At the Heritage Institute in Portland, Oregon, research that began nearly two decades ago was inspired by this question: “If 90% of families fail to keep their unity and their assets together across generations, what do the ‘successful’ 10% do differently?” The difference between the families who failed and the few families who kept their family and fortune together for multiple generations is NOT in their financial or estate planning. Contemporary studies and the cumulative experience of professional advisors provided the answer: families who remain strong and unified across generations share many specific ‘elements of success’ in common, including how they intentionally teach and transmit those elements to succeeding generations.
The elements of multi-generational family success
The list below has been adapted from the white paper, Sustaining Family Wealth & Unity Across Generations, by Rod Zeeb and Ryan Zeeb.
1. Foster strong and effective communication, and build trust between generations.
2. Develop, maintain and regularly re-visit your vision for the present & the future.
3. Meet regularly, and focus on 3 activities: family fun, family development & the business of being a family.
4. Promote a balanced definition of the meaning of ‘wealth.’
5. Keep the family business (including investments) separate from the business of being a family.
6. Identify the ‘roles’ necessary for the family to be successful (non-financially as well as financially).
7. Inspire individual family members to participate in the heritage planning process for their own individual reasons.
8. Training & mentoring each generation for success is a hallmark characteristic of families who successfully sustain their wealth and unity.
9. Facilitate the genuine transfer of leadership from generation to generation.
10. Require that any professional advisors you may have work together as a true collaborative team on your behalf.
11. Create mechanisms for ongoing family governance.
12. Do it now.