Discovering the Power of Your Legacy

A legacy is more than leaving behind financial assets, titles and a surname. It’s also the intentional transmission of stories, behaviors, values and insights that constitute the “living gifts” for others so they become a positive influence in the world themselves.

Think about any famous person who made a significant difference in the generations after them. What distinguishing quality constitutes their legacy? What is the rippling effect of their leadership? How are they remembered? Why don’t they fade into oblivion? How are new generations passing on their gifts?

What about your legacy? In this book, you have explored the concepts that lead to seeing the glass as full-and-a-half: what Breakthrough is and the strategic approach aligning the Imagine, Improve, Inspire and Ignite factors. You explored your Lifeline and discovered lessons in your best and worse times. Understanding how your mentors have influenced you has probably given you insights on their legacy towards you and others. Now, you can consider why and how you can define your legacy, your footprint of lifelong contributions and your message to the world.

• Why define your legacy? As humans, we feed three hungers: to create, to express our talents and to leave a legacy. We are fulfilled when we satisfy them and we deeply understand how our lives matter. Wealth, power, fame and knowledge are not enough. Nothing compares with wisdom. By designing your legacy in a profound and systematic way, you continue to lead by example, inspiring others as you move forward with your plans, generating new ideas and transforming your environment so it can be significantly better than before.

• How to build your legacy: You don’t build a powerful Legacy on a whim or overnight. It’s a design: the deep impact of your leadership and your life’s work can be envisioned and intentionally crafted as the most artistic of endeavors. You can design your meaningful legacy by analyzing your accomplishments, the values that guide your decisions, your relationships, your most cherished ambitions and the totality of your worldview. Designing your legacy is a rewarding exercise in introspection and Deep Thinking, for your fundamental ideas deserve to be shared with those focused on positively transforming the world.

Below, you will find excellent examples of high achievers who have taken the time to design the steps to leave a powerful and influential legacy. Their lessons will illustrate the thinking and decision-making process involved.

Lessons from Powerful Legacy Builders

The Adi Dassler Legacy - Doing Good through Sports

Roi Tavor, former Bank Julius Baer executive and CEO of Nummo.com in Zurich, Switzerland, introduced me to Adi Dassler’s grandsons. Horst Bente, the co-Founder and Director of leAD Sports, described on the phone the family’s intention to honor Adi Dassler, his grandfather, for his entrepreneurial legacy and his contributions in the world of sports. Along with his brothers Klaus and Stefan, they had set up leAD Sports, which included a start-up accelerator in Berlin, the ADvantage Sports Tech Fund for investors and the Adi Dassler Family Office providing investment services.

Horst invited me to visit him at his office in Lyford Cay in the Bahamas in July 2018, where he explained the scope and implementation plan of their vision. He invited me to contribute in a variety of ways, starting with an approach that could bring Sport Tech to the world of tennis. In November 2018, I attended the demo show for The Farm, the start-up accelerator funded by Comcast in Atlanta. In June 2019, I joined Horst at a panel on Sport Tech with other experts, which took place at The Farm, where we shared our viewpoints on where innovation might be more useful. A few days later, we met at the leAD Sports international gathering at Primland in Virginia, on the Blue Ridge Mountains, where I had the opportunity to meet the family, investors and the principals of the start-ups they fund.

I’ve connected strongly with their sense of legacy, purpose and direction, as well as their passion for sports and technology as a way of getting things done better - and for more people, affordably. They intentionally focus on the glass being full-and-a-half and they promote Breakthrough in every aspect of their growth plans.

In May 2020, Horst invited me to become a Mentor at the leAD Academy in Lake Nona, Orlando, Florida, where I will contribute to the development of the start-ups in the program.

When it came to focus on Legacy in my book, it was clear that the Adi Dassler family and their story had to be part of this Chapter. Horst introduced me to Tim Krieglstein, Founder and Managing Director of Zeitgeist Ventures, based in Dusseldorf, Germany. Tim had facilitated and managed the legacy-building process for the family and could provide a unique perspective on the start, the motivation, the triggers and the approach to its unfolding. He kindly prepared a summary of their exploration and evolution of a strategy shown below:

A new stance on a family’s legacy – the next generation ventures of the Adi Dassler family

Klaus, Horst and Stefan grew up in the small village of Herzogenaurach, the birthplace of adidas. Adi Dassler, the founder of adidas was their grandfather, with Klaus and Horst being his oldest grandchildren. Adi was still in his 50s when they were born and adidas was making history, being one of the key players in creating the sports industry as we know it today. Adi was their greatest inspiration and very close to the three brothers as a grandfather, mentor and head of the family but also as an entrepreneur, inventor, genius. When Adi died in 1978, he had created his very own legacy and left the most innovative sporting goods company in the world, but he also left a big family, with 5 children and many grandchildren.

