Cambridge Advisors to Family Enterprise’s approach in working with clients is collaborative, confidential, constructive and systemic. We work with client systems, not on client systems, to develop a constructive and confidential process that builds trust among individuals and groups while developing and strengthening the family, business (or other enterprise), and ownership group.
The nature and duration of our work with families varies, depending on the goals and needs of each business family and family enterprise. Our advisors often work with a family for years and assist with a range of family, business, ownership, and financial issues. Other client projects are focused and last for a few months. In all cases, we strive to help business families:

1. Identify and achieve their important family, business, ownership, and financial goals
2. Become more capable and better organized concerning their key responsibilities, and more united on their important goals
3. Protect and perpetuate the family’s legacy for generations

The fundamental value we bring to a business family and family enterprise is our ability to facilitate important discussions among family members, owners, managers and others, so decisions and plans can be made and relationships can be strengthened. 

Our ability to help clients is based first of all on our deep understanding of the dynamics, principles and best practices of managing a family enterprise. These understandings stem from our leading-edge research and from over two decades of helping families and business leaders successfully address complex and challenging situations. Second, our advisors are highly skilled in the several areas of our practice, including working with individuals and families to establish governance or resolve conflicts, management succession, next generation development, business strategy, ownership structures and transfers, and financial strategies. Third, our advisors collaborate internally and with our clients to provide integrated solutions to complicated challenges. Fourth, we know how to structure and pace change so that it fosters trust and brings people and groups closer together.

We generally initiate our work with a client by meeting with individuals and groups in the family, business or enterprise, and ownership group, and reviewing important documents, to identify the key topics of the assignment and agree on an initial work plan. Often, this assessment phase is combined with an educational seminar for family members to introduce them to basic frameworks and best practices regarding family enterprise. We generally meet every few months with clients to conduct meetings, build relationships and address issues, continue our analysis, extend the education process, and help families make decisions. During the course of a client project, which might extend over years, we can help the family address family, business, ownership and financial issues. While remaining close to a family and its enterprise, we also work to build internal capabilities in the family and enterprise so that over time our client becomes less dependent on our help to make progress.

Our change process and our practice are guided by five principles:

1. The family is the client
2. We plan for long-term success
3. We take a systemic, integrated approach
4. We advocate a principled approach
5. We strictly guard client confidentiality

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Cambridge Advisors to Family Enterprise works with business families and their companies of all sizes and ages, from all corners of the world and from every industry. Over the last two decades, we have worked with business families and family companies from over sixty countries, including a number of the world’s leading family businesses. Our clients range from founder-stage families to large, multi-generational clans and also multi-family business groups. We also assist families that engage in philanthropic, investment, or other activities as a family.
We also work with organizations whose affiliates or clients are family businesses, such as financial institutions, trade associations, and corporations with family business franchisees.

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