Unmasking Narratives: Converting Emotional Currency into Generational Wealth

Welcome to Legacy Builders, strategies for building successful family enterprises. Brought to you by Beacon Family Office at Assante Financial Management Limited. I’m your host, Cory Gagnon, Senior Wealth Advisor. And on this show, we explore global ideas, concepts, and models that help family enterprises better navigate the complexities of family wealth.

Today, we welcome Franco Lombardo, Founder and CEO of Veritage International – Family Business Facilitation and Coaching. With over twenty years of experience, Franco has established himself as a trusted advisor to some of the world’s wealthiest families. He is renowned for his innovative Safe Space™ model, which helps families achieve emotional safety and healthy dynamics. Franco’s unique approach, blending directness with compassion, has made him a sought-after expert in family wealth counselling. His work focuses on fostering positive, emotionally connected environments for families navigating the complexities of wealth management and intergenerational relationships.

My goal is to be the most curious person in today’s conversation with Franco Lombardo, where we explore his groundbreaking work in emotional governance and family enterprise dynamics. We’ll dive into how self-awareness can transform both individuals and organizations, challenging conventional wisdom about family enterprises. Franco will share insights that promise to reshape our understanding of wealth, relationships, and purpose in family businesses, offering fresh perspectives on building lasting legacies that go beyond traditional strategies.

Now, let’s dive in!

Cory: Welcome, Franco. We’re excited to have you here today to share your wealth of knowledge and experiences with us. Let’s dive in, shall we?

Franco: Sure. Where do you want to go? 

Cory: Franco, imagine you’re delivering the commencement speech to the graduating class of 2024, and you have the chance to inspire them with your story.

How would you begin your speech to convey the incredible lessons and expertise that you’ve gained throughout your career?

Franco: What a great question. I would start by asking how well you are. Have you ever considered why you do what you do?

Why do you think the thoughts you think, behave the way you behave, act the way you act, deal with money the way you deal with money, and see yourself the way you see yourself?

Then, I would ask him if that is aligned with the purpose and legacy you want to leave behind, and that would be it.

Cory: Wow. And so tell me if on that, Franco, like, how well do yourself? That’s a strong question to start with and a great thing to reflect on. Where does that come from in your story?

Franco: Well, I, like you, started my career in wealth management. I was good at it, but it didn’t really jack me up; it didn’t juice me. Didn’t give me, like, look, I’m going to go and make more money.

But I made a lot of money because I was good at it. Later in my career, I realized that even though I was making a lot of money, I was incredibly unhappy and unfulfilled and frankly felt vacant inside.

And the other piece was my behaviour was one of, pardon my word, audience, if it’s the only one I can use to describe was I was an asshole. I was a self-centred guy. Looking at my grandiosity, I thought there had to be more to life than that.

So, I hired a coach who helped me realize where all that was coming from. Where was this need to overaccentuate me and try to use the money to measure my value?

I realized I was more fascinated by the emotional side of wealth and its management, which started me on the journey.

As a result, I’m able to really tap into and hit pause when life happens, and I get to choose how I react from a behavioural perspective instead of the behaviour choosing me.

Cory: I like that. And so, hitting pause, what didn’t that look like before? What would life be like if somebody didn’t have the freedom to hit pause?

Franco: Well, Cory, the thing is, as human beings, we think we’re in control of our lives, and the reality is we’re not.

What controls our lives and manages us as humans is our narrative, our conditioning, our emotional wounds, and our story. Something happened in the past, and we make decisions about ourselves, but we never go back and question them.

One of my narratives used to say that it was my fault. Something happened, and I would operate from this narrative: It’s my fault. I’m going to make people feel happy.

I’m going to go rescue them because, at the end of the day, it’s my fault that I’ll be punished.

Until we understand the narrative, the behaviour will be automatic based on the narrative. When we understand our narrative, we get to choose the behaviour.

Now, in our work with clients, we don’t just help them understand their behaviour. Also, it has an impact on the relationships, whether familial, shareholder, or operational, that are working in the business.

Cory: And so that freedom to hit pause, listen to that narrative, and choose the whip for the behaviour that follows—how does that happen? 

Franco: Lots of practice. Okay, I’m a big post guy. I love quotes. One of my favourites is from Galileo. All truths are easy to understand once we’re uncovered, and the keys to uncovering them are as follows:

I will go back to the commencement speech. What is the truth about you? Do you really know who you are? Because once you are who you are, you can uncover who you want to become and the impact you want to have.

