When the number of adult family members grows much larger than nine, Lansberg suggests the council be an elected, representative group. The constitution and functions of this group are less clearly described, possibly because it's much less well-explored territory than the other two structures. It is probably a good rule of thumb that whatever Ivan Lansberg cannot yet clearly articulate about the governance of family firms is not yet understood by anyone. Reality Is Messier Lansberg's conceptual perspective is family systems theory, which is really more metaphor than theory. All living systems are defined by shared history and shared goals.
All organic systems differentiate into more complex structures in the service of their goals.
All create information. All resist entropy until their complexity makes them too vulnerable to external pressures, then they fall victim to more agile, opportunistic, less complex structures. Although it is useful to translate these universals into the terms of family business, they still remain merely a set of generalizations. The danger is that we will become convinced that these concepts tell us what we need to know. If the succession process is to be planned effectively, the family must come together around a clear and engaging definition of the future scenario toward which they intend to move the system.