Lately I’ve been studying the design of psychological thrillers to determine what I like and don’t like. And what I might adopt or discard in my writing.

After identifying best sellers with over 5 million copies sold, from contemporary male authors, I settled on Alex Michaelides, who recently rocked the literary world with The Silent Patient and The Maidens.

Sadly, those titles were not in the local library, so I settled for The Fury. I’ve bought several other titles since reading this book.

If a thriller is designed to seduce us with suspense, misdirection, and character depth, then The Fury offers two out of three. Character depth is missing.

This isn’t a summertime beach read. It’s a constructed play. A stage set. And in many ways, I think that’s his point.

Narrative Design: When the Story Knows It’s a Story and thinks It’s Really Clever.

We’re introduced to an unreliable narrator who doesn’t just bend the truth, he crafts a performance. Like a playwright. Michaelides leans into the “meta” style: breaking the fourth wall, teasing what he’ll reveal later, and toying with our trust like an illusionist. It’s part Alfred Hitchcock, part Greek tragedy, part Netflix writer’s room. Totally unfamiliar to me… which made me feel ignorant at times.

For readers who enjoy that layered, self-referential tone, it may be a thrilling design. For those who want to read a clean narration, you may feel disappointed.

I suppose that all art deserves meta-new-radical styes… To test the norms. Call me ignorant.

Characters: Lots of Surface, Not Much Substance

Michaelides writes about beautiful, broken people in exotic places. The celebrity actress. Beloved by all. Then murdered. And this locked room setting- a private Greek island- creates an intense cinematic atmosphere. Surrounded by the endless winds, like the ancient Greek Furies, who reflect their fears and tensions. The characters? They’re glamorous, enigmatic, and often underwritten. Archetypes more than complex characters with emotional depth. As if they are wearing those large masks from Greek tragedies.

The central narrator offers clever insights, but rarely emotional vulnerability. And that’s the gap. We’re watching from the VIP balcony in the Greek theater. Outdoors. But never allowed backstage or inside their hearts.

Style: Controlled, like a noisy wind whipping around an ancient Greek column.

The Fury moves slowly, like a carefully blocked play. That pacing is deliberate. The reveals are timed. Slowly. The tension is intellectual more than visceral. Some of the twists work, others feel dropped in as if from a screenwriting workshop. Maybe that’s part of the meta-design.

It’s an emotionally distant style. Perhaps reflecting the celebrity movie star who is admired more than deeply loved.

What Works for me:

• Narrative voice that dares me/ you to keep up with clever reversals
• Elegant structure with Acts that create a theatrical sensibility
• Strong control over tone and pacing and setting
• Evokes the classic designs from Agatha Christie or Alfred Hitchcock

What Doesn’t work for me:

• Emotional detachment from the central players
• Plot twists that feel too engineered, or too late (Maybe I’m getting too critical in my old age)
• Meta narration design led to frustrations and made me set the book aside (Probably because I don’t understand the fourth wall direct appeals to readers.)
• Character development that rarely gets beneath the masks worn on the island

Some Final Thoughts

I closed The Fury feeling impressed but not moved. I wanted to be greatly moved. Perhaps I should have read his other titles first…

The Fury is a clever novel about storytelling. But that cleverness left me wanting.

Read it if you want a stylish mental puzzle.

Have you read it? Did the narrator charm you or push you away?

Drop a comment- I’d love to know what you think of thrillers that know they’re thrillers.

The post Book Review: The Fury, by Alex Michaelides appeared first on Action Learning Associates.

Copyright © 2025 by D.W. Gray, PhD. All rights reserved.

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The information contained in this fictional book is not intended as a substitute for expert services or consultation with any financial, legal, or business consultants. All readers have unique circumstances that require specific expertise and customized solutions. All names included in this text are changed to protect the confidential identities of my clients.

Published by Gray Publications, a product of Action Learning Associates, LLC.

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Disclaimer: This fictional work contains complex characters who are more exciting than anyone ever met by the author… Hopefully readers will find their reflection in many of these characters and conflicts.

Chapters 1-5 introduce the three siblings, Will, Harper and Nora Lee Dawson, their setting in Nashville, TN, and urgency…  The first advisor they hire is an attorney, named Jake Jr.

Chapter 6

By 8:45 they met at a parking lot in 12 South. Will walked in silence beside his sisters. Rain pelted the sidewalks. His sisters huddled under a golf umbrella. He adjusted the hood of his raincoat.

He wondered, what the hell are we doing? Why are we meeting Harper’s old flame? Do we really need another lawyer in our lives? He repeated the family mantra like a drumbeat beneath the street noises: Protect our assets.

The building was full of steel and restraint.

A security guard in a tailored blazer confirmed their names and photo IDs. Then nodded them toward a shiny elevator. “First door on the right. Goes directly to the 15th floor. The top floor.”

Will gave a faint smile. At least someone in this town knows how to do their job.

“Do we need a game plan?” he asked.

Harper shrugged. “It’s called a Discovery Meeting. The point is to uncover what we don’t know.”

As the elevator climbed, Will caught their reflections in the brushed steel wall. He bit his tongue.

Three Dawsons. Blurred outlines. Unspoken tensions between them.

No script.

Not much trust.

Only a shared name and shared risks.

And somewhere above them, Jake Madducks Jr. waited.

With his shiny shoes and a view worth fighting for.

The elevator ride to the Madducks Law Firm felt like an ascent into something mythic.

Will stood between his sisters in the mirrored cab. Harper, poised and flawless as always, stared straight ahead. Nora Lee checked her phone, her thumb flicking through notes. Rain glistened on their jackets. The air smelled like wet wool and nerves.

“I think we need a game plan,” Will declared.

Harper didn’t look up. “It’s a discovery meeting. Which means we’ll talk. They’ll listen. And send a bill.”

They reached the top floor. The doors opened to a quiet lobby. All polished concrete and understated wealth. A single executive assistant escorted them to the office suite. She offered drinks but they were denied.

Will muttered, “So far, better than Chamberlain’s place.”

They stepped into an empty room.

Minutes later Jake Madducks Jr. sashayed in like he was walking on stage.

Yellow suitcoat. Green bowtie. White shirt too eager for starch. Shoes polished to a shine so sharp that Will squinted. He moved like someone who had practiced his entrance. Confidence wasn’t the best word. It was all theater.

“Greetings and such,” he bellowed. “Jake Madducks Jr., Counselor-at-Large. Welcome to all y’all.”

Harper hugged him slightly longer than required. Introductions followed.

Jake Jr. ushered them into his corner office. His sanctum. An explosion of leather, locked filing cabinets, polished boardroom table, and a panoramic view of Nashville’s ever-changing skyline. Downtown cranes perched like giants frozen mid-reach.

Will eyed the skyline. “Nice view.”

Jake Jr. winked. “Got to protect the important things.”

Will wondered. Should I let Harper lead this meeting? Should I grill this character? Take the long view? Maybe I should watch the cards fall on the table.

“Well of course I want to take care of all y’all,” Jake Jr. crooned. He used both hands to pull his hair up and over his head as he leaned back. “Please have a seat. Coffee? Sweet tea? No? Then how about if someone shares what brought you into my lovely office today?”

They got to business.

Harper started. “As you may recall, the Dawson family has significant assets in Williamson County. And two other regions. Each of us receives quarterly trust distributions. Those payments increased when we turned thirty. We’re not cash poor. That’s not the problem.”

Jake Jr. nodded. “So, what brings you in?”

“Our father died yesterday. Cardiac arrest. Suddenly.”

Jake Jr.’s eyebrows rose just enough.

“We meet on Friday with Chamberlain Law,” Will added. “Our parents’ firm. Tomorrow.”

“But we’ve never seen the legal documents,” Harper said. “Not the wills. Not the trust terms. Not even confirmation of trust officers.”

Jake Jr. leaned forward. “Do you know the size of those assets?”

Will’s tone was iron. “That’s not relevant here. Or to be shared.”

Jake Jr. raised his palms. “Understood. Let’s reframe: Do you have an asset map?”

Harper shook her head. “Problem #2.”

Jake Jr. clicked his pen. “So: estate documents missing, trust terms unknown, and no clear line of succession. You assume Chamberlain has something legally binding?”

Will said, “We do assume. We hope. But hope is never a strategy.”

Jake Jr. nodded thoughtfully. “That’s common. In wealthy families like yours, parents hold cards close. It’s part legacy. Part asset control. Parents often think of their adult children as little kids.”

Harper declared, “The Transfer on Death law is firm in Tennessee.”

“Yes,” said Jake Jr. “For good reason. Plenty of outsiders have stolen assets from too many of our neighbors. And family members. There are too few antebellum plantations left. A damn shame. Countless celebrities and wealthy people relocate to Tennessee just to avoid capital gains taxes. Too many damn Californians are buying up our lands. Just stating a fact. As you well know, we protect the celebrities in our town, for good reasons.”

Nora Lee added, “I keep a running list… Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel. Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban. Carrie Underwood and Mike Fisher. Tim McGraw and Faith Hill…”

Will cut her off, “I’m not sure any of that is relevant.”

“Agreed. Then there’s Regan,” Harper said. “Our mother.”

Jake Jr. leaned forward. “And… what’s your concern?”

Harper paused and looked at Will. He asked, “Are we speaking in confidence?”

Jake Jr. declared, “Yes. Definitely. Attorney-client privilege extends to Discovery Sessions like this one. We always practice confidentiality here at Madducks Law. The day any attorney breaches that practice is the day they lose their credibility. And their reputation.”

Will kept wondering. Is reputation more important to you than anything? That yellow suitcoat screams louder than any billboard.

Harper continued. “In confidence, then, problem #3 is our mother, Regan. She keeps her cards close to her chest.”

“That’s a solid habit when playing poker at a table of hostiles. What’s the problem?”

Harper paused again. “Jake Jr., you may recall when we were in our study group you said that I was ruthless, right?”

“I think my words were a bit stronger. Something like, “you’re a ruthless son of a bitch.” He smiled.

“Yes. Well, our mother is the bitch. She bends the rules until she wins. She bluffs high and rarely folds her cards. She has no friends. Our father was her arm candy. He somehow tampered her down when she got too ruthless. And now he’s gone. We haven’t talked about her much, even between ourselves. She is intimidating.”

“She’s… a wild card,” Nora Lee said carefully. “She bends rules until they break.”

“She’s a closer,” Will said flatly. “Our father fronted the charm. She closed the deals.”

Jake Jr’s eyes flicked between them. “So, she’s likely to be named as the executor?”

“Problem #3,” Will said. “We don’t know. Could be her. Could be Chamberlain. Could be someone we’ve never met.”

Jake Jr. brushed his hair back with both hands and leaned back again. “That’s why you’re here.”

Harper nodded. “And because we don’t want to walk into tomorrow’s meeting blind.”

Jake Jr.’s tone shifted slightly. “If I understand, you’re seeking leverage. Legal or strategic. Before seeing documents that may define your future.”

Nora Lee said quietly, “We’re not trying to fight. We’re trying to understand.”

Jake Jr. softened. “Then let’s keep things simple.”

He rose, walked to the whiteboard, and began drawing three boxes.

Scenario One: A will does not exist.

Scenario Two: A will exists, but it’s hidden.

Scenario Three: Someone unexpected holds asset power.

Jake Jr. turned. “Here in Tennessee, if your father died intestate, your mother would receive a third of the estate. Or equal to one share if the split favors her. But if a valid will exists, everything depends on the executor and the trust language.”

“Problem is,” Harper said, “we don’t know which box we’re in. One. Two. Or three.”

“Not yet,” Jake Jr. agreed. “But we can start identifying who might hold that power.”

Will spoke loudly. “We’ve never been told anything. No succession talks. No planning. Just the family mantra: ‘Protect our assets. Trust nobody.’”

Jake Jr. smiled. “Sounds like your parents wanted survivors. Not stewards.”

Will didn’t smile back. “Maybe both.”

They all fell into silence. Nashville shimmered through the glass windows. Bright, ambitious, unfeeling.

Jake Jr. finally said, “Well, you’re here now. That’s a start.”

Nora Lee whispered, “Can you help us?”

Pleading like a young child.

Chapter 7

Jake Jr. brushed his hair back with both hands. Twice. Then he stood and faced them as if in a courtroom. “Yes. Yes of course. Tell me more about your mother.”

Will spoke loudly, “Frankly, she’s a reckless, greedy son of a bitch.”

Jake Jr. leaned forward, “Now you’re getting interesting.”

Will started, “Here’s an example. In confidence of course.”

“Of course,” said Jake Jr. “This meeting is not being recorded in any manner.”

Will began, “When we were teenagers our parents accelerated their real estate investments. They acquired properties and grew faster than Hobby Lobby. Another local family enterprise. But they never paid a fair market value. Even for our neighbors. They used the Smucker Firm to undervalue properties, based on fabricated risks. Water contamination. Toxic chemicals. Drainage. Undeclared easements. Mineral rights. Fake cemeteries. The details varied but the outcome was always the same.”

“It wasn’t always that drastic,” said Nora Lee. “They weren’t criminals or anything.”

“They skirted the laws,” said Harper. “That’s one reason why they never talked about business with us.”

“And one reason why Harper and I have never been involved. Somehow cut-throat real estate deals were not for young women to discuss,” said Nora Lee.

“Even though our mother, Regan, had a long history of being ruthless. You know about fact patterns. When there’s smoke everywhere, someone’s hiding a match,” said Harper.

Jake Jr. smiled again. “I like you three.”

“Let me give you some more context,” said Will. “When the Smucker Firm said that a property was worth 50% less than other appraisals, the sellers got scared. Every time. They ended up selling for 40% of their asking price. The sellers didn’t know any better. Most local sellers were farmers who inherited the land. Some were old church properties with deacons who were well intentioned but clueless. The sellers were astounded by the growth in Williamson County.”

“But they were told that if they didn’t accept the Dawson offer, then the Smucker Firm would make those risks public. Then the sellers would never see a better offer. Not quite extortion. Not quite illegal. And of course there were never any records of those private talks. But the fact pattern got back to me. Frankly, the three of us have never discussed how our parents acquired their assets.”

“Mostly because two of us, as girls or women, were shut out of the damned family business!” said Harper.

“Also, because I got scared,” said Nora Lee. “We were told to share our opinions. But if I did, I got shut down. So, I retreated. Part of me still doesn’t want to know how they gained so much wealth in only 30-40 years.”

“I can tell you that. I studied them,” said Will. “When needed, our mother was the closer. But most of the time she leveraged the Smucker Firm. They fabricated risks used as leverage to buy assets at reduced rates.”

Jake Jr. leaned forward. “Who owns the Smucker Firm?”

Will groaned. “I don’t know. The CEO is an empty suit. I’ve asked Chamberlain but the old bastard never answers me directly. Our father was the more friendly face in business. And our mother was the greedy son of a bitch. Behind the curtain unless needed.”

“Take it easy, Will,” said Nora Lee.

“Why? We haven’t talked about them. Maybe today is the day to do so! We’re all adults. This meeting is in confidence. Right?”

“Absolutely,” said Jake Jr. “And you three have a fascinating story. Do you have any examples with evidentiary material, like deeds or email threads?”

“Yes, of course,” said Will. “That has been my role for the past 10 years. I manage properties after they acquired them. Here’s an example that was described in the Williamson Herald. Plenty of local dispute from bloggers. The bottom line up front is that our mother always gets more reckless when the stakes get higher.”

“Easy bro,” Nora Lee spoke quietly.

“I think he needs to know some details! Context. We need to bring some of these stories to the surface,” said Will. “Hear me out then you can decide.”

“Discovery. That’s why we’re here,” said Harper.

Will continued. “One of our neighbors owned 520 acres of rolling farmland, just off Cool Spring Boulevard. Before the mall was created, we used to ride dirt bikes there. Bicycles. Not motorcycles. It was one of the largest parcels in Williamson County. And it was one of the only times when they had to use a personal line of credit from the bank. She wrote the demand letter and terms. His name was used. Not hers.”

“Yikes,” said Jake Jr.

“Exactly. He was furious with her! And her private accounts were transferred to First Citizens Bank. To establish some distance from his risks. She kept spending. Like any addicted gambler. He could express frustration. Or his fury. But he could never manage her.”

Harper spoke up, “So, now we are like those sellers. We think we have assets. But we don’t know their value. And we can’t access the papers. None of us want to be her next target. We want to know our options.”

Nora Lee whispered for the second time, “So, can you help us?”

Still pleading.

Chapter 8

Jake Jr. ran both hands through his hair. Three times. That gesture bought him time.

“Well,” he said, in that stretched Southern drawl, “yes of course I can help y’all. Be glad to. What a fascinating family you have.”

He paused like an actor waiting for the next cue. Then he walked to the head of the boardroom desk.

“We’ll start with the basics. Here in Tennessee, when someone dies without a valid will, that’s called dying intestate. Our laws dictate asset distribution. In your case…”

“Spouse and children,” Harper interrupted. “We know. The closest surviving relatives.”

Jake didn’t flinch. “Right. But legal structures don’t always match the deceased’s intentions. That’s why a valid will matters. Any documentation? Estate plan? Drafts?”

“No.” Will’s voice was hard. “That’s problem number one. Remember?”

Shit. Did you not hear us the first time? Another empty suit. A yellow suit coat. We’re wasting our time here…

Jake opened his arms like a preacher mid-sermon. “So! No copy of a will means we begin with assumptions. If your father left no valid document- and I’m not saying that’s certain- then the spouse receives either a third or an equal share with children. Whichever is greater.”

“Because there are three of you,” he continued, “that could mean your mother gets a quarter. The rest of the estate gets split evenly between you kids.”

“We just don’t know,” Harper snapped. “So, we assume the worst. That’s why we’re here.”

