True Wealth Archives - Page 2 of 6

Striving Together: The Intersection of Competition and Collaboration

September 7, 2019 by Avi Kantor

“…in jazz we share, we listen to each other, we respect each other, we are creating in the moment…”¹ – Herbie Hancock, Grammy award winning jazz musician

At first glance, competition and collaboration seem diametrically opposed. Competition conjures up images of winning and losing; triumph and failure. Collaboration suggests camaraderie, working side-by-side. If we’re competitors, we’re not collaborating; if we’re collaborating, we’re not competing.

But did you know that “compete” originally meant “to strive together?” It’s true. The word “compete” was originally derived from the Latin root “com” which means “with, and “petere” which means “to strive, seek, fall upon, rush at, attack”. In Late Latin “competere” came to mean “strive in common, strive after something in company with or together”². Doesn’t that sound a lot like “collaboration?”

It turns out that as the French adopted and used the word in the Middle Ages, “compete” gradually took on the meaning “to enter or be put into rivalry with.”³ Today, it seems that there’s “friendly” competition – as in some sports or business situations – and “cutthroat competition” for scarce resources, opportunities, and “winning” in sports, business, and many other situations in life.

“I’m a fighter. That’s my culture…The longer I own this team, they’re gonna pick up more of my culture. We had ’em. We should have stepped on their throats the other night and cut their throats.” – Tilman Fertitta, owner of the Houston Rockets NBA basketball team, commenting after being eliminated in the recent NBA playoffs. ⁴

Rather than cutthroat competition, The Certior Group embraces the original notion of competing; that is, “to strive together” with our co-collaborators and clients to optimize wealth and wellbeing. In fact, we’ve identified collaboration as one of our core values. For us, collaboration isn’t just a nice sounding word that goes on our website and into our company literature. Collaboration is fundamental to the work that we do. Without collaboration, we can’t do the work and provide the value that we promise our stakeholders. Rather than relying solely on our own internal domain expertise, – which we certainly have in several areas – we’re invested in a process that combines not only our own expertise but also that of others. It is our belief that by striving together with other professionals, like well-performed jazz, we can best serve our clients, collaborators, and team members.

(1) Brainyquote.com/quotes/herbie_hancock_592363

(2) Origin and etymology of compete, Online Etymology Dictionary, etymonline.com

(3) Ibid.

(4) Rockets owner goes on epic rant after Warriors’ clinching Game 6, Ali Thanawalla, NBCsports.com

Sustaining Multi-Generational Wealth

July 7, 2019 by Avi Kantor

Garrett Gunderson recently published a provocative article on Forbes.com entitled “How The Ultra-Rich Never Die.”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/garrettgunderson/2019/06/15/how-the-ultra-rich-never-die/

The article’s premise is to invest in future heirs not in traditional investments. What Gunderson means by “invest” is to dedicate time, energy, attention, and resources towards developing the “talents, interests, abilities, and skill sets of those we choose to be the ones who will carry on and benefit from our legacy.” Gunderson’s rationale is that even if these heirs do not grow their inherited financial assets, life insurance can replenish those assets, freeing the heirs to grow as people and contribute to the world. He also touches on core values, traditions, rituals, family retreats, and mission statements. His concluding remark is “invest in people, not products.”

I applaud his focus on people. Traditional multi-generational planning has tended to emphasize legal structures and financial strategies, often to the detriment of the people involved.

Yet, Gunderson’s either/or thinking – that one should “invest” in people, not products – strikes me as somewhat misleading. Shouldn’t it be people AND investments? Without informed wealth management, focusing exclusively on people can become a prescription for undisciplined self-indulgence and waste. True Wealth involves optimizing financial assets to support people and their quest for happiness, joy, fulfillment, and meaning.

“We ultimately ‘live our legacies.’ That is, if we live our lives with high moral and ethical character, we positively influence those around us and the culture of our families. A family culture of high moral and ethical character ultimately will determine if the assets ‘never die.'”

When I look at the challenges of multi-generational True Wealth, I see the opportunity to help family members align around a larger common vision and purpose. In my experience, this means developing leadership character and family culture. As Gunderson suggests, expressing core values, traditions, rituals, retreats, and mission statements are important and necessary. However, these tend to be about external behaviors. I see character and culture as largely internal and about mindset. And I believe that mindset matters.

Finally, when Gunderson says the “Ultra-Rich Never Die”, he means that the assets of the “Ultra-Rich” wealth creators won’t “die” if his or her heirs are well-versed in core values, traditions, rituals, retreats, and mission statements…and buy life insurance. This can be a great overall strategy for some families. In fact, many multi-generational families successfully employ this strategy. I would add that we ultimately “live our legacies.” That is, if we live our lives with high moral and ethical character, we positively influence those around us and the culture of our families. A family culture of high moral and ethical character ultimately will determine if the assets “never die.”

