Educational and Benchmarking Seminars
Thursday January 28 2010
Susquehanna Room, Myer Hall
8:15-11:15am
7 Elizabethtown College
“Discovering your Family’s Competitive Advantage”
Does your firm have a real competitive advantage?
Many family-owned firms think they have a competitive advantage, when in fact, they do not. Others fail to recognize where they do indeed have an advantage.
This session digs deep into how family businesses can compete and win against “big box” competitors—even China.
Using a case study discussion of a real-world home improvement business with sudden direct competition from Home Depot, we’ll show how one family identifies and leverages their unique competitive advantage. Amidst this struggle, they learned to view themselves not just as a “home improvement” family but also as an economic unit.
Key takeaways include:
- Identifying your unique competitive advantage
- Defining strategies for building on that advantage
- Understanding the requirements for continuing a legacy of entrepreneurial behavior
- Developing entrepreneurship in the next generation
McGrann is a nationally known presenter on topics related to family-owned business and family enterprise including leadership transitions, developing accountability structures, empowering next generation teams, and building unified shareholder groups. A historically popular S. Dale High Center presenter since 2001, McGrann assumed a new post as executive director of the Center in July of 2009.
He previously served as an adjunct professor of entrepreneurship and as assistant director of Babson College’s Institute for Family Enterprise. Prior to his work at Babson, McGrann co-managed an academic center at the Wharton Enterprising Families Initiative at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also a founder and principal of the Telos Group, which provides consulting solutions for family businesses.
He holds a BA in economics from Cornell University, an MBA from the Wharton School of Business, and an MA in International Studies from the University of Pennsylvania.
PDF of article recommended by Mike McGrann, “Leveraging Family-Based Brand Identity to Enhance Firm Competitiveness and Performance in Family Businesses”
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