“I’m confused,” Nora Lee said. “You said ‘whichever is greater.’ So, is it a third, or a quarter?”

Jake gave a politician’s shrug. “Can’t say yet. Again, that’s assuming there’s not a will. A big if. Box number one.”

Nora Lee leaned in. “What about Emily? His first wife?”

“Divorced and remarried? Then no. She’s not in his intestate line, legally speaking.”

Will’s thoughts moved faster than the shifting wind in the room.

At least Jake didn’t say ‘It depends.’ But what is Nora Lee fishing for?

“Has she reached out to you?” Will asked her. “Emily texted me yesterday. I didn’t reply.”

Harper rolled her eyes. “She’s not relevant. Lonely. Maybe a gold digger. Keeps Dawson as her last name like some sad identity badge. Lives alone with her cats.”

Nora Lee paused then spoke quietly. “She never remarried. No kids. That’s true. But she wants to stay connected.”

Harper stared. “Something you want to share, sis?”

“Maybe. Maybe not. I like her. We talk. She cares about us. About all of us.”

Will stared at the floor.

So, Emily’s been meeting with our baby sister. Gathering intel. Why? Is she angling for something? Payments? Position? Did Emily and our father stay close after their divorce?

Chapter 9

Harper pulled them back. “Let’s move on.”

Jake Jr. shifted his feet- ready for a second boxing round. “Right. Second scenario: there may be legal documents, but none of you have access. Box number two. That limits your power. Without a will, you can’t execute your father’s intentions, whatever they were.”

Harper’s fists clenched. “So, we’re screwed? Damn it all.”

Jake Jr. kept calm. “You believe a valid will exists. But you don’t have a copy. So, we begin where the law begins. With assumptions. In the absence of a will, the state steps in. If there’s a surviving spouse and three children, like all y’all, then you each get a quarter.”

“Unless,” Harper said, “there’s a will that says something else.”

Jake Jr. nodded, lips pressed tight. “Exactly. And we don’t know that yet. So, worst-case scenario planning makes sense.”

“I still don’t understand,” Nora Lee said. “You said the spouse gets a third. Now it’s a quarter?”

Jake Jr. raised a finger. “It’s whichever is greater: a third, or an equal share with the kids. In your case, four potential heirs, so one-fourth to each. That’s if there’s no will. These are fictional examples.”

Harper leaned forward. “And if there is a will?”

“Then everything depends on what it says. The details. Executor named. Beneficiaries listed. Powers granted. If it even exists.”

Harper nodded, her voice sharp. “Which brings us back here.”

Will scratched his jaw. “And what about his first wife? Emily?”

“She’s not part of this,” Harper said quickly. “Divorced. No children. No claims.”

Nora Lee shifted in her chair. “That’s not entirely true. She never remarried. Kept the Dawson name. And she reaches out.”

Will watched Harper narrow her eyes. “Is there something we should know?”

Nora Lee hesitated. “We have tea. Every few months. She cares about the family reputation. She asks questions.”

Harper snorted. “Sounds like intel gathering.”

“She’s lonely,” Nora Lee said. “That’s not a crime.”

Will didn’t speak. But the thoughts were already formed.

Nora Lee’s too quiet. That always means something. I wonder if someone else has a copy of the estate documents. I wonder if Nora Lee has taken a copy from Emily.

Jake Jr. stepped forward again, his voice quickening.

“Now. Back to the second scenario: a legal will exists, but you don’t have access. That seems to be your reality.”

Harper’s voice cut clean. “So, what can we do?”

Jake Jr. didn’t sugarcoat it. “Very little. If you can’t produce the document, you can’t assert its contents. Hearsay doesn’t hold in probate court. No matter how many times your father may have said something over a bourbon.”

“And what if he said he wanted to exclude someone?” Will asked.

“Still hearsay,” Jake Jr. replied. “Intentions are not legal instructions.”

Harper swore under her breath. “So, now what? We’re screwed?”

Jake Jr. didn’t answer. He just kept moving. Literally pacing like a man boxing invisible shadows.

“Best case? Chamberlain Law has a clean will, sealed, signed, dated. Written in sound mind and body. With witnesses. Names an executor. Lists the assets. Designates power of distribution. Those legal responsibilities are clearly defined.”

He turned to the siblings. “Did your father name any of you executor?”

They exchanged glances. Pauses. Each shook their head sideways.

Will thought of the mantra. Trust nobody. That fact sucks. He didn’t name any of us. If our father didn’t trust me to manage the estate, what else didn’t he trust me with?

Jake Jr. punched forward. “If none of you are named, the next likely executor is your mother.”

Will exhaled through his nose. “Of course. Shit.”

“She’s experienced,” Jake Jr. added. “Business-savvy. Ruthless, maybe, but probably capable. Most surviving spouses are named as the executor. Even if that person is struggling with grief. That’s why survivors are targeted by wealth advisors and insurance salesmen. Damned vultures.”

Will muttered, “She’s capable of doing whatever the hell she wants.”

Jake Jr. let that sit.

Then he said, “There’s a third possibility. Box three. If your father named someone outside the family. A friend. A firm. To avoid infighting. Or legal disputes. Or manage philanthropy. It happens.”

Harper’s voice was cold and slow. “Topher Chamberlain, maybe?”

Jake Jr. didn’t respond. He couldn’t.

Will clenched his fists beneath the table.

“There’s also a fourth possibility,” Jake offered, warming again. “Extended family. Uncle, aunt, cousin. Someone who knows the internal dynamics but isn’t at the emotional epicenter. Someone who can manage a family foundation. That can be ideal in high-net worth estates.”

“We don’t have extended family like that,” Will said. “Thanksgiving is a very small event.”

Jake Jr. gave a half-shrug. “Still worth asking.”

Harper said, “Huh? What about a family foundation? We’ve never discussed one.”

Nora Lee broke her silence.

“There is a family foundation,” she said softly. “I’ve been running it for six years.”

For the remaining chapters, go to www.Action-Learning.com

EPILOGUE

One month later.

A press release hit the wires:

The Dawson Family Foundation announces a new charter: focused on financial education, small business equity, and trauma recovery in Southern communities.

The board now includes all three Dawson siblings, with rotating leadership every two years. Plus, four independent board members with non-competing expertise.

A final clause stated, “We share the belief that leadership must evolve. Or it ceases to be effective.”

Back in Richard’s former office, two granite blocks sat on the Reliance oak desk.

The family motto had changed.

Will had engraved a new granite block with a brass plate and golden letters.

Protect our purpose. Trust each other.

Discussion Questions for your Book Club or family meeting:

1. About your family

When Richard Dawson, the family’s powerful patriarch dies without an estate plan, the heirs face a cascade of secrets, succession struggles, and long-buried grievances. For unexplained reasons, their mother Regan is absent. Loyalty is fragile. Memory is unreliable. Blood may not be thicker than paper… So, how is this plot similar or different from your family of origin? Your current family? Your desired family?

2. “Protect Our Assets. Trust Nobody”

These phrases repeat throughout the story like a heartbeat. How do they shape each characters’ behavior? Their relationships? Is it a legacy or a curse or something else…?

3. Family Identity and Roles

Each sibling (Will, Harper, Nora Lee) reacts differently to Richard’s death and Regan’s absence. They crave different things- stability, control, or peace. How are their roles shaped by birth order, gender, personality, or blind spots? What is unrealistic about their behavior? What characters do you relate to most, and why?

4. Inheritance and Power

The notion that adult siblings have no awareness of a $120 million inheritance is unrealistic. And not impossible. Would the story be less impactful of the inheritance was $1million or $10 million? What does inheritance mean in this story- money, control, memory, responsibility, or…? How do the siblings navigate entitlement vs. purpose? Dr. Jenn says, “Time is Right.” Do you agree?

5. Regret and Silence

Many characters- especially Will and Nora Lee- carry unspoken regrets. This story is only one week in their lives. What moments reveal their regrets and fears most clearly? Why do these silences persist?

6. Southern Setting and Expectations

How does the Nashville backdrop influence expectations for behavior, gender roles, and power dynamics in the family? How do the scenes in Monteagle contrast to the scenes at Hickory Ridge? How do the indoor and outdoor scenes contrast? How do music, food, guns, preppers, and religion influence these characters?

7. Emily and Regan

Compare the characters of Emily and Regan, two matriarchs with different legacies. And very different family roles. Matriarchs often lead family succession plans and wealth distribution. What do their choices say about survival, visibility, and emotional costs in this family system?

8. Real Psychology, Real Stakes

The author is a behavioral psychologist. (Some useful definitions are provided in the next pages for your reference.) Where do you see real-life psychology reflected in these characters’ decisions? Do the siblings develop psychological capital? How does their advisor triad (Dr. Jenn- process, Colton- wealth, Jake Jr.- legal) accelerate their behavior changes?

9. Bonus Question

What would you do if you discovered your family had no succession plan- but millions in assets and secret enemies within?

Some Useful Definitions with examples:

Active listening = a communication practice that requires sharing information until the speaker feels validated. Example: When Nora Lee asked, “Did he ever say he was proud of us?” and Will didn’t rush to answer. That was active listening. The kind that leaves space for reflection or truth.

Active owners = people with voting shares of an asset, including risks or rewards

Advisory board = a group of trusted advisors who provide advice to owners

Agency = an individual’s capacity to state important thoughts or feelings. Examples: Harper finally called a new legal team at Madducks Law. That wasn’t rebellion. It was agency, and perhaps long overdue. Will texted Dr. Jenn, and then Colton, and added them to the advisor team. Nora Lee reached out to Hannah, ventured beyond D-House, and brought a surprise guest musician to the Hickory Ridge dinner. Agency describes each character’s development.

Aspirational goal = a big, unattainable vision of a better future

Aspirational behavior = an exceptional, remarkable behavior from people who exceed expectations

Behavioral script = a communication model used to state feelings, undesired behavior, and desirable behavior

Business system = a description of how people fit into a unique system and deliver a valuable product or service

Complete communication wheel = a script with five parts: data, emotion, judgment, want, will, plus opening and closing questions

Conflict = a response to different data or perspectives. One conflict model describes the interactions between task, relationship and process. Example: The siblings have more relationship conflict than task conflict. They don’t disagree about money, because they don’t know much about money. But when Harper needed to fight for her son, Mason, all the characters quickly responded to that conflict!

Conflict management = the process of responding to others with degrees of assertiveness or cooperation

Constructive feedback =positive statements that focus on desired, prosocial behaviors

Culture = a model used to describe organizations, based on underlying assumptions, stated values and artifacts

Data = facts that are quantitative (using numbers) or qualitative (using images or words). Example: The distribution decisions are reversed to make some points about data. These siblings do not approve their parent’s distributions in G&G. They do approve of the distributions to themselves, the family foundation, and the well-being trusts. Those are each data points, facts.

Destructive feedback = negative statements that diminish others, and should be avoided.

Distributions = financial or equity assets that are managed and transferred over time. Examples: The Dawson siblings have had distributions for years. As Harper says, “We are not cash poor.” Their frustrations about distributions include the mysterious terms of the trust officers, location of the estate documents, and scope. They learn to trust Chamberlain. But they don’t have a clue about stewardship or future distributions.

Empathy = the capacity to understand another person’s perspective

External audit = an assessment process led by expert financial, legal or talent consultants

Family system = a description of how related people support their shared values and beliefs

Family capital = a dynamic social construct of shared values lived intentionally. Example: When Dr. Jenn introduces this term, the siblings realize that they have family capital. That it can change. That they need to be intentional together, to protect their inheritance and legacy.

Feedback =what others say or do that shapes personal learning

Fiduciary board = a group of expert advisors with financial responsibility for an asset

Fixed mindset = a belief opposing new ideas or behavior

Flow optimization = a behavioral model describing the balance between challenge and skill

Formal learning = the process of using content to demonstrate mastery of a skill

G2 = second generation family members, G3 = third generation, and so on…

Governance = a shared understanding for decision making, usually with written guidelines. Examples: The Dawsons had plenty of material wealth. But no governance. Like many Next Gen beneficiaries, they were anxious to discover the trust terms from Chamberlain. Then they quickly hired a triad of expert advisors- Dr. Jenn for process, Colton for finances, Jake Jr. for legal concerns. Those advisors may accelerate good governance, and smart decisions, for the siblings. Even for scary beneficiaries like the G&G, LLC.

Gratitude = the behavior of expressing appreciation for the good things in life

Growth mindset = a belief of openness to new ideas or behavior

Hope = the capacity to believe in the will and the way toward a desired outcome. Example: When Harper visits the shooting gallery, Big Mamas, she vents her anger by shooting at images of her husband, Jordan. Then she expresses hope for the meeting with Chamberlain.

Individual system = a description of how people integrate skills and talents into a uniquely meaningful life

Informal learning = the process of using available resources to develop a skill or competency

Innovation = a new idea applied using experiments

Leaders = people who influence the behavior of followers toward a positive vision. The core skill of effective leaders is public optimism. Examples: Will asserts himself inconsistently and needs to develop his leadership skills. Nora Lee and Harper need to develop their influence with their followers, Hannah and Jake Jr.

Learning journal = an individual or team reference documentwith key questions, definitions, and resources

Learning system = a description of how people adapt to new informationand fit into a unique family or business

Loss aversion = a cognitive bias that influences people to avoid any real or perceived loss

Managers = people who maximize the productivity of others. The core skill of effective managers is coaching.

Negative feedback =statements that describe undesired behaviors

Operational behaviors = the required behaviors from people who deliver a product or service

Optimism = the ability of individuals or teams to believe in a better future. Examples: When Will, Grady and Colton describe the preppers and G&G, everyone expresses fear. Then optimism. All three siblings call meetings and take optimistic actions.

Ownership system = a description of how owners assess and manage the long-term assets of a family or business

Passive owners = people with an interest in an asset but do not have voting shares

Perception of fairness = the shared belief that a fair policy serves the long-term best interests of the owners and rewards desired behaviors

Positive feedback = positive statements that reinforce desired behaviors

Positive regard = the deepest human yearning based on safety, connections and dignity

Positivity spirals = behavior thatencourages people to broaden their options and build solutions

Primogeniture = an ownership practice of providing harmony and continuity to the eldest son

Psychological capital (Psy Cap) = a personal or team development model which measures Hope, Efficacy, Resilience and Optimism. For convenience in this fictional novel the word “agency” was substituted for the academic word “efficacy.” Example: After Dr. Jenn introduces the concept, the siblings use those four words more frequently. They practice these four new skills, when using AI, learning about G&G, or protecting Mason.

Relationship conflict = a description of the interpersonal interactions with others, that often perpetuate negative behaviors

Resilience = the ability of individuals or groups to get through difficult times or circumstances. Example: When Nora Lee has another panic attack, and four people quickly support her.

Risk avoidance = the willingness to avoid one behavior

Risk tolerance = the willingness to do one behavior instead of losing another related behavior

Self-awareness = a personal narrative from assessments or feedback that should be reliable and valid

Self-deception = an inaccurate personal narrative based on low self-awareness or inaccurate feedback from others

Shareholder dynamics = the infinitely complex dynamic interactions between shareholders, each with a vested interest in real or potential assets

Social capital = a measure of the tangible and intangible relationships between people

Task conflict = a description of the information necessary to function with others

Triangulation = the communication practice of sharing information indirectly when it should be shared directly. Example: Every time one of the siblings asked, “Have you talked with our mother?” instead of finding Regan. Many families avoid direct communication. Just like the Dawson’s, triangulation perpetuates chaos.

Value-based consulting = a process designed to structure key relationships, results and personal behaviors

To discuss your Family Wealth Advisory concerns (e.g., succession planning, asset transfer, legacy, governance, philanthropy, communication…) or 360 leadership assessment consulting services, visit www.Action-Learning.com ASAP. 

Nothing is more urgent.

The post Sample excerpt from Legacy Locked appeared first on Action Learning Associates.

From the back cover:

They inherited material wealth. And chaos.

Will, Harper, and Nora Lee Dawson are heirs to a vast Southern empire. But when their father dies without a will and their calculating mother disappears, the family’s motto becomes a curse. Do they “Protect our assets? Trust nobody?”

Threats include legal ambiguity, AI manipulation, cyber predators, bizarre beneficiaries, and new advisors with contradictory expertise. To unlock – and protect- their family legacy, the siblings must develop new powers that their parents never taught them: Hope. Agency. Resilience. Optimism.

They have to do what they’ve never done before— trust each other.

FREE access is at https://action-learning.com/product/legacy-locked-book/. Use the coupon code crubne3q

Legacy Locked is more than a novel.

It’s a journey into the forces that shape what we inherit… and what we hide.

Gift #1: Watch this short video for two insights:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1HFukcIm_nceaOCPOEB80UFKK81nbkM_Y

Gift #2: Download Legacy Locked book now. While it’s still free. FREE access is at https://action-learning.com/product/legacy-locked-book/. Use the coupon code crubne3q

Because the only thing scarier than a locked legacy… is never knowing what was inside.

Gift #3: For secret content and videos join us here.

Gift #4: Get your free Next Gen self rater assessment here.

Please share these four gifts with your friends and colleagues.

And add book reviews anywhere…

hashtag#LegacyLocked hashtag#PsychologicalThriller hashtag#BookLaunch hashtag#UnlockThePast hashtag#DougGrayBooks

The post Read my new psychological thriller: Legacy Locked; A high-stakes family battle where power, money and bloodlines collide appeared first on Action Learning Associates.

Those blind spots can be avoided.  Most successful wealth transfers and succession plans occur when some third party expert facilitator supports the process- not the financial and legal factors.  

The Missing Piece in Traditional Wealth Planning

While financial and legal expertise IS necessary, they are NOT sufficient. This insight comes from decades of observing what actually happens in family wealth transitions.

