That's an interesting post and speculation. It makes sense: I have worked for and have associates who work for family-runned businesses and they are extremely difficult to run. Personality "quirks" and infighting constantly divert resources to where they're most effective. The question is now how much the Ford family will relinquish; i.e., how many shares, will family members step down, etc.

The worst thing the Ford family is doing to themselves and to the company is having a Board Of Directors that is doing nothing but serving as rubber stamps for the family. Many, if not most, of the BOD members know nothing about cars, and they have no engineering background either. They may be well-suited as BOD members for a greeting cards company, or something similar, but this is not a board for an engineering / manufacturing company of automobiles. The Ford family, and Ford Motor Company, would be much better served if they had a BOD that disagrees with the CEO's "wrong" and disasterous decisions, a BOD that understands car customers' wants & needs, a BOD that has good enginnering background, and the Family doesn't need to search hard to find such members. They should select them from their own company, from the General Salary Grades who understand this business more than anyone else on earth, but I think obsession with "control" is going to kill this company if it continues to have such board, and if it continues to promote & recruit corporate officers who will gladly tell the CEO what he likes to hear.
Of course I understand the need for a mix of backgrounds, but the current structure of the board is simply pathetic and most harmful to Ford (the family and the company).

Truly an interesting concept. It would be a hard pill for the Ford's to swallow, but one that is no doubt needed to begin Ford's long term healing process. It seems that Ford's current non family top management realizes that dramatic financial and operating changes are needed to move Ford into a profit position.

Many global auto companies have family ownership connections like BMW Peugeot-Citroen and Fiat which have a assorted track-record of success. FIAT turned down an alliance with DaimlerChrysler in favour of GM. Maybe that was a good play for FIAT in terms of independence. The current (bumpy-ride)situation in the US for domestic auto manufacturers requires a mammoth jump in survival strategy. The (rumoured) best solution is for a manufacturing alliance with Renault-Nissan who need VOLVO. (Excluding Jaguar) Renault always wanted VOLVO having failed to catch it some years ago. Renault in Europe is investing heavily in the future but the ground rules are rapidly changing with oil prices reaching the sky. That requires even more large-scale investment in hybrid technology. Ford has no alternative...its time to learn French with their Japanese partners.