James E. Hughes - Family: The Compact Among Generations

Table of Contents

Jays words dance off the page as he shares his theory and practice on how we all can inspire future generations to create and fulfill their dreams. His disciplined research and common-sense practices are must-reading for anyone interested in making the world a better place and living every day to its fullest. How fortunate that Jay Hughes has shared his wisdom for all to read.

JESSE FINK
President, Marshall Street Management

Jay Hughes, the wisest of counselors to successful families, brings a Renaissance mans perspective to the most fundamental challenges of family, of wealth, and of continuity. He also brings a deep confidence and optimism for human nature and for the future. Thousands of families have heard Jays messages. With this book, new generations of counselors will be able to support even more families. Thats a great gift.

The deep wisdom Jay shares in this book can only be the result of decades of experience and a special, genuine care for families. His conviction for stewardship is exemplified by this sharing of his unique wisdom with others who counsel families. This book gives honest hope to families seeking healthy and successful continuity, and also to those who serve them and who share Jays sincere concern.

This is the best book ever written for counselors to business families. Thank you, Jay, for sharing your wisdom and passion.

JOHN L. WARD
Principal, The Family Business Consulting Group
Clinical Professor of Family Enterprises,
Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

Jay Hughes has changed both the philosophy and vocabulary in family-wealth advising. He is both an historian and innovator, creating context and advice for those families who define their success in much more than financial terms.

ELLEN M. PERRY
Founder, Wealthbridge Partners, LLC

Family: The Compact Among Generations is fundamentally a book of deep, translational wisdom based on Jay Hughess remarkable reading of philosophy, religion, and psychology as they apply to the complex journey of family life. The book is based on Hughess lifetime of service and counsel to families of great wealth, but as I read the book and began to understand its central metaphorshirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generationswords other than family kept coming to mind, words like community, society, and citizenship. Hughes may not have intended the metaphor to apply to the journey of the human race, but in a world precariously balanced between disastrous decline and the potential for the resolution of major social dilemmas, it is the investment in human capital and the awakening of the citizen within that will tell the difference.

This book is a gift. Read it. And when you do, consider its wisdom from your individual and family persona and your public persona.

PETER KAROFF
Founder and Chairman, The Philanthropic Initiative
Author of The World We Want: New Dimensions in
Philanthropy and Social Change (AltaMira Press)

Chapter after chapter, I marveled at how this most gifted counselor to families wove together his heart, intellect, and soul into a tapestry of discovery and profound learning on families. This book helps the rest of usfirst to see the whole, then to grasp the wonder of so many interwoven threads of family business, leadership, and communications. Just glancing at the bibliography of Family reveals the depth and breadth of the journey in store for the reader. What a gift for those within a family, for those who advise families, and for all of us who are pilgrims on both journeys!

CHARLOTTE B. BEYER
Founder and CEO, Institute for Private Investors

In the world of wealthy families, James Hughes is a seer. The knowledge presented in this book extends to any family concerned about future generations. Wisdom is scarce nowadays, but Hughes delivers an abundance of useful packets blended with insights from history and philosophy.

JOHN ONEIL
President, The Center for Leadership Renewal

Family takes us straight to the heart of Jay Hughess lifework, with intelligence, humility, and great insight. By inviting us inside his personal journey from lawyer to leader of the discipline of wealth consultation, which he helped found, Family tells the reader what is necessary in order to truly become a personne de confiance. Strategies for multigenerational family leadership, family governance, and family unity are offered in the context of Jays personal evolutionhe offers guidance on the developmental changes needed within oneself in order to fully understand and be effective in working with families. Even more, he brilliantly brings together key ideas from philosophy, social sciences, and religion to inform and inspire the readers personal journey. Family is among the precious few books that effectively interweave high-level thinking with the emotion of a personal journey, wisdom from the heart with tactical advice. It is a book to be read and enjoyed not only by those in the field of wealth consulting/counseling but by all of us whose work and personal identity are found in the role of confidant, adviser, counselor, or coachguided by, as Family prescribes, the importance of placing high value on trust, integrity, deep understanding, and humble, effective leadership.

DR. STEPHEN GOLDBART AND JOAN DIFURIA
Codirectors, Money, Meaning & Choices Institute

Once again, Jay has authored a timeless, essential guide on the challenges faced by generations of family wealth. Family: The Compact Among Generations is a must-read for everyone in the wealth-management industry and a valuable tool for patriarchs and matriarchs who must ultimately contend with the shirt sleeves to shirt sleeves in three generations phenomenon. Jays new philosophical viewpoints are as relevant today as they were a thousand years ago: The sleep of the laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep.Ecclesiastes 5.12

PETER E. TONY GUERNSEY JR.
President, Wilmington Trust FSB New York

Another groundbreaking book from Jay Hughes. He provides a broad perspective on how to challenge families to thrive over multiple generations.

CHARLES W. COLLIER
Senior Philanthropic Adviser, Harvard University

Mr. Hughes brings important new concepts to the forefrontthe role of affinity in family enterprises as a force that forms an inclusive rather than exclusive system. He also articulates the role of the second generation as it has never before been addressed, pointing out the dual mission forced on all wealth inheritors, the critical issue of trusting others, and the impact of regressing to the mean. This book must be read by all owners who find themselves inheriting wealth!

SARA S. HAMILTON
Founder and CEO, Family Office Exchange

Our journey of learning continues! Jay has extended his seminal work on preserving family wealth with this tapestry of thoughtweaving concepts from fields as disparate as physics and philosophy into the experiences he has amassed during his life of service to familiesto create an extraordinary treatise.

MARY K. DUKE
Managing Director, Head of HSBC Private Banks Global Family
Wealth Initiative

Jay Hughess prescription for the family of affinity combines the wisdom of the ages with the compassionate pragmatism of an experienced professional. For families wanting to stay together and prosper in every sense of the word, Jays book is