Traditional approaches to succession planning typically excel at the easy details that AI can now provide:

• Creating tax-efficient structures
• Drafting comprehensive legal documents
• Developing sophisticated investment strategies

But owners and advisors frequently overlook critical components such as:

1. The psychological readiness for wealth responsibility – As I’ve written previously, “Next Gen leaders always question if they truly belong, especially if they joined through marriage or face complicated family dynamics. Many Next Gen leaders feel anxiety, loneliness, or self-doubt… and optimism.”
2. Family communication dynamics – In my experience, even the most brilliantly crafted estate plan fails when the family can’t effectively communicate about difficult topics.  Someone is likely to say or do the wrong thing.  Unless the process is expertly facilitated.
3. Leadership development beyond technical knowledge – As noted in my work with books, “Next Gen leaders need more than financial literacy. They need communication skills, emotional intelligence, and the ability to balance innovation with tradition.”  Those are dynamic skills.  Measurable skills.  And very coachable skills!
4. Thoughtful technological integration – When technology serves human connections instead of replacing them, even the most traditional family members can become enthusiastic supporters.

The Kitchen Table Council Approach

In my article “Making AI Work for Family Businesses,” I described the concept of a “kitchen table council” where multiple generations come together to solve problems collaboratively. This approach exemplifies what effective wealth transition looks like in practice. It is bringing together different perspectives while respecting each voice.

This methodology addresses the full spectrum of challenges facing family enterprises, not just the financial and legal aspects but also the crucial human elements that ultimately determine success or failure. This approach tackles all challenges for family businesses, including financial, legal, and critical human factors impacting their success.

The Four Pillars of Our Legacy & Wealth Leadership Approach

Based on decades of work with family enterprises, our Legacy & Wealth Leadership approach addresses four essential dimensions:

1. Individual Coaching

Next-generation leaders face unique challenges in assuming wealth responsibility. Our coaching helps them develop:

• Decision-making frameworks for complex situations
• Communication skills for difficult conversations
• Emotional intelligence to navigate family dynamics
• Personal clarity about their role in the family legacy

Next Gen leaders particularly benefit from structured peer environments where Family and Non-Family Business leaders can share experiences, expert practices, and gain clarity.

2. Team & Family Facilitation

Even brilliant individuals falter without effective team dynamics. Our facilitation services help family enterprises:

• Resolve communication breakdowns
• Transform destructive conflict into productive dialogue
• Align around shared values and vision
• Develop governance structures that stand the test of time

In my experience, the power of an interdisciplinary team of advisors cannot be minimized. It’s hard for advisors to ‘sing from the same page’ as if huddled around one piece of paper, but we can do so!  And the results can be a beautiful four-part harmony.

3. AI Strategy & Integration

Technology is transforming every industry. Our approach helps family businesses:

• Identify the right technological opportunities for their unique situation
• Implement AI ethically and effectively
• Use technology to enhance rather than replace human connection

For the past year, I’ve focused on how AI can accelerate leadership development.  In speeches and product demos clients have practiced difficult communication skills.   One client went to www.JITCoach.com and selected role plays and avatars, then practiced 14 times before her next family meeting.  The implications are profound for any individual or team leaders who are committed to professional development.

4. Family Office Structuring

For more complex family enterprises, comprehensive wealth structures are essential. Our family solutions help:

• Design integrated governance systems
• Create communication protocols that strengthen family bonds
• Develop decision frameworks that balance innovation with tradition

One of the most influential thinkers alive today is XPrize founder and MD, Peter Diamandis… [who shared] “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.”  I wrote about those changes for Family Business Consulting in the International best seller, 

Why 2025 Demands New Action

The coming months represent a critical period for family enterprises for several reasons:

• Technological transformation is accelerating at unprecedented rates
• Economic uncertainty accelerates both risks and opportunities
• Generational expectations continue to diversify
• The pace of wealth transfer is increasing as Baby Boomers age

Families who address these challenges holistically will not only preserve their wealth—they’ll strengthen the bonds that give that wealth meaning.Families who comprehensively tackle these issues will safeguard their wealth and reinforce the relationships that make it valuable.

Join Me for a Virtual Open House: Legacy & Wealth Leadership

If you’re responsible for family wealth—whether as an owner, Next Generation leader, or advisor—I invite you to join me for a virtual event where we’ll explore these topics in depth.

On May 22nd at 11am ET, I’m hosting a short “Legacy & Wealth Leadership” Virtual Open House. You’ll learn:

• Why traditional approaches to wealth transition often fall short
• Our integrated methodology addressing human dynamics alongside financial structures
• Real outcomes in both family harmony and financial returns
• Practical next steps for your specific situation

To register, visit www.nextgenpeergroups.com/legacy-and-wealth-leadership or email me directly at doug@action-learning.com.

As I often tell my clients, “Smart leaders don’t wait for the perfect moment… because they understand there is no perfect moment.” The time to address these critical family wealth challenges is now.

The post Why Family Wealth Transfers Fail (And How To Beat the Odds) appeared first on Action Learning Associates.

March 11, 2025

Adapted from a conversation with Doug Gray, PhD and Israel (Jon) Hillegeist on cutting through AI noise and finding real solutions

With so much noise surrounding artificial intelligence these days, it’s easy for leaders to feel overwhelmed. Is AI just another tech fad, or is there genuine value beneath the buzzwords? In this conversation, we explore how AI has rapidly evolved from a novelty into an essential business tool and why family businesses are uniquely positioned to benefit from its practical applications.

The Technology Adoption Lifecycle

Think about where Siri and Alexa were just a decade ago. People found them odd and creepy, resisting the idea of being recorded or having their preferences tracked. Fast forward to today, and these AI assistants have become so integrated into our daily lives that we interact with them as if they’re another person in the room.

The technology adoption lifecycle follows a predictable pattern. We’ve moved beyond the innovators and early adopters phase of the 1990s and are now firmly in the early majority phase, where 34% of users are seeking pragmatic use cases. We know AI works, just like Siri and Alexa work. People are using ChatGPT regularly because it’s faster, more reliable, cheaper, and can be confidential.

And who makes the best users? Small business owners and family businesses. They’re agile and adaptive, without the compliance requirements and legal teams that might say “no” in larger organizations. They’re curious about how AI can benefit their businesses.

How Families and Small Businesses Can Cut Through the AI Noise

For leaders feeling overwhelmed by AI hype with countless platforms being thrown at them daily, it’s understandable to feel a sense of AI fatigue. Rather than trying to figure out everything at once, it’s more effective to focus on specific problems you’re facing and then explore how AI might help.

Let’s take sales as an example. A two-year cross-industry study found that sales teams using AI-powered training sold 24% more than teams that didn’t. Most companies would go to extraordinary lengths for even an 8% increase in revenue. This represents a simple, cost-effective tool that eliminates the risk of salespeople learning on the job with real clients. They can safely master all personas, objections, and value propositions before stepping into the field.

Overcoming Fear and Resistance to AI Adoption

Fear often defines us. Whether it’s fear of geopolitical decisions, new technologies, or change in general, we naturally resist what we don’t understand. But when evaluating any new technology, we should consider three key factors: Is it efficient? Is it effective? And what are the outcomes?

Every specialized profession is facing disruption right now:

• Attorneys may resist robo-advisors
• Wealth investors might shy away from AI-driven investment strategies
• Organizational employees might fear automation replacing human roles

Yet every industry will be affected by AI in direct ways within the next 5-10 years. So why not overcome that resistance and learn how to implement AI in your business?

When faced with change, we typically respond in one of three ways: freeze, flight, or fight. We can freeze like a rabbit in the forest and try to ignore AI’s inevitable adoption. We can run away from it. Or we can fight—not against AI, but alongside it, wrestling with its potential until we master it.

If 45% of business owners are already using AI and your competitors are among them, the question becomes: why wouldn’t you use it now, especially if you had a secure way to do so in a closed system?

The Human Element: Why a Hybrid Approach to AI Coaching Matters

While AI platforms like Claude can help draft emails or prepare for difficult conversations, they lack the human dimension that addresses the emotional challenges we face. What if you could combine AI with human coaching to improve your ability to handle difficult and sensitive conversations?

Imagine practicing a difficult conversation with an AI avatar programmed to respond like the actual person you’ll be speaking with. As you rehearse multiple times, your confidence grows. Then, when you discuss your progress with a human coach who can address your internal struggles and provide personalized feedback, you’re getting the best of both worlds.

This hybrid coaching approach is three-dimensional rather than flat. The AI component provides consistent practice opportunities and immediate feedback, while the human coach adds depth, emotional intelligence, and personalized guidance that helps the learning stick.

[You can learn more about this hybrid program here.]

Real-World Applications

Communication capability makes a tremendous difference in business success. Strong communication skills in leaders allows them to put out “people fires,” handle employee conflicts, reduce turnover, and free up business owners to focus on leadership and maintain work-life balance.

Effective management hinges on the ability to have productive conversations around delegation, feedback, accountability, hiring, termination, and performance improvement. Developing these skills traditionally required significant time investment from the manager and trainee. Now, with AI-assisted practice, managers can rapidly develop these crucial skills through repeated role-plays and targeted feedback.

Another study showed that this approach improved management capability by 24%. For small business owners struggling with operational challenges, this represents a fast, cost-effective way to make significant improvements.

Getting Started with AI

For those excited about AI and already using various platforms, the key is to just begin. Experiment and dabble. Pick any platform—ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Poe—and start using it. The paid options ($20/month) generally provide better results.

If you have digital content—books, research, business documents—you can upload them to create a personalized AI that speaks your language. And by selecting privacy options that prevent sharing your content with large language models, you’ve created a confidential AI system for your organization that nobody else can access.

Many businesses are already using these tools for business protocols, operational processes, manufacturing, and marketing analyses. The question isn’t whether to adopt AI, but why wait any longer?

The future of professional development isn’t just AI or just human coaching—it’s both working together to accelerate your growth and success.

This blog post was adapted from a conversation with Doug Gray and Israel Hillegeist on practical AI applications for small businesses.

Interested in learning more about AI Coaching for Communication? Join the next edition of the Next Gen Leadership Series. https://www.nextgenpeergroups.com/the-next-gen-leadership-series

Doug Gray, PhD AuthorFamily Wealth Advisor | Business Change Management | Organizational Leadership | Assess Next Gen | Succession Planning | Executive Coaching

We wrote this conversation based on a short video recording… edited by AI tools that summarized us. Then edited by our marketing manager, Erin, who is a real person. We imagine that any leader, in any sector, can learn how to use AI in their business immediately. Reply or comment or connect?…. see www.JITCoach.com or schedule a demo

The post The Human + AI Equation: Practical Applications for Families and Small Businesses appeared first on Action Learning Associates.

By Doug Gray, PhD

Artificial intelligence dominates headlines with promises of revolutionary change, so it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the noise. But beneath the hype and buzzwords lies tremendous value that can be applied immediately—particularly for family business leaders, Next Gens and smaller organizations.

Cutting Through the AI Noise

There’s a lot of “hoo-ha” around artificial intelligence today. Open any business publication—Harvard Business Review, McKinsey reports, VentureBeat, or Forbes—and you’ll find endless articles about AI’s utility, examples, and trends. Terms like “predictive analytics” get tossed around without clear definitions. Can we truly predict the next word in a sentence or the next market opportunity? There are tools like Lex Machina and Bloomberg Law that can forecast divorce or succession risk.  But should they do so?  The ethical clarity isn’t always there.

What we call “artificial human intelligence” are essentially algorithms—compilations designed to anticipate the next word. You’ve experienced this already: when you type “How do I…” into a Google browser, it fills in the likely next words, based on your search history. This predictive capability has evolved from simple sentence search completion to sophisticated tools like Microsoft’s Copilot that can generate content, edit documents, and create personalized interactions.  AI learns from itself, which is why the default browser for Google has recently been replaced by Gemini.

The Rise of Customized AI

One of the most powerful developments is the ability to create customized AI systems. I’ve built what some call a “closed chat GPT”—an AI trained on my books, dissertation, research papers, blog posts, and website content.  I call it “Gray Matters” and share it with my clients.  When asked, “How would Doug respond to this situation?” it provides evidence-based answers drawn from that data set. Crucially, you can configure these closed systems to maintain confidentiality, which prevents your data from being shared with large language models.

Small business leaders can leverage this same technology. If you need to maintain client confidentiality for legal reasons but want to provide unique value to those clients, a closed AI system offers a perfect solution. This fact explains why there are so many chatbots on company websites—they’re cost-efficient and can provide consistent service 24/7.  Do you need to invest in Schwab or Fidelity or Vanguard?  Then you need to interact with bots before humans.

Digital Trust and Consumer Adaptation

Remember when Amazon first introduced Prime? Many doubted that package would succeed. Now one-click purchasing and “people like you bought” suggestions have become standard AI tools. These weren’t implemented randomly—they were based on extensive data analysis showing that buyers of one product were likely to purchase related items.

This example reflects a broader trend: we have developed increased digital trust in AI tools. Think about how you interact with Siri or Alexa—as if there’s another person in the room. These AI assistants weren’t part of our lives a decade ago, yet now they’ve become integral to our daily routines. Our expectations around AI are also shifting—we expect it to be personalized, always available, and worthy of our digital trust.

Accelerating Leadership Development

For the past year, I’ve focused on how AI can accelerate leadership development. The implications are profound for any individual or team committed to professional development. We can now provide 24/7 utility to confidential resources and interactive learning opportunities using AI avatars based on customized role-plays and scenarios.

Imagine clicking on ChatGPT repeatedly to gain insight into difficult topics: How do I deal with anxiety? How do I sleep better? How do I have a difficult conversation with a family member who’s resistant to dialogue?  Now, these are skills that can be developed through deliberate practice.

Years ago, when I asked Google, “Can you be my executive coach?” it said “Not at this time.”  Today, any AI platform—whether it’s ChatGPT, Claude, Grok, Poe, or another—will happily take on that role.

Our Hybrid Coaching Solution

AI can re-design executive coaching, leadership consulting, and transform your career.  Imagine using hybrid coaching that combines AI practice with human expertise. Let me give you some examples. 

A client named George wanted to develop better communication skills but didn’t want to ask his manager for help. Using our AI platform, George practiced difficult conversations repeatedly in a confidential environment. Then, when we meet for our 1:1 executive coaching session, George can share his screen and show me his AI interactions. I can provide feedback not just on the content of his responses but on his approach to learning.

This hybrid model works across professions. Imagine you’re a lawyer with clients who need to discuss succession planning, or a family wealth advisor helping clients prepare for difficult conversations with the next generation. These discussions require skills that many people haven’t developed.  Behavioral feedback can provide better analysis and coaching suggestions than humans.   When we practice new skills with AI, my clients can find the right words and approaches before having those crucial real-world conversations.

B2C and B2B Applications

I’ve developed two models for implementing hybrid consulting:  

B2C (Business to Consumer): Individuals can access a platform to practice scenarios like dealing with anxiety, burnout, difficult family members, or deeper questions about purpose and faith. For about $100 monthly ($1,200 annually), users get unlimited access to AI-assisted practice scenarios. That investment often delivers more lasting value than a couple of traditional coaching sessions at the same investment level.  See www.JITCoach.com or ask for a demo.

B2B (Business to Business): Teams and organizations can implement AI-assisted consulting to accelerate skill development. The data is compelling—sales teams using these approaches have shown a 24% increase in sales performance and 97% improvements in training retention. Compared to traditional online training programs that often show minimal results, this AI-assisted consulting represents a breakthrough.  See www.Action-Learning.com or ask for a demo.

The Bottom Line

Artificial intelligence has been evolving since 1995.   Now we have reached a point where it’s more consumer-friendly and accessible than ever. Just as you talk to Siri or use ChatGPT, you can now use AI-assisted consulting tools to accelerate your skill development, improve communication, and achieve outcomes faster, more effectively, and more affordably.

We will interact with AI-driven cars and live in an AI-enhanced world.  Why wouldn’t we apply these same technologies to leadership development and executive coaching?

Want to learn more about implementing AI in your leadership development? Contact Doug at doug@action-learning.com or visit action-learning.com to schedule a demo.

The post Leading in the Era of AI: Cutting Through the Hype for Real Business Value appeared first on Action Learning Associates.

Artificial intelligence (AI) dominates many conversations.   For some people, AI is a catalyst for innovation. For others, AI is a threat cloaked in code.

The Technology Adoption Curve model describes how tools such as AI have been adopted by Innovators (2.5%), Early Adopters (13.5%), Early Majority (34%), and Late Majority (34%).  That model begs my question: How can we measure our rate of AI adoption in Family Business?

Many younger people are more digitally trusting than elders and owners.  Some multi-family offices, RIAs, and consulting firms are designed to serve Millennial and Gen Z inheritors.  Advisors know that family business leaders must not only preserve capital—they must also preserve trust across generations.   

At the recent Attorneys for Family-Held Enterprises (AFHE) Spring Conference, I asked advisors to rate their own AI usage and fears on a scale from 1 to 10. The responses painted a familiar picture of curiosity mixed with concern.  One advisor quipped, “I’ve used ChatGPT to write emails, but I still don’t trust it with anything sensitive.”  I shared how to create a customized GPT that protects sensitive client information and does not share data with large language models (LLMs).   Another enthusiastic advisor described AI adoption as “table stakes” for maintaining relationships with Next-Gen clients, who expect personalized planning, 24/7 access, and digital transparency.  He is worried about retaining AUM from younger owners.

That tension—between confidentiality and innovation—describes the risks, challenges and need for change.  Here are some practical applications based on my AI consulting solutions that readers can implement.

