Will, Harper, and Nora Lee Dawson are heirs to a vast Southern empire. But when their father dies without a will and their calculating mother disappears, the family’s motto becomes a curse. Do they “Protect our assets? Trust nobody?”
Threats include legal ambiguity, AI manipulation, cyber predators, bizarre beneficiaries, and new advisors with contradictory expertise. To unlock – and protect- their family legacy, the siblings must develop new powers that their parents never taught them: Hope. Agency. Resilience. Optimism.
They have to do what they’ve never done before— trust each other.
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Legacy Locked is more than a novel.
It’s a journey into the forces that shape what we inherit… and what we hide.
Gift #2: Download Legacy Locked book now. While it’s still free. FREE access is at https://action-learning.com/product/legacy-locked-book/. Use the coupon code crubne3q
Because the only thing scarier than a locked legacy… is never knowing what was inside.
Artificial intelligence dominates headlines with promises of revolutionary change, so it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the noise. But beneath the hype and buzzwords lies tremendous value that can be applied immediately—particularly for family business leaders, Next Gens and smaller organizations.
Cutting Through the AI Noise
There’s a lot of “hoo-ha” around artificial intelligence today. Open any business publication—Harvard Business Review, McKinsey reports, VentureBeat, or Forbes—and you’ll find endless articles about AI’s utility, examples, and trends. Terms like “predictive analytics” get tossed around without clear definitions. Can we truly predict the next word in a sentence or the next market opportunity? There are tools like Lex Machina and Bloomberg Law that can forecast divorce or succession risk. But should they do so? The ethical clarity isn’t always there.
What we call “artificial human intelligence” are essentially algorithms—compilations designed to anticipate the next word. You’ve experienced this already: when you type “How do I…” into a Google browser, it fills in the likely next words, based on your search history. This predictive capability has evolved from simple sentence search completion to sophisticated tools like Microsoft’s Copilot that can generate content, edit documents, and create personalized interactions. AI learns from itself, which is why the default browser for Google has recently been replaced by Gemini.
The Rise of Customized AI
One of the most powerful developments is the ability to create customized AI systems. I’ve built what some call a “closed chat GPT”—an AI trained on my books, dissertation, research papers, blog posts, and website content. I call it “Gray Matters” and share it with my clients. When asked, “How would Doug respond to this situation?” it provides evidence-based answers drawn from that data set. Crucially, you can configure these closed systems to maintain confidentiality, which prevents your data from being shared with large language models.
Small business leaders can leverage this same technology. If you need to maintain client confidentiality for legal reasons but want to provide unique value to those clients, a closed AI system offers a perfect solution. This fact explains why there are so many chatbots on company websites—they’re cost-efficient and can provide consistent service 24/7. Do you need to invest in Schwab or Fidelity or Vanguard? Then you need to interact with bots before humans.
Digital Trust and Consumer Adaptation
Remember when Amazon first introduced Prime? Many doubted that package would succeed. Now one-click purchasing and “people like you bought” suggestions have become standard AI tools. These weren’t implemented randomly—they were based on extensive data analysis showing that buyers of one product were likely to purchase related items.
This example reflects a broader trend: we have developed increased digital trust in AI tools. Think about how you interact with Siri or Alexa—as if there’s another person in the room. These AI assistants weren’t part of our lives a decade ago, yet now they’ve become integral to our daily routines. Our expectations around AI are also shifting—we expect it to be personalized, always available, and worthy of our digital trust.
Accelerating Leadership Development
For the past year, I’ve focused on how AI can accelerate leadership development. The implications are profound for any individual or team committed to professional development. We can now provide 24/7 utility to confidential resources and interactive learning opportunities using AI avatars based on customized role-plays and scenarios.
Imagine clicking on ChatGPT repeatedly to gain insight into difficult topics: How do I deal with anxiety? How do I sleep better? How do I have a difficult conversation with a family member who’s resistant to dialogue? Now, these are skills that can be developed through deliberate practice.
