“I have been in a room with advisors learning this stuff and I have been with family business people learning it. The family business people grasp it much more quickly. I said in the introduction that the Three-Circle Model is simple but powerful, and I can tell you that it is often an eye-opener for family business people, even though it has been around for a couple of decades.”

“The governance part of this is not only the “doing it” part that comes after the talking part, but also using some tools to make things clearer and more structured, which will be very important going forward. As you prepare for this step, I invite you to look back and see what kind of progress you’ve already made just getting to this point. Many families don’t make it this far. Now if you are completely ready to embrace the idea of family, business and ownership governance, I commend you but suggest that you take things slowly.”

“Managing an operating business is one thing; managing wealth is another. There are plenty of things that overlap, though, and also lots of ways that ideas and skills useful in one area can help those managing in the other area. A family that has amassed significant wealth, but that no longer owns an operating business, is much more likely to have an interest and inclination to think in family office terms. A family whose operating business constitutes a large portion of the family wealth, on the other hand, is much less likely to appreciate the benefits of adopting a family office mindset.”

“Steve Legler was born into a family business. As the only son of an immigrant entrepreneur, it became clear very early on that he was expected to follow in his father’s footsteps. He spent every summer of his teens and the first three years after earning his Bachelor’s degree in commerce learning everything he could about the business. He returned to the business after getting his MBA, ready for the challenges that awaited. But within six months the family sold the operating business, going from 250 employees to four.”