Six Risks for Family Business Leaders

1. Data Privacy & Security:   All leaders must access and protect sensitive financial and family data.  Data breaches aren’t just costly—they’re unacceptable.  Every trusted advisor in every business sector knows that our fiduciary demands require closed access, digital firewalls, and the most robust multi-factor authentication security protocols.  I have heard stories of repeated multi-million-dollar attacks.  Countless Family Offices and business leaders are targets for cybercriminals because they have access to wealth.  We also know that inconsistent human behavior is a poor substitute for those AI-driven criminals. 
2. Over-Reliance:  Replacing human emotional intelligence with algorithms may feel good because of the dopamine surge, but it erodes relational trust.  I’ve heard clients say, “I interact more with my GPT than with people!”  Psychologists and clinicians have studied the impact of digital addiction for decades now.   We know that over-reliance on digital resources is a factor in anxiety, depression, sleep problems, obesity, neck and eye strain and memory loss.  In short, AI is not a substitute for positive human interactions.
3. Ethical Predictive Use:   There are tools like Lex Machina and Bloomberg Law that can forecast divorce or succession risk.  But should they?   AI-driven actuaries and healthcare data sets can now predict lifespan and health risks.  But should they?  There is no universal acceptance of the ethical boundaries that can be recommended to protect individual rights.  There is no acceptance that any government, tech company, or international community has defined ethical uses of AI.  The implications for insurance companies, health care providers, philanthropy and estate planning are rarely discussed.   We need to develop ethical boundaries for AI use.
4. Regulatory Uncertainty:   As AI applications accelerate, the tools always get faster, cheaper and more accurate.  Some regulatory agencies, including the SEC and FINRA, have developed guidelines.  But the bottom line is that AI applications are designed to learn from themselves, to improve efficiency in microseconds.  By their design “black-box AI tools” are secret.  They lack transparency and defy regulatory compliance.  We need to develop regulatory AI guidelines that resist bias and protect individual confidentiality. 
5. Resistance to Change:  In response to countless threats, humans have always adapted to evolve slowly.  We always protect our assets.  Some are inclined to say, “Yes, of course I embrace change.  You go first.”  Many solo advisors admit lacking the bandwidth to vet new AI tools or automate workflows.  One of my clients said, “I know I need AI scanning tools like Optical Character Recognition (OCR) someday- but certainly not during tax season!”   Thankfully, anyone can now use AI to design business templates for any possible change.
6. Talent Gaps:  We all make mistakes when we “don’t know what we don’t know.”  Did you know that there are some key competencies that are uniquely human and will never be replaced by AI?  Those competencies include resilience, humility, empathy, curiosity and learning agility.   When we identify how to assess and develop those competencies, then we redefine career and talent gaps.   Without doubt, AI is here to stay.  How we use AI will redesign all family business consulting.  

Consider the following examples.

Using AI to Re-Design Family Business Consulting.

1. Adopt AI-tools that scaffold learning, like micro-coaching sessions, or simulations.  One example is my AI-assisted communication coaching platform that provides confidential analysis and feedback using customized role plays.  Imagine selecting a role play like “sibling conflict” or “succession planning.”   Then select an avatar based on the interactions you anticipate or skills you need to develop (e.g.,  blunt,  skeptical, friendly, etc).   Then record your interactive learning.  Study the confidential analysis, feedback, and transcript.   Practice again and again.   We know that deliberate mastery accelerates skill development.   When I did a demo with an audience last week, they said, “This is incredible technology, and gets at communication– the heart of all conflict problems.”  Those individual, recorded sessions are GPDR and SOC2 compliant, and have been embraced by Korn Ferry, Spencer Stuart and Google.  Any presentation, interview or recoded content can be uploaded for analysis and feedback.   Imagine improving your communication skills with immediate feedback before meeting with a demanding sales manager.  One tech company found a 24% increase in sales when they used this platform.   Another large company trained 15,000 people in weeks, with a 97% training completion rate and high engagement scores.  See www.JITCoach.com or ask for a demo.

• Use AI to record meetings summaries, create action plans and task lists.   With permission from all participants, many host platforms (e.g.,  Zoom and Microsoft Teams) can provide summaries for any number of participants.  I have hosted webinars where AI Summaries (e.g., Otter and Fireflies) outnumber the number of human participants.  The value for busy professionals is access to the webinar content when they may be double-or-triple-booked.  The value to me as the webinar host is high quality, consistent distribution of my key points within minutes to those who want that summary.

• Use AI summaries as a personal development tool.  Self-coaching with “mirror, mirror on the wall” is not useful.  However, recording a private session on your zoom screen is an opportunity for assessment and development.  That recording can be stored on a password-protected thumb drive for security.  If uploaded into a private YouTube link, you can then click a button and see your transcript.  Any GPT can then edit your text and suggest changes.  If you want to be more assertive, the AI will provide a revised text.  If you want to be more emotionally vulnerable, AI will provide another revised text.  We have more access to behavioral feedback than ever before in human history. 

• One of the most powerful developments is the ability to create customized AI systems. I’ve built what some call a “closed chat GPT”—an AI trained on my books, dissertation, research papers, blog posts, and website content.  I call it “Gray Matters” and share it with my clients.  When asked, “How would Doug respond to this situation?” it provides evidence-based answers drawn from that data set. Crucially, you can configure these closed systems to maintain confidentiality, which prevents your data from being shared with large language models.

Small business leaders can leverage this same technology. If you need to maintain client confidentiality for legal reasons but want to provide unique value to those clients, a closed AI system offers a perfect solution. This fact explains why there are so many chatbots on company websites—they’re cost-efficient and can provide consistent service 24/7.  Do you need to invest in Schwab or Fidelity or Vanguard?  Then you need to interact with bots before humans.

• Use multiple AI tools to develop expertise.  If I ask Chat GPT “How can I accelerate succession planning for a family business?”  It will provide pages of information.  If I’m confused, I can always ask “Tell me more…” and it will do so.   But the quality of my prompt determines the quality of the response.   So, if I copy that first response and paste it into Grok I can then ask, “Analyze this document and suggest improvements.”  Then I can take the second response and paste it into Gemini to ask, “What am I missing?” and now I have responses from three data sources.  Like asking three colleague or three interns for their perspectives, the value of that final result is 3x better.  Consultants have always sought opinions from multiple sources.  When you add AI to your research the quality may be surprisingly good.  

Case in Point: A Next-Gen Shift

Consider a second-generation family CEO in Nashville, TN, who introduced AI-generated financial dashboards to quarterly family meetings.  The elder cousins were initially skeptical.  They embraced the dashboards—not because of the tech, but because the founder emphasized how these tools would reduce conflict and increase transparency.

The result? Fewer side meetings, more collaborative planning, and, surprisingly, more laughter around the kitchen table and the board room table.

Takeaways for Family Business Leaders

1. Start small: Try AI-generated summaries (e.g., from Zoom or Microsoft Teams, with client permission).   Edit them and share discretely.  Select an AI tool (e.g., Chat GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok) for searches.  Save it in your task bar so that you use it frequently.  Edit results from one AI tool to another, then select the tool that best serves your needs.
2. Engage your team:  Create internal cross-functional task forces with IT, compliance, and client experience leaders.   Focus on solving client problems, rather than cool new solutions.
3. Educate clients: Share how AI supports (not replaces) your professional counsel.  Solicit feedback on topics or services required by your clients.  Automate those services and continue soliciting market feedback.
4. Ask the trust question: “How does this AI tool deepen our trusting relationship?”  Clients stop engaging advisors when they perceive limited value.  AI tools can add significant value when used with care.

Final Word: Innovation is Now an Expectation

As fiduciaries, educators, and ethical leaders, family business advisors must balance technical advancement with emotional insight. Clients trust advisors who care—more than those who depend on AI. 

Doug Gray, PhD is the CEO of Action Learning Associates, author of The Success Playbook for Next Gen Family Business Leaders (2024) and creator of JITCoach.com. He specializes in leadership development, AI coaching, and succession planning in family-owned enterprises.

The post AI Adoption in Family Business: Balancing Trust and Tech appeared first on Action Learning Associates.

How to Assess Next Gen Leaders; Creating Competitive Advantages for Advisors and Family Enterprises

In this episode: Rod Zeeb & Doug Gray, Co-Founder of Assess Next Gen and a Consultant with The Family Business Consulting Group, discuss trends in both qualitative and quantitative assessments that are available, information for access to the assessments, and collaborators to help you if you need it.

https://www.theheritageinstitute.com/podcasts

The post Recent Podcasts appeared first on Action Learning Associates.

In two words: Regularly and Repeatedly.

The fact is that OKRs are a feedback process that requires regular practice.

Objectives are WHAT is to be achieved. They are qualitative, subjective, and significant. For instance, “increase revenue” or “decrease undesired turnover.”

Key Results (KRs) are numbers. They are 3-5 quantitative measures that verify the status of any objective. For instance, “increase recurring client sales revenue from $500k/month to $525K/month by the end of Q3” or “increase 1:1 performance reviews by 8% at all warehouses within 30 days.” ALL good business leaders use numbers to drive change.

I coined the phrase “OKR Leadership” because clients asked, “what really works?” OKR Leadership is defined as a process for managers and leaders to practice what matters.

Why do attorneys get to “practice” law, and physicians get to “practice” medicine, when leaders NEED to practice leadership?

Too many leaders are not effective. That’s not their fault. They have never been taught how to influence others toward a better future. They have not practiced public optimism. Those skills are complex. And they need to be practiced regularly.

For details on HOW to measure OKRs, WHY measure them, and WHAT you can do to practice OKR Leadership, read my new book Objectives + Key Results (OKR) Leadership; How to Apply Silicon Valley’s Secret Sauce to Your Career, Team or Organization (2019) or download a free excerpt from https://okrleadership.com/

Let’s keep it simple.

YOU can get started NOW. https://actionlearnin.wpengine.com/contact/

The post How should OKRs be measured? appeared first on Action Learning Associates.

Source: YouTube video is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcInhnMACMI

Summary

In this episode of The Leadership Toolkit, Mike Phillips interviews Doug Gray, Ph.D. about using AI to improve leadership decision-making without outsourcing judgment. Doug frames AI as a large library of digitized human learning and emphasizes using it to spark curiosity, generate options, and rehearse communication, while keeping human discernment in charge. The conversation also covers privacy and compliance risks of open AI tools, the value of closed (private) language models for organizations, and how assessment tools and metrics can help leaders make better decisions. Doug also shares a framework for navigating succession planning conflict in family-owned businesses by managing pace, space, and grace.

Key points

• AI as a “right-seat” tool: useful for prompts, options, rehearsal, and question generation, while leaders keep responsibility for judgment.
• Do not outsource thinking: AI output should be tested and reviewed before deployment.
• Define AI broadly: AI can be viewed as digitized human learning that makes vast knowledge accessible.
• Curiosity matters: asking better questions is a learn-faster, decide-better advantage.
• Use multiple models to reduce blind spots: compare responses across tools and ask it “What am I missing?”
• Data privacy and compliance risk: open tools can expose proprietary or personal information if training/data-sharing is enabled.
• Closed LLMs for organizations: a smaller, private model can keep information confidential and limit sources (for example, peer-reviewed sources like Google scholar).
• Organizational maturity: aim for the minimum structure necessary, scaled to the organization’s needs.
• Succession planning: conflict often stems from emotional history, not legal mechanics; facilitation and structure can help.
• Pace, space, grace: a practical rubric for managing succession planning conversations and reducing unnecessary conflict.

Transcript

Welcome to the show everybody.

My name is Mike. This is the Leadership Toolkit. As you know, it’s your definitive leadership growth podcast.

It’s your opportunity to tune in and get in with people that have done it and are doing it. They’re doing the thing that you want to be able to do so that you can grow and listen to their successes. Also, it’s always clear that we grow and we fail forward. We need to have open conversations with awesome leaders from all different verticals of business.

Today is no exception. I have got Doug Gray, PhD, on the show. He’s always been an outcome focused leader. He does leadership development, publishes books. His clients ask what really works. So, we’re going to get into that conversation today. So, nice to have you on the show today, Doug.

My pleasure. I hope it’s useful for folks.

Absolutely. So, if you would just take a moment and if you would kind of share your elevator pitch. What is your background in leadership? How did you get into it? And then we will have some conversation around that.

Well, I’ve always focused on leadership development. It’s the thread line. I’m in my 60s, so now I’ve got gray hair. Now I’m a business psychologist.  As a kid, I had formative mentors in Boy Scouts, I was an Eagle Scout, and then coaches. I played hockey and had coaches who were marvelous. That was mostly in upstate New York. And leaders included my family. I was born in Denver and moved a lot as a child. My dad was a Methodist minister for a while and then became an academic. When you’re exposed to different environments, you get different perspectives. In my 20s, I worked with groups of leaders as an Outward Bound instructor in wilderness environments. Then worked in private independent high schools, prep schools, for a decade, four different schools, different geographies.

I met my wife at a prep school in New Hampshire, we married 36 years ago and relocated to Minnesota where my roots were. Then we moved to DC for 10 years and relocated with her career down to Charlotte for 10 years and now we’re in Nashville for 11 years.

But my work focus has always been with business leaders. Started my company in 1997. How’s that for a summary?

Perfect. That’s interesting. So, you said, raised in Denver. I’m in Colorado Springs. You were brought up playing hockey. I played hockey for 20 years and coached for as many years.

As we get into our conversation today, I want to bring up your expertise. One of the things that I think leaders don’t do often enough, we get in and we’re working in the business. We’re working on all the things. We’re doing all the stuff. And one of the notes you put here said, “Hey, let’s talk about identifying threats and opportunities on your team.” I’ve heard that called a SWOT analysis, SWOT, strength, weakness, opportunities, threats. At what point do you get into talking about, you know, threats, opportunities, that sort of deal? If everything’s seemingly fine, why would we go there, Doug?

Well, the short answer to that model is that the strengths and weaknesses are at an individual level, and the opportunities and threats are at a team level, right?

Okay.

And you and I can’t control the opportunities and threats. So, what do you focus on? If you choose to focus on your strengths and weaknesses, that focus will suggest certain options and courses of action. For instance, my last call was with a vendor who wants to use an AI assistant coaching program that I developed.

Okay.

My second response to you is why not put into a cleverly written prompt on your favorite AI tool something like just “craft a good prompt for me to audit my business?”

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the leadership toolkit podcast hosted by Mike Phillips? Ask what topics should he consider and who are the guests that he ought to reach out to in the next decade?  List their contact names and topics and such. In other words, when we lead toward a larger library, we’re going to get different sets of data, different results.

As you can see, from my background, I’ve got a book problem. There are lots of books in the world. AI is just like a large library.

So, Mike, I’m going to throw a question at you.

Okay.

How do you define artificial intelligence, for instance, in three words?

How do I define artificial intelligence in three words? I need maybe need four words. Machine learning and instruction.

I love it. You did it. Well, thanks for playing.

There it’s three words in a symbol.

You want to goose your definition? I think we often think of tools like AI as something that’s machine driven. What if it’s broader? What if it’s human learning and what if it’s defined as “digitized human learning”? How broad is that? Evolutionary psychologists have that perspective. If you imagine a timeline and as a species we’ve been around for half a million years or so, and we’ve got all this vocal knowledge sharing that eventually was written from Sanskrit to everything we’ve got today.

Sure.

And suddenly all of that data can be digitized.

Now when you reach out and ask that large library questions like “how do you define leadership? What are toolkits for leadership? What really works? What’s a practical tool?” It’s like asking a larger library. I went to some of the finest colleges in the world. So, at some of the biggest colleges, I had access to tremendous libraries with rare books that are only accessible to those students and faculty.

Now, today, we have that access at our fingertips, which implies that we’re either aggressively learning or we’re lazy.

How do you know which one it is? Are we aggressively learning or are we lazy?

Let me ask you. How much do you use AI?

I use it for this show regularly. I will say I use it but and I use the word but sparingly. You can probably appreciate that with your degrees. I don’t think I’m ever going to have a replacement for genuine human interaction and learning.  I think AI can make a great right seat. I have it programmed on my phone my preferred AI still is chat GPT. I’ve used probably all of them because I do digital marketing for a living.  I’ve tested all the stuff. You commented a minute ago. You said, “Well, you know, pick your favorite AI and so forth.”

Yes there’s the opportunity to have a favorite AI, but there are also some real good niche models. You know, sometimes you might say, “Hey, yeah, this is my favorite.” Like I said, I prefer a chat GPT when it when I’m bouncing stuff off of that or I need a question answered or I need a thought to get started. But there’s plenty of times that, you know, the Google AI will work better on things or especially like with it tied into your email and so forth where it’s offering suggestions or that Claude will work better. There isn’t a replacement in my opinion for genuine, you know, human interaction and input. AI can be a great tool. You know, people fear it right now.

So, let’s not go to the fear-based side of our brains, our limit. Let’s go to the prefrontal cortex. For instance, that we can use it for asking questions like you first stated.

I think curiosity is the currency of learning.

If you use AI, for instance, to ask questions, you can also tweak the prompt. You can take a response from Open AI and put it into Claude or put it into Grok and put it into Perplexity and ask in each of those examples, “what am I missing?”

It’s kind of like asking four experts for some insights into a leadership toolkit. Pick your topic.

For example, you and I are of an age we’ll probably go on YouTube for “how to fix whatever…” I do that regularly. Then I go and attempt it. Most of the time I’m successful.

But our kids don’t do so.

They’ll go to OpenAI and ask, “How do I fix whatever?” In other words, their go-to now is the AI tools. We’ve now got AI browsers that are being piloted.

(The full transcript is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcInhnMACMI)

To discuss how “AI for Advisors” can be applied to your business, schedule a 15-minute meeting here or contact us today.

The post Leadership Secrets – AI in Decision-Making (Transcript + Summary) appeared first on Action Learning Associates.

