Publications
Books, a book chapter, white papers, and doctoral research by FactorFactory founder Kent E. Frese, Ph.D., on leadership, strategic planning, family-business succession, and assessment science. Entries are in APA format and may be copied as references.
Books
Frese, K. E. (2026). The Achieving Leader: Getting extraordinary results through the people you lead. Factorfactory LLC.
A practical, research-grounded guide to the seven-element Achieving Leader framework behind FactorFactory's leadership assessments: leadership philosophy as the foundation, five leadership practices, and leadership style as the signature that ties them together.
Frese, K. E. (2026). Give them the keys: What families who actually hand the business to the next generation do differently. Independently published.
The trade book that grew out of the succession study below: five conditions shared by families who completed the handoff, the competency-zone model, the failure modes to watch for, four commitments for owners, and a letter to the successor.
Book Chapter
Wallis, S. E., & Frese, K. E. (2021). Reaching goals with structured strategic plans. In G. S. Metcalf, K. Kijima, & H. Deguchi (Eds.), Handbook of systems sciences (pp. 445–472). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-0720-5_64
Argues that strategic plans succeed to the degree that they are systemic, and presents Strategic Knowledge Mapping as a method for building and measuring that structure. First published online in 2020 as a living reference work entry (Springer).
White Papers
Frese, K. E. (2026). AI as force multiplier: Organizational conditions and the returns to artificial intelligence in the small and mid-sized enterprise [White paper]. TeamLMI.
Advances the amplifier hypothesis: artificial intelligence multiplies the organizational conditions it enters (cultural health, strategic clarity, workforce capability) rather than substituting for them. Reviews the 2023–2026 evidence on AI and work, examines the small-business context, and identifies a measurement gap around AI-augmented judgment in working leaders.
Frese, K. E. (2026). Strategic planning: The next state of the art [White paper]. TeamLMI.
Updates and extends Wallis & Frese (2017). Introduces a methodological-fit framework selecting among five planning approaches; presents a four-phase formulation of Strategic Knowledge Mapping; integrates dynamic-capabilities, scenario-method, and shared-mental-model literature published since 2017. Intended for academic readers and reflective practitioners.
Wallis, S. E., & Frese, K. E. (2017). Strategic planning: A new state of the art [White paper]. ASK MATT Solutions and TeamLMI.
Surveys the history of strategic planning practice and introduces Strategic Knowledge Mapping as a research-grounded method for producing actionable, measurable strategic plans.
Doctoral Research
Frese, K. E. (2026). Successful family business succession: What three second-generation companies did differently [Research summary, rev. ed.]. TeamLMI. (Original work published 2015)
An executive summary of the dissertation written for owners, successors, and their advisors: how the study was done, the five conditions of successful succession, the competency-zone model, and four recommendations for owners. Revised and reissued in 2026.
Frese, K. E. (2015). A multiple case study of successful family business succession [Doctoral dissertation, Capella University]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses.
Qualitative multiple case study of three second-generation family businesses in the northeastern United States, drawing on interviews with sixteen founders, successors, spouses, and long-tenured employees. Cross-case analysis identified five themes: plan as you go, shared family values, founder role shift, family mentor, and successor leadership.
Citing This Work
Each entry above is written in APA format. For the white papers and the research summary, cite TeamLMI as publisher and the publications page as the URL, for example:
Frese, K. E. (2026). Strategic planning: The next state of the art [White paper]. TeamLMI. https://factorfactory.com/publications/
Inquiries
For permission requests, citation questions, or to invite a presentation on this work, contact [email protected].