Description

First Addition Now Available!

Book Launched!

The Official Book Launch took place August 11th 2014, in Calgary!  It was hosted by RBC Private Client Group and we raised over $20,000 for the Calgary Women’s Emergency Shelter! What a great accomplishment!

Book Description

Since publishing Great White Elephant: Why Rich Kids Hate Their Parents!, in 2012, Francesco Lombardo has seen tremendous growth in his family-business advisory practice. In this, his fourth book, Entitled Brat or Contributing Leader, Lombardo examines what he now believes is the greatest roadblock to succession planning and wealth transition—a pervasive culture of entitlement.

Drawing from personal experience and candid stories, Lombardo offers a process for navigating the awkward conversations needed for entitlement to be acknowledged, as well as the role this plays in inter-generational business and wealth succession.

He asks us to examine our entitlement to our Money Mottos—our beliefs, values, attitudes, and prejudices around money and wealth, and our emotional relationships with them. He reveals that how we earn, spend, negotiate, invest, transition, inherit, or gift money, is strongly indicative of how we think, feel, formulate beliefs, and ultimately behave in every other aspect of our lives.

Readers will be motivated to explore where their own sense of entitlement comes from and to move from, what he calls “Entitled Brat,” to “Contributing Leader.” Using the roadmap Francesco Lombardo provides, readers will take action to create a new framework for their own future success—find the Contributing Leaders within, and develop this remarkable potential in the next generation.

Foreword

Foreword Graciously Provided by Kirby Rosplock (http://www.rosplock.net), PhD author of The Complete Family Office Handbook

Testimonials

“For parents, this book will provide a window into your soul and perhaps that of your children. From working from the base up, Franco explores individual values, which help translate into beliefs and subsequently influence one’s actions and behaviors. Some of these values and beliefs limit us; hold us back; become a crutch or a prescription for entitlement.”

“For advisors, looking for an opportunity to deepen the relationship and to better understand where your client may be coming from, this book is incredibly helpful.”

“If you are searching for a comprehensive, accessible read on how to discover your authentic self in relation to your wealth, Franco models the experience of discovering the self and how these are the keys to becoming a “Contributing Leader”.

– Kirby Rosplock PhD, Author of The Complete Family Office Handbook, Palm Beach Garden

“In every family, there are issues that either bring the family together or tear it apart. Families of great wealth are not immune from these issues. Often, wealth brings with it even greater complexity. Franco Lombardo is one of the leading experts in helping wealthy families resolve the issues of fairness, power and control. Candor is one of the most important measures of intimacy. In a caring and powerful manner, Franco facilitates dialogue within the family and between its members that fosters mutual respect, trust and feelings of safety. That is why he has earned the right to work with so many of the world’s leading families.”

– Norm Trainor, CEO, Covenant Group, Toronto ON”

“Franco Lombardo has nailed it again with his fourth book, Entitled Brat or Contributing Leader, Which One Are You? Are You Sure? Adults and young adults brought up in privileged circumstances may honestly have little idea if they are spoiled and, if so, how that may affect their relationships and lives. Lombardo’s book compassionately guides readers through a rigorous self-examination of their emotional relationship with money and wealth and then helps readers develop healthier attitudes. Even more profound, the book helps readers learn leadership behaviours that will better serve them in family, work, and life.”

– Angelo J. Roble, Founder and Chairman, Family Office Association, Greenwich, CT

“Entitled Brat or Contributing Leader takes us on an incredibly frank and, at times, deeply personal journey. It is more than just a resource for enterprising families, for understanding wealth and its impact on our children, or the dangers of fostering entitlement without achievement; there is much in here to challenge our own beliefs as adults. In this way, Franco provides us with insights that not only make us better parents, but also better stewards of wealth and more thoughtful investors.”

– Basil Demeroutis, Managing Partner, FORE Partnership, London, UK

“Think entitled brats are only teenagers and young adults? Think again. With the mastery of a seasoned storyteller that uses imagery and wisdom, without directly stating it, Lombardo tactfully challenges the reader to reflect on their noetic structure, an activity that may cause discomfort in some and will most certainly be a catalyst for personal growth in others. Do your kids hate the family business but love their comfortable lifestyle? In a matter of core importance to our firm, Lombardo’s book also tackles what we consider to be the vital glue that holds together a formal family wealth strategy; A clearly defined family purpose. Any family member with an eye on the next generation will find this book an invaluable resource brimming meaningful stewardship insights and pragmatic advice.”

