Just in time for summer: More books that inspired Canadian advisors
These tomes, both new and classic, helped them build on their careers and make sense of the world
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The best advisors stay abreast of new ideas and best practices in their field. This most recent batch of books recommended by family office advisors and other experts is a mix of the new — a fresh tome from Canada’s godfather of family offices, for instance – and classics that advisors return to time and again for advice.
After you check these out, you can look back at our first, second and third instalments in the series.
Judi Cunningham, founder and consultant, Trella Advisory Group, Toronto
• Transitioning From the Top: Personal Continuity Planning for the Retiring Family Business Leader (by Stephanie Brun de Pontet): As we all know, we are in the largest transition of assets in history. As family enterprises prepare for this transition, there is a predominant focus on the readiness of the rising generation. While ensuring the success of the new leaders is paramount, it is imperative that the retiring senior generation leaders exit well. This book takes a deep dive into the personal and practical challenges facing the exiting generation and assists with identifying skills and passions that they can leverage once they exit. It is common for leaders to enmesh their sense of self and identity with their profession. Along with stories of former exiting leaders, the author offers tips and tools to help exiting leaders plan for their own personal continuity and discover new ways to redefine themselves and create meaning and purpose in the next phase of their lives.
• Wealth of Wisdom: Top Practices for Wealthy Families and Their Advisors (by Tom McCullough and Keith Whitaker): A fantastic tool for both families and advisors alike. The authors have reached out to a group of prominent advisors from the family wealth field to write a chapter on a common topic or challenge that families of wealth typically face. Each chapter follows a similar format: summary of the recommended practice, tool or exercise, the process for using it, expected outcomes from using it, a case example, and some additional readings on the topic. There are a total of 62 different exercises or tools throughout the book, making this a useful and practical read. The book operates as a reference tool that can be utilized as issues and challenges arise. Readers can jump around to relevant topics as needed or they can read it in order. This is a highly useful book and a great read for families and advisors.
• Families and Faith: How Religion is Passed Down Across Generations (by Vern L. Bengtson): While living and working in the U.S. with large multigenerational families, one of the most frequent issues I encountered in families was the sadness and disappointment among the senior generation when family members in the rising generation did not express their spirituality under the same religious faith. Some families attempted to mandate religion if members wanted access to financial assets, while others just hoped that faith and religion would be embraced and continued. This book is based on a 35-year longitudinal research study on how religion can be passed across generations. It is a fascinating study that explores how families and religion have changed over the past 100 years and the factors and instances that may help with the transmission of religion.
Steve Ivacko, partner, Family Office Services, MNP, Vancouver
• Trustworthy: New Angles on Trusts From Beneficiaries and Trustees (by Hartley Goldstone and Kathy Wiseman): For me, while the book Family Trusts: A Guide for Beneficiaries, Trustees, Trust Protectors and Trust Creators is the definitive tome on the subject, Trustworthy is a more bite-sized and equally great offering. Shorter and more casual, it contains many great real-life examples of how successful (and not so successful) trusts and their beneficiaries have interacted. Today the aim for many trust creators is usually control and some form of tax savings. Often, not enough thought is put in to whom the subsequent trustees will be, how will they work with the beneficiaries of the trust, and how the beneficiaries will work with the trustees. This book balances the scale between what the creators, trustees and beneficiaries each need to do to attain a higher probability of success.
• What Got You Here Won’t Get You There (by Marshall Goldsmith): I was originally introduced to this book in my Family Enterprise Advisor (FEA) course by one of my classmates. It’s a great reminder that there’s no guarantee of success going forward, no matter how much success one has had previously. Whether it’s business owners who are moving up the ladder, or those who have sold and are starting a new (ad)venture, we often need different tools to be successful again, especially if we rely on history to dictate the future. It’s often the habits that made us successful that end up holding us back as we push ahead, and this book reminded me that sometimes I can be my own worst enemy. It has a lot of great, simple and practical tips to help us get out of our own way, and it reminds us that we need to be lifelong learners.
Allison Comeau, chief operations officer, Grayhawk Wealth, Calgary
• The Myth of the Silver Spoon: Navigating Family Wealth & Creating an Impactful Life (by Kristin Keffeler): A common theme we hear from the families we meet is concern that wealth will take away from their children’s ability to create their own impactful lives. Kristen Keffeler has integrated research with stories, which I find to be a helpful learning approach. This book also offers advice for the rising generation, their parents and their advisors to help us all grow together.
• Innovator’s Toolkit: 10 Practical Strategies to Help You Develop and Implement Innovation (from Harvard Business Review Press): This collection of wisdom from experienced business leaders sparked my interest in innovation, business strategies and business models. Disruption has become closer to a norm than an exception, and the lessons here provide a foundation to how I have approached the great opportunities I have had in my career so far. Change is inevitable, and it is far more rewarding to lean in and help shape it than wait for it to shape you.
