with us, we want to hear from you!

For your reading pleasure...

THE TRUST FUND WHISPERER
She's an heir's worst nightmare: Lee Hausner coaches wealthy families on how not to bequeath their riches.

THE POWER OF TALK: WHO GETS HEARD AND WHY
You can spot a competent colleague with a great idea a mile away. Or can you? Most of us judge others' competence - as well as their confidence and authority - by the way they talk. Here's the abstract [PDF].

BORN TO REBEL
What makes people become rebels? Is there some way to encourage people to question unjust practices and act against them? These questions have long been of interest to social activists.

THE POWER OF BIRTH ORDER
The importance of birth order has been known—or at least suspected—for years. But increasingly, there's hard evidence of its impact.

THE ART OF WOO': SELLING YOUR IDEAS TO THE ENTIRE ORGANIZATION, ONE PERSON AT A TIME
Former Chrysler chairman Lee Iacocca once noted, "You can have brilliant ideas; but if you can't get them across, your ideas won't get you anywhere." In their new book, The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas, Wharton legal studies and business ethics professor G. Richard Shell and management consultant Mario Moussa provide a systematic approach to the problem Iacocca identified. Using relationship-based, emotionally intelligent persuasion to secure both individual and organizational buy-in, everyone from CEOs and entrepreneurs to team leaders and mid-level managers can sell their ideas -- a skill that everyone needs to learn if they want to be effective in their organizations, the authors say.

HOW TO DECIDE ON A BOARD SEAT OFFER
Before you sit in that boardroom chair, do your homework, then compare it with company-issued info and what comes out of talks with VIPs.

SUCCESS INSURANCE SERIES: YOUR NOT-SO-SECRET WEAPON
By Greig Clark, from the October 2007 issue of PROFIT magazine
I told her that getting advice ad hoc was no longer enough she needed to create a formal advisory system.

THE TESTS OF A PRINCE
By my colleague Ivan Lansberg
Future leaders, particularly in family businesses, must jump through four kinds of hoops to earn the respect and then the support of stakeholders.

Families in the news...

QUIET FORTUNE MAKES NOISE IN OIL [PDF]
Thirty floors above Winnipeg's bustling Portage and Main intersection, there is a hushed sanctuary adorned with dark wood, photos of grain elevators and the moody landscapes of Prairie painter Ivan Eyre. This is home to Canada's quietest money - the 11 middle-aged men and women who are fifth-generation owners of the Richardson family conglomerate.

FEMALE OWNERSHIP MATTERS
Patricia Karter, Dancing Deer Bakery CEO, thinks a better gender balance in the business world could improve society as a whole.

CARNIVAL: 1 OR MORE ARISON FAMILY TRUSTS PLAN TO SELL UP TO 10 MILLION SHARES OVER A YEAR
Cruise operator Carnival Corp. said Wednesday one or more Arison family trusts plan to sell up to 10 million shares of its common stock over a one-year period. The shares planned for sale do not include any of those held by Chairman and Chief Executive Micky Arison or by any trusts or other entity in which he is a primary beneficiary. The company has been advised that the shares are being sold for estate planning and diversification purposes.

SLIPPERY BUSINESS
The owners of Montreal-based Kalikori Olive Oil knew their burgeoning venture was in jeopardy when fire spread across Greece this summer. Fortunately, the family olive grove owned by Effy Ligris and her business partner and husband, Spyros Bourboulis, wasn't torched-but the fire's lingering effects and the continuing arid weather could still affect this year's harvest.

FIDELITY'S DEAFENING SILENCE
A string of high-profile exits. The rumored illness of his daughter and possible successor. How much longer can Ned Johnson avoid publicly addressing the fund giant's future?

FATHER AND SON CIPRIANIS RESOLVE TAX EVASION CASE DOGGING THEIR RESTAURANT EMPIRE
The father and son at the helm of the Cipriani restaurants - an empire that includes Manhattan's Rainbow Room and Harry's Bar in Venice, Italy - were sentenced Wednesday to non-jail terms and ordered to pay $10 million for tax evasion.

A FAMILY FEUD JEOPARDIZES A NASCAR BRAND
Dale Earnhart Jr.'s power struggle with his stepmother, Teresa, ends up with Step-Mom taking back the keys to the car.

Colleague's in the news...

The Princeton Review has placed SDSU's Graduate Entrepreneur Program #9 in the top 25 in the nation. Both Sandy Ehrlich and Carmen Bianchi teach in the graduate entrepreneur program. It will be in the November issue of Entrepreneur Magazine.

AMERICA'S BEST COLLEGES FOR ENTREPRENEURS: FAMILY BUSINESS
What do you think of the top MBA programs that work with legacy firms on FSB's America's Best Colleges for Entrepreneurs list this year? Have you attended one of our picks? Are they the best? Did their program help you build a business? Did we miss a great school? Tell us what you think. The best replies will be published here, and possibly in a future story on CNNMoney.com. Filed under Best Colleges for Entrepreneurs.

"The Oppression Remedy: A Useful Tool When Mixing Business and Family" is the focus of the October issue of the Aird & Berlis LLP Commercial Litigation Bulletin [PDF], a periodic newsletter offering insight into a variety of litigation matters.

Did you know...

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