More than three-quarters of all U.S. businesses are closely held and worldwide the percentage is even higher. Yet closely held businesses are fragile - more than two-thirds fail to survive the founder's involvement.

Portraits of Success offers solutions to the most common problems faced by closely held firms as they strive to create value that can and will be sustained by future generations of leadership. For the first time ever, family business expert and consultant James Olan Hutcheson shares prescriptive advice on how closely held firms can prosper well into the future.

In practical and inspiring terms, he presents proven management tools in tandem with illustrative examples from his clients' companies and his own family's business. Readers will learn how to:

• Prepare heirs for successful business careers.
• Give the next generation room to grow.
• Improve family and business communication.
• Create a culture rich with business traditions, rituals, and myths.
• Align your actions with long term success.

James Olan Hutcheson is the grandson of Olan Mills, the patriarch of Olan Mills, Inc. He began his career with Olan Mills as a part-time telemarketer, eventually assuming responsibility for its most important operating division, Olan Mills Studios. In 1995, he left the company to create a business consulting firm and since then has become a frequent speaker, national media spokesperson, and author on all aspects of managing a closely held firm.