November 20th, 2008
Putting your “Q-Bank” to Work
By Lee Brower
The following article is part 2 of “Utilizing Your Family Q-Bank,” printed in the September issue.
The Empowered Quadrant Bank extends far beyond legal documents. It is a repository for true family heirlooms— not the linen and china, but the videos you make of relatives so as to preserve these vital links with the future; or, your list of questions about any endeavor the family might consider undertaking in the future.
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Putting your “Q-Bank” to Work
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Maintaining and increasing the value of all of your Q-Bank assets will impact future decisions. You will begin to ask yourself, “How does this purchase, this vacation, this business or any other activity, opportunity or pursuit increase the true asset value of our Q-Bank?”
When faced with the question of “What is the best choice for us that’s in alignment with our vision or purpose?” consider the following questions:
- What is the desired outcome?
- Is this opportunity, activity or purchase in line with our values?
- Will it make use of, or even improve, our unique abilities as individuals and as a family? Will it make us better?
- How can the experience be captured as an asset, so that what we learn from it is even greater and longer lasting than the experience itself?
- How will it benefit society?
- Does it make sense financially?
An example of using these questions in decision-making comes from my own family’s experiences:
When our daughter, Kelsey, turned ten, we wanted her to experience more than the typical birthday party. An opportunity presented itself when two young college students were looking for donations to support their upcoming month-long project working for an orphanage in Ghana. We asked the students if perhaps the young children in Ghana could use some supplies from our country. A resounding “YES, please!” prompted our solution to Kelsey’s party theme.
Invitations were sent out inviting the girls to Kelsey’s party asking the parents to bring gifts for the orphans– unwrapped and appropriate for ages under five. Our dining room table soon brimmed with an abundance of soccer balls, stuffed animals, crayons, coloring books, etc. To take this a step further, Nick and Carly, an older brother and sister, donated their savings (matched dollar for dollar by my wife and I) to purchase ten backpacks and additional supplies so that each backpack contained a stuffed animal, ball, coloring books, crayons, writing tablets and basic reading books. Our three children personally delivered the backpacks to the two college students the day before they left for Ghana.
When the students returned, they prepared a slideshow of pictures from their trip and tearfully shared their moving experiences. During the slideshow, our children got to see the orphans wearing the backpacks, coloring in their new books, playing soccer …The impact of their generosity was immediate and profound.
The decision to do this was in line with our family’s values; it contributed to society and created a memory that lasts to this day.
Here’s another way to put the Q-Bank to work: Let’s say 21-year-old Johnny is a newly minted college graduate. His college records indicate that he majored in economics; but anybody who knows Johnny understands that he majored in skateboarding. He spent every waking moment at the skateboard park, perfecting moves, jamming on the half-pipe, doing ten-eighties for an appreciative audience, building and rebuilding skateboards, and otherwise living and breathing the skateboarding culture.
Johnny has an idea for a safety device that will take much of the risk out of some of the daredevil moves that have resulted in sprained and broken limbs. He has perfected this device, but doesn’t want to sell it to a skateboarding company. Instead, he wants to start his own business, marketing skateboards with this new safety feature.
Johnny convenes a meeting of his family’s Empowered Quadrant Bank. He explains that he wants to borrow $20,000 to get the business off the ground. The family applies the six questions to Johnny’s request. The desired outcome is that Johnny establishes himself as a business owner and creates self-sufficiency.
Is the opportunity in line with the family’s values? It’s certainly an act of service: If the company succeeds, Johnny will save countless young people trips to the emergency room.
Will it make use of the family’s unique abilities? Yes, because one of Johnny’s unique abilities is skateboarding; another is to identify a problem and a solution that will benefit others.
How can the experience be captured as an asset? Johnny can document his experiences in starting and managing a business so that other family members can leverage off of his successes and failures. His entrepreneurial experience will keep other family members from having to reinvent the wheel should they decide to start their own business.
How will it benefit society? Fewer skateboarding injuries equals fewer dollars spent on medical care and a lot less pain. Additionally, Johnny has allocated a percentage of profits to promote workshops on skateboarding for underprivileged youth.
Does it make sense financially? If the business plan is complete and sound, and if the family can afford the investment, then the answer is yes—and a new business endeavor is launched.
If the business succeeds, Johnny will be able to repay his family’s investment many times over. Even if it fails, the knowledge that Johnny—and his family—derives from the experience will be invaluable. Many business owners fail with their first ventures but learn enough to make subsequent ventures succeed.
Assuming Johnny’s parents are in their late 40’s or early 50’s, they could have followed traditional estate-planning principles and kept that money locked up and out of sight until they pass away. By this time Johnny, statistically, would have been close to or even beyond traditional retirement age. The Empowered Quadrant Bank allows families to grow closer by making better use of their assets without waiting for death to trigger a distribution. With the skateboarding business launched, Johnny will be much more economically self-sufficient than if he had played the waiting game, “hanging out” in life until he received a bequest. It’s easy to see the value of the Empowered Quadrant Bank under these circumstances.
Many families have said that the Empowered Quadrant Bank is an excellent way to ensure that a family can impart its values to its children, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren. If we do nothing to pass along our values, there is a significant chance that our values will never make it to the fourth generation. If you want to see your values reach the fourth generation, it’s essential to create a system for passing along your values down through your future family. If you can see to it that your values and experiences will be transmitted four generations into the future, there is a very high likelihood that your values will continue to survive through the eighth generation and beyond. In fact, you can bank on it!