In 1990 – about 12 years later – the family sold adidas to Bernard Tapie Finance in order to recapitalize the company and protect its growth potential. This day marked a major change for the whole family, especially for Klaus and Horst, who both had or were about to complete their education and training. Klaus had finished his doctorate and Horst had gained experience in placements at international companies. Both were ready to enter the company when they lost what was meant to be a fascinating opportunity.

In the early years of the past decade, within parts of the Dassler family the desire grew to conserve the family-intern memory about Käthe and Adi Dassler. Alongside Adi, his wife Käthe was a key figure in building the business. All documents, films, images and other items still owned by the family where collected and transferred into a digital archive. While this was an important step to conserve the family history, Klaus, Horst and Stefan felt that something more active and forward-looking was needed – with the heavy backing of their mother Inge, Adi’s oldest daughter. In their opinion the family had lost the “Deutungshoheit” (interpretative sovereignty) about who Adi Dassler was, what he stood for and what his legacy should be.

Controversial discussions with adidas about what the family would be permitted to do with the legacy, image and name of its founder sparked and ignited their desire to reconnect and continue to build their family legacy in sports innovation. This is when the Adi Dassler Legacy project started.

For a better understanding: Like in any big family and particularly a few generations down the line, people have very different viewpoints, interests and also desires - even more so when there is not a clear will of how to proceed from the ascendant. The Inge Dassler-Bente-family continues with the desire to grow the Adi Dassler legacy, while other parts of the Dassler family take a more silent role or are more interested in the archive and the historical person of Käthe and Adi Dassler.

You cannot only and always look back to find meaning. Purpose, Values, Inspiration, Wealth - it is all nothing if you don’t act on it. A legacy is a blessing and a responsibility. It can be a burden and it can be something you can never quite manage to live up to. But, if you make it your own, if you take it as what it is - an information from the past – it is fun and rewarding as much as a legacy also provides meaning for yourself, the family but even more so for others you will inspire.

With this in mind and the intention to create a valuable platform also from an adidas perspective, the Bente family engaged Zeitgeist Ventures, a company and venture builder to outline and conceptualize how a Legacy project could be initiated, involving everyone in the family who would be interested, giving guidelines as to what would fit to and support the legacy but also to come up with entrepreneurial ideas and routes to explore.

Beside clarity on the intellectual property and use of the name and images of Adi Dassler three of the main goals were: 1. to support initiatives that would honor Käthe and Adi, 2. to drive innovation and investment in sports and 3. to develop ventures to create new playgrounds for the family and future generations.

Not in the center of the initial legacy project were charitable or philanthropic initiatives as such, as these were planned to be integrated at a later stage once new and perpetual business models in the realm of Sports & Innovation were identified. While it was clear that every action by the family had to reflect the ethical principles which Adi Dassler had stated in his many quotes, the concept was, that with driving and supporting innovation in sports, many good and valuable things for society would emerge. Sports as a catalyst to bringing together people from all areas of the world and from different backgrounds always has the power to achieve great things.

In the words of Nelson Mandela: “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than government in breaking down racial barriers.”

One of the key ventures that emerged from the Legacy project is leAD. leAD literally stands for legacy of Adi Dassler. Today, leAD Sports & Health Tech Partners sources, funds, and drives growth of early-stage sports & health tech startups globally. leAD works with groundbreaking solutions across the verticals of fan engagement, connected athletes, and health & well-being. leAD launched first with an accelerator program for 15 startups in 2017 in Berlin.

leAD focuses on driving growth through smart investment, premier network access, and expert training in the following core principles: leadership, commercial, finance, legal & IP, fundraising, and strategy. leAD has three investment vehicles – Academy, Portfolio, and ADvantage Fund.

leAD is backed by a unique group of private and corporate investors, all with an explicit passion for sport. Jointly through the various activities leAD has invested in about 40 companies as of today.

Other AD legacy ventures include ADIFO, a restructured multi-family office, with an athlete career and investment advisory firm to follow, and communication projects like an international feature film and a sports museum.

The Legacy project is still in an early stage, as it was founded only 4 years ago, and a long-term development or continuity plan has not been defined yet. Like in many startups, even long-standing legacy projects need to gain traction first, grow and pivot but also collect learnings along the way. It is a big commitment for a family to stand up and be publicly exposed to feedback, failure and success, ups and downs – but finally, that’s is what life is all about, if not about development. Or like Adi said: “Innovate - don’t imitate.”

What has become clear already: If a family or an individual in a family wants to look at the legacy that was passed on from previous generations in a different way, embarking on a legacy exploration can be a good way forward. With looking at the legacy from an entrepreneurial point of view and with a fresh pair of eyes, new perspectives for personal and financial growth outside the standards will emerge. This opens up opportunities to go beyond just protecting the legacy, charitable activities and investment at arm’s length.