And, yeah, I’ll just leave it at that. I just lost my thought for a second. But let’s keep asking the great questions.

Cory: Great. Awesome. So, hitting pause and being able to uncover those truths for me, I can envision somebody sitting there listening to us, Franco, and they’re feeling a bit vulnerable. Do you want to uncover my truth? Those things, those narratives that I’ve used for years to protect myself? And what is it going to do for my future?

Franco: Yeah. So, I created a quote and love using it, and I’ll take credit for it. It’s the path to the metal of transformation by meandering through the forest of our feelings.

Societally, we are more emotionally disconnected than ever, considering how connected we are technologically.

And we have been conditioned, gradually, that it’s not okay to feel our feelings, let alone express it. So a child is having a bad day, and the parent says, I don’t like you now because I can’t handle the behaviour.

So the child goes internally: They don’t like me, so they don’t like my behaviour. They like my feelings, so it’s best if I’m liked. I don’t express what’s coming up.  And it happens like this. ? But the parent should consider doing this. I just don’t like your behaviour enough, so I’m separating the two.

Okay, what’s happening is that the reason Veritas exists is I believe we all want to feel emotionally safe. We want to feel safe in our relationships, in our environments, and certainly in our world.

The problem is that most of us don’t because we all come from this thing called family, where somewhere along the line, we were made to feel unsafe either consciously, intentionally, unintentionally, or unconsciously.

The reality is we have human beings out there walking around that don’t feel emotionally safe. So, if you don’t feel emotionally safe with yourself, how can you possibly know yourself?

If you don’t know yourself, how can you possibly hit pause? The reactions are automatic. So we have a tool that we use. It’s called the awareness tool.

It’s really about saying an event occurs and, let’s say, okay. I’m going to use an example. So let’s say that I dated a girl who I madly loved and who drove a convertible white BMW. Can we set it so that’s the context? So every time I see a white convertible go by, that’s the event.

The thought is I’m not lovable because I got dumped. The feeling is, well, there’s loneliness. There’s some anger and grace that may be unresolved. There may be some shame and guilt. So those are the feelings. So, what’s the belief about myself?

I’m unlovable. So, the behaviour is that I will find situations to prove the belief that I’m unlovable, and we do this subconsciously.

Dan Sullivan has a great quote that says when you go to the zone, the eyes only see, and the ears only hear what they look for and hear for.

So we look for proof. We seek proof of our beliefs. Again, do you really know yourself? Is that really who you are? Do I deserve to be loved? But until I was really able to go, I deserved to be loved, and I would always attract relationships that proved that I was lovable.

Cory: Yes. And so that becomes a tangled mess. There become those narratives, years years, create a lot of relationships, a lot of arrangements, a lot of things that feel as though how does somebody get free of that to say, I made these decisions based on these narratives, And now, Franco, you’re telling me that I can take pause?

I actually have the ability to do that, to reflect on why that white car triggers that emotion, why I’m reacting to my spouse when they say this, or to my business partners or my parents and siblings.

Franco: First of all, as I said before, we do everything for a reason. It’s not based on our conditioning, which is past-based, or it’s based on our purpose. Does that contribute to what I call safe space?

Most individuals still need to do internal work to understand themselves and cover these reasons. Now, the reason to move from what I call the default identity, which we think we are based on our condition, has to be bigger to change our position.

It’s about once we uncover our purpose, our purpose, our purpose, and why we are here. What am I here to do that if I don’t, no one else will do it?

Because it’s mine to do, until we uncover our purpose, we will always be in the default interview. This reason is big enough to shift because our greatest addiction, Cory, is through our identity.

Our identity is made up of our beliefs, behaviours, emotional traditions, and emotional addictions. We won’t change until we cover those. So I’ll tell you a brief story. People, advisors, folks that were first clients whether they’re wealth managers, lawyers, accountants, or other families, or trust advisers.

They’ll ask me how we know what a client’s writing is, so let me indulge in a story. There’s this salesman who sells seed to a farmer. They’ve been clients for years. They’ve become friends. So they’re sitting on the porch, having tea, watching the sunset who loves tea?

Jimmy is a salesman who says Sam is the farmer, and Sam’s dog does the talking. The dog goes, whoo. He says, Sammy, what’s wrong with the dog?

He says, Jimmy, don’t show him on the dog. He’s just fine. Keep talking. What’s wrong with the dog? I told you. Don’t mind the dog. One more time. What’s wrong with your dog?

