Audiobook Czempiony Biznesu

I was eagerly waiting for this item to appear. My expertise in running the family business was based on the movie “Dynasty” about the Carrington saga. I wanted to learn more about the specificity of family business. It turns out that it’s not enough to have a good idea and an MBA degree to succeed with relatives, you also need to know how to take control of your family.

The authors of the book provide advice and tools for building companies in a very accessible way, based on the examples of those that have been permanently successful for many generations.

The reader will also see the dark side of enterprises torn by family conflicts, where bad management, unplanned succession, greedy families lead to bankruptcies and dramas like from soap operas.
After reading it, I have many inspiring ideas on how to build a family business, how to “manage” the family and maybe one day plan a succession that will bring wealth and not trouble to the descendants.

Managing a family business, especially one with ambitions to operate for several generations, is a big challenge. As practice shows, unfortunately, few succeed. And many family business leaders dream about it and spend a lot of time to achieve it.
It turns out that it is not so simple.

The book contains very practical tips, thanks to which you can analyze various aspects of the functioning of a family business and work out the best strategies for its development.

I recommend using this guide. Thanks to reading it, a difficult task will become easier. The chances of building a family business operating for more than one generation will increase.

Family businesses in Poland are becoming an important element of economic stability, strengthening democracy and economic freedom. Succession is a challenge for our 50+ generation, who established their companies after 1989. I started my work in 1989 by establishing a trading company and running the Private Entrepreneurs Club in Gdańsk. This book shows us Poles, generations of entrepreneurs, managers and employees and their families in a very interesting way, what a family business can be based on the example of the behavior of companies and their management from the USA, with over 200 years of experience in this field uninterrupted by world wars. The book brings us closer to the solutions that allow for continuous improvement of such companies, so that they not only survive, but also grow and take over other companies, new markets and industries.

I read with curiosity the book addressed to owners of family businesses, which is based on case studies of successes and failures. The reading contains many inspiring tips on how to reconcile running a business with functioning in a family and how to involve family members not so much in managing the company as in building a company capable of surviving for many generations. I run a family business myself and from the beginning I focused on striving for perfection, which is why combining business and family is an interesting challenge for me. I treat the examples of the dark sides of family businesses described in the book as a warning and at the same time a guide on how to run your business on the road to success.

Civil War Syndrome, Queen of the Hill Syndrome, or Smiling Cobra Syndrome – these are some examples of dysfunctions encountered in family businesses. But they sound familiar, even to those who manage other types of businesses. In fact, is a family business different from other businesses? Yes and no. A family business is an ordinary business, but with unusual family problems. But also with the advantages of a family. We all know these brands: Heineken, Bank Santander, Samsung Electronics, Disney. These are companies rooted in families. That’s why it’s worth it read this book to find out what’s behind the enduring success of family businesses.

The authors are professionals in consulting who have been working with companies, including family ones, for nearly 40 years, hence their considerable experience speaks for their theses. At the same time, the book is written in light language and is a quick and pleasant read, which is not without significance for managers with limited free time. And most importantly, it is a book for every manager, rules that serve domestic companies can and even should be successfully implemented in every company, as long as we have the ambition to become champions. After all, every company creates a family of employees.

P.S.
I’m afraid I have something of the queen of the hill ;-)

According to various estimates, family businesses are responsible for approximately 80% of the world’s GDP. Thus, it is hard not to notice their contribution to the development of the world economy. These companies are assumed to operate for many generations, and their main challenge nowadays is to build a sustainable competitive advantage. Unfortunately, many of them are not prepared to face the aggressive competition of large corporations. They are looking for a recipe for success. In this search, they can be helped by a unique book by prof. Eric G. Flamholtz and Yvonne Randle. A must-read for all family business owners and managers, it shows you step-by-step how to manage and build a sustainable successful business. The authors provide practical, proven tools for evaluating the effectiveness of a family business. The book is based on many real cases, and what is important is written in a very accessible way.

If you treat non-family employees worse than family members working in the company, sooner or later you will go bankrupt. Because family can be the driving force of a company or its gravedigger. In the American economy, only 1/3 of family businesses are effectively passed on to successors, and only one in eight to the third generation. What makes them succeed? What can this book suggest to the heads of Polish family businesses struggling with the problem of succession? Its authors are business consultants who have watched the best family businesses in the US for several decades, but have also witnessed the collapse of many others. That is why it is worth reading their advice on how to become a champion, i.e. a family business that will outlast its founders.

Is it easier for a family business to achieve global success? Do the relationships of family members working in the same company affect its development? These and other questions are answered in this book, which in a very interesting way presents the stories of the ups and downs of many family businesses. The book describes how to build a strategy for sustainable company success, based on the author’s many years of experience. Solutions for managers struggling with managing family members, whose mutual relations often significantly limit the development of the company. Authentic case studies straight from the American market make the book a must-have for anyone managing a family business who wants it to achieve success on a global level.

