The Learning Space Blog

The Brain on Conflict

It was a sunny morning in April as I joined the American Bar Association’s annual conference at the Hyatt in DC. I was there to present with my colleagues Richard Alper and Jack Wofford, both are lawyers but more importantly, both are mediators. While trained in the traditions of the law, they each sought out the added skills to assist their clients reach settlements in ways to reduce conflict and ...   Read More

Selecting a Trustee

Finding the selection of a trustee challenging? Wondering about which qualities to look for in a trustee who will develop relationships with your spouse, children, and grandchildren in your absence? Will your choice serve your family well over the years, perhaps generations? Many make the decision thoughtfully, but without the benefit of first speaking with experienced trustees and beneficiaries. We ...   Read More

Anxiety and Leadership

If it is the second Tuesday in January, then it must be the Leadership Coaching conference in Rochester, New York. Each year I travel north to a meeting led by John Engels, the founder and innovative thinker about leadership, who is both a respected colleague and friend. This "new year tradition" serves the purposes of starting the year off well and providing a way to keep clients, ...   Read More

In the Presence of Courage

I traveled to the Harvard Faulty Club on Wednesday to be present as my friend and long-time colleague was honored for his years of service at Harvard and to mark his retirement due to the diagnosis in 2009 of dementia. Courage was in attendance as Charlie listened and then spoke to the approximately 120 guests assembled. Notable moments: The Red, Gold and Silver Bow Ties Charlie's thoughtful ...   Read More

What Was Heard?

The Application of Bowen Family Systems Theory to Family Businesses Consulting with Kathy Wiseman Feedback from Participants “So much of what gets decided in business is based on relationships.” On November 12, I presented a day of my thinking about how Bowen family systems theory has assisted in my work as a family business consultant. I encouraged the audience to think about how they go ...   Read More

Filed under Bowen family systems theory

Giving Credit Where Credit is Due

I like to give credit where credit is due. Shel Miller gets credit from me for an outstanding turn of a phrase. Shel is a PhD, who describes himself as a relationship builder. He ended up in a forwarded email, which led me to a blog he had written in 2005 about the fact that he was a "psychological event planner." The idea is compelling. I have been thinking about this since reading ...   Read More

Filed under Bowen family systems theory, Family

Trust in Families: Another View

Traveling provides me with time to think. Over the past three weeks, I have travelled to Texas, Tennessee, and Massachusetts to attend meetings on how to restore trust in families. Listening to the views of others has prompted me to explore the topic critically for myself. How do you build trust in families, who manage assets together? I have been working with families for the past 25 years, ...   Read More

Filed under Family, Bowen family systems theory

What is the Help that really helps

Though I’m not generally one for writing end-of-year-letters, this year I’m feeling the urge to weigh in – not with the usual list of places traveled or things accomplished over the year, but with a few thoughts that have come to me along the way. Thanks in part to my new young partner, Andrea Rubinfeld, who is asking probing, thought-provoking questions, I have been forced to examine more deeply ...   Read More

Talking to Your Children About Family Wealth--Simple Right?

Kathy Wiseman & Andrea L. Rubinfeld Working Systems Inc. “Nobody wants to talk about money. It’s like this big taboo always lurking below the surface.” -Jamie Johnson, Johnson & Johnson heir   You should talk to your kids about family wealth. There, we said it. Does that make you want to run for the hills? Scared to talk to your kids about family money because it could impact ...   Read More

The Ultimate Family Team Building Experience

Elaine, my first cousin, and I travelled to the desert 3 years ago. The desert is Palm Springs and it is the home of our mothers' brother, then age 87. Uncle T had summoned the two of us to his marble walled, marbled floor home to talk about three of his concerns: his concerns at the end of his life, where we could find his valuables once he was gone, and the details of his complicated ...   Read More

Filed under Family