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In America alone, there are more than 20 million family-owned and run businesses, ranging from small locally owned stores to large Fortune 500 companies. These businesses, according to research by Astrachan & Shanker, not only contribute 64 percent of the gross domestic product but also employ 62 percent of all U.S. workers.

Yet despite the large numbers, starting and growing a successful family business is no easy feat. Harder still is the task of taking the reins from a parent or relative—particularly one whose reputation has reached legendary proportions. In MYTHS & MORTALS: Family Business Leadership and Succession Planning (Wiley; hardcover; July 13, 2015), noted expert in the field of family business and next-generation leadership Andrew Keyt takes a close look at what causes some successors to soar, while others fail to step out of their predecessor’s shadow.

“Historically, family businesses have been the backbone of our economy and our communities,” writes Keyt, “and the stories of the founder and the family have grown with each succession. Family businesses, however, are more than lore; they are the natural unit of our economic enterprise. They take greater ownership and responsibility for the long term well-being of their businesses, their employees, and their communities.”

Drawing on interviews with more than 25 successors of family business legends—Bill Wrigley Jr. (The Wrigley Companies), Christie Hefner (Playboy Enterprises), and John Tyson (Tyson Foods) among them—Keyt clearly illustrates the unique challenges of being a successor in, and running, a family business. Covering sticky problems like overcoming the successor’s curse, firing a family member, and knowing when to hand over the reins as leader, this book distills the key leadership traits essential for success.

Central to all, says Keyt, is credibility—both establishing it and maintaining it. It can be the greatest challenge for successors, and also the greatest predictor of success. “Based on my research,” writes Keyt, “I discovered that successors who develop a strong sense of self awareness, a sense of their own identity, and can separate themselves from their legendary parents and grandparents, have the greatest chance of creating what is most foundational to success in a family business—credibility.”

Keyt understands this not only from the interviews, but based on first-hand experience. At the age of 22, he unexpectedly inherited his father’s share of the family farm, joining the ranks with his uncle and his father’s cousins. He has served as the manager in two family-owned firms and has run the Loyola University Chicago Next Generation Leadership Institute for nearly 20 years. At the Institute, family business successors are prepared for successful transitions, business growth, family harmony, and personal fulfillment.

MYTHS & MORTALS offers a compelling look at how successors can become legendary in their own right by stepping out of their predecessor’s shadow, developing their own mission, vision, and values, and using their own individual strengths to lead.

GLOBAL FAMILY BUSINESS INDEX

The Global Family Business Index comprises the largest 500 family firms around the globe. It provides impressive evidence of the economic power and relevance of family firms in the world. Below are the top 10 family firms in this index.

The index is compiled by the Center for Family Business at the University of St.Gallen, Switzerland, in cooperation with EY's Global Family Business Center of Excellence.

Some interesting facts about the firms on the Global Family Business Index:

• Together, the family 500 firms generate 6.5 trillion USD sales.
• Together, the family 500 firms employ 21 million people.
• The average sales volume is 13 billion USD.
• The average number of employees is 42,280.
• The average firm age is 88 years.
• 44 percent of the firms are owned by the 4th generation or older.
• 52 percent are publicly listed, 48 percent privately held.

For more, please visit: www.familybusinessindex.com

Contact the publicist:
Melissa Connors
Publicity Manager
mconnors@wiley.com
201-748-6834