January 2013

CFAR is a research partner with Wolff Olins, an international brand consultancy. This blog post, Q&A: Writing the history of your future', on Wolff Olins' site features CFAR's thinking about what's needed today for organizations to think creatively about their future, and implement effective and lasting change.

Family Firm Institute, New England Chapter—January 9. Jerrel Jones presented "History of the Future”- Creating a Group Narrative for Strategic Planning, as part of the group's breakfast series. This interactive event explored a methodology for creating a group narraative for family businesses in the strategic planning process. This group narrative not only surfaces assumptions crucial to the strategic plan but also creates a helpful communication device for sharing the plan with others.

Philadelphia SmartCEO Exit Planning Roundtable —January 16. Nancy Drozdow will be participating in this roundtable discussion on topics such as aligning a CEO’s exit strategy with his or her goals, maximizing the value of the business, and ensuring a smooth transition to new leadership. SmartCEO will record the conversation for a podcast, to be posted on their website. Photos and transcribed portions of the discussion will appear in a comprehensive “Focus on Exit Planning” section in the February 2013 issue of SmartCEO magazine.

Temple University—January 22. Jerrel Jones will lead a session entitled "Psychological Aspects and Personal Dynamics of the Operation and the Transfer of the Family Business," which is part of the masters in law program, "Planning for the Family that Owns and Operates a Business" at Temple University Law School.

Wharton Healthcare Quarterly. Jennifer Tomasik and Carey Huntington have contributed the third in a series of four articles exploring opportunities to improve collaboration in healthcare settings - between institutions, between physicians and administrators, and within inter-professional teams. Their article, "Creating Value Together — Collaboration Between Physicians and Administrators"  can be found online here.

February 2013

Northeastern University Center for Family Business—February 6. Jessica Geiben Lynn will present "Keys for Strengthening the Family Business" at the Family Business Breakfast Meeting for the Massachusetts State Automobile Dealers Association.

People & Strategy Journal—Debbie Bing's article "The Weakness of Strong Leaders: Crowding out Space for Collective Purpose," appears in this issue of the journal. This article explores the paradoxical case where the leader has precisely the vision, aggression and talent that the external environment demands, but, ironically, that strength and aggression weakens his or her team and atrophies others’ ability to effectively advance the organization’s purpose and goals. A pdf of the article is available.

March 2013

The Conference Board—March 7. Mal O'Connor will conduct a session entitled "Building an Ambidextrous Leadership Organization" for the groups Leadership Development Council. This interactive session will focus on examining our own learning organizations and our ability to develop the necessary skills for ambidextrous leadership across a company, using case studies with practical applications and examples. The goals of the session are:

• To reflect on ambidextrous leadership and its relevance to your company's learning agenda and delivery capability.
• To create a framework for optimizing investments in capabilities to succeed in your core business and capabilities needed to innovate.
• To use ambidextrous leadership concepts to link your theory of learning to your company's current strategic commitments.

ASAE: The Center For Association Leadership: Great Idea Conference—March 10-12. Jessica Geiben Lynn along with Tony Mazzaschi of AAMC will present a session entitled “Strike While the Iron is Hot: Leadership Lessons from a Governance Change.” You can find out more on the conference website.

The Conference Board—March 20. Mal O'Connor, along with Dr. Joseph McCann and Anna Tavis, PhD will conduct a webcast entitled “Leadership Skills for Turbulent Environments”. This webcast will explore this topic drawing upon years of research and practice from multiple fields and practical experience and will explore questions such as: while we call for more “systems thinkers” with excellent change management skills, what others skills are also essential? What do such capabilities operationally really look like? How can senior HC leaders create initiatives that identify and broadly develop these within their organizations? Are there specific guidelines or design criteria for helping them do that?

Healthcare Leadership Network of the Delaware Valley—Carey Huntington has been appointed Events and Education Co-chair for the group.

April 2013

Withers Bergman—April 9. CFAR is partnering with the international law firm Withers Bergman to present a session for family business leaders featuring Christin and Dan McClave, married third generation owners of Cardone Industries, the world's largest privately held auto parts remanufacturing company. Hosted by Withers Bergman, the session will be facilitated by Debbie Bing, Principal, CFAR as part of their
Family Business Insights series. The program will feature the leadership challenges for the next generation of a family business, coordinating family and corporate governance, and the experience of making a meaningful contribution as an in-law. More info can be found here.

Healthcare Leadership Network of the Delaware Valley (an independent ACHE chapter)—April 12. Lynn Oppenheim will moderate a panel discussion on the Healthcare Executive's Role in IT Decisions.

Transitions East 2013—April 19. Nancy Drozdow will facilitate a discussion workshop entitled "The Biggest Issue in my Family Enterprise Is..."   

Yankee Alliance—April 30. Mal O'Connor will present a session entitled "Making Change Stick" at the group's annual conference.

May 2013

Harvard Stem Cell Institute—May 17 . Nat Welch and Barry Dornfeld have helped plan, design and facilitate a program entitled "Advancing the Role of Non-Profit Organizations in Drug Development."  In conjunction with CFAR, this roundtable is co-sponsored by the Harvard Business School, the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, and the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, and brings together a select group of scientists, top executives, and academicians from non-profit organizations, biopharmaceutical companies, venture capital firms and leading academic institutions.

Debbie Bing, Principal, has been elected to the Board of Directors of Conservation Services Group (CSG), a national leader in residential energy efficiency. (press release)

Family Business Magazine—Nancy Drozdow, Principal, is quoted in the May/June 2013 issue of the magazine in an article about how a large family business —the global services conglomerate, Day & Zimmerman—is positioning for transition to its 4th generation of family leadership.

HEC (Haute Etudes Commercial)—May 30. Tom Gilmore along with Nora Grasselli will be teaching a session in the Oxford – HEC "Consulting and Coaching for Change" in the" Systems, Psychodynamics, and Change" module working with critical incidents submitted by the participants.

June 2013

ESMT (European School of Management and Technology)—June 11. Tom Gilmore will be teaching in Berlin with Nora Grasselli, a former colleague at CFAR, on internal consulting team dynamics in a global company.

October 2013

Family Firm Institute Annual Conference—October 17. Jessica Geiben Lynn, along with Carmen Bianchi, Carmen Bianchi Family Business Associates and Frank Hoy, Worcester Polytechnical Institute, will present Franchising and Family Business: A Unique Way to Sustain Legacy and Values While Building a Family Enterprise.

Family Firm Institute Annual Conference—October 18. Debbie Bing, along with Lansing Crane of the Loyola Family Business Center, will present "Finding Inspiration in the Boardroom: How to See the Family Enterprise in a New Way.

Association of American Medical Colleges—November 3. Jessica Geiben Lynn, along with Jennifer Schlener, AAMC, will pesent a session entitled: Working Effectively with Governing and Advisory Boards for the AAMC's Group on Institutional Advancement at the AAMC's annual meeting.

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