Family & Business

The Co-Passion Platform^TM

When families are introduced to us by their longstanding, trusted advisors, we typically observe one of two scenarios…

Sometimes the family is facing a host of new opportunities and they’re craving a greater sense of unity around how to step into their options.

Other times, the closeness and ease the family shared in the past isn’t in the room as often as it used to be.

Whether triggered by opportunity or friction, the landscape is clear.  To maintain or improve the health of family communication – and achieve forward progress – external facilitation may be prudent.

 

The difference between traditional Family Governance and a family tradition of Pre-Governance

At a certain level of wealth, families begin to explore governance around its preservation, use, and distribution. In traditional approaches, a family’s fear of negative outcomes is often met with the creation of rule sets: who’s allowed to do what and when.

We believe that anticipating controversy can inadvertently predispose a family to conflict. Families find themselves with a how-to document for winning The Battle of Control and Distribution, yet the family relationships remain unprotected.

In contrast, our Pre-Governance model helps families strengthen or restore health in the family system. It guides families and family businesses to see the options and interplay between the interpersonal, legal, financial, and integrated tax issues.

Together, we create alignment, building resilience and skillsets for navigating change and opportunity. When rule sets are later developed, they answer questions like, What can we be passionate about together? or What do we aspire to achieve with our wealth, and why?

 

The Co-Passion Retreat: Programs for harvesting fresh perspectives.

Programs begin with a combination of private interviews with your longstanding advisor(s), private sessions with the family’s matriarch and/or patriarch, and group sessions with family and non-family stakeholders either simultaneously, or in subsets.

Coming into the programs, stakeholders often feel clear about their own stakes. It’s logical for each of us to claim our turf in life and business. Even still, as we progress through the process, a natural shift emerges: from being invested in a particular result to being involved in a We-driven Discussion.

Families often find the questions and discussion frames we bring forth are the most refreshing part of our time together. They report that critical data comes to the surface that had been missing from previous discussions. Because we come into the conversations with sincere compassion for the depth and complexity of the issues, stakeholders find a renewed sense of comfort in speaking their truths. Likewise, they hear the other truths in the room at a deeper level. The Give/Receive dynamic increases measurably.

We like to call it See Past the Line^TM.  Time after time, the group organically designs a path that’s unexpected, broader, and more rewarding than previously perceived to be possible. It’s as if the collective empathy and contributions of all participants has invited the group’s innate wisdom into the room.

 

Hope is a great conversation

Importantly, this essential work is more of a mile marker than a one-and-done sprint. Going forward, Pre-Governance work becomes a touchstone to ground new cycles of planning, business opportunities, or struggles that emerge in any area. For many, it becomes either an annual ritual, or a ritual for embracing life events, such as birth, death, marriage, or coming of age of a family member.

With hope-at-the-ready, each subsequent program increases a family’s resilience for navigating disparate perspectives. Together, you’ll see that controversy becomes a tool for expanding group wisdom and growth.

 

• Two-day Retreat: from $32,000
  In our two-day retreat, we hold a session on the first day, enjoy a casual group dinner that evening, and then enjoy a full-day retreat on day two. Moving forward, many families find it a priority to hold these retreats once or twice a year.

 

• Expanded Retreat: from $52,000
  In our expanded retreat, family members enjoy opening the conversations one-to-one prior to the face-to-face retreat. Then, we share two days together onsite, beginning with a session the first day, dinner that evening and a full-day retreat the following day. After our time together, we provide you with a brief yet poignant summary of where you were before our Pre-Governance work, the progress and shifts achieved onsite, and a summary of your decisions and actions for moving things forward.