Vermont Family Business Library

Members and partners of the Vermont Family Business Initiative are welcome to borrow any of the books from our resource library. Please email the Vermont Family Business Initiative for more information.

Succeeding Generations: Realizing the Dream of Families in Business
by Ivan Lansberg

Finding the right successor to a well–loved founder or president is often the most difficult task an organization can face–and the challenge is often even greater for family–run businesses. Succeeding Generations explores leadership transitions in family businesses, offering a clear–eyed assessment of the different options, from direct succession to building partnerships between siblings and cousins.

The Little Red Book of Family Business
By David Bork

This pocket–sized book of wisdom about working in the complex and rewarding world of family business. The advice contained within was culled from Bork's 40 years of experience as a family business consultant. This easy–to–read book contains ideas that are to–the–point, insightful and sometimes humorous. The book briefly highlights 27 topics, including boundaries, competence, competition in the family, sibling relationships, and more. This little book of expert advice is a must read for family businesses that wish to grow and thrive.

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...and Others Don't
by Jim Collins

Based on a five–year research project, Good to Great answers the question: "Can a good company become a great company, and, if so, how?" True to the rigorous research methodology and invigorating teaching style of Jim Collins, Good to Great teaches how even the dowdiest of companies can make the leap to outperform market leaders the likes of Coca–Cola, Intel, General Electric, and Merck.

Creating Effective Boards for Private Enterprises: Meeting the Challenges of Continuity & Competition
by John L. Ward

One of the best, most thorough and step–by–step map of the process of putting a board together that is available to my knowledge. Anyone with a closely held company who is considering putting an outside board together (and most should), this is the place to start.

From the Kitchen Table to the Conference Table: Family Business Communication
by Laura Michaud

Working with the ones you love is both a blessing and a challenge. Now you can enhance the blessings and minimize the challenges by learning how to understand and use various communication skills, forums, and techniques.

The Ultimate Legacy: How Owners of Family and Closely Held Businesses Can Achieve Their Real Purpose
by Donald J. Jonovic

Covers business operations in a family owned business and also some estate planning. Among other things, it talks about how much to let your kids have and how soon. Encourages you to make them develop themselves as people and to earn their keep. Even if you do not have a large business, it has a lot of good information.

All in the Family Business: A Personal Memoir and Corporate History
by George G., Jr. Raymond, D. Bruce Merrifield

This paradigm of American corporate history tells the interwoven stories of George Raymond's successful business career and his personal life. As a teenager, Raymond went to work for his father's firm, The Raymond Corporation. He rose to become its president, developed a revolutionary product, the narrow–aisle forklift truck, and made the company a premier manufacturer of materials handling equipment. Just as he was starting to enjoy his success, tragedy struck: a murder shattered his family. Having remarried and reached retirement age years later, Raymond picked as his successor a CEO who became an adversary. Finally, he was compelled to force the sale of his family–owned company. By all accounts, the book is a classic case history of a family business and a gripping personal memoir.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad
by Robert T. Kiyosaki and Sharon L. Lechter C.P.A.

A bestselling personal finance book phenomenon for millions of readers hoping to become masters of their money and create sustaining wealth for themselves and their families.

Family Business Resource Guide

This report was prepared by the staff of the Small Business Research & Information Center, funded by University of Missouri Extension. This presents summaries of trends and issues, opportunities and challenges based on current research. Download this guide for free at: http://web.umr.edu/~tscsbdc/iag/fambus.pdf.

Family Rules: Raising Responsible Children
by Kenneth Kaye

Kenneth Kaye's celebrated book, Family Rules: Raising Responsible Children, is now publicly available for download. Download this guide for free at: http://www.kaye.com/famrules.

There's No Such Thing as "Business" Ethics: There's Only One Rule for Making Decisions
by John C. Maxwell

In There's No Such Thing as Business Ethics, Maxwell shows how people can live with integrity by using the Golden Rule as their standard–regardless of religion, culture, or circumstances. Along the way, he delves into the desires of the human heart, reveals the five most common causes that get people off track ethically, and teaches how to develop the Midas touch when it comes to integrity.

Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future
by Bill McKibben

In this powerful and provocative manifesto, Bill McKibben offers the biggest challenge in a generation to the prevailing view of our economy. Deep Economy makes the compelling case for moving beyond "growth" as the paramount economic ideal and pursuing prosperity in a more local direction, with regions producing more of their own food, generating more of their own energy, and even creating more of their own culture and entertainment. Our purchases need not be at odds with the things we truly value, McKibben argues, and the more we nurture the essential humanity of our economy, the more we will recapture our own.

Country Store of Vermont: A History and Guide
by Dennis Bathory–Kitsz

Visiting a country store in Vermont is a unique adventure, since each carries its own particular stock of special wares and memorable characters. What all customers should know (and if you forget, any owner will quickly remind you) is that if they don't have it, you don't need it. Author Bathroy–Kitsz takes readers across the state to places that are the very heart of communities big and small, where locals have been keeping their house keys behind the counter and solving the world's problems on the front stoop for over two hundred years.

