Learning from Past Mistakes

How Missteps Actually Improve Your Life

Most people that achieve remarkable wealth are not overnight successes. Lives that appear effortless are usually the product of years of planning, perseverance and experience. It is not enough to have a team of “experienced advisors.” Creating multi-generational wealth takes wisdom – the kind gained by an ability to learn from past mistakes.

Those families (and advisors) who have experienced setbacks are more likely to understand the importance of contingency planning the next time around. They are often less reluctant to initiate the difficult conversations that allow for more effective advanced planning. Early blunders can also encourage affluent families to take more calculated risks later in life. Weighing opportunities against potential outcomes – both positive and negative – helps to make tough decisions in context of family goals. This also helps families avoid being reactive when individual planning components are not working as expected and allows them to adjust, delegate essential tasks to qualified providers and place trust in the right people and processes.

Working with family office advisors can also help affluent families avoid missteps by learning from the mistakes of their peers. Because outsourced CFOs often work with several wealthy clients at once, they are constantly aware of trends and developments that shape planning practices, as well as looming threats on the horizon. Working with families during times of crisis, and through all phases of wealth preservation and transfer allows advisors to consider a broad perspective of possible solutions based on past experience and acquired knowledge.