02: Wealth of Wisdom with Tom McCullough

Welcome to Let's Talk Family Enterprise, a podcast that explores the ideas, concepts and models that best serve Family enterprise Advisors in strengthening their clients.   This episode explores the book Wealth of Wisdom: The TOP 50 Questions That Wealthy Families Ask. Your host Ruth Steverlynck is joined by Tom McCullough, Principal and co-Founder of Northwood Family Office as well as co-author of Wealth of Wisdom.   Key Takeaways [:16] Ruth introduces Tom McCullough and asks him to share a bit about himself. [1:58] Tom talks about where the idea for the book come from. [3:42] Of all the questions that could be asked, how did Tom whittle it down to 50? [5:15] Tom shares the questions he found most interesting through this process. [6:20] wealthofwisdombook.com [6:52] What are the best practices that came from the experts Tom consulted for the book? Two things stood out for him: on values and parenting. [11:54] This book can be used by advisors as a resource to get more knowledgeable on technical aspects they may not already have in their background, legal, practical or otherwise, as well as a starting point to dig deeper into some aspects. [13:57] On the Prince Charles syndrome, the fact that you can contact the book's experts, and Tom's favorite part: the end-of-chapter questions. [16:58] Even after 35 years of work, Tom was surprised at the amount of cooperation he got from the world experts he reached out to. [18:58] Tom on the many communication styles he got to see while preparing the book from very discreet to very blunt and the way it complements the many learning styles. [20:51] The surprising way the first and last chapter bookended. [23:07] Tom's advice for advisors: ask questions, what are the five whys. [27:02] Ruth asks if there are any ideas for another book by Tom as well as any reading suggestion he may have for our listeners. [30:22] Ruth thanks Tom for his time and experience and invites listeners to subscribe and tune in for the next episodes.   Mentioned in this episode Let's Talk Family Enterprise podcast is brought to you by Family Enterprise Xchange Book: Wealth of Wisdom: The TOP 50 Questions Wealthy Families Ask co-authored by Tom McCullough Northwood Family Office Book: The Investment Think Tank: Theory, Strategy, and Practice for Advisors by Harold Evensky Keith Whitaker Wigmore Association Charles Collier Christine Lagarde Book: Complete Family Wealth, by James E. Hughes, Susan E. Massenzio, and Keith Whitaker Book: Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, by Chip Heath and Dan Heath   More about Family Enterprise Xchange Family Enterprise Xchange FEX on Facebook FEX on Twitter FEX on LinkedIn FEX on YouTube FEX on Instagram   More about our guest Tom McCullough's bio on Northwood Family Office [email protected] Tom McCullough at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto