Family Values, Vision and Mission

This past weekend, we loaded up the minivan and drove an hour north to San Clemente. This was more than just a weekend getaway because we had a plan to create a plan — a 100-Year Plan that is. At least that’s how Robin and I framed it to our three kids: “What do you want your great-grandkids to be about?”

The 100 years (or the generation that would be our great, great-grandkids) does not represent anything specifically significant but was our way of assessing who we are as a family and articulating our purpose for future generations. We believe success comes from having convictions and focus.

Our underlying goal was that we all had fun and would want to do this again. It was to be more play than work. We went to the beach, the kids swam in the pool, we watched the NCAA basketball tournament, and ate meals together with crazy topics of conversation. Writing out a plan would mean little if no one was interested in talking about it ever again. We accomplished our goal because we are all excited about next year!

In the creation of our plan, we determined to focus on three topics: our family Values, Vision, and Mission.

Values:

Establishing our family values is something we did years ago, but they were written by me (and honestly done out of some “Dad frustration” at the time). “Yes kids, we go to church every weekend, we don’t hit each other, we keep the house clean, and we strive to do our best at work and school.” But rules just get followed (or not followed). Our values represent who we are at our core, and each is paired with a biblical verse (because we also believe that God’s word is foundational to who we are and what we do every day).

This weekend, we needed to confirm and adjust our values together if they truly were to be family values. Before looking at our previously constructed values, we brainstormed on the whiteboard. Our kids are currently ages 15, 13, and 10 and everyone had something to say! In matching up new thoughts with what we had already written, we altered two of our values and adding a new one. This was a good start.

Vision:

We set aspiring goals to help families make an impact with their wealth at our financial planning firm. Money can be a tremendous resource to do amazing things that change the world, but unfortunately it can also become vice that that destroys lives. We work hard, here at our firm, to help others handle their money with purpose. This vision guides us, so why should we not establish a vision within a family?

“Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained.” Proverbs 29:18

The exciting part is that our kids picked up on the concept of vision. Robin and I do not want our children to accept mediocrity or worse — the disarray that the world can hand out from passivity. We want our children to shoot for the moon!

Mission:

Businesses set mission statements all the time, often something unoriginal never to be looked at again. Most families don’t set a mission statement at all. But, we wanted to have an everyday, “what are we going to do?” statement to guide us. It would have to leave room for the unique personalities, skills, and gifts that each of us have (and, for that matter, all those who will someday come to be a part of our family).

Our ten-year-old son did an awesome devotion on how Jesus had a mission to die for us because he loved us so much. We even talked about how the Avengers had a mission to stop the evil Thanos and save the world. (I hear we have to watch for three hours this summer to see if they accomplish that mission. That should be fun.) Movies can be a helpful way to illustrate the concept of mission.

Where do we go from here?

This is just a start for us. At next year’s legacy weekend, we’ll revisit our family values, vision, and mission again. We plan to focus on a topic such as what marriage is about and what to look for in a spouse. Until we get to that weekend next year, we’ll reiterate our 100-Year Plan so it becomes active and a part of our everyday thoughts. We’ll also continue to learn from the many fantastic families that invest in us!

Here at One Degree Advisors, we help families coordinate Family Legacy plans. Schedule a quick call to discuss how we can help you.