Publications

As practitioners and academics, we believe it is important to reflect on our cases and to share our key learnings.

BC Veterinary Technologists Association: A Journey of Remarkable Growth (2024)

Rebecca Finley-Schidlowsky

“This article provides a great case study of an Association that has made a serious effort to increase its strategic thinking and governance capacity over the last five years. The results of this effort are truly remarkable.”

In the dynamic realm of non-profit organizations, the BC Veterinary Technologists Association (BCVTA) has undertaken a journey of impressive growth. Over the last five years, Finley & Associates (Finley) has been honoured to support the Association with its strategic planning, governance, and capacity building at the Board of Directors (Board) and Executive Director level. This Association consistently exceeds expectations despite its size, and we take great pride in its remarkable progress!

Let’s dive into the strategies and key actions that have set this organization up for long-term success.

Read the full article now.

The 7 Biggest Challenges “Next Gens” face at Family Office – RBC Investor & Treasury Services  (2022)

Rebecca Finley-Schidlowsky

“Next gens” – the up-and-coming generations within a family business or a family office – represent the future of those enterprises. Yet, all too often, families don’t invest enough time in engaging with them, involving them and educating them, until it’s too late.”

Next gens are so important because they offer such a fresh and diverse perspective that can help pivot legacy businesses into new generations, to new directions, and into the next century, while also helping develop entirely new business lines,” says management consultant Rebecca Finley-Schidlowsky of Calgary-based Finley & Associates. But harnessing the value and contributions of next gens requires these enterprises to make the effort to overcome seven major challenges that next gens commonly face.

Read the full article now.

Sustaining the Arts by Means of Business Model Innovation (2022)

Donna S. Finley, Vijay Sathe

“This article will explain how business model innovation (BMI) was implemented to renew two leading Canadian arts organizations: the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO) and Alberta Ballet (AB). In both organizations, failure had resulted because their traditional business models had not adapted to deal with market, economic, and competitive pressures, changing audience needs and cultural/societal shifts.”

Across North America today, arts organizations are typically undercapitalized, too often generate operating deficits, and are fighting to stay solvent. In Canada, fiscal instability was exacerbated when public funding was significantly reduced. Covid-19 has devastated arts organizations even further.

All too often, attempts at renewal are focused on reinventing the art, re-capitalizing, or laying off staff, rather than an reimagining the underlying business model. The conventional operating models are continued and, with each new annual deficit, operating capital erodes further. When levels of deficit and negative working capital become intolerable, arts organizations typically devise temporary solutions such as private “save the arts” recapitalization campaigns, government bailouts, staff layoffs, temporary wage rollbacks or, in extreme cases, bankruptcy and restart.”

Read the full article now.

Avoiding the Best Practices Trap in Family Business Succession – Organizational Dynamics  (2021)

Vijay Sathe, Alfredo Enrione and Donna Finley

“Copying what successful companies do has intuitive appeal and the logic of mimicking success cases is also well documented in the scholarly literature, but adopting “best practices” does not guarantee improved performance.”

In the field of family business, it is widely assumed by both family business owners and their advisors that best practices, if adopted, can help to ensure a smooth transition of family control from one generation to the next. One of the best practices whose effectiveness is taken for granted is the family constitution, a written agreement among family members about their vision and mission, their shared values and ambitions, and the policies concerning the governance of the family and its business. As a recent article, “The rise of the family business constitution” in The Financial Times put it, “once a document is agreed, people stick to it.”

Well, not quite. In our study of family business successions over the first three generations, we discovered a disturbing pattern: the wishes and rules spelled out in the family constitution may not be followed after the founder dies!

Read the full article now.

Why some family constitutions fail – Family Business Magazine (2021)

Vijay Sathe, Alfredo Enrione, and Donna Finley

“Family constitutions, sometimes called family charters, differ in details but generally specify the family’s values and vision, criteria for family member employment and ascent to leadership, and the rights and responsibilities of family members involved in the business and those who are not. Family constitutions are popular and have served many family businesses well over the years.”

But some family constitutions fail to deliver the benefits the family hopes for.

In all of the cases we studied, the family business leader initiated the process of creating a family constitution with the help of an external adviser or facilitator. The document was developed in consultation with the family members who ultimately ratified it.

As we dug deeper, we discovered that what was described as “consultation” involved dramatically different levels of engagement and openness. In the less successful and failed cases, family members were informed about the purpose of the constitution and what it contained and were asked to review and comment on the document before it was signed. If there was discussion among family members, it was perfunctory and did not surface any tensions or controversies.

Read the full article now.

Five Sisters and Two Executors: A Case Study – FFI Practitioner  (2021)

Vijay Sathe, Alfredo Enrione and Donna Finley

“… Trustees appointed because they have earned the complete confidence of the Family Business Leader may abuse this trust in their self-interest.”

Stuart Campbell was a self-made Australian billionaire.

Most of his wealth was tied up in one of the country’s largest mines, but he was also partial owner of a film production company in the UK, a tech start-up in Silicon Valley, and a number of smaller companies around the world. Stuart was not much for governance, organization structure, or formal systems.

Stuart was married and had five daughters. The first two, in their late 30s, had worked in their father’s businesses in administrative roles and had left the firm when they got married and had children. The other three daughters were all single. The third daughter was a successful op-ed writer on political issues who published under a pseudonym in order to protect the family name, and the two youngest were finishing college.

Read the full article now.

Leveraging the value of female directors – Ethical Boardroom (2019)

Alfredo Enrione, Donna Finley and Gordon Allan

“Why do women directors regularly receive lower peer evaluations than men? the truth is, it has little to do with performance…

While there is still a lot of room for improvement, corporate boards around the world are finally tackling the gender bias in their composition. Fortune 100 corporates have increased female director representation from 19.6 per cent in 2011 to 25.7 per cent in 2018. Most noticeably, corporations, such as GM, Viacom and Best Buy, are going beyond the 50 per cent threshold for female board seats, even in countries without mandatory quotas imposed by law, including Norway, Finland, and Italy.

Yet, a dark secret seldom told – and which the authors have experienced first-hand in different parts of the world – is that female directors tend to receive poorer evaluations than their male peers. However, these lower evaluations have much more to do with board culture and biases than with women’s performance per se.”

Read the full article now.

Phoenix in Calgary: How the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra Survived Bankruptcy and Flourished – Nonprofit Quarterly (2006)

Donna Finley, Alana Gralen, and Larry Fichtner

“Behind a thin patina of business as usual, the picture was quite dire.

When the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO), Canada’s fifth largest orchestra, sought bankruptcy protection on October 15, 2002, the predominant view of both funders and public was that the orchestra should not be saved.

Giuseppe Mazzini once wrote, “Music is the harmonious voice of creation; an echo of the invisible world.” In other words, music is there to be made and it has a will to be realized. In this case, that will exerted itself through those involved with this orchestra.”

Read the full article now.

Reflections of a Solo Operator – Part V Manage Your Career (2008)

Donna Finley for Vijay Sathe

“The solo operator is a challenging and rewarding way to channel a set of unique skills and appetite for change. As professionals mature through their career cycle, the opportunity to become a solo operator increases. However, experience is not the central component of this role, rather, internal drive, leadership acumen, and ability to adapt quickly frequently are essential qualities for this career to succeed.

As there are many types of solo operators, I want to begin by describing the type of solo operator that I have been for the last 28 years. I have worked as a solo operator with organizations through a variety of different contractual arrangements. I have been brought into solve problems, and to navigate challenges and opportunities to take organizations to the next level of success.

Read the full chapter now.

Published Articles & Book Chapters

Professional Journals