That’s the common perception, isn’t it? That family run businesses benefit family members with superior incentives and lesser hindrances, and so it’s easier for them. Let me add a key statistic here about why this is an important norm to storm for anyone in business: By one estimate, 90% of all businesses in India are family-run businesses, from the ubiquitous kirana stores to multi-industry conglomerates. Now that I think about it, you recognize so many big names that are family-owned businesses: The Birlas, Tatas, Godrej, Parle, the Biyanis, Premjis, Nadars. This does seem like a fairly universal norm.

But there seems to be more to this norm than meets the eye.