Family: The Compact Among Generations

Why do some families thrive for generations? What accounts for the deterioration that others experience? This book takes families and the professionals who serve them beyond the now widely accepted practices offered in Family Wealth and offers Hughes's panoramic insights into what makes families flourish and fail. It lays out the basis for the vision of family governance the author has been developing through his work and research. His advice addresses not only what to do but how to think about the complex issues of family governance, growth, and stability, and the ongoing challenge of nurturing the happiness of each family member. From the back cover: Family: The Compact Among Generations. It's an unfortunate but common pattern: a family achieves wealth and stability but can't sustain its success beyond the second generation. An enterprise fails, a dynasty is lost, and pain and suffering prevail. In Family: The Compact Among Generations, James Hughes presents the reasons and the remedies for this phenomenon. The book is a journey of discovery. Drawing on evidence from ancient history, political science, psychology, physics, organizational science, and a myriad of other disciplines and spiritual traditions, Hughes makes seemingly discordant pieces fit to form a whole that is both instructive and inspiring. Distilled through this seasoned observer of families, the wisdom and insights of some of the finest minds in history make sense in a new way—a way that can truly help families overcome their most formidable challenges. Bringing to bear decades of experience working with and studying families, he maps the mistakes that lead to decline and the approaches to family governance and personal development that can prevent it.