Testimonials
From his students at INSEAD
"Great insight and great professor" "Randy Carlock is à brilliant teacher." "Probably the best session so far. Well organized, practical, highly interactive and grounded in solid research. His style is highly engaging." |
"Not only was the content relevant but Randel is hugely engaging."
"Good balance between theory, real life stories and tasks. Beautiful exploration of meditation exercise. High energy" "Fantastic speaker" "First time I had the feeling that 'I am in a great business school' because of the numerous international family stories shared by Professor Randel S. Carlock." |
"LOVED Randel, and would love to work with this individual. I absorbed deeply his teaching concepts, but what struck me the most was how he inspired me in various directions. His team exercises and group simulation were by far one of the most educational and effective for me both personally and professionally."
"Also a very entertaining teacher. Particularly his many examples really made the subject come alive. Once again here, it doesn't feel like you're in a classroom. More like a theater." |
From participants of the Family Enterprise Challenge at INSEAD
“I realise he is the No. 1 expert in the family business field" "… bring the whole family and one or two non family senior managers – it is a life changing experience.” “This program is very beneficial for family members to get same understanding of key concepts – to provide starting points for developing communication with family.” "Being a businessman (he) knows well the ins and outs of a business and through his academic learning has become a great teacher." |
From the families he worked with
Andrew Wates | Wates Family Holdings
"Randel is right at the top of his class. His work in helping our family through transition from generation to generation, and from owner managers to governing owners has been of huge value. Randel has worked with my family through the transition process for the 4th Generation. His distinction between business strategy and family strategy, together with a rigorous development programme for the next generation were a key ingredient to success. The focus on family values and vision helped us develop an amazingly strong management team." |
Curtis L. Carlson | Founder Carlson Companies
"Being an entrepreneur first and professor second gives you a strong insight to what makes people like me think: Our work was stimulating and important." J.R. Cargill | Shareholder, former director and senior executive | Cargill
"Our family differences have settled down, thanks for helping straighten out my wonderful kids." |
From the corporate clients
Tan Sri Siddik Hassan | Chairman| Petronas
"I would like you to know that I rated the Workshop highly and that I personally benefited greatly from it. I think the greatest value from that exercise is to keep all of us, Main Board members, as well as the Top Management Leadership Team and potential Successors on the same page, speaking the same language." Senior Executive HSBC Bank, London
"Carlock is an excellent presenter, highlight of both the June and September sessions at INSEAD. Insight valuable and applicable to our challenges." |
Georgina Power | European PR Manager | Cushman & Wakefield Healey & Bake
"I thought your presentation was absolutely excellent. I have already seen several people in our workplace printing out pieces of paper to put on their pin boards saying 'what about? ... never reply 'no', 'but' and 'however. I also thought it was very interesting to learn about innovation in a services firm." Grace Ho |Vice President Marketing | J.P. Morgan, Hong Kong
"A short note to thank you for your participation in our first ever next generation event in Asia. The feedback was outstanding." |
From the industry
At the 2008 Family Firm Institute International Award for “outstanding achievement in furthering the understanding of family business issues internationally.”