As a kid

Born in Denver, CO. Then our parents moved 14 times in 4 states before I went to college. So, I learned to land with my feet under me. Eagle Scout who wanted to play pro hockey. College in NY and MN and NH. Multiple careers since then. Prep School teacher for 9 years at 4 schools in 4 states. Outward Bound instructor at 5 schools in 2 countries for 10 seasons. Expedition adventure racer on CBS Sports three times. Managed a non-profit for 8 years at a Quaker School that grew over 800%. CEO for hundreds of business leaders since 1997. Executive coach and manager at four F500 organizations. Family business consultant, created a 360 leadership assessment process. Dissertation research globally validated positive psychology protocols… The GRAY line throughout each career step is that I remain focused on leadership development. The best evidence is our two adult children. And our marriage.

1. Why publish these blog posts now?

I’ve got many articles, books, videos, pods online.

And I’ve got many more in my head that need to be shared.

Recently I read The Exponential Organization 2.0, by Peter Diamandis, which encourages all of us to write our Massive Transformational Purpose (MTP). Mine is to transform Next Gen leaders.

The largest wealth transfer in history is happening now- over $74 Trillion USD. You may know that over 65% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the US is driven by family business, which creates over 60% of new job growth. Those numbers are higher in different corners of the world, and the same two problems persist in every corner of the world.

1. Older family business leaders need to give up control and develop their multi-generational purpose or legacy.
2. Younger family business leaders need to practice new behaviors, so that they gain clarity about careers, succession, and the future.

Parents have the same hopes and fears.

YOU can help them by forwarding these posts to your friends and family today.

2. What kind of community do I want us to develop?

I’m a practical person who wants to share what works with others who want to transform their worlds.

3. Specifically…

I want to share my writing with

• Parents who don’t know how to lead their children
• Managers who don’t know how to increase productivity of others
• Leaders who don’t know how to influence followers toward a better future
• Consultants who need to know what really works
• Change agents and Dreamers who need a playbook.

If you’d like to discuss any of those topics, then you should contact me ASAP.

The post Why do I write? A short intro… appeared first on Action Learning Associates.

How to apply Silicon Valley’s Secret Sauce to your Career, Team, or Organization

Doug Gray, PhD, PCC

Action Learning Associates, LLC www.Action-Learning.com

Gray Publications Franklin, TN, USA

Testimonials

“Doug’s leadership training of the OKR process has been received positively by my sales team due to the coaching being simple, engaging and very effective.”

Terry Fortner, VP Sales and Marketing, North America LKQ Corporation.

“Doug Gray makes the complex understandable. More important, he makes it doable.”

Craig E. Aronoff, Ph.D., author, Chairman and co-founder, The Family Business Consulting Group, Inc.

“John Doerr’s book “Measure What Matters” describes how OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) transformed Silicon Valley. With this new book, Doug builds on the OKR approach with practical and valuable guidance for individuals, teams and organizations. If you plan on implementing OKRs for your organization, you need this book.”

John Mattox, PhD, author, Head of Talent Research, Metrics that Matter,

Explorance

“The top five companies in Silicon Valley have an economic value as great as the United Kingdom. They must know something. Doug has uncovered their secrets in his OKR Leadership approach.”

Jac Fitzenz, PhD, author, Founder Saratoga Institute and Human Capital Source

“Doug Gray provides readers with a ‘moment of truth’ concerning how we can transform lofty objectives into down-to-earth results.”

James Dillon, co-Founder, Emerging Step

“Introducing the OKR framework has not only allowed us to align our company goals throughout the organization, but it has also provided an easy mechanism to give visibility into how we drive operational accountability. That visibility now exists for both our employees and supervisors. OKR Leadership has encouraged broader and more in-depth conversations about the right key results to drive individual or team objectives.”

Justin Jude, Acting President, LKQ Corp, North America

“Doug’s new book challenges me to be a leader and to practice leadership. This book provides a practical framework that will make you a more successful leader.”

David Cardwell, SVP, IT Operations, F100 company

“Finally, a much needed leadership focus on the importance of clear objectives and specific, measurable results. This book will be useful not just for the present but throughout a practitioner’s career.”

Dave Vance, PhD, author, Executive Director, Center for Talent Reporting

“In his new and exciting book, OKR Leadership, Doug Gray shares how his proven techniques can help you move the needle to achieve the business outcomes you’ve been striving for. If you’re ready for a transformation, then OKR Leadership is a must read!”

Sheri Bankston, VP, Alliance Safety Council

“History is littered with the graves of organizations who had the right strategy but were unable to execute. Lack of execution is a very real threat to every organization’s survival. This is a very practical look at the OKR system to accomplishing results. Written incredibly clearly, Doug Gray has brought OKR Leadership to life in a way that would benefit any organization.”

Brian Underhill, Ph.D., author, Founder and CEO, CoachSource

Table of Contents

Testimonials

List of Figures by Chapter Preface

Chapter 1. Introduction

Examples. Definitions. Challenges. Assumptions. Dialog. History. Facts.

Chapter 2. What is OKR Leadership?

Dialog. Objectives. Key results. KR formulas. OKR worksheet. Examples.

Chapter 3. WHY do I need to use OKR Leadership?

Dialog. Competitive market advantage. ISO human capital standards. Leadership Trust Index (LTI). Follower Trust Index (FTI). Psychological Capital (PsyCap). Hierarchies. Aspirations. Confusion. Feedback.

Chapter 4. How do I practice OKR Leadership?

Dialog. Write and share your OKRs. Support the Vision and Strategy. Review at least quarterly. Use the AD-FIT^TM coaching process daily.

Chapter 5. OKR Leadership and career development

Dialog. Career lifespan. Career transition scoresheet. Organizational fit. Examples in your 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s.

Chapter 6: Family leadership and OKR Leadership

Dialog. Leadership skills. Family-owned business leaders. Role confusion. Succession planning. Cost reduction. Organizational change.

Chapter 7. What’s next?

Endnotes. Key points and questions by chapter. Fact Sheet. Glossary. Quiz. Digital resources. References.

Chapter 8. Resources. Endnotes

Key points and questions by chapter OKR Leadership Fact Sheet Glossary of OKR Leadership terms An OKR Leadership quiz

Digital Resources on OKR Leadership References

Acknowledgements

About the author Consulting services

Workshops, assessments, executive coaching and speaking services

List of Figures by Chapter

Figure 1.0 OKR Leadership Facts Figure 2.0 OKR Worksheet.

Figure 3.1 A new view of capital.

Figure 3.2 PsyCap and Performance Grid. Figure 3.3 How teams evolve.

Figure 3.4 Organizational network charts. Figure 3.5 History of management consulting. Figure 3.6 People require feedback.

Figure 4.1 Three elements of OKRs. Figure 4.2 Mission, Vision and OKRs. Figure 4.3 OKR life-cycle cadence.

Figure 4.4 Sample AD-FIT^TM Coaching Form. Figure 4.5 Sample AD-FIT^TM coaching outcomes. Figure 5.1 Career lifespan model.

Figure 5.2 Career Transition Scoresheet. Figure 5.3 Organizational Fit Scoresheet. Figure 6.0 Family-owned business leader roles. Figure 6.1 Sample family business leader roles. Figure 6.2 Organizational leadership model.

Preface

How do you keep track of what’s important when you watch sports? Well, you use a scoreboard. Or a timer. Or a finish line. You use numbers to measure what matters. Then you boast about your favorite scores. In short, you know who wins because you know who had the better numbers. This book is written for readers and leaders with the same kind of focus — you need to know what to measure so that you can win.

Similarly, when you drive a car, you stay between the lines to reach your goal. When you drive on an interstate, you somehow avoid risks while hurtling through space at 70 mph with only plastic and 6 inches separating you from danger. You trust that countless strangers doing the same will not hurt you or your loved ones. You trust your strange Uber driver. Even those who drive in Paris, France around the Arc de Triumph somehow avoid risk without lines to guide their driving. When you drive around your local roundabout, you somehow create safety amid chaos. How do you avoid those risks? You collaborate. You assess risk. You make smart choices. This book is also written for readers who need to avoid chaos and achieve outcomes.

When you manage others, you try to maximize their productivity (e.g., effectiveness, efficiency or outcomes). Some days – and some relationships — are better than others. Sometimes you make decisions that make money, reduce waste or create customer delight worth over $1MM. I’ve never met a manager who said, “Yeah, I’ve got all the resources required to excel. I’m all set with adequate time, people, technology, rewards, clear outcomes and metrics…” Yet somehow managers swallow their frustrations.

Somehow managers fight against ambiguity. How do managers like you succeed? You assess risks. You make smart choices. You adopt validated processes that work. This book is written for frustrated managers who need to achieve outcomes and measure results.

When I ask audiences, “How many of you are managers?” over 60% of those in attendance raise their hands. But when I ask, “How many of you are leaders?” only 30% raise their hands. Leaders are courageous and careful. Sometimes you raise your hand. Sometimes you sit on your hands. By definition, leaders influence the behavior of others toward a better future. Leaders tell stories from the front of the room. Leaders share public optimism. Do you collect data and anecdotes? Do you assess and recommend? Do you sell and deliver? Do you design and build? Then, do you step back to reflect?

Sometimes leaders ask, “Now what?” They think about What’s In It For Others, or WIIFO. This book is written for leaders like you who need to influence the attitude and behavior of others.

This Objectives + Key Results (OKR) Leadership book answers that “What’s next?” question with a validated process that you can implement immediately. Simply put, OKR Leadership is a process that enables managers and leaders to practice what matters. OKR Leadership can help you and your team win by achieving objectives faster, at lower cost, with less waste. It’s fairly easy to describe the OKR process, because it is an open source but deceptively simple process.¹ Definitions and examples of OKR Leadership are in the following paragraphs.

This book is written for leaders and practitioners in any-sized organization (e.g., public or private, new or existing, small or large), in any sector (e.g., business, education, family, government, religion, career) in any geography.

This book contains countless examples from my consulting practice, since 1997, with over 10,000 leaders. Examples help people create meaning. About 80% of these examples apply to business and family leaders, and 20% apply to personal or individual leaders. OKR Leadership is practiced at the individual, team and organizational levels.

My primary objective is to provoke you into practicing OKR Leadership immediately. I often say, “Action leads to learning.”

So, let’s get started.

Chapter 1. Introduction

OKR Leadership in a small business

Over 70% of the U.S. economy is driven by small business leaders. Every small business owner struggles with people problems and resource problems. They need OKR Leadership.

George was the CEO and third generation family business owner of a $50MM retail business with 80 full time employees (FTEs). His primary objective was to accelerate succession planning for the next generation of family business leaders. In his words, “I don’t want to screw things up.”

At a management meeting I observed that the managers did not describe their business using any metrics. I asked George, “Where are the metrics that these managers are using to drive their business?” He sighed with fatigue, like so many business managers and leaders.

Then George hung his head in frustration.

I provided OKR definitions and templates and a free course on OKR Leadership skills to the managers (see www.action-learning.com for details). Then I worked individually with two key managers.

One manager’s objective was to increase profit margins by 6% year over year. His first key result (KR) was to identify current measures for sales, expenses, overhead and profit within 30 days. His second KR was to distribute a one-page business summary to all other managers within 40 days. His third KR3 was to track and reward increased profit margins within 60 days. The result of his OKR Leadership was that he modeled accountability, transparency and business results for his team and the other four managers within 60 days. His department flourished and his career path was clear. Last month he reported the best revenue quarter in company history, and George smiled.

Sadly, the other 4 managers in their 75-year old small business were not willing to practice OKR Leadership. I encouraged George to hire one of his sons as a Director of Operations. He developed standards to drive consistency in training, job descriptions and product inventories. He also required all managers to provide OKRs. Those managers resisted change. One manager was encouraged to retire because his sales numbers were low. One manager was fired because he was unwilling to adapt to change. The other two passively resisted change as long as they could, then they were forced to practice OKR Leadership.

The point? OKR Leadership requires executive support from the business owner, George, and consistent practice from managers and leaders.

You can practice OKR Leadership in your career, team or organization today.

Definitions

OKRs are defined as a management methodology that helps people focus activity on the same important issues throughout an organization.² OKRs are a decision-making tool that can accelerate accountability and transparency. Typically, OKRs are voluntarily written by people at any level in an organization, and then shared “up, down and over.” Managers cannot write OKRs for their direct reports. When people at each level of an organization write and distribute their own OKRs, then they are acting like CEOs or CHROs. They are able to truly “own their business.”

OKRs are the secret sauce that drives the largest migration of financial assets and technological innovation ever recorded in human history to Silicon Valley, California since the 1970s.³ As such, OKR Leadership — a process for managers and leaders to practice what matters – is the secret sauce that drives transformational leadership, employee engagement and the next generation of management consulting.

We can define objectives as “what you do”— qualitative statements that describe both operational and aspirational needs. Objectives are not written from the top-down or bottom-up in any organization. Each person on your team, and in your organization, must write their own objectives. Examples of good objectives include ”Our team needs to increase new sales revenue 5%” or “We need to save at least $15,000 for our next family vacation.” Examples of sloppy objectives include “Our team needs to make more sales” or “Our family really wants to go on a vacation trip.”

Business psychologists like me know that objectives can increase agency (individual choice), employee engagement, desired retention, measurable innovation, and drive organizational transformation. For example, one objective for this book is to provide the essential tools for managers or practitioners like you to lead your organizations. A second objective for this book is to provide examples of how to identify risks or blind spots, and solutions for any individual, team or organization to win.

Key Results (KRs) are defined as “how you measure that objective.” KRs are quantitative statements. They answer the formula “as measured by” or “from X to Y by Z date.” An example is, “We will track gross revenue quarterly and reward new sales with a 1% commission incentive in Q2.”

In organizational leadership, KRs metrics drive desired objectives over time. Managers and leaders who apply OKRs to their organizations can accelerate outcomes in less than 12 months. To show you more specifically how to practice OKR Leadership, this book contains dozens of OKR Leadership examples from my clients in large and small organizations. One example of a KR for this book is to provide at least eight validated examples in each chapter.

By definition, an organization is any group of two or more people. When you and your partner or loved one work together, then you are in an organization of two people. When you and others work together, even if it is a messy process, then you are in an organization.

A team is any group of two or more people with a shared objective or scorecard. Teams are often described by their characteristics (e.g., virtual, direct, cross functional, ad-hoc, informal, and so on). For example, when golfing in a scramble tournament, your direct team of 4 players shares the objective of beating all other teams in the competition. All 4 players hit the drive, then you take the best ball and play from there. All team members share the same objective: to hit the ball into the cup with fewer strokes than players on any other team. Each team member keeps the score using mutually agreed rules.

But teams only win when they share objectives and leverage individual talents. And because that is such a rarity, most teams fail.

Challenges

Implementing OKR Leadership is a challenging process for at least three reasons. People resist change. People are aspirational and often confused. People require choices.

People resist change because no one, ever, wants to be controlled or changed. This is evident with any child who breaks a rule, or any adult who breaks a law. Ask anyone who is managed by a ruthless manager, or anyone required to read this book. Historians have documented countless examples of resistance to change — from the last merger and acquisition, to the first known acts of stealing or slavery. Understanding this resistance matters; it needs to be considered. For that reason, this book contains examples of how you can manage conflict, accelerate your career, and create meaning using new research in psychology. People will always resist being asked – or forced – to make changes. But OKR Leadership can provide choice (agency) for that universal tendency to resist change.

Second, people are aspirational and often confused. We get distracted. We stop — then start — then start something else. All humans aspire to create a better world. Ask any parent of a new-born child about their dreams for that child. Ask any business creator. Ask any team about their capacity to win, or any leader with hopes for his or her team. But how do you know if you are climbing the best mountain or pursuing the best objectives? We get confused. We require feedback and client validation. Our aspirations matter; they define us as individuals and drive innovation. Thankfully, people like you aspire to make big dents in the world. Teams increase your probability of making those dents even bigger. This book is filled with practical examples of how people reduce confusion, and how teams can win. It will show you how OKR Leadership can accelerate your team and create competitive advantages.

Third, people change when they voluntarily choose to act, not when someone forces them to accept a sales quota. Top-down hierarchical leadership models often reduce risk taking. Ask anyone who blames others, or who hates their manager. The ability to make a choice matters. People flourish when they choose to create positive emotions, better relationships, deeper engagement, meaningful accomplishments, and purpose in their

lives. The good news is that more people are flourishing today than ever in recorded history.⁴ This book is filled with examples of new research in applied psychology that describes what those people are choosing to do, and what you can do.⁵ Implementing OKR Leadership requires that people make individual choices and find meaning. It will allow you and your team to flourish in this same way.

Implementing OKR Leadership requires that you master two levels: 1) How OKR Leadership works for me, WIIFM or What’s In It For Me, and 2) How you can implement OKR Leadership in your team, WIIFO or What’s In It For Others. Leaders need to practice leadership. You need to look in the mirror and also look over the fence.

Assumptions for this book

1.  Leaders must practice leadership, just as physicians practice medicine or attorneys practice law. Ask any leader with a critical deadline or product launch or fear of losing their job… urgency requires leaders to know what works. Leaders must take action; they must assess and recommend because it is critical for humanity.

2.  Action leads to learning. Like any feedback loop, if your loved one states “Honey, we need to talk”, then you stop to listen. All humans aspire to create a better future for ourselves and our loved ones.

3.  You are capable of practicing OKR Leadership today. Nothing is holding you back. This book is a practical guidebook designed for you to accelerate your individual or team outcomes. You, dear reader, can do the work of practicing OKR Leadership immediately.

Why this book title?

Books with the word “Leadership” in the title outsell “management” books because few readers aspire to be managers. Yet every time I ask audiences, they confirm that they aspire to be leaders. This book is written for any reader or manager, at any level of your organization, who practices leadership. But of course, that doesn’t tell the whole story.