He leaves over and goes, well, he hasn’t gotten tired of sitting on the nail yet. Human beings are incredibly resilient and have high pain tolerance to emotional baggage. We like to hold on to it, yes, because it’s who we are. It’s our identity.

So until we have a calling to move forward, something bigger than ourselves, we will always stay on the nail. It’s human nature. 

Cory: So, the pain of the present is not as big as it needs to be to create that forward momentum.

There are so many people in this world who make the reference to the frogs in the pot. The heat, they don’t realize that it’s getting hotter and hotter and hotter. 

Franco: We stay in relations longer than we should. Either romantic or intimate? We stay in business relations longer than we should because we think that’s who we are. That’s who our identity is. Once we get to know who we truly are and understand why we do what we do, we shift fast.

We’re here because our work with families starts with the individual. An individual has to feel emotionally safe with themselves first. Part of that is understanding their mechanism, understanding their narrative, and then realizing that this narrative isn’t serving those that I’m surrounded with.

I need to change that. So there’s awareness, there’s acknowledgment, and then there’s a significant desire to change because you see their impact. As I tell everybody, the longest relationship we’re going to have is one with ourselves. Why not make it a good one? We take ourselves into every single relationship.

We don’t realize we’re dating the same woman. She’s got a different name, but it’s the same person. 

Cory: Yep. And so, Franco, what does that safe space mean to you, and what does that create?

Safe Space Governance in Action was my fifth book, published in 2017. The idea of safe space is something we seek as adults, something we didn’t get enough of as children.

Simplistically, it’s what we’re seeking externally, but we’re lacking internally.

So, I will use myself as an example. I lacked an emotional connection with my family and myself. I sought it externally through other means, making a lot of money. Notice me?

But I was incredibly disconnected from myself. So my safe space is connection. When I’m connected with myself, which is when I know myself and am able to pause, that’s when I’m in my power.

I am connected to myself, my feelings, and my emotions. I’m connected to how I choose to react rather than react to choosing them. And that’s what I call governance in action. I’m governing myself. I have a behavioural structure that I’ve put in place to manage that.

That’s what safe space is. 

Cory: Now, your reference to that love as a child and doing this with family members, they could have the response of, well, it’s my fault.

I’m the older generation and Franco, I didn’t love you enough as my son or nephew or whatever that relationship is, and they can feel a shameful response to you declaring what you just did. How can families feel safe together when discovering this?

Franco: Well, let’s talk about the parent. So what? It’s important for us to realize that our parents did the best they could with the tools and equipment they had at their time. What? My parents are 59, and I’m going to be 59 this year.

So, my parents were older, and coaching wasn’t as accessible or common today? It’s really about the parents who think I did a poor job, blaming themselves for having compassion.

You did the best you could based on what you were taught. Hence, we have emotional traditions that are passed down from generation to generation and that we keep repeating.

So, it’s about, what, working on my stuff? My parents contributed to it, and I have compassion for them because they did the best they could. Part of our work is helping individuals move from a place of judging themselves or others to a place of compassion for themselves and others. When we offer from a place of compassion, we become curious and want to explore.

There’s a different energy associated with curiosity versus judgment. I love that Brene Brown has the question that she asks. Do you believe that people are doing their best? And I can’t tell you, Franco, how many times I’ve asked people that question.

Ultimately, that reflection is that people don’t believe that they’re doing their best when they say that they don’t believe others are doing their best. And having that self-compassion is key and allows you to have that compassion for others.

Franco: Cory, it’s important for all of us and listeners. I really hope you hear that everybody we interact with, including our parents, the billionaire, or the beggar on the street, has a story. We all have a narrative and struggle with something based on that story.

And if people haven’t done the work to develop self-awareness, we should have compassion for them. Now, if they’ve done the work, as a no coach when you say, once, you can unknow. 

Cory: Now, Franco, generational trauma can put people in a place of despair in society. As you mentioned, the beggar, there could be people who are very low on that economic scale, but then there are people who, even though that trauma is controlling their lives, actually appear to be thriving from an economic perspective.

And so that judging a book by its cover, you really can’t tell, and as you said, we all have a story. The family who’s managed to create billions but still struggles with that trauma, how does, how do they disconnect that identity?

Franco: Well, the first thing is that there has to be recognition that there’s something missing. In society, we are conditioned that when we achieve wealth, whatever that number is, all of our problems will go away.

And in reality, you know what? That just magnifies who we are at our core. So when you squeeze an orange, you get orange juice. You don’t get lemon juice. You get orange juice. So when you add pressure to human beings, do you get what they’re made of?

