Why Culture is the Hidden Force Driving Family Success
“We all want strong culture in our organizations, communities, and families. We all know that it works. We just don’t know quite how it works.”
The Big Idea: Cultural Capital
Peter Drucker famously said that culture eats strategy for breakfast. Matthew Wesley added that culture eats structure for breakfast. However you say it, culture is hungry. And for advisors working with complex families, it is often the most powerful force in the room.
There is no such thing as no culture. It is always present. It can be accidental or deliberate, but it is always shaping the family. As advisors, we can help clients see it, understand it, and make it more intentional.
Culture is about how we do things around here — and it is more powerful than rules.
Lawyers love rules because they love control. As an entrepreneur, I tend to push against rules because they remove autonomy. Many advisors struggle with culture because they cannot measure it, quantify it, or write a clause about it.
Imagine you and your spouse are leaving your seventeen year-old twin boys home for the weekend. One approach is to write down every rule you can think of:
No parties
No drinking
No bad decisions
You will never think of the entire list of ideas that seventeen year-olds can come up with.
The cultural approach is based on principle and trust. It sounds something like this:
“Act in the best interests of our family while we are gone — and remember it takes a lifetime to build trust and one moment to lose it.”
Putting It Into Practice
One of the easiest ways to introduce cultural capital to clients is through rituals and traditions. These questions help families surface the practices that already shape their culture:
What family tradition brings you the most joy?
(For example, a religious ceremony that everyone attends)What is your favorite ritual associated with a major holiday?
(For example, alternating which child puts the star on the Christmas tree)What sayings do you hope your great-grandchildren will still be repeating?
(For example, how you do one thing is how you do everything)
These are powerful conversations for clients to have. They can document these inside FamilyOS or in their own way, but great cultures need to be recorded in order to guide future generations.
Content Worth Exploring More
No Rules Rules — Reed Hastings
This book offers an exceptional look at the culture that shaped Netflix and is filled with lessons that translate directly to families and advisory firms.
One standout principle is this:
“Act in Netflix’s best interest.”
When people are trusted with freedom and judgment rather than rigid process, decision making becomes faster and trust becomes stronger.
The Visionary Advisor Podcast
In our most recent episode, Jay Hughes returns to the Visionary Advisor Podcast to discuss wealth as well-being and why financial capital exists to support a family’s human, social, intellectual, and cultural capitals.
We explore the purpose of family meetings, engaging the rising generation, and how advisors can help families flourish beyond the balance sheet.
If you are serious about legacy work, this conversation is foundational.
