If you became unavailable tomorrow and couldn’t answer calls or emails for an indefinite period, would your family and team know what to do? Most business owners have asked some version of that question—on a plane with the phone finally off, or awake at 2 a.m. after a hard week. 

You may have people who can keep the work moving, but that is different from knowing who can make tough decisions, how to maintain critical relationships, and what your family should do next. 

Every closely held business eventually runs into the same challenge: the people who matter most (the ones who keep the business moving when the owner is not in the room) are also the people competitors most want to attract. Sometimes the company has incentives in place, but the business has outgrown them. Sometimes an informal approach worked in the early years, but the leadership team is now more experienced and expects a more professional package. Sometimes an owner was burned by a past plan that went off track and has been hesitant to try again.

Wherever you are starting (creating, upgrading, replacing, refining, or strengthening your incentive structure) the same basic principles apply.

You don’t need to win a pay war to win great people—but you do need to clearly sell what makes your company a better place to work. 

Key employee incentive planning works best when it’s grounded in purpose, focused on the right talent, and aligned with real business value. This article introduces a practical framework for designing incentives that actually move the business forward, especially for closely held or family-owned businesses.

Transferring ownership to a key employee can align incentives and build your next generation of leaders—but only if the person is truly ready. This article covers the real pros and cons, how to anticipate fairness reactions, and a free 8‑factor worksheet to evaluate a specific candidate’s ownership readiness. 

Not every owner wants the big sale. Explore five reasons to stay closely held or family-owned—and three eye-opening questions to map your future and choose the path that fits your legacy. 

Discover five critical areas for closely held businesses to focus on—compensation, succession, cybersecurity, AI, and culture—with practical tips to get started. 

Don’t start with an expensive process. Start with understanding where your risks are, then you can move forward.

Don’t be afraid to ask this difficult question. And be proud when you know you can answer it.

You’re not required to focus on employee engagement. Here’s why.

Learn how pay transparency improves when you use the Comp Stack approach.

Changing times. Time for a new approach.

bridging the gap between generations within a company requires thoughtfulness and a little creativity.

New content from Elizabeth Mower and entreVector arrives in May 2025!

If you’re struggling to come up with ideas to engage and energize employees, we have a few suggestions.

There are just a few critical elements to successful, repeatable community impact.