Years ago, when I asked Google, “Can you be my executive coach?” it said “Not at this time.” Today, any AI platform—whether it’s ChatGPT, Claude, Grok, Poe, or another—will happily take on that role.
Our Hybrid Coaching Solution
AI can re-design executive coaching, leadership consulting, and transform your career. Imagine using hybrid coaching that combines AI practice with human expertise. Let me give you some examples.
A client named George wanted to develop better communication skills but didn’t want to ask his manager for help. Using our AI platform, George practiced difficult conversations repeatedly in a confidential environment. Then, when we meet for our 1:1 executive coaching session, George can share his screen and show me his AI interactions. I can provide feedback not just on the content of his responses but on his approach to learning.
This hybrid model works across professions. Imagine you’re a lawyer with clients who need to discuss succession planning, or a family wealth advisor helping clients prepare for difficult conversations with the next generation. These discussions require skills that many people haven’t developed. Behavioral feedback can provide better analysis and coaching suggestions than humans. When we practice new skills with AI, my clients can find the right words and approaches before having those crucial real-world conversations.
B2C and B2B Applications
I’ve developed two models for implementing hybrid consulting:
B2C (Business to Consumer): Individuals can access a platform to practice scenarios like dealing with anxiety, burnout, difficult family members, or deeper questions about purpose and faith. For about $100 monthly ($1,200 annually), users get unlimited access to AI-assisted practice scenarios. That investment often delivers more lasting value than a couple of traditional coaching sessions at the same investment level. See www.JITCoach.com or ask for a demo.
B2B (Business to Business): Teams and organizations can implement AI-assisted consulting to accelerate skill development. The data is compelling—sales teams using these approaches have shown a 24% increase in sales performance and 97% improvements in training retention. Compared to traditional online training programs that often show minimal results, this AI-assisted consulting represents a breakthrough. See www.Action-Learning.com or ask for a demo.
The Bottom Line
Artificial intelligence has been evolving since 1995. Now we have reached a point where it’s more consumer-friendly and accessible than ever. Just as you talk to Siri or use ChatGPT, you can now use AI-assisted consulting tools to accelerate your skill development, improve communication, and achieve outcomes faster, more effectively, and more affordably.
We will interact with AI-driven cars and live in an AI-enhanced world. Why wouldn’t we apply these same technologies to leadership development and executive coaching?
Want to learn more about implementing AI in your leadership development? Contact Doug at doug@action-learning.com or visit action-learning.com to schedule a demo.
A grey-haired patriarch recently told me, “I love my kids and grandkids. But I don’t trust their ability to manage my money when I’m gone. My lawyer tells me that I need to restrict their access. What do you recommend?”
This Family Business Chaos myth assumes:
That fears motivate most human behaviors
That Elders need to restrict access to financial assets
That the Next Gen family members are unable to manage money
That advisors can recommend effective solutions
How silly.
Tragically, I’ve met “Family Business Consultants” who boast about $100,000 annual retainers to “manage the process.” They presume that family business leaders are inherently unstable, dysfunctional, heading toward chaos. With a wink they say, “And who knows when you will need me?”
How tragic and silly.
I call it the Family Business Chaos myth. In future posts I’ll share some more related myths. In this post, let’s look at each of these 4 statements in turn.
Fears do motivate most human behaviors. When we are hungry we eat. When we are threatened we fight. When we are confused or uninformed we create stories to “fill in the silence.” I recently heard about two Elders who anticipated a visit from their niece, whom they had not seen in 15 years. They created stories to explain the visit, from “she must have cancer” to “her husband may have abused her.”
In the same way, Elders often create stories to explain their kids and grandkids. It’s a delightful, ancient past time! When I visit Elders they may entertain me with stories, just as we drink lemonade on the porch. They often voice fears such as “she will never find a man who appreciates her” or “he couldn’t make money if we served it on a golden platter.” Those stories are entertaining. But they may be downright silly.
