Table of Contents for "Keep the Family Baggage Out of the Family Business:  Avoiding the Seven Deadly Sins That Destroy Family Businesses"

Chapter 1: Why You Need to Read This Book

Part II presents a series of seven syndromes – the "Seven Deadly Sins" – that occur when the family's baggage is allowed to run rampant through their business. These syndromes are not presented in any other book – they are the unique contribution that this book makes to the knowledge of family businesses. Each chapter presents a separate syndrome and its variations. A summary table is presented at the end of each chapter as a quick reference tool.

This chapter presents a syndrome that occurs because people who start businesses usually have a domineering personality and are consumed by their business, illustrating the three most common manifestations. The first section discusses the problems that arise from the business founder's absence from the family. The second section confronts the problems that occur when children who have been raised by someone with a domineering personality or a strong need to control enter the business and now work for this parent. The final section covers the tendency of business founders to view the company as an extension of their own identity, and the problems that this possessiveness creates for the business.