Typical Conflict: Courses and Mechanisms

Conflicts are as diverse in content as the people involved and their different interests. This diversity cannot be reproduced here, and this guide does not in any case aim to address questions of specific content; there are many guides available on ideal succession plans and appropriate distribution levels. The aim here is, rather, to show the basic structures of conflict processes to help families break out of vicious circles of escalation. Those who realise that they are caught in one of these typical dynamics, which follow well-known patterns almost independently of the individual, are no longer quite so subject to (or even “victim” of) the course of the conflict. Quite apart from this, a prior awareness can prevent the corresponding course of events from ever arising: “forewarned is forearmed”. We believe that the best way to prevent crises in a business family (besides contractual regulations) is to establish a shared knowledge of the nature, course, and typical escalation scenarios in business families.