Four Types of Assets
"The first time we discuss assets [with clients], the initial response is financial," says Lee Brower, founder of Empower Wealth, a system designed to clarify and translate values among family generations. "Then we ask if there are other things they consider assets. And that’s when -values come up."
Brower divides assets into four categories, which he calls quadrants: Financial assets, human assets, intellectual assets (life’s experiences, good and bad), and civic (philanthropic) assets. These four quadrants become a point for all the family’s planning and decision making, right down to a family vacation. Brower encourages families to record their values and intentions in documents to be shared with each other. An ethical will, he suggests, should be created, and a family-empowered bank be devised in which all human, financial, and intellectual assets can be accounted. Ceremonies and traditions in families are also important. Some of the families he works with have ceremonies wherein, at the age of 17, a member will get a seal-crested ring, designed and passed down to new members of the family, including in-laws. One family he works with has carried on this ceremony for centuries. Games too are important. "Anything that is unifying and encouraging of communication, we suggest," he says. |
Forging Connections
In both apprehending our mission and carrying it out, good communication is essential. While this may seem obvious, sharing information in the context of our family finances can be especially challenging, since we must do so with the aim of building long-term cohesion and each member’s sense that they are part of a team.
"Two parents with adult children—how they communicate and what they need to communicate—is very different than a fourth- or fifth-generation family with multiple family branches spread all around the world," says Braden. "A third- generation cousin who is asked to play a key management role in a family holding company quickly realizes that, unless there is communication among the other cousins, it’s very difficult to get very clear directions and decisions made."
In first-generation families, Braden says, farsighted parents recognize that children, as they assume greater responsibilities, will have difficulty reaching consensus without some form of connection among themselves. This connectedness can begin with simple conversation around the dinner table, or it can take the form of family retreats, at which the entire group engages in team-building projects, much like an executive retreat strengthens dialogue and forges bonds between managers. The form of communication is as important as the specifics of what is being shared, he says. "We’ve found that family members who feel that their opinions are heard are more likely to support the group’s decision, even if it’s not their own position."
|