Barbara Stewart, researcher, author and Chartered Financial Analyst with 30 years of investment industry experience, Toronto
• Wealth Management Unwrapped (by Charlotte B. Beyer): As a 40-year veteran of Wall Street who worked with private investors, Beyer tells us that “professionals only know as much as you tell them about your needs, desires, and tolerance for risk.” I agree 100 per cent: The more that any advisor knows about a client, the better the job they can do for them. As Beyer explained when I interviewed her in 2016, “Too often advisors talk at clients using boring jargon, and too often clients offer the pat input, ‘I’m just looking for a good return with little risk.’” It takes a lot of courage from both parties to have deeper, more meaningful conversations. This book courageously looks under the covers of the wealth management industry, exposing the truth about fees, what advisors never tell clients, and what clients never tell advisors. Most importantly, Beyer offers advice about how to communicate properly so that you achieve your investment goals.
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• Think And Grow Rich (by Napoleon Hill): In my early 20s, this book fueled my desire to become successful in business. It is the result of Hill’s study of more than 500 self-made millionaires and includes 13 financial, emotional and spiritual steps to riches. My main takeaway was that the one thing all the millionaires had in common was that at some point they had a “big idea” that they ran with feverishly. It was only when I was 50 years old that I realized just how profoundly this book had affected me. I had been working for a couple of decades in the investment industry and was dismayed by the negative messages around women’s capabilities with money. My own “big idea” is to counter negative stereotypes with positive messages from highly successful female investors. I embarked on a journey of interviewing 50 women per year from all around the world, and I recently released my 13th annual Rich Thinking® research report. My brand is a hat tip to Mr. Hill!
Yan Li, chief investment officer, Unbiased Portfolio Management Inc., Calgary
The markets have experienced drawdowns and higher volatility since the start of 2022, and it’s important for people to be reminded of the big picture. These books will encourage you to zoom out and see the years and decades ahead.
• The Price of Tomorrow: Why Deflation is the Key to an Abundant Future (by Jeff Booth): Have you ever wondered why a Big Mac burger cost $2.80 about 20 years ago and $6.80 today? Does the burger provide more calories now than it used to? Why does a residential home in Canada that cost $250,000 in 2005 now sell for $900,000 when it provides the same shelter? Why are prices up in the economy in general? Is it because it requires more inputs of labour and materials? If technology is deflationary, enabling companies to produce more with less, why are prices higher when production requires less input? In his book, Booth explains his thesis that human societies should opt for a new economic system, and he provides answers to these questions.
• Principles for Dealing With the Changing World Order: Why Nations Succeed and Fail (by Ray Dalio): The news is full of shocking events from around the world. Ray Dalio examines hundred-year cycles of the rises and falls of empires through the thousands of years of human history. Big-picture cycles show that just because events haven’t happened yet in your lifetime, they could still happen in the future. Because few people live long enough to experience the entirety of a long cycle, they are shocked and unprepared when regimes change, even though similar situations have happened in the past. This book explores ultra-long-term cycles and helps us prepare for what’s to come.
Tina Di Vito, partner, Canadian Family Enterprise Leader, EY, Toronto
• Strategic Planning for the Family Business (by Randel S. Carlock and John L. Ward): A valuable resource when working with a family-owned business, this is one of the few books that addresses both the family and business systems. These systems are highly interdependent; an action in one system will affect the other. A parallel planning approach is what unifies the family and the business, and the separation of family and business issues is diminishing. This is a concept that I introduce to my family enterprise clients and is often what engages both the current and future leaders and owners. The authors cover topics such as values and vision, conflict resolution, identifying future leaders both in the business and the family as well as topics often covered only in business strategy books such as SWOT analysis and business planning. It’s the best of both worlds, and it’s a must read for a family-owned business.
• Strangers in Paradise: How Families Adapt to Wealth Across Generations (by James Grubman): When a family-owned businesses is sold or transitioned, individuals involved face significant windfalls like never before. I find that a re-read of this book is needed now. It reminds us that money is not always a gift, and that “new” wealth can have a significant impact on its recipients. The diversity of personality, history and culture will affect how a holder of new wealth will feel and behave and how he or she might adjust to this new wealth. The author compares this to the challenges of learning a new language and the joys and uncertainties felt by immigrants to a new land. This book will help advisors to understand what clients may be going through and provide the tools to support them on their journey.
Craig Dowden, leadership expert, author of A Time to Lead: Mastering Your Self . . . So You Can Master Your World, Forbes Coaches Council executive coach, and keynote speaker, Toronto
• The Power of a Positive No: How to Say No and Still Get to Yes (by William Ury): Most of us are terrible at saying no. We either agree to do things we really would prefer not to do, or we decline so awkwardly that it creates conflict or damages the relationship (which is why we often avoid saying “No.”). This book provides a powerful framework that we can use to effectively say no and identify and enforce our boundaries. Written by the co-founder for the Harvard Program on Negotiation, this book is a masterclass in establishing healthy and productive relationships and conversations with the people we care about most.
• Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know (by Adam Grant): New York Times bestselling author and top-rated Wharton Business School professor Adam Grant delivers another extraordinary book. In Think Again, he synthesizes decades of thought-provoking research into actionable takeaways. In a world that is changing so quickly and making us face challenges we have never seen before, the importance of recognizing our limited knowledge is vital to our success. The book shares powerful tips and techniques we can use to challenge our own thinking and better negotiate with the people around us. It is a must-read for our times!
Responses have been edited for clarity and brevity.
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