After reading it, I would call the book “A guide to the success of family businesses in Poland”, which should be included in every family business. Why a guide? Because step by step we are guided by the authors through all issues related to running an effective business and through family relationships affecting this efficiency.

The language of the book, despite the fact that it deals with difficult business issues, is very simple and fully understandable.
Valuable in the book are examples of good practices that lead to the flourishing of the company, and the most valuable examples of bad practices leading to the collapse of companies, both in the sphere of business and family.

In Poland, the period is fast approaching when the founders of family businesses from the early 1990s have to think about succession. After reading the book, I believe that the change of the first generation of founders to the second is the most difficult period for family businesses in Poland. Currently, the market situation is radically different than 30 years ago, which is why this book should be such an important position for our family businesses, so that having examples from the older, more mature market, learn from the mistakes of others and develop our Polish Business Champions for many generations.

The book “Business Champions” is a good way to “look at yourself in the mirror” for families managing family businesses. It should become a catalyst for change. There is no one ideal way for a family business, each has to work out its own way that will match the company’s strategic goals, family characteristics, but also changes taking place in the surrounding environment. Most founders or family members of family businesses should use the Family Business Self-Assessment Tool included in the appendix as a natural next step after reading the book, and then decide whether they are ready to go through the process themselves or need outside support.

“Czempiony biznesu. Strategie trwałego sukcesu firm rodzinnych” in an accessible way, it brings the reader closer to the issues related to the challenges of building a sustainable and successful family business. Experience in cooperation with family businesses, the authors offer a unique look at the success of such a company through the prism of two key aspects: the organizational development of the company and the functionality of the family.

Based on numerous case studies, the analysis and inclusion of business self-assessment tools make this book extremely practical. An important and original contribution to the literature on family businesses.

Running and effectively developing a family business is a huge challenge. It’s a unique combination of personal and business relationships. Therefore, many experts find it difficult to support their bosses in developing this type of business.

„Czempiony biznesu. Strategia trwałego sukcesu firm rodzinnych” allows you to make a diagnosis of the stage of development and nature of a family business. But most importantly, it is excellent support in the preparation of a good strategy and the concept of effective company development, as well as specific tools to be used, which will certainly be a good support in creating a path to success for the company and its owners.

An incredibly inspiring book presenting tools for self-assessment of a family business and interesting recommendations of tools to improve the effectiveness of the organization, enabling the transition to the next stage of company development from the point of view of family and business. Awareness of identifying barriers to growth in the planned development of the company, elimination of limitations, but also strengthening the strengths of the organization is crucial in the light of the company’s development. From our perspective, this book is an excellent signpost for ambitious successors tackling this topic.

The authors have had the privilege of advising family businesses for over 40 years. This is a sensation that gives us an extremely thorough and true analysis of what is happening inside these companies. And also – and perhaps above all – what should happen so that these companies become more efficient, stronger and last for generations. To this end, they follow the successive stages of the development of a family business and propose specific models based on empirical research, referring to the creation of systems, processes and structures. They stubbornly insist that in family businesses everything can be assessed or measured. A must read for those who think of their family business as meant to last for generations.

There is no need to convince anyone about the role and importance of family businesses in the more than 30-year history of transformation in Poland. However, achieving lasting success, especially in breakthrough moments for companies, is not always easy, and the challenges only increase. This book is an excellent guide to the path that family businesses are going through or may go from the established style of management to becoming increasingly professional.

The author combines a penetrating knowledge of the psychology of family processes with the classic principles of business management, sometimes drawing very surprising, non-intuitive conclusions. It is a solid analysis of the mechanisms taking place in such specific entities, often accompanied by very colorful examples from the practice of managing world-renowned family businesses. Thanks to this, the book is read in one breath, and the conclusions are remembered for a long time.

Many Polish family businesses established in the early 1990s have experienced very dynamic development. Very often, however, the rapid growth was not followed by changes inside the organization, adapting it to the increased scale of operations and securing further effective development, and sometimes even this success could “put to sleep” the original agility of these companies to adapt. The topics that come to the fore today in these companies are definitely succession and the future of leadership. How many of them will successfully hand over the reins to the second generation, both Polish and international statistics say that it will be the share of no more than 1/3 of them, not to mention the statistics on subsequent generations.

The book by Eric G. Flamholtz and Yvonne Randle seems to fit perfectly into the needs and place where family businesses are in Poland today. The authors, based on many years of experience and analyzes of the stages of development of family businesses around the world, in a very methodical, orderly manner, with many specific tools, draw a road map for companies that have the ambition to create a foundation for “immortality” and successful succession processes measured by several generations. While reading this book, I felt like I was holding a kind of “manual” in my hands. But as we know, the problem is that today fewer and fewer people read the instructions … and even fewer apply them …  This one should definitely be required reading for every family business that has real aspirations to become a multi-generational Polish champion like S.C. Johnson & Son.