Family Wealth - Family Business

 Photo credit: 401(K) 2012

The Family That ______’s Together

Stays Together

I’ll let you fill in the blank, but wanted to reference an article I read recently about family wealth/family businesses (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/06/your-money/wealth-100-year-family.html).  The research says, when it comes to both, put the first word first:

Focus on family first…

Lately, I’ve been moving in the direction of a conclusion…Please tell me if I’m wrong, as I am wont to be wrong (if only from time to time…J):

Family business is worth fighting for…

It’s not worth dying for…

A second thing the research shows is:

It’s not about the money!

One more thought and then I’ll close…The families I work with can from time-to-time be like pressure cookers. Something’s boiling. Mom and Dad can work hard and have all the right intentions as they try and keep the lid on things. But guess what? When Mom and Dad are gone (just Google, if you live in the Northwest, Alpenrose and ADEC, two flagship family businesses in Oregon…Mom and Dad are now gone from both),

the lid comes off…

So here’s the question to ponder:

If you knew the lid was going to come off

after Mom and Dad are gone,

why not take the lid off now

 to see what’s “boiling”?

While you have Mom and Dad’s wisdom, take advantage of it. You might just give your family the chance of beating the odds and becoming one of “those” 100-year families that don’t experience

Shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves

in three generations.

 Amidst the rush of this Holiday Season, why not carve out some time for a conversation? You’ll be glad you did!

                                                               Merry Christmas!