From the Kitchen Table to the Conference Table: Family Business Communication [Paperback]

Laura Michaud (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2004

Working with the ones you love can occasionally pose challenges, especially when it comes to communication. Now you can enhance the positive aspects of a family business by learning how to understand and use various communication skills, forums, and techniques to improve business and family relations, as well as the company's success. In this groundbreaking book, Laura Michaud shows you how to: * Learn the communication challenges that family businesses face and what to do about them; * Identify and understand the differences between you and your family members for a healthier work environment; * Master your biggest communication challenges for success and happiness. This book is guaranteed to improve family business relationships, whether you're at the kitchen table or the conference table.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Laura's expertise and experience shine through! I cannot imagine a family business member not learning something in every chapter. 'From the Kitchen Table to the Conference Table' is relevant to everyone in a family business!" -- Debbie Skutch, The University of Toledo Center for Family Business
-- Review

About the Author

Laura Michaud is one of the most sought-after experts in family business. She was the third generation owner of her own family business (Beltone Electronics) for twenty years. Today, as owner of the Michaud Group, she helps family businesses improve performance and communication skills. She specializes in succession planning, creating organizational structure, building relationships between family and non-family employees, board development, increasing the bottom line through better employee and customer management, lowering employee attrition, creating a work/life balance, and increasing referrals and repeat business.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 120 pages
• Publisher: Cameo Publications, LLC (February 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0974414948
• ISBN-13: 978-0974414942
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,309,178 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't be a failed family business statistic, April 13, 2004

By 

Harold McFarland (Florida) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: From the Kitchen Table to the Conference Table: Family Business Communication (Paperback)

Family businesses can be a wonderful thing. I've seen them help keep a family close together because they are involved with each other throughout the day. On the other hand I've seen it tear a business and a family apart as family members make decisions that others don't support, personal problems are brought into the office, and promoting one family member over another causes hardship. It's no wonder that almost seventy percent of family owned businesses fail in the second generation. Does this have to be the case? What can you do to keep from being just another of these statistics? That is what Laura Michaud addresses in her book "From the Kitchen Table to the Conference Table: Family Business Communication".

Laura grew up in a third generation family owned business - Beltone. Based on her real-life experiences Laura provides a solid plan for navigating the treacherous waters of a family owned business. Her plan is thorough and includes many things people don't think about when starting a family business. For example, there is the need to examine the fact that family members may have different goals. Some may need medical benefits, some may want more take home pay, and others may want more flexible time demands. Another example is planning for succession. Most people just think of planning for who will take over the business when they pass on or retire. But succession planning is so much more than this. If it is not done correctly the company may need to be sold just to pay estate taxes. Or leaving the business jointly to several children may set them up for crippling power struggles. These are only two of the many areas she covers very well. The majority of the book is dedicated to finding the individual strengths of family members and making sure that the company plays to their strengths and then keeping communication channels open.

There are several books on the market that examine starting a family business and how to get it growing. I am really surprised that there are not more that deal with the problem of the expanding family business that soon has dozens of grandchildren, cousins, and in-laws working for it. Well, you are not on your own in this area anymore! "From the Kitchen Table to the Conference Table" is a highly recommended read for anyone involved in a family business and provides the advice necessary to keep the business growing for multiple generations.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars War Stories, Family Meetings, and Psychological Profiling, March 6, 2004

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 109,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: From the Kitchen Table to the Conference Table: Family Business Communication (Paperback)

I was interested in reading this book because I grew up working in my parent's family business, work in one with my wife now, and my wife's family operates a family business as well. In my consulting career, I've often been asked to help families decide what they want to do with their businesses. I always wonder what it's like NOT to be in a family business. Our large company clients seem to be under totally different pressures than our family business clients.

Communication is often poor in a family business. Ms. Michaud seems to have a good handle on the manifestations of that problem. Her war stories smack of having been in the middle of the fray . . . both as an executive in a family business and as a consultant to family businesses.

In the book, she briefly describes the kinds of communications that all businesses need . . . and adds the concepts of regular family meetings about the business. She describes a process for starting and running those meetings.

To help family members communicate better, she provides a series of exercises to help spot the issues. Among the exercises is a lengthy section on psychological profiling. Here is where the book broke down, for her ideas are very oversimplified and dangerous in the ways that she suggests using them.

In addition, I have never seen a book about business communication with so few practical suggestions in it on that subject. For instance, there's not a single hint of Neuro-Linguistic Programming research, emotional intelligence leadership or mainline research on how to build rapport (she only has some oversimplified suggestions for her four archetypes). More subtle research on communications is also missing. It's as though she attended a brief seminar on the subject, and then wrote a book about what she heard.

The book is an extremely slim one both content and lengthwise, and does not seem worth the $17.95 cover price.

Unless you know nothing about how to convene a family meeting to discuss business issues, I suggest that you skip this book.

As I finished the book, I was reminded that the best way to hear if you are getting your point across is to ask the person you have been speaking with what you have been saying. Then, correct any misunderstandings . . . and keep repeating until you sense that understanding has occurred. Then, follow up to see if the actions taken reflect what you were trying to communicate. If the actions don't match you intention, ask the other person to explain why they did what seems inappropriate. Continue as before to resolve misunderstandings and hidden assumptions. Plan to repeat your message at last 30 times before it will begin to sink in.

4.0 out of 5 stars From the Kitchen Table to the Conference Table, July 6, 2004

By 

molly martin (oklahoma usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: From the Kitchen Table to the Conference Table: Family Business Communication (Paperback)

Molly's Reviews:

Comprising six well developed chapters From the Kitchen Table To the Conference Table is offered as a tool for improving work and personal relationships. Family Meetings are suggested as a method for improving family and business relationships. Joys and pitfalls of working with those in your own family is approached in a no nonsense manner laced with good straight forward hints, information and wisdom as well as a bit of humor and plain old common sense. I found Michaud's discussion of communication and behavioral styles and how they affect business success to be especially enlightening. The chapters on The Value and Richness in Diversity and How to Make the Difference Work were filled with excellent examples, suggestions and wit done up with creativity and a finely focused sense of significance.