SHIFT your Family Business

Steve Legler, MBA, CFA, FEA, was born into a family business. As the only son of an immigrant entrepreneur, it became clear very early on that he was expected to follow in his father's footsteps. He spent every summer of his teens and the first three years after earning his Bachelor's degree in commerce learning everything he could about the business.He returned to the business after getting his MBA, ready for the challenges that awaited. But within six months the family sold the operating business, going from 250 employees to four.
With his father spending most of his time on a new venture, Steve managed the remaining family assets in their holding companies: real estate, investments and intellectual property. He also earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
Steve married into another business family and witnessed some of the communication challenges that family has faced over the years dealing with their own unique issues. This helped Steve realize how important good communication is for families who want their legacy to continue.
When Steve enrolled in the Family Enterprise Advisor program, geared towards wealth managers, accountants and insurance folks who advise business families, he immediately felt an affinity for those teaching the classes, the people who work as family business facilitators, advisors, coaches and mediators.
With SHIFT Your Family Business, his first book, Steve hopes to get family business owners on the right path to securing their legacies by making sure they create the necessary family harmony to support their long-term goals.

SHIFT your Family Business was written for anyone who has ever worked in a family business or been part of a business family. Steve Legler grew up in one such family, and married into another, and in this, his first book, he examines the challenges that business families face, and gives readers lots of insights and ideas to help them face and overcome those challenges.
Since clear, frequent, and open communication is the key to getting out of difficult
situations, he walks readers through the steps of:
(1) getting important conversations Started
(2) getting Help from others to facilitate the discussions
(3) Investing the time and effort necessary to gain the momentum to keep going
(4) remaining Flexible with all their ideas and plans
(5) Talking everything out to gain as much understanding and consensus as possible.
He concludes with some thoughts that demystify governance, and invites business families to take on a "family office" mindset to stay focused and on track.
SHIFT your Family Business is all about helping business families create the harmony they need to support the legacy they want.