50 Common Causes of Family Business Conflict… and how to deal with them – The Solutionist Group

Cause #30: Spousal Influence

Jon Kenfield — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 00:00:44 +0000

Observations Spouses and life partners (called “spouses” here for brevity) can exert powerful influence inside a business family — not only over their own partner, but across the whole family system. At their best, spouses bring wisdom, balance, emotional maturity, stability at home, fresh perspective, and a stronger platform for raising children and building long-term […]

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Cause #29: Family Governance

Jon Kenfield — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 00:00:21 +0000

Observations Many people in family business understand they’re running a family business, but they don’t always acknowledge the other reality sitting behind it: they’re also running a business family — or at least being supported by one — especially in multi-generational enterprises. Over time, every successful multi-generational family business evolves into a business family, having […]

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Cause #28: Avoidance, Denial and a Slow Poisoning

Jon Kenfield — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 00:00:22 +0000

Observations Business families are notorious for taking shortcuts and following paths of least resistance when it comes to recognising and dealing with unpleasant tensions between family members. The unconscious driver is: “If we don’t talk about it, maybe it will go away.” But in business families, problems don’t disappear. They go underground to ferment, strengthen, […]

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Cause #27: Family Succession

Jon Kenfield — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 00:00:48 +0000

Why succession remains one of the most powerful conflict triggers in family enterprises What “Succession” Really Means The word succession comes from the Latin successio, meaning a following after. In a family enterprise context, succession is the deliberate transition of ownership, leadership, and management of businesses, assets, and legacies from one generation to the next. […]

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Cause #26: Roles and Responsibilities

Jon Kenfield — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 00:00:16 +0000

(Why unclear “who does what” turns family business into the Wild West) One of the most reliable generators of conflict in a family business is surprisingly simple: nobody is fully sure who is responsible for what, who has authority to decide, and who is accountable when things go wrong. Founders often dismiss titles and job […]

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Cause #25: Family Ethics, Culture and Discipline

Jon Kenfield — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 00:00:12 +0000

(Why “how we do things” beats strategy, and why weak standards quietly breed conflict) Family businesses rarely run purely on logic, plans, KPIs, budgets, or org charts. They run on something far more powerful and far more fragile: the behavioural patterns a family has developed over decades — first at home, then transferred into the […]

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Cause #24: Family Plans (Values, Visions and Goals)

Jon Kenfield — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 00:00:41 +0000

(Why families lose businesses when they don’t agree where they’re going together) “For want of a nail the shoe was lost…” — Proverb Reframed for family enterprise: “For want of a Plan the Family was lost, For want of a Family the Business was lost, And all for the want of a Family Plan.” — […]

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Cause #23: What’s Fair? Equal Ain’t Equitable

Jon Kenfield — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 00:00:39 +0000

(Why “treating everyone the same” is one of the fastest ways to trigger family business conflict) One of the most common causes of conflict in business families comes from a well-intentioned mistake: confusing equality with equity. Equality means giving everyone the same benefits. Equity means giving people what is fair, reasonable, and appropriate—based on contribution, […]

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Cause #22: The Birth Order Lottery

Jon Kenfield — Sun, 04 Jan 2026 23:25:06 +0000

Why Birth Order Matters More Than Families Think Birth order dynamics refer to how the sequence of birth within a generation influences roles, expectations, status, and behaviour. In many business families, birth order quietly shapes who is perceived as the “leader,” who becomes the “mediator,” and who is expected to “fit in” — often before […]

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Cause #21: Parenting Styles and Practices

Jon Kenfield — Fri, 02 Jan 2026 01:14:49 +0000

Why Parenting Matters in Family Business Conflict (Observations – not medical opinions) One of the most persistent and underestimated root causes of conflict in family businesses originates not in boardrooms, ownership structures, or succession plans—but in the family home, decades earlier. Many of the conflicts that surface in adult family business relationships are not new. […]

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