What Would You Like Your Personal Legacy to Be?
Ever think about what you are striving for and how you will be remembered? “Legacy” is more than quitting smoking, losing weight, or the money in the bank, it is about the type of person you you’re your values and your impact on others.
I have been a Franklin Planner “Black Book” user (OK, maybe I’m an acolyte) for 30 years. The process is simple; you just need to understand three things:
Who are you? What are your Roles? (spouse, parent, business owner, community leader, Scoutmaster)
What do you stand for? I.e., What are your values (Integrity, kindness, empathetic, On My Honor I Will Do My Best)
What is your mission? I.e., an overall goal that will drive you, in conjunction with your Roles and Values to determine priorities and achievements.
Business owners have it tougher because in addition to their own Legacy they need to be thinking of their family overall; they are not just the CEO of their firm; they are the CEO of their Family Economic Engine. The 2007 Cornell Family Business Survey found that Almost a third (30.5%) of family business owners have no plans to retire, ever; and nearly another third (29.2%) report that retirement is more than 11 years away. Since the median age of the current leaders is 51, this means that many owners plan to live out their years in office. This poses unique challenges to the succeeding generation. Further exacerbating this risk is the fact that nearly a third (31.4 percent) of FOBs have no estate plan beyond a will (2007).
What do you want your Personal Legacy to be? Are you ready to plan?
Jeffrey T. Stern, CEO Whisperer™