Understanding long-established family firms
After years studying small local family businesses in the conventional way, business adviser Maya Collins felt no closer to understanding their owners. She realised that she had to (1) ________ their trust. Abandoning professional detachment, she took the daring step of forming relationships with the owners, offering free advice to gain their acceptance. The (2) ________ this has given her into their decisions has allowed her to dispel certain myths about firms. (3) ________ to popular belief, she contends that owners do not (4) ________ as much for profit as previously supposed. She also (5) ________ claims that they resist change. She says that clients should not be (6) ________ by behaviour such as delaying replies to new proposals, as this is a cautious, rather than an unfriendly, response. However, Collins is no idealist. After devoting years of her career to these firms, she is under no (7) ________ about their respect for her. It is clear that their interest in her does not (8) ________ beyond the advice she offers.