Which is their identity, their story, their conditioning, their narrative. The challenge that wealthy families have is that they are scared to be vulnerable. They’re afraid to say, Yeah, I’m worth a billion, and I have a dysfunctional relationship with my kids, and even though it hurts them, they may not verbalize.

So what we offer is that safe haven for them to say what? Yes, I’m worth a lot, and wow, I sure miss my kids, and I feel awful for them. How can I remedy this? I still have to meet a family member who asks me what.

I have no interest in healing my relationships. They want to; they just don’t know how. and their conditioning, their identity, and their narrative are in the way. So we have to identify and remove it.

Cory: Now that focus and really, we’re going deeper than the human capital here. We’re really getting into that spiritual capital of the family, and it’s often one that needs to be more focused on.

It’s the thing that’s put in the corner, and, yeah, one day, we’ll deal with it, or we’ll check it off the list because we need to and, really, what you’re saying here, Franco, is really getting into how important this is to the fundamentals of who we are.

We’re talking about purpose. We’re talking about the reason we’re here, and that dash is pretty short. We don’t have a lot of years between birth and death year and so families getting to that point, they’ve now decided that the nail we’re sitting on is just too damn painful.

So when people have figured it out, they’ve not just checked it off the list because that’s something that we’re supposed to do, because our advisers say we should focus on our spiritual capital.

What are the byproducts? What are the unintended consequences here? 

Franco: Well, I’ll talk about the benefits and the positive outcomes? So when families engage me, I say,  what? First of all, you’re not hiring me for better relationships.

You’re not hiring me for better communication. You’re hiring me for different relationships and different communications. We will not know what the difference is until we get there.

As I tell my clients, if you want to be different, you’re going to do something different. To be different, you’re going to become different. Are you going to change internally? One of the benefits is that I just had the privilege of interviewing a family in Melbourne for a conference.

We had a dad who’s the founder of 2 subs, and we had 45 minutes. I watched them transform an audience and transform an organization with their openness and vulnerability in sharing their stuff and what the process has been like.

And they got mobbed out. How did you do it? What you have is amazing. We’ve all gone to the family business family office conferences, where the conversation is what I call weathered and superficial.

Yes? The founder said to me, I had a mother come to me, one of the wealthiest families in Australia, say I have an issue within the law. I don’t trust them. How do I deal with it? Like at it? 

So, the benefits are the courage to speak the truth, to confront issues head-on without fear, and vulnerability, which becomes magnetic. We’re drawn to vulnerability and to be able to, like I said, know ourselves.

Like I said in the commencement speech, did you know yourself? You can’t really have purpose and impact unless you are yourself, and it was for me. It’s incredible validation in the world because I’ve realized I am different.

I’m a weird cat in the space, and what we do is different. What happens is that families become different because of the work they do with us. And to be able to witness it was awesome. It was an incredible validation, like I said.

There’s a different time score when I have been doing this; what am I saying? This is the only one who gets this. Am I nuts? And now we’re starting to see that we have something here. Yeah, and there’s a person there.

If you go to our website, you will see the value of people’s testimonies. What is done for them? What is done for their families? And it’s just, and it takes courage. We have to want to change because harmony and unity don’t happen through governance.

They don’t happen through your shows and agreements. They happen when individuals create harmony and unity within themselves, feel emotionally safe, and create a safe space for themselves so they can create a safe space with others.

That’s where our process is: individual safety, relational safety, and familial safety. Have to start that way. 

Cory: Now those families that, as you said, the lady that came up to this panellist that you had, and she felt that magnet pull.

She said, here it is, and so what does that look like in the world where you’ve got people showing that vulnerability, and now they’ve got the magnetic pull where other people like them start showing up? Because I see that as an amazing benefit here. 

Franco: When family members become vulnerable themselves, they inspire and empower others to become vulnerable. What happens is we deal with the issues fast. We get a resolution quickly.

We make decisions very quickly. Interestingly enough, they make more money because they spend so much energy on the issue. We’ve doubled it; the issue is that the pen is yellow. Is that what it means?

The pen is yellow. Let’s deal with that. Vulnerability inspires vulnerability. Truth inspires truth. So, when we’re able to be vulnerable and honest with ourselves, we inspire others to do the same.

I go back, and I love quotes. I go back to the Marion Willison quote, which was Mandela’s inaugural speech: Our greatest fear is not our greatest fear; our greatest fear is our powerful and better, it’s our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us, and we are going to shorten it. And when we allow ourselves to show up, our presence automatically liberates others.