– Declan Winston Ramsaran, Managing Director, PANGEA Private Family Offices™, Toronto, ON

“For the affluent the challenge is to share what they have earned with their children, but to do so in a way that does not impair or discourage them from making further contribution. It is a deep challenge, even a paradox, that affluence can be a major impediment to growth and development. With insight and a richness of understanding, this book provides a roadmap for a family to share its affluence and also develop a next generation of stewards to the future. Not just for the affluent but for any parent who wants to give to and praise their children, how to do this with grace and empowerment.”

– Dennis Jaffe, PhD, Organizational Systems and Psychology – Saybrook University, San Francisco, CA

The focus of family business advising is changing. The core concerns of business survival, succession, governance, and communication have been supplemented by a search for greater meaning—particularly among the next generation. Although many next generation “inheritors” no longer have to worry about physical capital—or even working in their family firms—they face a new set of challenges: avoiding the pitfalls associated with an entitlement mindset. Mr. Lombardo challenges the reader to clarify their inner values so as to establish meaning and a sense of direction in life. A great read for next gen-ers and the advisers that serve them.

– Lloyd Steier, Professor, Strategic Management & Organization; Distinguished Chair, Entrepreneurship & Family Enterprise; Academic Director, CEFE & ABFI; University of Alberta School of Business, Edmonton, AB

“Destructive entitlement is pervasive. This book offers important and practical perspectives that capture the essence of constructive entitlement: entitlement that is based in core values, mutual trust, hope and above all a true understanding of self. All humans are entitled to resources, to protection to provision but only when anchored in mutuality, reciprocity and giving back: being a contributing leader.

Be aware, this is not a book for the faint hearted. You need to be ready to take an honest look within—at yourself—to embrace and celebrate the message of human possibility that sits within this heartfelt book.”

– Ruth Steverlynck, LLB FEA, Principal, Your Family Enterprise Advisor, West Vancouver, BC

“Francesco Lombardo has provided us with an inspired and thought-provoking road map to a world where one is less consumed with what I would call instant gratification, and more interested in doing what we should all aspire to, by being a better person through our actions.

While we may have trouble believing that there are many individuals with a sense of entitlement, one doesn’t have to look any further than media reports of celebrities, whose crassness defies belief, and who have a following equally hard to comprehend.

Money may not be the only reason people behave the way they do, but it certainly plays its part. And that’s why people we “can” admire, such as Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, are more than just accomplished businessmen and investors; they also understand the notion of financial literacy as it applies to the next generation of leaders.

Lombardo’s latest book is a welcome addition to the efforts of those who want our kids to explore avenues other than those paved in gold!”

– Brendan Holt Dunn, CEO, Holdun Family Office, Bahamas

“Franco Lombardo has done an amazing job of taking complex truths and making them easy to understand and apply. If you are looking for a process that will help you unleash the contributing leader inside you and free you from an entitled brat mentality…buy it, read it and start contributing from an authentic place.”

– Michael Vickers, Author, Speaker, and Coach, Summit Learning Systems, Inc., Phoenix, AZ

“You have done it once again with this, your fourth book, Entitled Brat or Contributing Leader: Which One Are You? Are You Sure? The questions you ask are certainly thought provoking, and truly required in order to make substantive progress within families! Every successful family that I know wants the future generation to excel, but it’s much easier said than done. This book should be an important resource for every family who cares.”

– V. Thane Stenner, Founding Member and Managing Director of TIGER 21 Canada; Director, Wealth Management, Portfolio Manager of Stenner Investment Partners, Richardson GMP, Vancouver, BC

In working with hundreds of business-owning families around the world, I have seen how entitlement can be an issue, not just for younger family members but for family leaders who, often unthinkingly, feel entitled to promote behaviour patterns that serve their families badly.

Franco Lombardo’s latest book challenges you to consider why you sometimes behave the way you do. More importantly, Franco provides step-by-step approaches to help you improve areas that are not working for you. These simple yet effective tools, such as developing a Money Motto, are why Franco has developed such a great reputation for advising wealthy families. This thought-provoking and practical book gives you access to Franco’s latest ideas and advice right now.

– Ian Partridge, Founder and Chairman, Loedstar S.A., Geneva, Switzerland