Looking back, looking ahead

If the average life span of a family business is 24 years, as conventional wisdom has it, then the family companies that started up at the same time that Family Business Magazine was launched—in the fall of 1989—face a “death sentence” in 2013. For family firms now entering their third generation and beyond, the chances of survival are even slimmer. Family business advisers estimate that only 12% of family companies reach the third generation, and just 3% make it to the fourth.

But the past decade and a half —a period of dramatic changes in the economic, political, cultural, global and technological environment in which companies operate—have taught us a few lessons that can help a family business beat these odds. As we celebrate our magazine's 15th anniversary, we take a look back at how these forces have helped shape today's family companies, and look ahead to the potential impact of this recent history on family firms in the future.

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