Once people know who they are and offer themselves from a place of vulnerability, trust, and truth, it inspires others to do the same. That’s the benefit of working with individuals and with the family, and Veritas’s impact on families is that they get to really be different. The conversations are different.

Cory: What does that look like when you talk about purpose, Franco? We’re talking about enterprising families, and they may have operating businesses, or it’s financial capital.

But now they’ve discovered that purpose. They can go and do something with that. We often discuss the societal impacts of charitable giving. This is a fantastic conversation.

But I see this as something within the business. There can be many social benefits here. What have you seen in those shifts?

Franco: So, typically, the purpose is misinterpreted. The purpose is a way of being. It’s a way of behaving. An individual purpose has to be consistent across the board.

We really did work with a family, helping them uncover that their purpose is to empower for community impact.

Now, if you think about it, if each family member feels safe for themselves, they’re living that purpose. They’re empowering themselves for the community, which is the family impact. We need a collective, which means a family is now at ripples.

From there, we help them uncover their mission, which is transparency for vulnerability. That’s not some corporate thing. That is a way of being. Because the purpose of the meeting is whether you’re doing it or not. There’s no gray area?

Their vision is transformation. They’re all about transformation. When they shared that in the panel, they were living proof of that purpose, vision, and mission individually and collectively, so much so that they transformed an entire audience.

Cory: Wow. As you mentioned, this is not what a family is like. We’re going way deeper than family governance here, and then it comes back to family governance. It does fit once you’ve embarked on this journey and brought back your findings.

You’re talking about vision, mission, and values, and now we have an ownership group that is going to transform their corporation and put it on the website. This is how we hold our management team accountable. 

Franco: What happens is that a lot of corporations and individuals have this as my core value. They pick no disrespect, folks. They pick the trendy ones: integrity, responsibility, transparency, vulnerability, that sort of stuff. Our work will help families uncover the guiding principles.

So we identify it, then we define it, and we take it a step further. What’s the action that proves you’re living the definition of the guiding principle? For example, a family’s guiding principle is the expression of feelings. What’s the action?

Curiosity and connection. Simple? Guided principle number two is playfulness. What’s the action? Childlike engagement. Tell me more, and ask me why. So when we have guiding principles, they’re more rooted in action-based than some word called integrity, or how do you measure them?

And the thing with vision, mission, and purpose in our work is a way of being through all your capitals. So it is a way of being with your wealth. Your family capital, your human capital.

So it is the way you are consistent because the common denominator and never a single relationship with Cory is us. 

Cory: I love that. That is fantastic. 

Franco: Part of this is that we help families create emotional governance, which works in conjunction with traditional governance.

Because traditional governance needs to address behaviours and beliefs and the emotional side of things, it doesn’t go deep enough—the policies and procedures for decision-making. You say you run a family council.

You say you run a family meeting. You say you run aboard. Great. But what’s the behaviour of those board members? What’s their narrative as they’re sitting at the board?

How do they treat each other as human beings? That needs to be addressed more or paid more attention to. So we’re going to focus on that.

Cory: And so, those that governance around beliefs. I don’t believe I’m hearing you say that it means that everyone around the table needs to have the same belief.

Franco: No. It means coming together around a set of guiding principles that we collectively agree to, buy into, adhere to, and live by. So, the family agrees to the guiding principle of expressing feelings, and the actions are curiosity and connection.

You’re either doing that or you’re not. But they’ve come to that particular guiding principle.

Cory: Yes. And then they’re showing up in such a consistent way, as you said, in all those areas, and that’s identifiable by any means. Suppose you go back to where we started about knowing yourself and not even hitting the pause button but being aware. Being aware of those around you is easy to see.

In this busy world, it’s so difficult to identify where that trauma is governing versus actually having that personal freedom and those guiding principles because that work’s been done, and that’s something that’s been created.

Franco: Once you know your story, you can rewrite it. When we take our clients on a journey of identifying their default identity, they design their design. This is who I want to be, this is who I am.

It’s not me based on some narrative of lies I’ve been buying into for so long about myself. So one of the lies he said about myself was that I sure really was it’s my fault?

The truth is I’m a gift, and the truth, the lies I tell about myself in the context of relationships, was I’ll be punished because it’s my fault. The truth is I am treasured in my relationships. So now I have something to measure myself up.

