Excellent book.

And a surprising one. I originally read this book in order to get information on generational asset transfer as I had questions as to how that is best done. I made the mistake of defining "assets" too narrowly as monetary but this book explains that they are so much more than that. True wealth (according to this book) is comprised of four types of capital: Human, Social, Intellectual and Financial and the growth and nurture of all of them requires thought and effort. Here you will find the tools to do just that. But where this book really shines is how to manage conflict and how to circumvent it In this regard the book does such a good job that it would be worthwhile for anyone to read not just those that are contemplating a wealth transfer. I also kept thinking as I was reading this book that these were the same issues that the US Founding Fathers must have dealt with. It gave me a whole new appreciation for what they went through in drafting the Constitution (for the record, politics was not a theme of the book). So why did I rate the book with four and 1/2 stars instead of 5? I personally would have liked more examples. While there were examples in the book they were somewhat sparing which may have been the author's intent; it would have been easy to fall into a gossipy tone with more. Still I would have enjoyed reading from a slightly more personal perspective but I think that's probably just my preference.

An enlightening read. ( )