The Generative Organization: Going from Reactive Behavior to Inspired Performance
by William J. Schwarz

Bill Schwarz explores the way organizations work, the impact of human nature's reactive state, the governing principles that determine why a company behaves the way it does… and he does it with absolute clarity and simplicity in a masterful story of suspense, personal discovery and triumphant victory over fear.

Healthy Growth for the Family Business
by Jennifer M. Pendergast, PH.D.

Healthy Growth for the Family Business is aimed at helping members of family businesses sort out the issues associated with growth and arrive at decisions that are best for the business and the family.

You will learn that growth can mean different things to different people, and not just in terms of increases in sales and profits. The way some family business owners look at growth will offer inspiration and spur creativity as you seek answers for your own company.

Family shareholders and board members will learn a great deal from Dr. Pendergast's new book. When they have a better understanding of the issues involved in growth, these family members can support you in moving the family business in the direction it needs to go.

How to Get from No to Go: The Magic of Negotiating Winning Agreements
by Robert D. Rutherford, Ph.D.

Each of the forty–six lessons in How to Get From NO to GO: The Magic of Negotiating Winning Agreements gives a specific direction to enhance the reader's ability to negotiate the inevitable differences with others and gain what they want from anyone at home, work or in life.

Leading at the Speed of Growth
by Katherine Catlin & Jana Matthews

Learn how to take your company to the next level of growth through the stories of over 500 successful entrepreneurs. Developed by the Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, this flagship book introduces a new series on managing growth. The authors expertly guide you through the three stages of entrepreneurial growth: initial growth, rapid growth, and continuous growth. Personal stories told by successful entrepreneurs reveal the hows and whys of evolving as a leader at each stage, identifying red flags, vital signs, and secrets of sustained growth. Become a dynamic leader by using this book as your roadmap to entrepreneurial success.

When your Parents Sign the Paychecks: Finding Career Success Inside of Outside the Family Business
by Greg McCann

Do you want a career in your family's business? This guide shows young people with a family business how to:

Take charge of their education, career, and life for success and happiness.

Avoid entitlement, lack of direction, and feeling stuck.

Earn credibility and marketability in the family business.

Face family expectations and preserve relationships.

Keep Your Business Close…and Your Family Closer: Building on the Inherent Strengths of Your Family Business
by Larry Hollar

Business school teaches you business theories. Your mother lends you family advice. But who can give you the real scoop on mixing business and family? A family–business veteran, of course, who has lived through the misgivings of family–business succession, the uncertainty of hiring a son–in–law...and still believes in family business.

In Keep Your Business Close, and Your Family Closer, author Larry Hollar weaves stories of international business success with hard–earned advice. From grandpa's tried–and–true truisms to academic theories, this book offers something for everyone in the business – from mail room to board room.

Working with the Ones You Love: Strategies for A Successful Family Business
by Dennis T. Jaffe, Ph.D.

This breakthrough book is the only resource designed specifically to help family members who are in business together learn to manage both work and family relationships effectively.

Philanthropy Heirs & Values: How Successful Families are Using Philanthropy to Prepare their Heirs for Post–Transition Responsibilities
by Roy Williams & Vic Preisser

The ten commitments outlined in Dr. Massey's new book will help you get the right people in the right positions to develop a focused, values–driven, high performance team. Learn how to get every member to take personal ownership of your team's success by creating shared purpose, values, and strategic goals. Gain insights on setting up profit sharing, establishing work standards, and correcting performance problems, in addition to creating a learning organization that is able to adapt to the challenges of the next century. Build a team environment where people have fun and play to win. Increase employee retention, job satisfaction, commitment, and productivity that will propel your team to a championship performance. The empowering topics covered include: committing to getting the right people on the bus; getting everyone on the same page; creating a learning environment; sharing the profits and losses; turning around poor performance; dancing with your team members; playing to win; growing through adversity; having fun; and, most importantly, playing large.

The Etiquette Advantage in Business: Personal Skills for Professional Success
by Peggy Post & Peter Post

In this guide to etiquette for businesspeople, the authors tackle what to do in situations such as job searches, business interactions, conflicts, supervisor–employee relationships, meetings, and social events as well as cultural issues. The authors explain the reasons behind proper etiquette, its importance, and give advice on sexual harassment, telecommuting, appropriate dress, customer relationships, gifts, and written and oral communication.

The Couple's Business Guide: How to Start and Grow a Small Business Together
by Amy Lyon

Ten of Vermont's married entrepreneurs give practical advice on starting and staying in business. Readers will learn the pros and cons of building or buying a business, how to work with each other's individual strengths and weaknesses, the nuts and bolts of a business plan, and much more. Featured businesses include Ward's Pond Farm, Uncle Dave's Kitchen, Mother Myrick's Confections, and Herb Patch LTD.

Family: The Compact Among Generations
by James E. Hughes Jr.

Family Wealth has become a modern classic for exceptional families and their advisers with more than 20,000 sold in hardcover. In this new, major work, James Hughes brings to bear decades of experience working with and studying families to offer panoramic insights into what makes families flourish and fail. This book lays out the basis for the vision of family governance the author has been developing through his work and research. His advice addresses not only what to do but how to think about the complex issues of family governance, growth, and stability and the ongoing challenge of nurturing the happiness of each family member.