“We are especially pleased to be honoring Dr. Carlock, who in addition to his many contributions at INSEAD, has furthered the international development of FFI through outstanding presentations at annual conferences, cutting-edge research published in the Family Business Review, and as an extremely popular Body of Knowledge faculty member for the FFI certificate program.” |
Grant Gordon | Director General Institute for Family Business (UK)
"Randel has a powerful ability to demystify complex family business situations and to frame the issues in a strategic way. He brings this all together with a high degree of thought leadership firmly grounded in the real world. Because of this Randel commands considerable respect globally in his field." Nick Cocks and Wee Kit Tang, YPO Participants
Young Presidents’ Organization Asia Pacific Conference, Singapore "His presentations were lively and clear, real life examples were vivid and he encourages participation by keeping the atmosphere very open." |
About his books
When Family Businesses are Best
The Parallel Planning Process for Family Harmony and Business Success Andrew Wates Former Executive Chair man Wates Group "The ideas in this new book worked with my family for the transition process to the 4th Generation. The important distinction between business strategy and family strategy, together with a rigorous development programme for the next generation were a key ingredient to our success" Yuelin T Yang, IMC Pan Asia Group 'The book is fantastic. Family businesses are best when there is alignment throughout: among the family in its commitment to each other and the business, between the family and the business, and of the business to the external market. This book demystifies the complex task of strategic thinking and planning for the family and business systems.' Family Business on the Couch: A Psychological Perspective
The Guardian, Saturday 15th September 2007 “…explores the reasons why some family businesses are dysfunctional – and how to cure them.” The Independent, Tuesday 9th October 2007 "fascinating new book" Guardian Unlimited guardian.co.uk, Thursday 13th December "a unique insight into the subject." Edge, February 2008 "You'll find this book well worth reading" Gulf Business, February 2008 "...an insight into addressing key family business issues." |
Strategic Planning for the Family Business: Parallel Planning to Unite the Family and Business
Alden G. Lank, President, Family Business Network and Stephan Schmidheiny, Professor of Family Enterprises Emeritus, IMD, Switzerland 'The leaders of business families and family businesses will find this book a precious tool as they confront the many challenges of planning for the family and the business. Carlock and Ward draw from their many years of experience as educators, consultants and board members to make the text stimulating, relevant and of practical utility. I forecast that Strategic Planning for the Family Business will remain a benchmark of best practice for many years to come.' Philadelphia Business Journal 'From small start-ups to giant multinationals, family owned businesses continue to dominate the world economy. This book provides advice on dealing with a host of emerging challenges, such as new technologies and global marketing, by integrating family values and dynamics into business plans and management.' Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries, Raoul de Vitry d'Avaucourt Professor of Human Resource Management, Clinical Professor of Leadership Development, INSEAD, France& Singapore 'Strategic Planning for the Family Business is a very thoughtful and valuable book. It offers a superb kaleidoscope of the dynamics of the family business. Professors Carlock and Ward's notion of the Parallel Planning Process turns out to be a highly original and extremely effective way of diagnosing and intervening in such complex organizations. If I would find myself on a desert island with a family business (I agree that is quite a surrealistic thought), and was asked to help the various stakeholders, and could only resort to one book for guidance, this book would be my first choice.' |
Paul Franciosa, J.D., M.B.A.
"One of the best practical books for family businesses and families in business" "I have read extensively about family businesses, including just about everything by Professor Ward, and Strategic Planning for the Family Business is perhaps my favourite guidebook for family businesses. Rather than being merely a 'story book' about the successes and failings of other family businesses (don't get me wrong, these sorts of books are immensely helpful in assisting families in identifying their own problems and relating to those of families in similar situations), this book provides mountains of practical information that can help families in business plan and prepare for the demands of being involved with a family business. Unfortunately, most families do not take the time to consider and address even the most simple issues that can destroy their business and their family. This book serves as an excellent reference guide for families that want to be proactive about dealing with the issues that have the potential to cause severe damage. Go through the exercises in the book together - - there is probably no better way to begin ensuring the future success of your family business A must read for anyone in a family business - it has the potential to stimulate a lot of discussion. Also highly recommended for those working in consulting/professional relationships with family businesses." John N. Doggett
"I picked this book up because I was getting ready to consult with a family-owned firm about their strategy... This book opened my eyes to the unique challenges of family businesses. It helped me understand the compromises that must be made when looking at the business strategy options for family firms. Most importantly, it helped me understand that the health of the family and the relationships between the generations was more important than pure business strategy thinking. This is exactly the insight that I was looking for. I learned much more than I expected and am deeply appreciative of the authors' exceptional insights and recommendations. What I did not expect was that this would also be a first rate book for thinking about strategy. If you know nothing about strategic planning, this book is a great primer. If, however, you know a lot about strategic planning, and I started my career with McKinsey & Company in 1981, you will be amazed at how well the authors have summarized and simplified a wide range of very powerful idea. Their goal was to help family members with different levels of business expertise understand some of the most powerful thinking about strategic planning so they could participate in spirited discussions about the future of their family firm's strategy. This book reminds me of Porter's Competitive Strategy as the authors have made strategic planning accessible to the masses while retaining the power of the analytical tools that are at its heart. You will find that this book is a treasure trove of powerful insights in a very compact package. Thank you for doing such an outstanding job, John and Randel. I don't know you, but I really appreciate your gift to business owners, family members, business school professors, consultants and students." |