Every Business is a Family Business

A Book That Speaks to Everyone Who Wants to Feel Part of a Larger Business Community and Navigate Choppy Waters

I grew up within a family business environment - first-generation Americans in a new land. Families working side-by-side in pursuit of sanctuary and the "American dream." after a sojourn in the New York City boroughs, they packed their things. They moved as a group establishing a series of Main Street-like businesses in Bay Shore, Long Island - the picture framing store, luncheonette, and car repair shop.?Along the way, there was intrigue, favorite sons (and daughters-in-law), sibling jealousy, loving support at challenging moments, and chapters of tension.

Through the years, I've grown to see that every business is a makeshift, artificially created family. We call everyone "colleagues," but these workplace connections form a new type of family. That's where Julie Charlestein comes in - she is the fourth-generation CEO of the century-old Premier Dental Products Company. Julie knows what it's like to lead a family business, and she's written an excellent, fast-moving business book on building community and navigating "family" tensions to excel.

Julie is fun! She's courageous! She is open to others' ideas and a champion of rallying the Premier community. She treats everyone like a member of the Premier family.?I witnessed her in-the-trenches commitment to helping people - customers and colleagues through the tough COVID times. That's a hallmark of today's successful businesses.?Her words are from the heart. They are her truth.

Since arriving in the United States in 1985, I've worked in several mid-sized and large family businesses. Drawing upon my family experiences, I felt compassion and commitment to the owner/leaders. I respected their confidential shares and concern about their business's future.

I was privileged to read the proofs of this book - many times. In the long list of must-read business volumes - Senge's The Fifth Discipline - Learning Organization, Collins' Good to Great, Belasco's and Stayer's Flight of the Buffalo, and many more, I now add Charlestein's How to Lead Your Family Business. Julie nails the complexities and pathways to succeed with joy within a business community. All businesses are types of extended families!

I shared my big takeaway on the back cover of her excellent book:?"How to Lead Your Family Business is a must-read for any entrepreneur who must journey through the challenges of relationships and draw on their full intellectual, experiential and?experiential and emotional abilities."

It's not the first time I've been asked to provide a book blurb - but it's the first time I can say this is an excellent read for anyone in a business environment that is more than its balance sheet. That's what all great businesses are - expressions of community.