Parenting
26Apr 2011
The importance of perspective is becoming more clear to me all the time. Perspective implies a viewpoint — a place from which we are looking at our lives and the world around us. Pick a specific spot, a physical location, that you have been to in your life. It could be a beautiful vista overlooking the Grand Canyon, the top
14Nov 2010
Last week I had the opportunity and privilege of being one of three facilitators at an event at Princeton University entitled, “Conversations about Family, Wealth & Philanthropy”. With my long-time friend, Doug Bauer (CEO of the Clark Foundation, formerly of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors) and my new friend, William Zabel (well-know estate planning attorney in NYC and author of The Rich
01Aug 2010
Sometimes someone writes an article, or gives a speech, that is noteworthy. Their thoughtfulness and manner of communication is remarkable. And you really can’t add much to what they have already said. But you want to share their thoughts with those important to you. Such is the nature of the article, based on his commencement speech to the 2010 graduating
21Jun 2010
This past Father’s Day was the first, as far as I can remember, since my oldest children (twins) were born 27 years ago that I was away from all of my children. I am on a business trip that carried over the weekend, so I am away from my family. On one hand, it was weird and lonely. On the
02May 2010
I have been “holding off” on writing this blog, partly for fear of sounding like Chicken Little (“The sky is falling”, “TV rots your brains”, “Video games are evil”) and partly for fear of sounding like an old fogie (“Things were better when we played dominoes by candlelight”). But I cannot hold my tongue any longer. Just today I received
15Apr 2010
Traveling a few weeks ago, I was reflecting on one of the professional activities I have done for over 20 years — testing students of various ages for possible learning difficulties (ADD/ADHD, dyslexia, learning disabilities). I realized I have learned a lot of lessons from the process — interviewing parents; testing students from 5 years old through elementary school, high
22Mar 2010
I just returned from a week in Istanbul, Turkey, speaking at a conference, meeting with families, and doing some sightseeing. And I was struck by the similarities of issues that exist half away around the world, within cultures that have incredible differences. First, I need to let you know that Istanbul is a beautiful, beautiful city with incredible history, architecture,
22Jan 2010
In the past several weeks, I have had the opportunity to interact with a few large extended families — both at a personal and professional level. And I have been impressed with some common characteristics I observed across these families, whom I view to be relatively healthy and functional. Given the bashing that extended families take in TV shows and
28Dec 2009
In my role as a family coach for wealthy families, one of the common issues that arises is the parents’ desire to be “fair” with their children and grandchildren. (I put “fair” in quotation marks because it really is an unusual term that is defined differently by many people and is almost totally based on perception.) For whatever reason, and
17Dec 2009
A “new tradition” is sort of an oxymoron. By definition, (“a long-established, inherited way of thinking or acting”), a tradition is some action that you have been doing for a while. But I believe it is both possible and helpful to intentionally create new traditions for your family. We need to recognize that families go through a variety of life