When I stroll through an airport bookstore, I notice the number of business books with expletives in the title. They are provocative. I understand that rage and emotional appeal may increase book sales, but I have no desire to be associated with such titles. The title “Leadership Matters” may be a declarative book title that reflects today’s zeitgeist – but that title lacks impact, and some description.

In March 2019, I was asked to speak at the Metrics That Matter (MTM) Symposium, filled with 150 delightfully nerdy people who spend their days applying metrics to business outcomes. The subtitle of the conference was “Building Your Impact Story.” Business impact examples included Mastercard, Aon, BP, Cisco, and TELUS.

My presentation was called “Measuring the effectiveness of coaching programs.” I shared with the group that formal learning programs, such as instructor-led classes, are

being displaced by self-directed adult learning and individualized coaching programs. Market demands shift like the weather or your favorite social media trending topics. A book with the title “Leadership Matters” may be a respectful nod to the MTM consultants and the MWM book, but that title is not very provocative either.

To that end, this book title, “Objectives + Key Results (OKR) Leadership; How to apply Silicon Valley’s secret sauce to your career, team or organization,” represents the urgent market demand for practical outcome-based solutions that managers, leaders and practitioners like you can apply immediately.

Why this book design?

This book combines fictional dialogues with nonfiction explanations in each chapter because that’s how our brains process data. Fiction defines our values and helps us create meaning. But we also create meaning with nonfiction.

I studied and taught literature for 13 years, because readers need stories to entertain and teach values like empathy. There are superb leadership lessons from fictional characters such as Hamlet, Celie, Odysseus or Hermione Granger. Then I studied and taught business psychology and management consulting for 21 years, because leaders drive organizational change. Nonfiction enables leaders to assess data and recommend actions. Just as each reader will process the same sentence in different ways, each chapter in this book contains fictional dialogs and nonfictional explanations designed to provoke you to practice OKR Leadership.

Each chapter is also designed to allow managers or academics or book groups to use this book’s content as an independent activity. A chapter could be the text for your case study or your training program. Some readers may want to skip sections, like the fictional dialogues.

Others may want to skip the summary of key points. Like any practical guidebook, this book is designed for readers to take what you need and skim the other content.

Each chapter typically contains these four sections:

a.  Key points, assumptions and definitions

b.  Fictional interactions

c.  Nonfictional explanations, validated practices, figures

d.  Summary of key points, central questions

The final chapter contains endnotes, glossary and a quiz, references, definitions, and digital resources for you and your team to practice OKR Leadership.

OKR Leadership examples

When I lead workshops, I often say that leaders practice leadership, just as physicians practice medicine and attorneys practice law. In other words, all professionals describe their practice. So, think about it: do you practice leadership?

Consider the following examples from two very different organizations.

OKR Leadership in a F500 organization

The first example highlights the process of practicing OKR Leadership in a large organization. One of my clients wanted to build a culture of fiscal accountability using objectives and key results. The president, Nathan, was an executive coaching client leading a $5B industry with over 8,000 full-time employees (FTEs) in North America. In only 20 years, their company had grown from acquisitions — resulting in silos of information and fiscal practices that required centralization. Nathan had read about OKRs, shared some objectives with his direct reports, and wanted to accelerate their adoption. In Q418, I delivered a 2-day leadership training program for his senior leadership team of 60 Regional Vice Presidents, Vice Presidents, and General Managers. In Q119 all participants in that program developed their OKRs and monitored their progress in team coaching calls with my associates.

In Q219, at the Leadership Summit with 700+ leaders in the audience, Nathan shared examples of his personal and professional OKRs. He stated, “As long as I’m in this role, we will adopt OKRs to drive fiscal accountability in our organization.” Executive sponsorship requires that leaders practice this kind of example-setting. After Nathan shared the state of the business, I led a 90-minute keynote session with some of the following content. Then I provided training workshops so that they could share OKR Leadership practices “up, down and over within their organization.”

These leaders quickly became frustrated; they realized that they needed to crawl and walk before they could run. They said things like, “We know what Nathan wants, but we don’t know what objectives are critical for our business,” or, “We are all using different data collection formats, from excel to power point to photos. We need to invest in an OKR software solution.” They wanted their managers to tell them what to do. But OKRs cannot be cascaded by others; they must be written by each person.

When I reviewed the over 300 OKRs submitted onto a SharePoint site, they ranged from vague items like “salespeople rebuilding” and “leadership development” to the ridiculous “smile more when I see my manager.” (Truly. I can’t make up this example.) Over the next 6 months, I provided 15 direct and virtual training programs to over 1,500 associates. I reviewed countless OKRs with senior leaders. The corporate university team created short instructional videos. They needed more education, but they also needed to practice OKR Leadership.

The results were uneven in year one. A corporate team found a $1MM savings within 6 months, because they could minimize expenses from vendors. One regional team found expense reductions in one product line that they could replicate in other products. One district team increased employee engagement scores over 15% within 6 months by increasing stay interviews (regular engagement conversations) from 40% to over 63%. One manufacturing team tried a new process and decreased costs over 300% in 30 days. Other teams are still struggling to apply OKR Leadership. The president, Nathan, recently said, “We are pushing boulders uphill. Fiscal accountability takes time. But we are showing measurable improvements every quarter.”

You may be wondering why I shared an example that doesn’t depict complete success. But it shows that OKR Leadership requires practice. You can apply OKRs in your large organization today, knowing that some will take time to take hold.

OKR Leadership in a family

OKRs aren’t just for business. It’s entirely possible to apply OKR Leadership within a family. Perhaps you have had the opportunity to teach someone how to drive a car. Many of us know that when the objective is to teach your child how to drive a car, the experience can be terrifying.

Imagine the scene: your objective is to teach enough basic skills so that your loved one can drive away safely. You start by teaching safety protocols like “wear your seat belt” and “always keep two hands on the steering wheel at “9 and 3.” You explain the functions of the gas pedal, brake pedal, gears and all those shiny buttons on the dashboard. Then you offer encouragement as your loved one shifts into gear and drives from 0 to 30 mph within a mile. Your key results (KRs) often follow that formula “from x to y by date.”

I myself have two children. One child drove from 0 to 30 mph within a mile. That caution led to a career mitigating risk in insurance. Our other child drove from 0 to 30 mph within 100 yards. That aggression led to a career in sales.

You can see how OKRs might work when used within the confines of a family. Like any team, family members typically struggle with communication and conflict. In the example above, I tried to communicate my expectations for safety, and to coach our children to avoid conflict. I used the AD-FIT^TM coaching model (which we’ll go into more detail on in chapter 4) to help our children assess their strengths and define their objectives. Like most managers, most parents struggle for a globally validated coaching model. The reason I trademarked the AD-FIT^TM coaching model was because my clients kept asking, “What works?” On good days, I am an effective family leader.

The point of this example? You can apply OKR Leadership in your family today.

Now that we’ve gone through some real-life scenarios, let’s consider a fictional (but realistic) one. How familiar is the following dialog to you and your team?

Fictional dialog

Scene: Breakfast meeting with friends, anywhere, current time.

Alice: I’m so frustrated. My manager just announced that the project we’ve been working on for the last 2 months is “no longer important.”

John: What?! I thought your team was mission critical. You’ve been recognized as one of the best managers in your organization. What’s going on?

Alice: I have no idea. Pete took today off because he is so upset. He’s been a flight risk for months. Both Nickee and Eduardo looked like they were sucker punched at the end of the day yesterday. I don’t know how to help them. I tried to ask my manager why the project was killed.

Karl: You’ve talked about your frustrations with him before. And your frustrations with your organization.

Alice: Yes… I do dump on you in these breakfast meetings. We recently lost a big client. We had some negative press after that scandal last quarter. We rarely meet revenue

projections. We have low engagement scores. And now my team is totally frustrated. I think I need to find another job.

John: Well, we’ve talked about how objectives and key results have helped people at my organization. You’ve heard me rave about our transformation in the last year.

Alice: Yes. You’ve talked all about how OKRs have been the “secret sauce” in Silicon Valley over the last 50 years, and how it helps managers and the people who report to them make smarter decisions.

Karl: That’s ridiculous. I don’t think there are any secret sauces in business. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither was Silicon Valley. This idea that the workforce is changing is greatly exaggerated.

John: I agree with you, Karl. We live in an age of social media hype and inflated claims. I think of OKRs as a management approach that works well with knowledge workers in technology organizations. No question about the impact there. And I think OKR Leadership is a bigger topic.

Karl: Huh? You mean there is a bigger flag on a bigger flagpole?

John: Yes. OKR Leadership is an outcome-based process that can help teams win. You can learn OKR Leadership. Leaders influence others’ behavior toward a better future. A process like OKRs can help managers track behaviors. Individuals can accelerate their careers or make more money. Teams can make smarter decisions that increase efficiency, or effectiveness, or achieve outcomes. Individual and team leadership matters.

Alice: Hmm. I guess I need to learn more about OKR Leadership. I need to know what really works.

Question: Which of these characters reflects what you are currently thinking about OKR Leadership?

Figure 1 summarizes some key facts. The complete OKR Leadership Fact Sheet is described in chapter 8.

Figure 1: OKR Leadership Facts

Objectives = What is to be achieved. They are qualitative, subjective, and significant.

Key Results (KRs) = 3-5 quantitative measures that verify the status of any objective with numbers.

OKR Leadership = A process for managers and leaders to practice what matters. OKR Leadership is:

1.  Radical for top-down hierarchical organizations to implement

2.  A bridge between silos (e.g., operations and human resources, regional and corporate) that need to share resources or collaborate

3.  Individually written by people at any level of a team or organization OKR Leadership is NOT:

1.  Tied to performance reviews, compensation or rewards

2.  A new fad or unvalidated approach to decision-making

3.  A “silver bullet” for every career, team or organization

A short history of OKR Leadership

Historians and psychologists study how we create meaning using our mental maps or rose-colored glasses. Want a quick example? Consider, for instance, how you respond to these four short phrases:

o  Social networks.

o  Power and influence.

o  Feminist.

o  Functional perspective.

You read the phrase, then you created meaning. Right? For over 4,500 years of recorded history, people have always created their own meanings when describing organizations.

Here’s another example. How do you complete this sentence: “In the beginning…”?

Your answer to this creation story question probably includes some hierarchy of social order. For instance, God created man. Men had power over women. Nobility had power over slaves. Property owners had power over workers. The golden rule was clearly understood: those with the gold ruled over others. Just as you created meaning when you answered the creation story question, people throughout history have always created social order.⁶

The field of psychology can be described as a subject with a long past but only a short history. The “long past” explored ancient questions such as “What makes life meaningful?” or “How can I provide a better life for my children?” The short history of psychology as a formal discipline is only about 100 years old, and the even shorter history of positive psychology is only about 20 years old. Positive psychology is defined as the scientific study of well-being and optimal human functioning.⁷ As a social science, most psychologists explored how people respond to adverse stimuli (e.g., war, disease, anxiety or depression). Then, in 1998, the American Psychological Association, led by Martin Seligman and others, reversed direction to explore new research questions such as “How do people flourish?” and “What can leaders do to create competitive advantages in organizations?” Today, applied psychologists pragmatically ask, “What really works?”

The “Father of OKRs” title is attributed to Andy Grove, the founder and CEO of Intel. Andy literally wrote the textbook on semiconductors in 1967, well before Silicon Valley, California attracted the largest migration of financial and technical assets in human history. Andy also wrote “Only The Paranoid Survive” in 1996, as a reminder of market volatility and the need to measure business details. His father was killed at Auschwitz, Germany, and he fled Nazism with his mother at age 20. Andy was trained as an engineer. He wanted to design processes that maximize productivity and innovation.

American inventor and venture capitalist John Doerr worked for Andy Grove. John wanted to learn how to implement OKRs at technology companies, and in other sectors. Then in 1999, John made an $11.8M investment in 12% of Google when working at

Kleiner-Perkins. The co-founders of Google wanted to organize data globally. When John introduced OKRs to Google, co-founder Larry Page said, “Well, we need to adopt some management approach.” The rest is history. I strongly recommend John Doerr’s best- selling book, Measure What Matters, (2018) for a dozen examples that range from the Gates Foundation to Bono.^8. Today, Google incorporates OKR leadership into all global decision-making. And Google is a $9 Billion company in 2018. Today, there are countless organizations implementing OKR Leadership.

By June, 2019, only 6 months after its publication, Measure What Matters had monthly book sales that exceeded $40,000. As described in Google Trends, searches for “OKR examples” increased from 0 in 2013 to over one hundred per day in December 2018 to coincide with the publication of that best seller.

Clearly, those book sales and search trends and organizations suggest a ready marketplace for validated processes that describe the secret sauce in Silicon Valley and management consulting.

The next three chapters discuss the “what, why and how” of OKR Leadership. Chapter five is designed for anyone in career transition. Chapter six is for anyone in a family or a family-owned business. Chapter seven is for trends and practicing OKR Leadership.

Chapter eight is for resources. So, let’s get started.

Key points from chapter 1

1.  Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) is a management methodology that helps people focus activity on the same important issues throughout their organization.

2.  Objectives describe what you want to do. They are qualitative and subjective. Examples of objectives include “Increase revenue” or “Reduce undesired turnover.”

3.  Key Results (KRs) are the measures of each objective. They are quantitative and measurable. Examples include “increase recurring client sales revenue from

$500K/month to $525K/month by the end of Q3” or “increase 1:1 performance reviews by 8% at all warehouses within 30 days.”

4.  Leadership is defined as influencing others’ behavior toward a better future. The primary skill of effective leaders is public optimism.

5.  Leaders practice leadership because it is challenging and critical for humanity.

6.  People are both aspirational and confused.

7.  You are capable of practicing OKR Leadership today.

Key questions from chapter 1

1.  What is one objective for your career, team or organization?

2.  What are 3-4 key results that you could use to measure that objective?

3.  How could OKR Leadership address the problems your organization is facing?

4.  What could be the ultimate goal of practicing OKR Leadership in your organization?

5.  How could implementing OKR Leadership benefit you or your loved ones?

Endnotes

Endnotes for chapter 1, Introduction to OKR Leadership

1.  See Nevin, P.R. & Lamorte, Ben. (2016). Objectives and Key Results; Driving Focus, Alignment and Engagement with OKRs. Wiley; Hoboken, NJ. On June, 2019, that title in Amazon book sales ranked #291 in Business & Organizational Learning, #227 in Strategy & Competition, and #464 in Strategic Business Planning.

2.  For 12 case studies and dramatic examples see John Doerr’s best seller (2019) Measure What Matters; How Google, Bono and the Gates Foundation Rock the World with OKRs. Portfolio/Penguin, New York. I have purchased copies of this book for clients because it is easy to read and validated by Doerr’s venture capitalism from Kleiner Perkins in Amazon, Google, Intuit, Netscape, Twitter and others. The Google Paybook in the appendix is well worth replicating in your career, team or organization.

3.  See details in Girard, B. (2009). The Google Way; How one company is revolutionizing management as we know it. No Starch Press; San Francisco, CA. Some fiscal impact examples are in Schmidt, E. (2019). Trillion Dollar Coach: The Leadership Playbook of Silicon Valley’s Bill Campbell. Harper Business: New York. On June, 2019, Amazon book sales overall #582 in Books, #2 in Business Mentoring & Coaching category, #22 in Business Management category, #36 in Business Leadership category. For an academic reference see Steiber, A. & Alange, S. (2013). “A corporate system for continuous innovation: the case of Google Inc.” European Journal of Innovation and Management, 16(2), 243-264.

4.  I often cite and give copies of this book to others. I strongly recommend Seligman,

M.E.P. (2011) Flourish; A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being. Atria; New York. Marty Seligman is described as a grandfather and patron of Positive Psychology, and a generous leader. I’ve met him twice at conferences and I have asked him about my research and trends in the field. I regard him as one of the most influential mentors in my career.

5.  See Dan Pink’s best-seller (2009, 2011) Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. Riverhead; New York. Pink defines three variables for knowledge workers: mastery, autonomy and purpose (MAP). Note that these three variables are not unique to knowledge workers in technology organizations. I recall consulting a safety leader at a new nuclear construction site (while wearing steel-toed boots and a hard hat). We used the MAP framework for the leader to design a simple hand-written spreadsheet on a clipboard with a yellow pad of paper. The leader quickly assessed his direct reports, then determined what he needed to say or do to manage each of his direct reports. For a similar summary of intrinsic motivation traits see David McClelland’s research on the need for affiliation, achievement and power.

6.  For an academic discussion of 11 perspectives see Theories of Small Groups, Interdisciplinary Perspectives (2005). Poole, M.S. & Hollingshed, A.B., Eds. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA. Great models that mirror many disciplines.

7.  See Seligman (2011).

8.  See Doerr (2018).

Key points and questions by chapter

Key points from chapter 1, Introduction to OKR Leadership

1.  Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) is a management methodology that helps people focus activity on the same important issues throughout their organization.

2.  Objectives describe what you want to do. They are qualitative and subjective. Examples of objectives include “Increase revenue” or “Reduce undesired turnover.”

3.  Key Results (KRs) are the measures of each objective. They are quantitative and measurable. Examples include “increase recurring client sales revenue from

$500K/month to $525K/month by the end of Q3” or “increase 1:1 performance reviews by 8% at all warehouses within 30 days.”

4.  Leadership is defined as influencing others’ behavior toward a better future. The primary skill of effective leaders is public optimism.