Am I treating myself as a gift through my behaviours and beliefs or not? There’s no gray area. Am I being treasured in my relationships? And if I’m not, I get to choose.

Do I want to say it or not? I am in a position of strength, power, and self-integrity versus the narrative that it’s my fault that I’ll be punished. And then, guess what? We have a lie about money, too. And we all have this narrative about my money that we never exempt, but that’s a separate conversation.

Cory: I think it is. I’ll enjoy having a conversation when we do, Franco. That’s a great place to transition as we near the end here today. And there are a few questions that I ask each guest before we wrap up. And are you ready for the tough ones?

Franco: Go,

Cory: Awesome! I’m excited. Given your perspective in our conversation, I think these questions will be different. Franco, what key strategy do you believe is essential for building a successful family enterprise?

Franco: I suggest including everybody in the conversation and trusting and respecting each other. You don’t have to agree. Just trust, respect, and include.

Cory: I love it. And what is the most common challenge that you see family enterprises encountering when it comes to wealth transition and generational continuity?

Franco: They don’t know how to have the conversations; they’re avoiding the obvious conversations because they don’t know how to. It’s something they don’t want to do. 

They just don’t know how to; how do I start telling you how I’m feeling if I don’t know how I’m feeling myself? 

Cory: And is there one key strategy you can find to overcome that?

Franco: Yes, get to know yourself. Hire a coach, find out why you do what you do.

Cory: That’s awesome. In your experience, what are the top three key qualities that successful family enterprise leaders possess?

Franco: Well, number 1 is self-awareness, emotional awareness. As a result, it leads to vulnerability and self-accountability that empowers others to do the same, so they’re exceptional leaders. But they’re also self-leaders. They lead themselves first by action.

Then, they inspire and empower others to do the same by using their example. 

Cory: Before we conclude our discussion, I’d like to highlight where listeners can engage in more of the conversations that you’re having, as well as the conversations that you’re listening to or maybe things that you’re reading.

Franco: If they want to learn more about us, they can find us at veritas.ca. There are a number of client testimonials about the journey. There’s this talking about our process.

We also have a podcast, and it’s Save Space. We have a newsletter about the newsletter, but there is a communication called the Truth Agent, which is our latest thinking. So, if folks want to register for that, they can now do it on LinkedIn or the website, and that’s our freshest thinking that they can get.

Cory: Fantastic. And Franco, I wanted to make sure that we covered everything that you wanted to cover today. Is there anything else that you’d like to share with our audience that we didn’t get a chance to touch on? 

Franco: Be brave. Understand yourself and get to know yourself because then you can really have an impact.  Having a lot of money or a lot of possessions is worthless without true impact and just invest in you.

Cory: Love it. Well, that’s a great way to end. Franco, thank you so much for sharing your expertise and experiences with us. Your insights have been incredibly valuable to me, and I’m grateful for it and I know that our listeners will be as well. So thank you.

Franco: Thank you so much for having me on the show. It’s been an honour and privilege. Thanks, Cory. Love the work you’re doing. Thank you.

As we wrap up this episode, we invite you to reflect on Franco’s transformative insights about the power of self-awareness, emotional safety, and vulnerability within family enterprises. 

Whether you are part of a family enterprise or provide consulting to family businesses, Franco’s approach to emotional governance and the creation of safe spaces provides invaluable tools for fostering authentic relationships and effective decision-making.

Throughout our discussion, we explored the deep connection between personal growth and family business success. Franco showed us how tackling ingrained narratives and creating emotionally safe environments can revolutionize how family businesses operate. We discovered practical ways to foster genuine relationships and make better decisions, seeing how openness and shared values can align personal fulfillment with business goals. These ideas offer family enterprises a fresh approach to building lasting, meaningful legacies that span generations and positively influence their communities.

For families seeking to enhance their dynamics and governance through emotional intelligence, Franco Lombardo at Veritage International offers expert guidance and support. You can reach out to Franco via his website, and we’ve included his contact information along with additional resources in our show notes to assist you in your journey toward creating a harmonious family enterprise.

Disclaimer: 

This program was prepared by Cory Gagnon who is a Senior Wealth Advisor with Beacon Family Office at Assante Financial Management Ltd. This is not an official program of Assante Financial Management, and the statements and opinions expressed during this podcast are not necessarily those of Assante Financial Management. This show is intended for general information only and may not apply to all listeners or investors; please obtain professional financial advice or contact us at [email protected] or visit BeaconFamilyOffice.com to discuss your particular circumstances before acting on the information presented.