Succession Planning: How important is education?

Succession planning is to family fortunes as scouting and coaching are to professional sports. It’s not merely prudent, but essential. One generation can forge a legacy, but it takes multiple generations to construct a dynasty. It requires the right people, preparation, consultation, education, and training. In short, succession planning is its own unique challenge—and it really is challenging. The adage “shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations” is not far off. According to The Globe and Mail, 70% of family fortunes are lost in the second generation, and over 90% by the third.

There is no single solution to ensuring successful family succession plans, which is why Think Tutors offers multiple services ranging from long-term mentoring and blue-chip internships to full-time tuition and cultural enrichment opportunities. Though wealth depletion can occur through taxes, inflation, investment volatility, and the natural dilution of assets once shared among heirs, the major problems besetting many family offices revolve around issues with communication, entitlement, education, control, and character development. That is why Think Tutors works closely with leading family offices around the world, designing bespoke full-time educational solutions for our UHNW clients. Our schemes of learning foster an ethos of hard work, providing unrivalled insight and preparation into the challenge of business leadership.

Bespoke Educational Solutions

Think Tutors can begin work with a family’s ‘next generation’ at any time, providing cradle to career opportunities in the UK and abroad. Working closely with leading nurseries, independent schools, and universities, we typically combine conventional schooling with internships, and professional and academic mentorship. To this we add bespoke, age-appropriate training courses on financial literacy, strategic thinking, communication, and business technology. Should a family prefer different arrangements, however, our industry leading live-in tutors, travelling tutors, and full-time tutors can easily accommodate such requests. Either way, we ensure that the next generation is introduced to the scope and scale of the opportunities and responsibilities facing them, while also ensuring they are supported through every stage with the best ideas, contacts, practices, and opportunities for their growth.

Young Leaders

To that end our Young Leaders programme offers a one off, highly unique, and exclusive service. It combines tuition, mentoring and academic advisory with real-world, relevant experiences. Designed for students aged 14-18, the course simulates the challenge of stewarding a multi-generational family office. Seminars, work-placements, one-to-one tuition, and interactive simulations provide an exceptional chance for participants to develop themselves personally and professionally, as well as make lasting and meaningful business relationships.

Contact Think Tutors

Whatever approach a family chooses, Think Tutors can provide industry leading solutions to support the entire family through the process of succession planning. Contact us to find out more.