Finding Common Ground in Family Business Disagreements

In family business, some of the most important decisions are also the most complicated. They sit right at the intersection of family expectations and business realities:

• Should compensation reflect role and market value or family needs?
• How do you handle an underperforming family member when relationships are at stake?
• When priorities conflict, is there a “right” answer?

These are not rare situations. They are part of the day-to-day reality of leading a family business. In this final Breakfast Series event of the season, author and advisor Cathy Carroll will walk through how family business leaders can move beyond either-or thinking and make better decisions by working through both perspectives at once.

Drawing on real stories from family businesses, Cathy will introduce a practical way to approach tension between the “family mindset” and the “business mindset.” Instead of choosing one over the other, participants will learn how to hold both and use that tension to arrive at stronger, more thoughtful decisions.

You’ll leave with:

• A clearer way to approach common family business disagreements
• Practical tools to navigate situations where no option feels fully right
• Examples of how other family businesses have worked through similar challenges
• A framework you can apply immediately in your own business and family discussions
• Cathy’s book, “Hug of War: How to Lead a Family with both Love and Logic”

About the Presenter:

Cathy Carroll learned about family business leadership the best way you can: by leading her family's business. After growing up around her grandfather's business, she pursued corporate career for twenty years before leaving United Airlines to lead her father's business.

​A leadership coach, coach trainer and author of "Hug of War: How to Lead a Family Business With both Love and Logic," she holds an MBA from the University of Chicago, a BA from Boston College, and she earned her Certificate in Leadership Coaching and her Certificate in Executive Facilitation at Georgetown University. She maintains a MCC (Master Certified Coach) credential through the International Coaching Federation, serves as Vice-Chair of the board of the Purposeful Planning Institute, and Treasurer of A Leg to Stand On which provides prosthetic limbs to children in developing countries.