That idea that Elders need to restrict access to financial assets is ancient, and often based on some local precedent. We all repeat stories that reinforce our biased beliefs. Have you heard about our neighbor named Bubba who received a trust fund when he turned 21, then became an opioid addict? Confirmation bias occurs when we repeat desired beliefs. The fact is that most people with access to money learn to live below their means. They practice financial literacy.
Restricted access to wealth, or any resource, does not accelerate social change. In fact, restricted access can imprison people. Look at global slavery, work conditions, oppression of women or poverty. Restricted access may cause violence. Look at global divorce, broken families, suicides, loneliness, drug abuse. Instead, what if wealth advisors actually shared their knowledge in a series of educational sessions? What if digital courses encouraged Next Gen leaders to ask questions about index funds, incentive trusts, donor assisted funds, IRAs, retirement, employee matches?
The #1 web browser is Google because people search for information. The #2 web browser is YouTube, because people search for answers. And they are both owned by Alphabet. The fact is that Next Gens are digitally trusting, better educated than many Elders, and often want to develop more financial literacy. Just ask them!
The notion that Next Gen family members are unable to manage money is based on ignorance. Throughout recorded history, in every corner of the world, most assets are quietly transferred to the Next Generation. (Also called the Rising Generation, like a Rising Tide or a tsunami). If Elders are not able to teach responsible wealth management, then other advisors can do so. One positive outcome from the Certified Financial Professional (CFP) designation is that wealth advisors are better self-managed to actually serve their client interests. For many decades “financial managers” were incentivized by higher commission fees or transactional incentives from their product managers.
Throughout my career I’ve taught people how to manage their precious time, money, treasures and talents. Nothing is more important. Perhaps anyone reading or sharing this article shares that same commitment.
Teaching financial literacy assumes that Elders and Next Gens are willing to learn. When I facilitate family meetings, I encourage the Next Gens to ask questions, because curiosity is the currency of learning. When they ask questions, the wealth advisors can share resources. I also encourage the Elders to bite their tongues- which is difficult. They often want to share their values and knowledge. But our kids learn to swim from other adults, not from their parents. Our kids learn to golf from professionals, not from their parents. In the same way, when Next Gen leaders ask questions and learn, the Elders smile with delight. They are practicing financial literacy and seeing that “light in their eyes” when their children and grandchildren actually learn.
We want to believe that advisors can recommend effective solutions because we want to trust “experts.” We go to physicians when we require healthcare, and they diagnose and treat us. We go to lawyers when we require asset transaction or protection. For many years, when I asked Google “Can you provide some business consulting?” it replied “Not at this time.” Now over 40% of my clients use ChatGBT for business consulting. Immediately. I have copied responses from one platform, like Claude, to ask other platforms, like Inflection, to provide more details. And recent studies confirm that some AI platforms demonstrate more empathy than “professionals.”
Let’s assume that advisors using AI will be more effective than those not using AI. And they will become even more effective next month. And every month thereafter. The best advisors are already using AI to provide more recommendations than ever for their clients. In seconds. Converging technologies, such as healthcare and AI consulting, will increase in power and provide even more value. Accurately. Imagine an empathic robot that suggests how Elders can bite their tongues. Imagine a hologram of the founders that can explain the values and challenges faced 50 years ago. Imagine a family meeting with 5 generations of healthy, opinionated owners instead of 3 generations.
Now imagine that one “family business consultant” can serve your legacy needs. How silly.
The example of the $100,000 annual retainer from that winking “family business consultant” who says, “you never know when you may need me” could be a waste of money.
My experience is that the presumption that family business leaders are inherently unstable, dysfunctional, heading toward chaos is downright silly. It may be lucrative for those using retainers. But it ignores the reality that family business leaders can flourish.
Yes, I’ll address HOW to flourish in a series of future posts. Please share this post with anyone who might appreciate it.
And add your thoughts or comments on this post about the Family Business Chaos myth? This could become a discussion.
