Periodically in FFI Practitioner, we include articles that are “conversation starters” for family enterprise advisors to use with their clients. These articles provide ways for advisors and clients to build connections, foster collaboration, and ease into discussions appropriate to a multi-generational company. The conversation starters could include reflections on the past, looking ahead, personal insights, collaboration models, and more.

Today’s issue is a conversation starter about readback, a communication tool that is used in aviation, health care, coaching, and other professions—but is not that typical in family enterprise advising. Thanks to Leonardo Correa Rodriguez for providing this introduction to the practice, with examples of how readback can be deployed to avoid miscommunications and conflict within a family enterprise.

Thank you to Claudia Binz Astrachan for this précis of the FBR article “Do Family Owners Hold Nonfamily CEOs More Accountable Than Family CEOs for Firm Performance? A Dynamic Perspective,” from the September 2024 issue. In this article, Wei Shen, Qian Gu, and Lin-Hua Lu explore the relationship between CEO performance in family-controlled entities in Taiwan and subsequent performance-induced, involuntary turnover.

Thank you to Dennis Oteng, member of the 2025 Conference Program Committee, for this article about the 360 Legacy Wheel, a model that can help client families consider which resources to share outside of the family and which to protect within the family.