Over the weekend, I was lucky enough to spend some time with some of my favorite people, and it was a good respite from the daily grind and news. During one of our conversations, the term VUCA came to the fore, which stands for Volatile, Uncertain, Chaotic, and Ambiguous. Seems appropriate. That can apply to (too) much these days.
How to best deal with this rising sentiment? Everyone will have their own mechanisms and methods, but for me, I try to focus on what I can control so that these elements of my day do not compound on what I cannot control (a much, much larger list). It’s the reason I make my bed first thing in the morning, a seemingly trivial detail that starts the trajectory of the day.
But this approach can also be applied to the larger conversations we need to have as families. What can we do now to ensure that Mom and Dad’s legacy is preserved? There is too much to do all at once, so it is more a process than an event. How can we manage the VUCA of estate planning? Bob Johansen deserves the credit for teaching us that VUCA needs VUCA: Vision, Understanding, Clarity, and Agility.
This Barron’s article notes that families are leaning into this mindset: “Whether it’s family meetings, early conversations around philanthropic efforts, or educational programs to teach younger people how to manage future wealth, there’s more happening in the field of estate planning than ever before.”
Wealth Managers are “organizing a lot more family meetings, where several generations are encouraged to have conversations about the kinds of assets children will inherit and how to best manage these assets, as well as conversations around values parents want to pass down to their children along with their financial legacies.”
Control what you can control. Have the hard conversations early. Bring some understanding and clarity across the generations so that the family can navigate the daily VUCA we all experience. Mom and Dad are worth it. The Next Generation is worth it. The family is worth it. Let’s help ourselves move forward…