The Many Simultaneous Transitions Happening in Families

Lots of Areas to Work on Together

One of the reasons why working with families on intergenerational transitions is so complex (and so interesting!) is that there are many transitions, or transmissions, that need to take place.

They run kind of in parallel and sometimes in series, and they overlap in many ways too.

We’ll delve into this idea, inspired by a recent article that happened to focus on how artificial intelligence is affecting these challenges.

So, we’ll be looking at wealth, values, authority and identity and how families want to make sure that all of them trickle down the family tree.

Section 01

Hat Tip to a Fellow FFI Fellow

The article in question is from the fantastic weekly FFI Practitioner (you don’t need to be an FFI member to subscribe, and it’s free) titled The Fifth Inheritance: Can Artificial Intelligence Transmit Judgment Across Generations?

Its author is Patricia Annino, an FFI Fellow and FFI Award winner, and it raises lots of great questions about how A.I. can be useful to families and those who serve them.

I want to focus my blog on what almost felt like a throw away line that grabbed me, because it matter-of-factly noted the four subjects that I don’t feel are recognized as well as they should be.

Here’s the line:

Followed by:

Section 02

Lots of Focus on Wealth and Values

When I look at Annino’s list of four inheritances, it feels like they divide easily into a couple of pairs.

There’s always a great deal of attention (too much!) paid to the wealth, especially the financial component, so there’s no surprise that it sits atop her list.

Similarly with values, as soon as anyone points out that the financial wealth is not the only thing to consider, a large majority of those working in this space with families will quickly mention the importance of transitioning family values from one generation to the next.

And with wealth and values transitions getting so much attention, many families, and the experts supporting them, will think that list of two items is long enough already.

Section 03

What About Authority and Identity?

We’re now getting into a couple of more difficult areas, and one where many families struggle.

The idea of transmitting authority in a family is naturally difficult in many cases simply due to math.

If authority is currently concentrated in one person or a couple (one household), what happens when the next generation is comprised of more people, in more than one household?

That’s what I mean by math, because we’re introducing the idea of division of authority.

Ideally the wealth will have benefitted from enough multiplication so that when it gets divided there’s still plenty for all. But are families also dividing the authority over that wealth?

It takes a lot of effort and intention to work all of that out, and it’s rarely easy.

Likewise with identity, attempting to maintain a singular identity over numerous households takes more work than most families are willing to undertake.

See The Special Sovereignty of G1.

Section 04

To Transmit or To Transition?

One word that Annino used stood out to me and that was her choice of the word “transmit”.

I like that word better than “transfer” and I have written about my dislike for that word in the past. See Don’t Transfer Family Wealth, Transition It.

I just asked my friend Mr. Google something about transitioning identity, and some of what he came back with was way off the mark, believing I wanted information on a very different kind of transition that some families must deal with.

But coming from a family whose former business was fabricating towers used by electricity producers for their transmission lines, the idea of transmitting wealth, values, authority and identity will surely grow on me.

Section 05

How to Transmit Judgment and Wisdom

The article was centered on how A.I. is being used to preserve the judgment of the wealth creator after they die, and it’s clear that there have never been more ways to do that than right now.

She uses the word judgment, and I like to equate that with wisdom.

The ability to consult a bot to learn what grandpa would have done is interesting but must rely on those asking to then come together and agree on how they’ll interpret that wisdom together.

Learning to have the judgment to use our forefathers’ judgment will be a difficult human task for many.