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The problems faced by any organization and company; developing successful leaders, mitigating decision-making hierarchies and consolidating company tradition with new generational ideas, are undoubtedly issues that can be magnified in the setting of the family business.

In 2008, nearly every global and U.S. category was off, according to a William Blair report, and 2009 looks little better. An exception: U.S. deals under $50-million in value. Roy Harris - CFO.com | US January 28, 2009

 As year-end tallies of merger-and-acquisition activity for 2008 start to roll in, William Blair & Co.'s "Merger Tracker" summary may capture it all in a single cliché. "M&A activity ended 2008," it concludes, "with a resounding thud."