Professional Alternatives’ Post

Despite family firms' popular reputation of nepotism and poor practices, as reported in Lessons from Large Family Firms About Choosing a CEO in the brand new issue of HBR, they are actually much better at CEO Succession than the largest non-family firms in the same sectors. Together with Carrie Green, Sonny Iqbal, and Greg Nagel, we analyzed more than 3,000 CEO successions over 26 years, and to our surprise we found that large family firms approach CEO succession in a much more strategic and proactive way, achieving higher performance following the succession, with much lower risk, and more frequently embarking right after the succession on major value-added investments.   https://lnkd.in/dQgF4rER

Interesting read.

🚨 A MUST READ 🚨 ⚠ Take a second to read the open letter a coalition of influential business leaders, including Eboni Wimbush, AMAC President & CEO, has penned to Fortune 500 CEOs to stand firm on their commitments to diversity initiatives despite opposition. They highlight the bottom-line benefits of such initiatives, stressing their role in driving innovation, competitiveness, and stronger corporate performance. The letter emphasizes the importance of strategic decision-making free from political pressure and frivolous lawsuits, with twelve CEOs from diverse backgrounds lending their voices to support this cause. For more details, click here ➡ https://lnkd.in/gzcUjtyg

"Chris Hohn, a partner in St. Louis, was elected the firm’s new chair, Roman Wuller said, because the partners wanted someone who would protect the firm’s culture, focus on growth, exhibit “good common sense,” and is respected by clients." Read more on Thompson Coburn's recent #successionplan below: https://lnkd.in/eex8ccUe #lawfirmleadership #lawfirmgrowth #legalindustry #amlaw #biglaw

New from Harvard Business Review: Contrary to expectations, large family businesses handle CEO succession better than nonfamily firms do. New research reveals that in the 3 years after transitions, family firms improve cash flow more and reduce risk. How? Proactive, strategic planning. Highly engaged, long-term directors empowered to lead the process. Rigorous candidate assessments over formal planning. And empowering new leaders with trust and autonomy from day 1. The study upends assumptions about nepotism in family companies. Its findings hold valuable lessons for succession and investing at firms of all types. #succession #successionplanning #epi

The Passle US & UK Legal Marketing Leadership Survey 2024 is out, and the results are clear: 50% of Managing Partners are prioritizing investment in the firm’s digital presence over the next five years to fuel growth. This survey offers actionable data and insights that law firm marketing leaders can use to elevate their strategies and drive success. A big thank you to our research partner, Simon Hayhurst of Hayhurst Consultancy, for helping us bring these insights to life. Get your copy of the report in the link below. #MarketingLeadership #LegalMarketing

Further evidence - were it needed - that General Counsel at large UK companies universally expect that their law firms adopt thought leadership as a key responsibility of their role, in this new report from Passle. Almost half of the GCs I surveyed for Passle's 2024 study said they would not even considering a hiring a firm that did not supply regular thought leadership in a relevant field. Over 3/4 of GCs profess to spending at least a day a week reading around simply keeping up to date with changes in their legal and commercial landscape. The more relevant, distinctive, credible content a firm can provide, the more likely that firm is to be seen as a leading adviser. More detail on the Passle survey in the comments section of the Passle post in the link.

As we navigate through 2024's challenges, including economic uncertainty and talent management hurdles, the road to 2025's growth is clear. Discover the top insights from Vistage's latest research to ensure your company rides the upcoming wave successfully. #CEOInsights #BusinessGrowth"

The role of CEO is a human job with superhuman responsibility. Some of those responsibilities are expected—strategic vision, board management, investor relations—but many are unforeseeable, especially given the state of today's increasingly complex world. "We’ve got to be doing things that we were not prepared or trained to do," says Penny Pennington, Managing Partner at Edward Jones. Pennington believes that success in the role means having resilience, energy, and audacity, as well as a "shared conviction that what we’re doing is important work. It’s worth going into those areas of ambiguity, because if we don’t, our businesses will be irrelevant." Pennington, alongside 30+ successful current and former CEOs, provide invaluable perspective for new and aspiring CEOs in our recent project, "Excel in Your First Year of CEO." Access the full compilation here: https://okt.to/OGcqNF #ceoinsights #CEOsuccession #leadershipjourney #leadershipinsights

💭 “While I do, as a chief of staff, serve our entire team, my primary obligation and responsibility is to partner with and support my principal (our CEO). To do this successfully, the two of us knew we would need a plan to build each other’s trust.  So, we started with these five commitments to help build that foundation.” Ben Conard, chief of staff to the CEO at Fair Trade USA, describes how he and his principal developed a plan to build each other’s trust. 🔗 Read the full article in our latest journal edition here: https://lnkd.in/gvpeyNK7 💡 What are the most effective ways you’ve tested towards building trust? Share your experience #chiefofstaff #executivetrust #thoughtleadership