5.  Leaders practice leadership because it is challenging and critical for humanity.

6.  People are both aspirational and confused.

7.  You are capable of practicing OKR Leadership today.

Key questions from chapter 1, Introduction to OKR Leadership

1.  What is one objective for your career, team or organization?

2.  What are 3-4 key results that you could use to measure that objective?

3.  How could OKR Leadership address the problems your organization is facing?

4.  What could be the ultimate goal of practicing OKR Leadership in your organization?

5.  How could implementing OKR Leadership benefit you or your loved ones?

OKR Leadership Fact Sheet

Objectives = What is to be achieved. They are qualitative, subjective, and significant.

Key Results (KRs) = 3-5 quantitative measures that verify the status of any objective with numbers.

OKR Leadership = A process for managers and leaders to practice what matters.

OKR Leadership is:

1.  Radical for top-down hierarchical organizations to implement

2.  A bridge between silos (e.g., operations and human resources, regional and corporate) that need to share resources or collaborate

3.  Individually written by people at any level of a team or organization

OKR Leadership is NOT:

1.  Tied to performance reviews, compensation or rewards

2.  A new fad or unvalidated approach to decision-making

3.  A “silver bullet” for every career, team or organization

Why you could practice OKR Leadership:

1.  Align and connect for teamwork

2.  Track for accountability and transparency

3.  Stretch for amazing innovation

4.  Focus resources and commit to priorities

5.  Increased agency for individuals and teams

How to develop OKR Leadership:

1.  Practice a growth mindset

2.  Practice asking great questions 3: Practice sharing your OKRs

4.  Practice alignment

5.  Practice an accountability cadence

6.  Practice AD-FIT^TM coaching

Glossary of OKR Leadership terms

AD-FIT^TM Model. An evidence-based approach to positive psychology coaching or management consulting based upon (a) awareness of strengths and growth mindset, (b) defining a meaningful objective, (c) focus on the client’s agenda, (d) interventions and interactions, (e) takeaways, and (f) percentage of compliance to this model.

Coaching. A collaborative relationship or process designed for coachees to attain meaningful performance or business outcomes (Green & Spence, 2014).

Continuous innovation. The ability to renew an organization and to develop new products and business models.

Culture. How organizations function. Academics describe culture using three overlapping circles and label each circle as: 1) underlying assumptions, 2) espoused behavior, and 3) artifacts. 1) Underlying assumptions are the shared beliefs of an organization including history of acquisitions, traits of key leaders who get promoted faster, competencies of leaders with higher reputations, or those unspoken assumption you have about a market or colleague. 2) Espoused behaviors describe what we say we do, including common phrases such as “I’ll solve this” or “that’s not my problem.” Notice the difference between what we say we do, and what we actually do.

3) Artifacts are tangible symbols of the culture, such as a new national office for centralized services and consistent management of others. The cultural values posted in the lobby are artifacts of how you work.

Evidence-based coaching. The use of best current knowledge integrated with practitioner expertise when making decisions about how to deliver coaching (Green & Spence, 2014).

Follower Trust Index (FTI). The extent to which you think others in your organization trust you.

Key Result (KR). How to measure and verify any objective with numbers or data. KRs must be specific, time-bound, aggressive yet realistic 60-80% of the time, measurable and verifiable. For example, expectations for clients in my workshops include: KR1: All participants will develop 4-5 objectives (maximum). Each objective will have a different focus (e.g., operational or aspirational, business development, leadership development, career development, regional development, etc.). KR2: Each objective must have 3-5 (maximum) Key Results. These KRs must be specific, time-bound, aggressive yet realistic, measurable and verifiable.

Leadership Trust Index (LTI). The extent to which you trust the leaders in your organization.

Objective. What is to be achieved. Objectives must be significant, concrete, action- oriented behaviors and (ideally) 40% are aspirational. For example, expectations for clients in my workshops include: O1: All participants will develop 4-5 objectives (maximum). Each objective will have a different focus (e.g., operational or aspirational, business development, leadership development, career development, regional

development, etc.) O2: Each objective must have 3-5 (maximum) Key Results. These KRs must be specific, time-bound, aggressive yet realistic, measurable and verifiable. O3: Leaders who PRACTICE their objectives will out-perform others by over 100%

OKR Leadership. A process for managers and leaders to practice what matters.

Organizational characteristics. A broad range of factors influencing an organization e.g., values, organization structure, capabilities, leadership, performance and incentive system

Positivity. An integrated system of antecedents, processes, practices and outcomes that can be readily identified and agreed upon by diverse observers and stakeholders as uniquely surpassing standards of adequate functioning and adding sustainable value to both the individual and the context (Yousseff-Morgan & Luthans, 2013).

Positive Organizational Behavior (POB). The study and application of positively oriented human resource strengths and psychological capacities that can be measured, developed and effectively managed for performance improvement in today’s workplace (Luthans, 2002).

Positive Organizational Scholarship (POS). The study of positive phenomena at organizational levels. Four aspects of POS research include (1) adopt a unique lens (e.g., problems are not ignored but interpreted as opportunities to generate growth), (2) focus on extraordinary outcomes, (3) focus on growth and positive outcomes, (4) focus on the conditions for optimal flourishing (Cameron & Spreitzer, 2012; Cameron, 2013).

Positive Psychology (PP). The scientific pursuit of optimal human functioning and applied interventions that leverage human strengths (adapted from Seligman, 2002; Gilbert, 2006).

Positive Psychology Coaching (PPC). The practice of coaching combined with a focus on what is right, positive emotions, and signature strengths of a coachee (Biswas-Diener, 2010).

Positive Psychology Consulting. The application of positive psychology to improve a client’s condition.

Positive psychology interventions (PPIs). Intentional activities that aim to increase well-being through the cultivation of positive feelings, cognitions and behaviors (Green & Spence, 2014).

Psychological capital (PsyCap). A dynamic, developmental state, and a higher-order construct comprised of four measurable variables: hope, efficacy, resilience, optimism (the HERO-within acronym, Luthans et al., 2015.)

Digital Resources on OKR Leadership

Share these links with your team, organization, or book discussion group.

1.  For all individual and organization leadership consulting and executive coaching services see www.Action-Learning.com

2.  I created a series of short videos on OKR Leadership that can be found at www.Action-Learning.com > Free Courses tab on the header.

3.  For a keynote address excerpt, see the 3-minute video introduction to OKR Leadership from an address to over 700 leaders at https://action-learning.com/about/ 

4.  For 1.5 Continuing Education (CE) credits I developed a digital OKR Leadership course at https://www.illumeo.com/courses/objectives-key-results-okr-leadership-training

8.  For videos, workshops and bulk book orders go to www.OKRLeadership.com

Acknowledgements

Good leaders, like artists, copy from others; but great leaders steal from others and PRACTICE what works.

This book is a result of countless people practicing leadership. Some are listed below. Some are my family and friends and clients Just like you, all leaders influence others’ behavior toward a better future. These leaders have certainly helped me develop my practice. I am grateful beyond words. Thank you each for sharing your hopes and objectives with me.

The primary contributors for this book include my clients and colleagues.

Action Learning Associates, LLC, was founded in 1997 and has served over 10,000 individual and organizational clients in multiple business sectors. Confidentiality for those clients was protected in this text by using fictional names to protect their anonymity. You know who you are and what you have accomplished. Thank you for trusting the OKR Leadership process. Your successes are a result of your resilience and practice.

Colleagues who edited and provided testimonials for this text include John Mattox, PhD, Justin Jude, Brian Underhill, PhD, Terry Fortner, Craig Aronoff, PhD, Sheri Bankston, Dave Vance, PhD, James Dillon, Bill Ryan, PhD, David Cardwell, and Jac Fitzenz, PhD. Thank you each for your generosity and service to practicing leadership.

Colleagues who contributed to this text include Patrick McLean, Joe Baker, Chuck Scharenberg, Tom Lemanski, Deanne Priddis, PhD, Willy Steiner, Josh Bersin, Lonnie Morris, PhD, and Fred Jones, EdD. Thank you each for sharing your expertise.

Teams create products, not individuals. I appreciate the editorial services of Christine Moore, Dan Alexander and the team at NY Book Editors. I also appreciate the book cover and formatting expertise of Dane Low and the team at eBookLaunch. And I appreciate the graphic design skills of John Murdock. Thank you each for making this content accessible to readers on any device.

Doug Gray, PhD, PCC has always focused on outcome-based leader development. Occasionally he writes books because his clients asked, “What really works?” Doug has worked with over 10,000 leaders in multiple business sectors, schools and colleges, families and non-profits. Since 1997, as CEO of Action Learning Associates, www.action-learning.com, his consultancy guarantees results using the globally validated AD-FIT^TM protocol in workshops, assessments and executive coaching. Doug speaks and trains leaders throughout North America.

Doug and his family live near Nashville, TN, USA.

Consulting services

Workshops, assessments, executive coaching and speaking services.

See www.Action-Learning.com for all individual and organizational leadership consulting, family business consulting, training workshops, assessments, and executive coaching services

See www.OKRLeadership.com for OKR workshops, speaking and bulk book orders Contact Doug Gray at www.Action-Learning.com or 615.236.9845 today

Thank you for practicing OKR Leadership.

The post Objectives + Key Results (OKR) Leadership appeared first on Action Learning Associates.

Financial Capital is any investable asset – time, treasure, tithe or truths.

I’m not sure which form of capital goes first.

But I am sure that values drive behaviors. We love our children, and we would take a leave from work to care for our children. Right?

Recently one of my clients shared a story of a family that did just that. They rallied around a 2-year old fighting cancer. They re-designed work loads and scheduled care givers. They pooled money to support the healthcare costs. And last week they rang the bell- to celebrate! The nurses lined the hallway. The neighbors lined the street. The grandparents drove the car. The parents waved to neighbors and protected their immune-compromised child from any risks.

Values drive our behaviors.

I am also sure that most families share the same values: integrity, asset preservation, legacy stewardship, philanthropy, responsible service to others.

When I directed a non-profit summer camp program at a Quaker School near Washington, DC, I saw those values every day. Parents invested as much as possible to provide more opportunities for their children. That program grew over 800% because of their shared values.

Many of those parents struggled to support their children. They wanted to support their family capital. And they had limited financial capital. Just like you and I.

My experience is that most families struggle with financial literacy because they don’t discuss financial capital enough.  There is an endless need for family meetings to discuss cash flow and investing.

When our children were in Middle School and High School we had Sunday evening meetings after dinner to discuss the week, and financial matters. They were short meetings. The children led parts of them. They learned to live below their means. They learned that what their friends posted on social media was not always true. They learned to invest in compounding assets.

Now I facilitate family meetings for clients. Last Tuesday night I facilitated another virtual 90-minute family meeting. The patriarch, matriarch and a sister represented the Elders.  The Next Gens included 3 children aged 28-40 and one spouse.  Three wealth advisors provided content on retirement and investing options.  My role was to encourage the Next Gens to ask questions about Roths, IRAs, compounding, employee matching… everything needed for them to make more informed decisions. 

That was their second educational session and we will have at least two more in the next 4 months.  One breakthrough was when the daughter, newly divorced and single, realized more options from her employee match.  Another breakthrough was when one of the sons realized that as an independent contractor doing work for the family business, he needed to contribute more to his pretax options. 

As the children shared their takeaways the father was glowing with delight.  

Every Elder wants their children to make smarter financial decisions. 

Maybe Family Capital and Financial Capital go hand in hand.

Any thoughts?

Let me know. I’d enjoy hearing from you.

The post Family or Financial Capital- what goes first? appeared first on Action Learning Associates.

The myth is that outrageous Hollywood movies like Succession, The Godfather, Dallas or Dynasty are the norm.  The myth is that tax advisors are never able to minimize taxation, that estate attorneys are well intentioned but haphazard, that more wealth leads to more conflict.

The fact is that most wealth transitions occur quietly when there is shared understanding of decision making.  That’s called governance.

Good governance is the reality for ALL of my clients- or they wouldn’t hire me.

Good governance can be taught and developed.

Let’s start with two definitions. Then I’ll share 4 steps that really work.

There are two types of conflict:  Interpersonal conflict is usually bad, and Task conflict is usually good.  

Interpersonal conflict is based on emotions and should be managed carefully, even if you dislike that cousin who just said something outrageous.  But how do we self-manage? We are emotional animals driven by fears. Threats are everywhere. !Right?! Behavioral psychology research confirms that we think faster or slower depending on the stimulus and the situation. When I’m inclined to speak impulsively, I often massage the back of my head. Why? Because I want to slow down, think, and respond with care. We can all practice self-management. The oldest part of our brain is in the back of our skull. The prefrontal cortex, our executive center, is in the front of our brains. So, on good days, we practice self-managing to avoid interpersonal conflicts. (Or not…)

Task conflict is based on different understandings of information or roles.  When one cousin wants to invest in a new digital marketing program, and another cousin wants to invest in a new building, they will have task conflict. Task conflict is usually good because it may lead to innovations. I define innovation as “new ideas applied.” One reason for agendas and information packets before board meetings or family meetings, is to share information so that the participants can make smarter, more informed decisions. There can still be emotional moments- full of drama- but the focus of the meeting is on decision-making to address the task conflicts.

One reason for a facilitator with expertise in behavioral psychology (like me) is to minimize the interpersonal conflict and maximize the task conflicts.

As a species we all want to create order out of chaos. That’s why we construct processes, and (occasionally) organize our closets. That’s why we ask experts for advice. When we require a healthcare assessment we expect nurses to collect data, so that physicians using AI can diagnose and treat our evolving needs. Right? When we require a transfer of assets we expect attorneys and wealth advisors to assess needs in a deep discovery process, then recommend next steps. Right?

I organize teams of advisors to serve families because I know what works. Holistic advising is here to stay. And my clients deserve a team of experts. They also deserve a cleanly defined process. Something useful.

Here are the 4 steps in my Family Capital Discovery Process (based on my research and decades of consulting).  Think of these as 4 phases in any engagement together. Notice the verbs in bold font. Perhaps you can adopt these?

a.        Assess the current and future Family Enterprise ecosystem. I call these states the Now and the Next. Each ecosystem has unique history, values, legacy, stages, visions, and risks. A Family Business may generate assets, like a golden egg or a core business. And there may be multiple businesses over time, called a Family Enterprise. Think of Cargill or Walmart. Or think of the nearby franchise owner or car dealership in your city. Perhaps you know that over 60% of our GDP and job growth is driven by Family-Owned Businesses. How do you assess those unique strengths and weaknesses? Lately I’ve been using AI tools to accelerate that assessment process.

b.        Develop a Family Manifesto that describes the Family Purpose and reasons for working with multiple advisors. Most families have a verbal understanding of what the founder, Elder or owners want. When that verbal understanding is written and shared, teams can evolve. For example, in a recent series of meetings, I conducted interviews with the Elders, took detailed notes, and shared their asset map with the Next Gens. They had never seen one list of their capital and financial assets- and there were plenty of rumors! Finally, they were able to draft a manifesto that accelerated succession planning. After decades of avoidance and mystery, they were finally able to make crucial investment decisions. Four branches – over 50 people- were relieved. When verbal or unstated assumptions become written and shared, family businesses can evolve. That’s called organizational maturity. And that process is not too difficult. Perhaps you know a family that can benefit from a Family Manifesto? Perhaps you can accelerate that process?

c.        Define the four Family Focus Pillars. These are 4 critical questions used by families with over $50M in investable assets, who may have a Family Office to organize their legacy. (With credit to my friend Peter Vogel and his team at IMD). My experience is that these 4 questions can be useful for any family, with any amount of wealth. Perhaps you can answer them this weekend when you sit down for your next family dinner. Who we are? What do we own? How do we function? What is our impact on society and the environments and legacy? Yes, I’ve had these discussions with our nuclear family. Yes, you can do so also!

d.        Organize more effective work guidelines with a team of advisors. We all need a little structure at times. We can’t play football without yard lines and goal posts. We can’t have a swim meet without lanes and a timing system. I recommend the least amount of structure in the moment. Families need to evolve. The reason I wrote the Success Playbook for Next Gen Family Business Leaders (2024) is because clients asked me to do so. It’s a playbook of books, structures, and great resources. Perhaps you know someone who needs a little structure or a loving nudge?

Bottom line: Now you know what works.

Please share this post with those who would appreciate knowing what works. Your family, friends, colleagues, advisors.

1. One fact is that succession usually happens quietly, without conflicts.
2. Another fact is that good governance can be taught and developed.
3. Another fact is that we can each minimize interpersonal conflicts and maximize task conflicts.

Any thoughts or comments?

Let’s discuss. You can contact me ASAP using the link here.

The post Business Conflict Myths and Succession Facts appeared first on Action Learning Associates.

This Family Business Chaos myth assumes:

1. That fears motivate most human behaviors
2. That Elders need to restrict access to financial assets
3. That the Next Gen family members are unable to manage money
4. That advisors can recommend effective solutions

How silly. How sad.

Tragically, I’ve met “Family Business Consultants” who boast about $100,000 annual retainers to “manage the process.” They presume that family business leaders are inherently unstable, dysfunctional, heading toward chaos. With a wink they say, “And who knows when you will need me?”

How tragic and silly.

I call it the Family Business Chaos myth. In future posts I’ll share some more related myths. In this post, let’s look at each of these 4 statements in turn.

1. Fears do motivate most human behaviors. When we are hungry we eat. When we are threatened we fight. When we are confused or uninformed we create stories to “fill in the silence.” I recently heard about two Elders who anticipated a visit from their niece, whom they had not seen in 15 years. They created bizarre stories to explain the visit, from “she must have cancer” to “her husband may have abused her.”

In the same way, Elders often create stories to explain their kids and grandkids. It’s a delightful, ancient past time! When I visit Elders they may entertain me with stories, just as we drink lemonade on the porch. They often voice fears such as “she will never find a man who appreciates her” or “he couldn’t make money if we served it on a golden platter.” Those stories are entertaining. But they may be downright silly.

