Honor Thy Father

Like the rest of the team, Forward Inheritance is rooted by the foundations my parents instilled in me. My father isn’t just my hero, he’s many people’s hero. He kept our family together during and after my mother passed. And beyond showing me how it should be done, he has been a provider, lawyer, problem solver, oracle, coach, mentor, friend, partner, Rotarian, board member, and so much more to so many.

Rather than describe him, I thought it might be fun for his Laws of Life to shine a light on his views of the world. Which of these is your favorite? Which of these can move your family forward…

1. Your word is who you are. Guard your reputation. 
2. How will it really work when you try it? The people factor is critical (see Nos. 5, 7, 27 and 28). 
3. Always analyze the assumptions -- a conclusion is no better than the assumptions upon which it is based.
4. Carpe diem (see No. 27). Everything you do has an opportunity-cost, so use your time wisely. In other words, when you are doing something, you are not doing hundreds of other things. Is the thing you are doing, the most important?
5. Always know whose ox is getting gored.
6. People businesses are not perfect, and everything is a people business (see Nos. 2, 8, 9 and 17).
7. Why are you smarter than they were?
8. Desperate men do desperate deeds.
9. The man with the gold makes the rules.
10. Life isn't fair. 
11. Not making a decision is a decision.
12. Know the consequences of each possible answer, and ask yourself if you can accept the consequences, before you ask the question.
13. Why not do now what you will end up doing later because you did not do it now? [Known as the "Walley Principle"]
14. A good officer never lives better than his troops.
15. If you can't tell your mother about it, don't do it! (see No. 1)
16. There are doers and there are talkers -- be a doer!
17. Man is selfish and "base, brutal and brutish" [Hobbes] -- thus, don't expect too much of people.
18. Ninety percent of people problems come from failures to communicate accurately and jumping to conclusions. (See No. 3)
19. Always examine every possible option or alternative before narrowing the solutions -- sometimes the most illogically appearing option is the best one.
20. Always follow the "80/20 Rule" - i.e. if 80% of a person's characteristics are fine, overlook the 20% that aren't. The other "80/20 Rule" is that the same 20% of any organization do all the work (see No. 17). 
21. You can't please everyone, no matter what you do (see No. 5), so do what you think is best. You want your family to love you, your friends to respect you, and the rest can go to hell [John Wayne].
22. Do everything in moderation -- the Yin and Yang symbol is your guide (as any element of your life expands, the remaining parts get squeezed).
23. The trait that makes a thing strong is the very thing that makes it weak -- turn its strength against it (see No. 3). Everything cuts both ways (or there is a good and bad to everything). 
24. It's not what you say, it's what they hear that is important (see No. 18).
25. It's not what you know, it's who you know.
26. Parkinson's Law and Gresham's Law are right. Gresham's Law (bad money tends to drive good money out of circulation) applies to people as well, so select your friends and business associates with care (but see No. 20). 
27. Timing is everything--doing the right thing at the wrong time is the wrong thing (see No. 4). 
28. Never kid yourself. The Greeks said "Know Thyself" -- that means your weaknesses as well as your strengths, your motivations as well as your rationalizations. Also, never kid yourself about other people (see Nos. 5, 6, 8, 9, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21 and 25). 
29. Never draw to an inside straight--i.e. don't take foolish risks. (see Nos. 7 and 10). 
30. Always know who has the power in each situation--if you do, use it wisely; if you don't, know that you don't (see No. 28).
31. It's not a sale until it closes.