I am currently two-thirds of the way through Gandhi’s autobiography (Gandhi: An Autobiography, The Story of My Experiments with Truth). What an amazing man; he details his struggles – triumphs and failures – as he seeks a deeply spiritual and honest life. I am in awe of his commitment to serving others and the sacrifices he was willing to make along the way. I did not know much about the specifics of his life before reading this and I am Read more »
Family Business Consulting
The Proactive Mindset
In my work with enterprising families I get to see a lot of heart-warming situations. Parents, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandmas and grandpas develop rising generations and build on the generation(s) before them, combining family life and economic life in a way that brings out the best of both. These families have a way of seeing many possibilities for how the future can play out and they embrace them over time, sifting and sorting through them, looking at pros and Read more »
Raising a Two-Year-Old Millionaire: Please, Thank-You, I’m Sorry and the Golden Sippy-Cup Rule
For legacy families and financially successful business families thinking about having kids or actively raising them, there are almost always concerns about children becoming spoiled, lazy, self-absorbed and – the grand fear of all – entitled. Truth is, pretty much every parent wants to avoid these things -regardless of financial resources. What poor, working-class and middle-class parents have on their side is the fact that there is simply not enough money for kids to do nothing at all. Wealthy families, Read more »
Family Business & Ice Hockey
If you’ve read this blog for any length of time you may have noticed I have a tendency to find relationships between family business and ice hockey. For example my March 2014 blog entitled, “ Women in the Family Business (and Pro Ice Hockey for That Matter)” attempted such a connection. I play in a men’s league and coach my 13 year-old son’s team and love it all. Last week my son’s team won in triple overtime to advance to the championship game which was this past Sunday. Unfortunately, the timing was Read more »
Don’t Miss Out On Early Chances To Engage Kids
Please take a look at my article in Family Business Magazine about engaging children early in discussions about family business/family wealth. Over the years in my clinical work as a family therapist working with parents and kids around tough issues such as death, illness in a family member and divorce, to name a few, I’ve come to realize that any topic can be discussed with even very young children if approached in a developmentally appropriate manner. Wealth is no exception. I hope you’ll take the Read more »
Ethical Wills – A Very Personal Example
Ethical Wills are not legal documents (although the name might have a legal ring to it). These are a powerful way to communicate love, wisdom and values to your children and grandchildren – even if they have not been born yet! Here is the one I wrote; try your hand at writing your own. Ethical Will to: Jeremy & Matthew Savlov Written by: Jeff Savlov – 48 years old Married father of 2 boys (Jeremy-16 & Matthew-13) Written – 2014 To Read more »
Thanksgiving, Family Legacy and Gratitude (Year-Round)
About twenty years ago my grandfather was ninety and I had never heard the full story of how he came to the U.S. My dad had told me some of the saga but he did not know the whole story. I let my parents know how much hearing the full story from Grandpa’s mouth meant to me and we took a plane to West Palm Beach (no big surprise on that location for a former NY Jew) with video camera Read more »
Snow Shoveling & Leadership Development
Winter is approaching and snow will soon be upon us. Last winter my 15-year-old son Jeremy was feeling industrious and decided to make some money shoveling in the neighborhood. We have him pay for his iPhone and the monthly data charges so cash is essential – a great way to combat entitlement and help him understand the value of a buck. I watched out the window as he and his slight and not-so-athletic buddy headed out in over a foot Read more »
Walk The Walk
Just a quick post this month to share a NY Times Article about the Rockefeller family. Through its Rockefeller Brothers Fund they are joining the divestment movement to sell investments tied to fossil fuels and invest in cleaner alternatives. Whatever your personal beliefs may be when it comes to fossil fuels and global warming, the Rockefellers, through this move, are voting with their feet – behaving in a way consistent with their values even if it comes with financial cost. Similarly, in my Read more »
The Emperor is Naked!
In Hans Christian Anderson’s classic, “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” a couple of shady tailors convince the king that they can make him the finest clothes and that those who are unfit for their positions, stupid, or incompetent will not be able to see the clothes at all. They pretend to dress the king in these “invisible” clothes and he pretends to see them as he surely does not want to seem an unfit ruler. In his parade he marches naked Read more »