Managers, by definition, must maximize the productivity of others. When we ask audiences, “How many of you are managers?” over 70% of the audience typically raise their hands. Many do not have the word “manager” in their title.
As managers, you know that it is your job to maximize productivity and outcomes from your employees. You need evidence-based best practices in leadership development. Today. And you need to demonstrate the ROI of that leadership workshop within 90 – 180 days. There is a myth that leadership development programs should only be scheduled in the spring and fall, to avoid conflicts with vacations. The reality is that leadership development workshops include both direct and virtual content that reinforces your outcomes. Our programs last 3-12 months. You should invest in a leadership development provider (like Action Learning Associates) because it is cost-effective and efficient. Your core business is something else. Our core business is to accelerate leader development.
Here are three reasons why YOU SHOULD invest in a leadership development workshop today.
Investment in a leadership workshop should directly increase your team’s engagement
Leaders need to practice leadership, just as attorneys practice law and physicians practice medicine. Many studies have shown that when employees are engaged in leadership workshops they are then more likely to be engaged in the workforce. An employee who is more engaged is a) more effective at required tasks, b) more efficient on key performance indicators or objectives and key results (OKRs), and c) more likely to stay employed at your organization. Retention of desired employees is a requirement in today’s competitive Talent Economy. Be smart. You never want to retain average employees- but you DO WANT to retain 100% of your desired employees. And leadership development workshops are the most cost-effective way for you to increase retention of your desired employees. We recommend that 70% of your promotions are internal, to encourage career ladders and talent succession. We strongly recommend that you invest in 100% of your top performers with leadership development programs AT LEAST twice/ year.
2. Investment in leadership workshops can help you develop your workplace culture
Culture can be developed, and must be developed, in response to changing market demands. Ask anyone involved in leadership development coaching, and they will tell you that culture cannot be left to chance. That would be reckless. The academics describe culture as “how organizations function.” As an example, we recently provided a leadership development workshop around ONE objective, “to create a culture of fiscal accountability using Objectives and Key Results (OKRs).” Let me explain…
Culture is best described using three overlapping circles. Label each circle as: 1) underlying assumptions, 2) espoused behavior, and 3) artifacts.
1) underlying assumptions are the shared beliefs of your organization, including history of acquisitions, traits of key leaders who get promoted faster, competencies of leaders with higher reputations, or that unspoken assumption you have about a market or colleague.
2) espoused behaviors describe what we say we do, including common phrases such as “I’ll solve this” or “that’s not my problem.” Notice the difference between what we say we do, and what we actually do.
3) artifacts are tangible symbols of the culture, such as a new National office in Nashville, TN for centralized services and consistent management of others. The cultural values posted in the lobby are artifacts of how you work.
3. Investment in a leadership workshop should improve employee morale
Many studies have shown that large organizations are investing less time, money, energy and training in their employees than they did 10 years ago. Professional development discretionary budgets have plummeted from over $10,000 per person in 2008 to $4,000 per person in 2018. Today, we invest more into maintaining cars and machines than we do in our most critical variable- people. That trend is reckless. If you are investing less in your people than you did 10 years ago then you are LITERALLY in a race to the bottom of your market. Look at the fact that only 35% of today’s F500 companies have been there for more than 50 years. If you want to increase employee morale, then you need to invest in your top employees. Nothing is a more critical investment. Today. Employee morale is NOT a lagging indicator. If you want to develop agile problem solvers, then you need to invest in leadership development workshops. You can make employee morale into a leading indicator. Today.
You should not invest in a leadership workshop IF you do not care about 1) employee engagement, 2) workplace culture, or 3) employee morale. We do NOT want to talk to you. We wish you Godspeed.
We provide outcome-based leadership development workshops that guarantee your results. We deliver programs throughout the United States and Canada. We provide expert leadership coaching and executive coaching services, based in Nashville, TN or globally. We’d like to visit you ASAP.
If you are based in the Nashville, TN area then we are neighbors. See details for leadership training for your employees here. We’d like to visit you ASAP.