2. That idea that Elders need to restrict access to financial assets is ancient, and often based on some local precedent. We all repeat stories that reinforce our biased beliefs. Have you heard about our neighbor named Bubba who received a trust fund when he turned 21, then became an opioid addict? Confirmation bias occurs when we repeat desired beliefs. The fact is that most people with access to money learn to live below their means. They practice financial literacy.

Restricted access to wealth, or any resource, does not accelerate social change. In fact, restricted access can imprison people. Look at global slavery, work conditions, oppression of women or poverty. Restricted access may cause violence. Look at global divorce, broken families, suicides, loneliness, drug abuse.

Instead, what if Family Wealth Advisors actually shared their knowledge in a series of educational sessions? What if digital courses encouraged Next Gen leaders to ask questions about index funds, incentive trusts, donor assisted funds, IRAs, retirement, employee matches?

The #1 web browser is Google because people search for information. The #2 web browser is YouTube, because people search for answers. And they are both owned by Alphabet.

The fact is that Next Gens are digitally trusting, better educated than many Elders, and often want to develop more financial literacy. Just ask them!

3. The notion that Next Gen family members are unable to manage money is based on ignorance. Throughout recorded history, in every corner of the world, most assets are quietly transferred to the Next Generation. (Also called the Rising Generation, like a Rising Tide or a tsunami). If Elders are not able to teach responsible wealth management, then other advisors can do so. One positive outcome from the Certified Financial Professional (CFP) designation is that wealth advisors are better self-managed to actually serve their client interests. For many decades “financial managers” were incentivized by higher commission fees or transactional incentives from their product managers.

Throughout my career I’ve taught people how to manage their precious time, money, treasures and talents. Nothing is more important. Perhaps anyone reading or sharing this article shares that same commitment.

Teaching financial literacy assumes that Elders and Next Gens are willing to learn. When I facilitate family meetings, I encourage the Next Gens to ask questions, because curiosity is the currency of learning. When they ask questions, the wealth advisors can share resources. I also encourage the Elders to bite their tongues- which is difficult. They often want to share their values and knowledge. But our kids learn to swim from other adults, not from their parents. Our kids learn to golf from professionals, not from their parents. In the same way, when Next Gen leaders ask questions and learn, the Elders smile with delight. They are practicing financial literacy and seeing that “light in their eyes” when their children and grandchildren actually learn.

4. We want to believe that advisors can recommend effective solutions because we want to trust “experts.” We go to physicians when we require healthcare, and they diagnose and treat us. We go to lawyers when we require asset transaction or protection. For many years, when I asked Google “Can you provide some business consulting?” it replied “Not at this time.” Now over 40% of my clients use ChatGBT for business consulting. Immediately. I have copied responses from one platform, like Claude, to ask other platforms, like Perplexity, to provide more details. And recent studies confirm that some AI platforms demonstrate more empathy than “professionals.”

Let’s assume that advisors using AI will be more effective than those not using AI. And they will become even more effective next month. And every month thereafter. The best advisors are already using AI to provide more recommendations than ever for their clients. In seconds. Converging technologies, such as healthcare and AI consulting, will increase in power and provide even more value. Accurately. Imagine an empathic robot that suggests how Elders can bite their tongues. Imagine a hologram of the founders that can explain the values and challenges faced 50 years ago. Imagine a family meeting with 5 generations of healthy, opinionated owners instead of 3 generations.

Now imagine that one “family business consultant” can serve your legacy needs.

How silly. How sad.

The example of the $100,000 annual retainer from that winking “family business consultant” who says, “you never know when you may need me” could be a waste of money.

My experience is that the presumption that family business leaders are inherently unstable, dysfunctional, heading toward chaos is downright silly. It may be lucrative for those using retainers. But it ignores the reality that family business leaders can flourish.

Yes, I’ll address HOW to flourish in a series of future posts. Please share this post with anyone who might appreciate it.

And add your thoughts or comments on this post about the Family Business Chaos myth? This could become a discussion.

Better yet, contact me and we will talk ASAP.

The post The Family Business Chaos Myth You Should Avoid appeared first on Action Learning Associates.

After a recent client engagement, my colleague said, “I never would have asked about the topics you brought up- increasing 1:1 time with each child, and family meetings to discuss charitable giving. How did you become so damned smart about so many different topics?”

I stuttered and paused with embarrassment.

I do read daily, and study new topics on YouTube, I listen carefully to what people say, and I watch what they do. But those are skills.

The deeper questions are “How did I develop my interdisciplinary knowledge?” and “How can I encourage others to do the same?”

Here are some loosely chronological stories about how I developed interdisciplinary knowledge. Perhaps they will trigger similar stories for you.

I encourage you to consider HOW you develop interdisciplinary knowledge.

1. As a child I was expected to research answers from the set of books on the shelf, called Encyclopedia Brittanica. Long before wikipedia and digital tools, that was the preferred way to answer questions or settle disputes. My siblings were often more correct than me! We all learned to seek answers.
2. Multiple Elders challenged me to think for myself. The Boy Scout volunteers used merit badge content to reinforce new skills, and values like honesty and loyalty. Faculty members, who worked with my father, spent holidays with us and quizzed me on any topic- the power of compounding assets at TIAA-CREF, or the wisdom of building a private campground as a long term investment. I learned that adults may share their wisdom, and I may not agree with them.
3. That saying, “Never let schooling get in the way of a good education” is attributed to Mark Twain. It could have been a family motto above our doorframe. We were expected to attend schools.
4. At a large public high school in Clifton Park, NY, I was expected to take honors and New York State regents classes. I also elected to take AP Psychology and Sociology classes. And as a senior I left school at 1:00 each day to work at a nearby food warehouse to save money for college. I didn’t have a car, so my mother drove me there and back for a year. From her I learned to work hard and save my earnings. From those workers I learned that education could create opportunities.
5. When I enrolled at Hamilton College, in Clinton, NY, I learned that it was one of the Top 10 Preppiest Colleges in the country. In my ignorance, I created a survey for all the incoming freshmen and stuck it in their mailboxes to ask “How well prepared are you?” and “where did you attend high school?” I learned that a 40% response rate was strong, and that there was no significant difference between self-confidence and high school preparation.

The class size at Hamilton was about 10 students. We were expected to ask questions and respectfully challenge one another. In one mid-January class, 5 of us sat in the professor’s office while he smoked his pipe and we discussed the explosive power of humanism in the Middle Ages. When a different professor shared that she studied with the author of one of our books, I learned that authors are accessible. And that they often disagree! Academics of any age can and should challenge one another. Later I learned that there was no mandatory course of study at Hamilton. Students there are expected to be interdisciplinary.

5. After two years there, amid a family relocation and financial stress, I went to the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. Some of my class sizes were now hundreds of students! I learned that any undergraduate could substitute graduate level courses, so that’s what I did. My classmates were expert administrators or teachers. They all had strong opinions. I recall doing a project on creativity with a student who was also a professional videographer. Somehow we gained access and conducted interviews inside the public schools. Interdisciplinary skills were tolerated for entrepreneurial students.
6. My next few years were spent in applied leadership sessions, as an instructor in wilderness Outward Bound courses, backpacking expeditions in Wyoming and Montana, canoeing in Minnesota, trekking in England… Those seasons were great opportunities to observe how people experience stress, resilience, endurance, conflict. Then I spent years teaching English at four independent day and boarding schools. One prevailing lesson is that financial wealth does not protect people from stress or challenges.
7. My next formal schooling lessons were at Dartmouth College, in a program called the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies. We could study anything! So I explored the influence of landscape art in New Hampshire, educational pedagogy, feminism, equality, and social psychology. My thesis was a longitudinal study on Adolescent Risk Taking Behavior, because I wondered what led some people to embrace risks, and others to avoid risks. Perhaps I’m still collecting data on that topic!
8. My last example of formal schooling is called a terminal degree for good reason. After years of managing executive coaches, leading a nonprofit, and some time working in colleges, I knew I wanted to focus on applied psychology. And I needed to continue generating revenue through my consulting! In my 50’s. The Chicago School of Professional Psychology was a good fit for online content, with two onsite events to validate our identity and assess our knowledge. I loved the structure of weekly reading, writing, commenting. In the three decades since I had studied psychology, there was a sea change in research away from what is wrong with people (anxiety, depression, violence) and toward what enables people to flourish (meaning, engagement, relationships, achievements). My dissertation focused on Positive Psychology Coaching protocols that accelerate leader development. Yes, I’m still collecting data on that topic too!

That’s my listed attempt to answer the first question: “How did I develop my interdisciplinary knowledge?” In short, my answer is, by observing and reinforcing the strengths of others.

The second question was “How can I encourage others to do the same?”

I think each of us can say and do a better job of practicing interdisciplinary knowledge.

1. I encourage you to make your list of influences- formal schooling or informal lessons.
2. I encourage you to share that list with your loved ones. They need to know what you think and value.
3. I encourage you to share some of your examples in the comments below. Action leads to learning.

I suspect that when we are vulnerable about our interdisciplinary knowledge, then we are better practitioners.

What do you think?

This can become a discussion if you share any thoughts or comments below.

The post Interdisciplinary Knowledge for Better Consulting appeared first on Action Learning Associates.

Imagine that you meet someone like Crazy Cathy. She may not look like this image…

IF you had to work with her, now imagine that you had a cheatsheet like the following one… for key behaviors, her preferred communication style, and what NOT to say to her.

Behavior

•Creativity, spontaneity, and unconventional thinking

• Individuality and freedom of expression

•Unpredictable behavior

•Impulsive decision

Preferred Communication Style from Others

•Open-minded, receptive to new ideas

•Willing to engage in brainstorming sessions or unconventional approaches

•Exploration and experimentation

What Not to Say or Do

•Rigid structures or limitations

•Dismissing her creativity

•Not being sensitive

In my consulting engagements, I never get a cheat sheet like the one above. Who does?

One of the reasons I developed these cheatsheet notes (with my friend Richa Singh) is because we were presenting a workshop called “Consulting With Next Gen Leaders” at the Purposeful Planning Institute in Denver, CO, on July 30, 2024.

Another reason for this post is because we developed 10 more avatars.

If you want to see the others, or use them to understand the emotional complexity in your family system, then contact me today.

The post Crazy Cathy Needs Your Advice appeared first on Action Learning Associates.

I’m often surprised at what business psychologists know, that advisors could benefit from knowing and practicing…  This content is #1 of 3 articles.

Title: The HERO Model: An approach for Navigating Organizational Changes in Family Enterprises

All leaders and advisors struggle with Organizational Change.  How could our work be anything else?  Family enterprises are infinitely complex.  No one likes to be told to change.  We all bring our biases and adopt heuristics to reduce that complexity.   Attorneys say, “We mitigate risk.”  Wealth advisors say, “We leverage capital assets.”  Next Gens say, “We want to innovate.”

We all use heuristics (patterns for what works) to reinforce the structures that reflect our worldview for each family system.  One common example is the multidisciplinary views of capital, that include financial, social, human, family, legacy, and intellectual views of capital.   Those views of capital are resource-based, and the capital diminishes as we age.  In my final years, for example, I will forget people and information, and my financial assets will be invested into healthcare… just like each of our clients. 

What would happen if more practitioners adopted a more pervasive and universal view of capital? 

Social psychologists (like me) know that Psychological Capital (PsyCap) is a dynamic, validated construct that can be used to describe our clients.  PsyCap is defined as a construct based on 4 inter-related competencies: Hope, Efficacy, Resilience, and Optimism (see the APA link here, or read the book here).

As the primary author, Fred Luthans, recently stated to me, “PsyCap has and continues to take off across the world … I have over 166,000 citations of my research which has been awarded in the top 1% of all researchers in all fields in the world and ranks #1 in organizational behavior textbooks. In other words, I am very happy with how PsyCap research is going, especially in the global economy.”  (direct communication 9.5.24).

 The HERO model is more than a convenient acronym.  The HERO-within model is a critical approach that practitioners can apply at multiple levels- individual, team/ family, and organizational/ societal. 

I have applied the PsyCap model with countless clients for decades.  You can also do so!

Practitioners, by definition, need to practice new behaviors and share them widely.  My opinion is that practitioners have a fiduciary responsibility to practice both new ideas (innovation) and celebrate strengths (stability) every day. 

The purpose of these 3 short articles is to introduce the HERO model, like a new vocabulary term, and examples that can be applied by advisors in any discipline.  I invite you to assess how you can apply these practical examples with yourself, your loved ones, and with the clients you serve. 

Imagine that you are building a house with a garden that you hope will support generations of loved ones.  Hope is defined as “the will and the way” to build a better future (read the book here).   Every founder believes “I can build this product or service.”  Their hopes are often defined in founder’s history books or videos, vision statements, the stories told and re-told at gatherings.  Efficacy is the capacity to build that new house, to get the job done.  We all use blueprints such as values statements, family constitutions, charters, phased strategic plans for new projects.  Resilience is our capacity to respond to adversity by returning to the same or a better level.  Examples include our responses to global disease, market adversity, or loss of our loved ones.  Optimism is our choice to believe in a positive outcome, such as well-being for our children and grandchildren.  All four of these competencies can be measured, taught in under 90 minutes, and developed over time.  The PsyCap impact is more significant when all four competencies are measured (a second-order effect) than when only one or three competencies are measured. 

Here are examples for how we can accelerate PsyCap at three levels:  Individual, Team/ Family and Organizational/ Societal.

Article #1 of 3: The HERO Model applied at the Individual level

We all need to look in the mirror at times.  We all need to exhale.  All good leadership development models start with self-awareness and lead to new actions, so it makes sense to start this list of activities with assessments, then several new behaviors that you can implement immediately.  

   A.  Pre-Meeting or Annual Surveys.   For years I’ve embedded these 4 questions into surveys so that I can provide a summary of PsyCap changes over time.  Directions:  On a scale of 1 (low) to 10 (high) how do you assess each of the following?

                  1.  Hope.  I have “the will and the way” to achieve my goals.

                  2.  Efficacy.  I feel confident that I know what I need to do to achieve my goals.

                  3.  Resiliency.  I can get through difficult times or challenges.

                  4.  Optimism.  I am optimistic about what will happen to me in the future.

When I share the data, I also encourage people to use these four vocabulary words regularly.

   B.  Self-Assessments.  Individuals and teams can clarify values using free tools like https://www.viacharacter.org/ or https://www.lifevaluesinventory.org/

Personality and behavioral data including strengths and derailers can be assessed from https://www.hoganassessments.com/ or https://www.discprofile.com/

   C.  360-Assessments.   The most valid form of assessment is anonymously collected from others and focuses on the behaviors of family and non-family leaders.  See my process at https://assessnextgen.com/

   D.  Reflected Best Self activity.  When I ask 10-15 people to describe my strengths and weaknesses, those details can help me identify how I can be “At My Best.”  Our colleagues and loved ones may never have been asked to provide feedback or advice.  (See details at https://hbr.org/2005/01/how-to-play-to-your-strengths). 

   E.  Three Good Things.  The gold standard in social science, with over 100 years of research, occurs when a random sample population repeatedly has a significant result from an isolated behavior.  Imagine that you practice this new behavior for a week.  When going to bed, write down or state out loud Three Good Things that happened that day.  Simple activity, right?  If we measured your subjective well-being (happiness) daily, it would increase.  Related prosocial measures, like gratitude and kindness, also increase.  If you extend your Three Good Things activity into a journal for months and years, then you can ask your loved ones if they notice any results.  (read the book here).

   F.  Adopt a metaphor, such as building a new house with a garden where your great grandchildren can flourish.  When we “design a future self or future house” then we can adopt that metaphor and practice flourishing.  Ask any founder.  Or ask any parent.  When we hold newborn children, we always whisper our best intentions and hopes.  Why not do the same for yourself and your clients?

Time to pause… what do you think?

Article #2 in this series will focus on the team/ family level.

Article #3 in this series will focus on the organizational/ societal levels of organizational change.

Conclusion

Like every practitioner, I’m regularly reminded of how little I know.  I ask for advice, and read, and on good days I listen well.   Then I try something new.  The PsyCap term may be new to some readers.  However, the words “hope, efficacy, resilience and optimism” are ancient and familiar. 

If we embrace the HERO model for our loved ones and our clients, then we are practicing ancient wisdom, in a new way.  (See my riveting dissertation here).

My experience is that Psychological Capital describes family-centric values over a longer term than any other measure of capital. 

Please add your thoughts if you share that bias or want to continue this conversation!

The post How to Use the HERO Model appeared first on Action Learning Associates.

He stood there for so long that a gigantic security guard said, “You can’t just stand here.”

No response.

Then the guard said, ” If you don’t move along then I’ll have to fine you $100.”

Still no response.

Then the guard said, “What are you doing here? Where are you going?”

The positive psychologist smiled and said, “How about if I pay you the $100 and come back next week? I want you to ask me those two questions week after week.”

And so began the history of professional coaching…   

Yes, you can define a meaningful outcome for yourself!

Based on my research, here are the top outcomes for business coaching. Pick one or two.

Top business coaching outcomes:

o   Banking and financing

o   Board of directors/advisors

o   Branding

o   Change management

o   Communication skills

o   Compensation and benefits

o   Computer security

o   Conflict resolution

o   Customer service

o   Ethics

o   Insurance / risk management

o   Leadership assessments

o   Managing growth

o   Managing others

o   Marketing

o   Net profit

o   Operations

o   Personal finances

o   Personal health and well-being

o   Presentation skills

o   Safety/ workers compensation

o   Sales

o   Talent development

o   Time/energy management

Now what?

Find someone who can ask you those two questions: “What are you doing here? Where are you going?”

Any thoughts or comments?

The post A positive psychologist walked into a bar appeared first on Action Learning Associates.