Ideas are Free
by Alan G. Robinson & Dean M. Schroeder

Ever since Frederick Taylor advocated that it was management's job to "think" and the worker's job to "do," this perspective has been the basis for the policies, structures, and operating practices of most business organizations. Although this division between thinking and doing may have worked 100 years ago, it is severely limiting in today's environment, where it is the front–line worker who is in the best position to notice problems and suggest ideas. In example after example, the authors show how companies that encourage and implement the ideas of the entire workforce are the ones that come up with the most innovative and successful strategies. Contrary to past thinking on the subject, they make it clear that monetary rewards are not the best way to elicit ideas, and that emphasis on small ideas can be a more effective strategy than shooting for a "home run." The methods described show how to create an environment that encourages ideas, help employees develop knowledge and improve their problem–solving skills, and properly manage the ideas that are generated, including their larger implications.

Trust and Betrayal in the Workplace: Building Effective Relationships in your Organization
by Dennis S. Reina, Ph.D. & Michelle L Reina, Ph.D.

More tha never, there's a need for trust in the workplace. Trust makes organizations WORK. This book is all about trust–the power when it exists, the problems when it doesn't, the pain when it is lost, and the steps you can take to re–build it, engage people, and encourage collaboration. This practical approach gives you the tools to build trust, improve performance, and boost bottom–line results.

Managing Upside Down: The Seven Intentions of Values–Centered Leadership
by Tom Chappell

In 1996, Chappell and his wife, Kate, almost sold their successful company, Tom's of Maine, known for its baking–soda toothpaste, chest rubs and other natural–ingredient products. Instead, they found a new COO/partner, Tom O'Brien, former deodorant chief of Procter & Gamble, and embarked on a binge of new product launches. In this well–intentioned but unoriginal handbook, Chappell, founder/CEO of the company that bears his first name, outlines his seven–step program (the "Seven Intentions") designed to help business managers focus on social and environmental responsibility rather than on the bottom line. "Managing Upside Down" means "letting your own deepest beliefs and values... drive your business," and Chappell, who went to Harvard Divinity School, expands here on the message of his first book, The Soul of a Business (1993), which stressed that spiritual goals and the pursuit of profit are compatible. But much of his advice has a very familiar ring (flatten the hierarchy; give employees permission to act and think creatively; establish interlocking teams, etc.). As it concentrates on his own company's success story, the book often comes across as shameless self–promotion, and it is padded with testimonies from the company's stars. Platitudinous and preachy, this manifesto may nevertheless reach segments of corporate America, though its most receptive readership will probably be like–minded entrepreneurs. Chappell's insistence that companies large and small have an obligation to serve the community and protect the environment deserves to be widely heard, and Tom's of Maine practices what it preaches, giving grants to various organizations and encouraging employees to spend 5% of their paid work time volunteering in community jobs and services.

Leading at a Higher Level
by Ken Blanchard

Lead at a higher level. Lead your people to greatness as you create high performing organizations that make life better for everyone.

The Founding Associates and Consulting Partners of The Ken Blanchard Companies have spent more than 25 years helping good leaders become great, and stay great. Now, for the first time, they've brought together everything they have learned about outstanding leadership.

Sell Your Business Your Way
by Rick Rickertsen

When huge conglomerates are sold, there are teams of lawyers, accountants, and other specialists to handle all the details and dirty work. But for entrepreneurs whose sweat and blood have built the company and made it what it is, selling the business means navigating new and potentially dangerous territory. This book walks readers through the entire process of selling, from valuation and preparing the business for sale to finding a buyer and assembling and closing the deal. The author presents the many different ways to structure and finance the sale, and also addresses some often overlooked concerns, including managing the emotional issues that can undermine business and financial decisions.

Understanding Organizations: Applications of Bowen Family Systems Theory
by Ruth Riley Sagar and Kathleen Klaus Wiseman

This presentation includes a bried summary of the family systems concepts that are most useful in dealing with all kinds of work and administrative systems. At the base of it all is a clear understanding of one's self through knowing one's own family and experiencing the various problems within one's self. Details about the various concepts have been recorded in other publications. This presentation is designed to help others to know and master the pitfalls along the way.

From Siblings to Cousins: Prospering in the Third Generation and Beyond
by Craig E. Aronoff, Ph.D. and John L. Ward, Ph.D.

If you are a sibling owner, this book will help you create the circumstances to help your children become successful team—if it's the family's goal to continue in business together. This is a how–to book aimed at helping the cousin generation continue working together successfully.

Born Rich A documentary
by Jamie Johnson

First–time filmmaker Jamie Johnson, a 23–year–old heir to the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical fortune, captures the rituals, worries and social customs of the young Trumps, Vanderbilts, Newhouses and Bloombergs in the documentary special, BORN RICH, a 2003 Sundance Film Festival selection. Offering candid insights into the privileges and burdens of inheriting more money than most people will earn in a lifetime.