Do you think that you a born leader? That is a myth.
The reality is that leadership skills can be taught and developed. By definition, leaders influence the behavior of others by describing a better vision of the future. The primary skill of effective leaders is public optimism. Leaders tell great stories and share optimism.
Those leadership skills can be taught in a workshop or program. The most effective leadership workshops include training and coaching, then more training and coaching, to reinforce desired behaviors over time. Repetition works.
Leaders must adapt to change. At a recent leadership workshop one executive stated, “We need to master this content in the next 3 days because we are each the CEOs of our business. We need to create our future business.” That urgency is common.
Many of the tactics that leaders were taught 10-20 years ago are obsolete today. Management by Objectives (MBOs) and Forced Rankings are now considered manipulative, ineffective, and counterproductive. That kind of “leadership” will limit your career.
We know that rigid managers and leaders prevent innovation and problem solving. We also know that agility can be taught and developed. We can teach agile leaders and managers to promote effective outcomes, efficiency, and employee engagement.
Today, many employees demand fulfillment and purpose. They want to feel inspired and know their place in society and their contribution to the world.
We know that leaders need to practice leadership, just as physicians practice medicine and attorneys practice law. All managers and leaders struggle.
A great leadership workshop should provide:
Leadership exercises and experiential activities that encourage open communication and sharing of ideas
Profound breakthroughs in understanding how to influence others.
Lectures, digital workbooks, videos, powerpoint slides, and activities designed to model engagement
Pre-assessments and Post-assessments to discover your strengths and track the ROI of your investment
Group problem-solving tasks that encourage conflict resolution through a better understanding of human behavior and group dynamics
Customized apps with content to download and distribute your consistent messages throughout your organization
A recent client stated, “This was by far the most useful leadership development program I have experienced in over 20 years of forced participation in some kind of training. The content was easy to understand. All of the sessions were customized for our organization. All of the consultants were experts. We were fully engaged in each session. We did our work. And now I have the skills I need to lead my team in a new and useful methodology.”
All of our leadership workshops use our trademarked positive psychology AD-FIT™ process. We typically include our leadership development coaching to assess your strengths and increase your probability of achieving your outcome-based results.
The best leadership workshops should ask you to take an honest assessment of your professional leadership style and define measurable outcomes. We typically use both quantitative and qualitative assessments. We offer both virtual and direct workshops with several exciting results-oriented topics to choose from. See the list of leadership workshop topics here.
We provide services throughout the U.S and Canada. We recently delivered programs in Chicago, IL, Charlotte, NC, Louisville, KY and Washington, DC. If you are near the Nashville, TN area, an executive coach in Nashville can help you.
Recently I was asked to speak at the Human Resource conference for the State of Tennessee. They wanted four sessions on “How to increase employee engagement.”
Studies continue to show that employee engagement in the workplace remains low- around the 30% range. Low levels of employee engagement have a negative impact on achieving organizational goals, and create a workplace that does not encourage high performance. During this session, we will answer the three key questions of employee engagement: 1) What do we know from evidence-based science? 2) How can I apply that science to increase my personal level of engagement? 3) How can I improve the engagement levels of others? This course introduces a new model based on positive psychology practices, called the AD-FIT%TM model, that you can apply immediately.
This course provides leaders at all levels with an introduction into the science and practice of employee engagement. Any manager or leader with a growth mindset can apply this course content to lead individual, group or organizational change in your business. This content has been distributed to thousands of leaders in governments, private and nonprofit organizations, as well as individuals.
The content of this course is gleaned from thousands of our leadership consulting clients since 1997, and the presenter’s dissertation research on positive psychology.
The goal of this course is to introduce leaders like you to world-class techniques so that you gain competitive advantage.
Learning objectives:
Recognize key variables that influence employee engagement
Discover how to measure employee engagement
Identify how to increase individual employee engagement
Identify how to develop organizational employee engagement
Please contact us for the handout before viewing the video section of this course.
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