OU on the BBC: The Bottom Line

The BBC and The Open University come together to bring Evan Davis and his CEO experts into your living room. Each week, Evan invites three people from the very top of the world of business to share their insights from the top.

Yesterday Evan spoke to Ian Maclean of luxury knitwear company John Smedley; Julie White of drilling and demolition firm D-Drill; Tim Wates of construction and development group Wates.

In this episode they discussed the backbone of economies all around the world, family businesses - indeed, the majority of firms are family-controlled, from the millions of modest firms, to commercial giants such as Ford and Wal-Mart. And yet less than a third survive to the second generation. Evan Davis and guests explore the possibilities and pitfalls of the family ownership model. Click here to listen to this show now.

On 7th February Evan Davis joins business leaders at an OU hosted event in Manchester. Here they will present a masterclass on competetive strategy that is open to all. The event provides an opportunity to discuss strategic processes and practices with strategy creators that run their own companies, as well as external consultants and managers that sit at senior and middle management levels. You will find out what works for each and where the challenges exist. Which strategies add most value; which make most sense; and most importantly, which are implementable. To join them, book your place now.

The Bottom Line is broadcast every Thursday on BBC Radio 4 at 8.30pm, and is also shown on the BBC News Channel at weekends. For full details of upcoming broadcasts, and links to listen or watch again, visit bbc.co.uk

To hear the latest discussions between Open University academics and the series guests go to OpenLearn here.