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Crafting a family story as part of your family history is essential in helping rising generations understand and embrace their roles in the family enterprise. For a family with a business, that story will enormously benefit the younger generations whether or not they are actively involved in running the family business. Understanding the roots of the family’s entrepreneurialism will also cultivate stewardship and deeper appreciation of the wealth and responsibilities generated from long-term success.

The deep knowledge and bone-deep pride of business ownership that keep a successful business thriving do not automatically trickle down to later generations. An investment in education is often required. Knowing the story of the family enterprise is one tool for helping younger family members learn from the past, engage the present, and make their mark on the future.

Despite the leadership and great influence of the women who have shaped their family legacies, including the silent legacy of Louise Carnegie, their contributions have been missing or minimized in the family stories and historical records. With more women taking control of more wealth and the decisions around that wealth, their voices and positions provide a unique foundation for each woman to stand upon as she builds her own legacy. Here are a few tips for preparing and conducting interviews to raise the profile of women in your family.

COVID-19 tested the resilience, creativity and crisis management skills of organizations, governments, and families around the world. As you reflect on the impact of the pandemic on your family from a historical perspective with your own family history in mind, this guide offers tips on how to collect, preserve, and share the memories and lessons learned from facing uncharted waters.

The COVID-19 pandemic reshaped many aspects of life in profound ways, including propelling families onto virtual platforms and social media to work, go to school, and stay connected. Future histories of this extraordinary period of change and resilience will draw heavily on the stories and values you preserve today and the days thereafter. This guide provides tips for families on ways to collect, archive, and share how their lives have been altered or upended during the pandemic. Looking forward and looking back, what will the memories be from your family history?

Research tells us communication is the most essential ingredient for sustaining wealth across generations. But, cross-generational communication can be particularly challenging, especially within families of wealth. Each generation’s habits, beliefs, and ideals are influenced by very different experiences, traditions, and societal norms. So how do you bridge the divide? In a gathering of more than 80 women ranging in age from 21 to 91 at a weekend-long learning event, several insights and recommendations on solving the cross-generational communication emerged.

Market research reveals that nearly 70% of intergenerational wealth transfers fail by the third generation and almost 90% by the fourth. These are compelling statistics which have become top of mind concerns for many families as they plan their wealth transition to the next generation. For Australian families, there are three key challenges they face when transitioning wealth. A closer look shows what they are doing to beat the statistics and ultimately succeed, beginning with preserving family harmony and unity.

Succession is not just about money or property. It means confronting family relationships and taking the time to make sure that the drivers for succession planning connect personal motivations, the purpose of wealth, and specific family issues. It requires an emotional commitment to a process that once started must run its course, including having conversations about fairness, equity, choices about who is in “the family,” and their capabilities for current and future roles.

Stories that are passed down from generation to generation are a way to create a family legacy that will be remembered long after we are gone. These stories are precious in understanding who we are and where we came from. Too often, the people who hold the keys to family stories lose details to memory loss or pass away before their histories can be recorded. Vacation time and the holiday season are ripe opportunities for families to seize the moment to capture family history across generations.