PDFB Psychodynamics of Family Business
PDFB Psychodynamics of Family Business
The 18th Annual PDFB 2012 Conference will take place on April 27-29, 2012 (Fri-Sun) at the Hotel Orrington (Sheraton).
Dear PDFB colleagues,
We hope you enjoyed a good holiday season and that your plans for 2012 include attending our annual meeting in Chicago, April 27 through April 29 at the Orrington Hotel in Evanston, Illinois.
The theme for the meeting will be “What Really Works: Sharing Our Best Practices.”
REGISTRATION
To register, please send a check to: Marc Silverman, Strategic Initiatives. Inc., 5900 Collins Avenue, Suite 1401, Miami Beach, FL 33140. The cost of registration is $625 for Chicago residents and $325 for others. Please make checks payable to PDFB. Once your registration is received, you will get an email with information about securing a reservation at the Hotel Orrington.
PROGRAM UPDATES
We are pleased to report that a number of really great sessions are in the works, covering topics including best practices in dealing with conflict and ethical issues among others. In addition, there will be an exciting opportunity for cross-disciplinary dialogue in a special pre-conference session with members of AFHE (Attorneys for Family-Held Enterprises) entitled: “The Advantage and Power of the Interdisciplinary Method.” See the attached description.
PROPOSAL SUBMISSIONS
A reminder: we look forward to hearing from you about your interest in presenting. Please see the announcement below for details regarding the program and
suggested topics. We want to put together the program by the end of January, so please get back to us as soon as possible (no later than Friday January 20th).
Best wishes for the new year,
The PDFB 18 Program Committee
Gerry Donnellan, Andrew Hier, Lilli Friedland, Jeff Rossman, Marilyn Rumsey, Paul Sessions, David Tate (chair)
INVITATION TO SUBMIT A PRESENTATION PROPOSAL
We invite you to submit a presentation proposal. Please consider what you are good at, a tool, technique or process you use that you believe is effective, or your read on the research/theoretical
literature in a particular area of practice. The question of what makes a “best practice” is also up for
interpretation: it could include practitioner experience, empirical validation, family satisfaction, or business return on investment. The array of potential areas for presentations is broad — here
are some possibilities:
• Assessment
• Interviewing
• Meeting facilitation
• Planning tools
• Conceptual models for client education
• Working with next generation or senior generation
• Handling boundary and ethical issues
• Working with multi-person/multidisciplinary teams
• Conflict resolution/mediation techniques
• Crisis management
• Use of technology
• Self-care, managing our own feelings/reactions
Please submit your presentation idea to David Tate(david.tate@yale.edu, 203-627-6618), before January 20, 2012
Invitations for PDFB XVIII will soon be mailed to prior participants, who have priority for the 32 slots. Remaining slots will then be open for registration on a first come first served basis to qualified professionals.
PDFB is a learning community; a safe environment in which colleagues can feel comfortable sharing tentative ideas, discussing failures, asking for feedback and genuinely exploring our practices. Because we work mostly alone with our clients, we have insufficient opportunities for such dialogues with professional colleagues. Family Firm Institute conferences and regional study groups provide learning opportunities across the disciplines and for less experienced consultants within the disciplines; but PDFB is the forum for the growing edge of knowledge and feedback within the community of experienced family/business systems and mental health professionals.
A word about the PDFB participants. No one is allowed to come just to listen and learn. Each of us participates in various ways. We are almost all either family therapists, or psychologists (organizational or clinical), or have psychiatry or social work degrees. A few are "dual diagnosis" OD consultants and family systems types; and we have a few members who come originally from business consulting backgrounds but are well steeped in family therapy literature and thinking. Some of us are more heavily qualified on the strength of research and academic degrees; others more on the strength of practical experience with business-owning families. Each member, in fact, is unique; but none of us is new to this field.
We are accepting inquiries for this year's Retreat. Group size is limited to 32 participants whose training is in psychologically-based fields, i.e., family systems, clinical psychology, psychiatry, social work, and organizational development. Participants have an experience range of working with 25 to 150 cases, yet it is expected that the average participant will have worked with at least 50 family business cases.
Reservations are made on a first come, first served basis. We share the costs and try to keep them under $600 for the two days including lodging and meals. (Participants who live close to Chicago subsidize the meeting expenses to compensate for some of the out-of-towners traveling expenses.) For current information about costs, see the invitation letter that was sent to prior participants (below).
If your background, experience and interests match the above, please consider joining us at PDFB XVIII. Please send an outline of your background and current professional activities, to the conference registrar, Marc Silverman, 5900 Collins Ave., Suite 1401, Miami Beach FL 33140.
Please see the Charter for a full understanding of our purpose and expectations.
Why Participate?
- Field development. PDFB provides a synergistic learning environment that promotes knowledge, creativity, professional and personal growth, affiliation, respect and fun among participants.
- Psychology foundation. Being involved with a group of practitioners from diverse psychologically-oriented backgrounds provides a deep and broad discussion of the psychological issues impacting on family firms while enhancing personal knowledge and contributing to the field.
- Productive debate. PDFB provides a forum for constructive debate, productive critique, and the opportunity to develop or refine insights into theory and practice.
- Participation. We encourage participants to prepare their thinking and goals in advance of the Retreat, to take risks with their thinking, and to actively participate in an encounter with others interested in learning.
- Concept development. Although not a requirement of all participants, individuals have the opportunity to present their work-in-progress to the group. Final form is not required.
- Basics assumed. The experience level of participants allows for advanced discussion without the need to review the basics.
Terms of Invitation letter :
Again this year, our meeting and lodging will be at the Orrington Hotel in Evanston, Illinois. (30 minutes north of the Loop and 40 minutes from OHare).
All participants, whether lodging at the Orrington, or with friends/relatives in Chicago, or locals commuting from home, MUST COMMIT TO SPEND THE FULL DAYS AND EVENINGS WITH THE GROUP. Much of our success depends on the group process, so any splintering off to enjoy the town and relatives must be done before we convene (around 3:00 PM on Friday) or after we all leave (no earlier than 1:00PM on Sunday). If you are traveling by air, you'll need to arrive by around 1:00 pm at OHare in order to check in and be ready to start by 3:00. You can make a 3:00 departing flight on Sunday without difficulty. Alternatively, Midway airport is 30 to 45 minutes further than OHare.
As a courtesy to others, we emphasize that you should NOT register for this retreat if you may find it necessary to arrive late or leave early. In the event of a partial conflict, please cancel so that your place may be taken be someone on the waiting list.
The non-refundable registration fee is $325. (If you live in Chicago or suburbs, and will not be staying at the Orrington, make your registration check for $625 (to help equalize expenses). All meals are included, unless revenues don't quite cover expenses, in which case we all chip in; this hasn't been necessary in recent years.
Mail your registration check for either $325 (if coming from out of town) or $625 (if local and not staying at Orrington) to Marc Silverman, 5900 Collins Ave., Suite 1401, Miami Beach FL 33140. Marc's phone is 305-865-8186.
A block of rooms has been guaranteed at the Orrington at $145 + tax per night (two nights). You will be provided with the reservation code when you register for PDFB. As we are a cooperative venture, any additional costs or any refunds will be divided among participants.
After we receive your registration fee, we will send you reservation details for the Omni Orrington.
Hope to see you in Evanston in April!
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