Creating a Lasting Legacy

June 7, 2019 by Avi Kantor

When estate planners talk about creating and leaving a lasting legacy, they usually are referring to investment strategies and legal structures. These strategies and structures recognize the wishes of the wealth creator, protect assets from creditors and lawsuits, and encourage future family philanthropy. Successful wealth creators often want to create and leave a lasting legacy; they would like to be remembered for their success. Often they have strong opinions about what inheritors should think, believe, and do with their lives. Planning documents and wealth preservation strategies generally reflect these opinions and the values of the wealth creators, not necessarily those of the wealth inheritors.

Do these legal and investment activities, in fact, lead to a lasting legacy? The statistics aren’t encouraging. Studies indicate that an extremely high percentage of family wealth is dissipated by the end of three generations. From my perspective, the reality that most legacy plans exclusively reflect the thinking of the wealth creators works against their vision for a lasting legacy.

What’s missing? Many planners focus on philanthropy as a means for sustaining families. Philanthropy can be a catalyst for discussions on family values, family history, and the vision that family leaders have for the future. Done thoughtfully, philanthropic efforts can create a rallying point and become a source of pride for a well-intentioned family. But there are other reasons people donate. Many donate primarily for tax purposes. Others want the recognition that often comes with large donations. I’ve even heard of people who donate so that they can be invited to the “best parties” that are frequently associated with charitable fundraising.

One of our collaborators says that we don’t really leave a legacy…we LIVE our legacies. To me, this means that the way we live each day creates a legacy – positive or negative – over our lifetimes. I’ve observed that families that are intentional about living their values – that is, discussing and acting upon their visions and ideas about what their best lives can and should be – these families develop leadership character and culture among family members. The ability to nurture and grow strong family leadership and a positive, sustainable family culture is, in my opinion, what’s missing in estate planning today. Wealth creators would be better-served if, in addition to great strategies and structures, they could develop a process for the ongoing development and contributions of current and future family members.

Launch of “The Jackson Institute for Wealth and Wellbeing”

July 20, 2018 by Avi Kantor

We launched “The Jackson Institute for Wealth and Wellbeing” on Friday, July 20th.

By most accounts, a good time was had by all, The support of a community of like-minded people is invaluable in building and maintaining an optimal wealth and wellbeing mindset. We missed those of you who couldn’t attend and a big “Thank you” to those of you who attended.

We also hosted a hike in Grand Teton National Park with botanist, educator, and outdoor adventure guide Trevor Bloom. As we expected, it was an experience like no other, hiking through wildflowers and the incomparable Teton terrain.

The next Jackson Institute for Wealth and Wellbeing community learning events will be held later in August. Together we will build a platform to gain clarity and be intentional achieving a life well-lived and creating the impact we desire. You will:

Be introduced to breakthrough learning techniques;
Experience how Gratitude can transform negative experiences into positive outlooks; and
Learn how to turn life experiences into learning opportunities and positive outcomes.

Please contact us info@certiorgroup.com to RSVP.

Navigating Your Family to a Prosperous Future

May 28, 2018 by Avi Kantor

At a recent conference, a prominent East Coast trust and estate attorney stated that he has mixed feelings about family meetings. He went on to explain that in his experience, attempts to conduct productive family meetings often dissolve into acrimony and bitter attempts by older, more powerful family members to dictate the thoughts and actions of the rest of the family.

The conversation then shifted to Family Mission Statements and “Constitutions” – that is, documents that layout ideal visions, sets of core values, and ironclad rules for the family to follow at the risk of dire consequences for non-compliance. Fortuitously, this discussion gave David Quinn and me an opportunity to shift the focus of the conference from external ways to control the future behavior of family members to more intrinsic ways that families might navigate towards a prosperous and sustainable future.

If you’ve participated in any of our events, you know that we emphasize gratitude, “True Wealth (a holistic view of wealth and well-being), and family leadership as the primary drivers for people as they seek happiness, fulfillment, and meaning for themselves and their families. A family culture that lives gratitude, “True Wealth”, and leadership, we believe, gives a family the best chance of thriving for multiple generations. As the Certior Group, our most exciting opportunity is to accelerate progress of all of our stakeholders in all of these areas through experiential learning and the support of the Wealth and Well-being community we’re building.

Family meetings are part – but not the only part – of building family culture. These meetings and the estate and trust planning process often overlook the powerful role that intentional leadership and the thoughtful building of an optimal family culture play in sustaining a family. Elevating family culture is what we hope to cultivate through our community-building efforts, our experiential learning events, as well the work we do with our clients.

Building family culture is an art. Guiding and mentoring family members as they become leaders can be challenging. That’s why I’m so excited about about the experiences and the learning that we’ll share in the future and the Certior community that’s emerging here in Jackson.

Responsive Menu