Horst says, “Our grandfather, Adi Dassler, was always driven by the idea of making great sports ideas even greater and putting them into action. Today, he would be supporting startups in the same way we are doing in his honor. “But what he also says: “We want to do things that would make Adi proud”. Achievement for the family is twofold: To create meaning looking inwards but also outwards and by focusing it on sports, keeping it relevant to what was so relevant for the family’s founders.

What was achieved for the Dassler-Bente family as initiators:

• Clear rules and a common understanding within the other Dassler families and with adidas of different perspectives, boundaries of new activities and mutual understanding, and also about who wanted to be actively involved at all and how partnerships can be formed

• New friends, network and partners outside of the pre-existing areas in a more entrepreneurial-minded community, driven by passion and business mindset

• Re-connect to their personal vitae and working on a life-long dream and personal development curve

• Opportunities for their children to work together with them on champion their family legacy

• A very deep inside into the Sports Technology market for them but also for the next generation in the family

• Through leAD vast and vetted (co-)investment opportunities in their specific vertical. As such a completion of their Family Office and personal investment strategy and venture allocation

I believe that the future of sports is sports technology. The COVID pandemic has highlighted the importance of embracing change and adapting to a new reality. Technology can accelerate the implementation of necessary changes to ensure the health and safety of all involved in sports. It can also continue to improve performance, generate fan engagement, create cross-interaction with activities in stadia and clubs and support all aspects of the organization of events at a global scale.

More importantly, it can better define the Optimal User Experience at all skill, geographical and social levels, refining the sports offer to better serve the clients. Ultimately, technology in sports will improve digital medicine services and help calibrate diagnostic and treatment approaches for better health. In essence, doing good through sports does not only have a social aspect, it can help improve life in a society as a whole for future generations. I’m proud and grateful to collaborate with the Adi Dassler family, their progressive projects and their legacy.

Horacio Levin - International TV Producer - CEO of 360PowWow Sports

Horacio Levin, CEO of 360 PowWow Sports Productions, is the former owner and CEO of Promofilm, a pioneering international TV productions company he founded in Argentina.

Promofilm was one of the most distinguished production companies in Latin American television during the 90’s. Great hits such as Sorpresa y Media, Agrandadytos, Expedición Robinson and Fort Boyard have its distinctive trademark. Horacio invested on expansion throughout Latin America and decided to merge with the spanish Globomedia, giving rise to the largest Hispanic independent production group all over the world.

Promofilm was originally an advertising company targeting the domestic market in Argentina. The company’s first production efforts had been standard TV advertising spots to sell commercials for toy companies. Levin started to trade in cartoons and animated films with stated-owned channels.

His first innovation was on the domestic commercial TV business model, producing an “advertainment” – an entertainment program with a single major sponsor. He was able to broker innovative deals because he understood that the newly privatized broadcasters had largely disregarded global programming trends.

Afterwards, Promofilm merged the talk show format with components with an Argentine appeal, creating a program named Causa Común focused on social issues. The program started in 1993, and Horacio became well known in the Argentine TV industry as the creator of an unusual hit.

Levin traveled to world industry fairs and meetings four times a year in France and the USA. He developed a close relationship with the owners of Globomedia, a Spanish independent production company. In 1995, he decided to create his first joint venture with Globomedia to share production strategies and logistics as well as formats, expanding to Latin American markets.

They discovered that they needed to make changes in style and content to make the shows adaptable to each different country. They also experimented with game and reality shows, the earliest type of globally traded TV format. Being aware of the European TV market proved to be a key commercial ability for Promofilm, as scanning for new formats and opportunities led the company to one of its most successful formats: Expedition Robinson, purchasing the rights to produce the show in Latin America and Spain.

The show aired in 2000, on the Telecinco network in Spain and Channel 13 in Argentina and was a huge success. This translated into contracts to produce 17 different versions of the program from 2000 to 2003 for foreign markets. Six months later, CBS bought the rights to produce the show in the US, where it’s famously called Survivor.

After he retired from the company, Horacio participated in a variety of ventures and industries until the Argentine government asked him to become the director of Canal 7 (National Public TV Channel) in Argentina, a post he held ad-honorem for two years and during which he raised the artistic quality of the programming, winning several awards. He quit when budget constraints threatened the quality and he refused to fire employees. Free from any constraints, Levin returned to his love of media production and sports, founding 360 PowWow Sports.

Horacio Levin has been a client of mine and now we are associated in the production of inspirational sports programs under 360 PowWow Sports, with bases in Buenos Aires, Miami, Los Angeles and Madrid. His cousin, Daniel Gutman, lives in Miami and we coordinate future productions together.

Horacio is a big tennis fan and plays several times a week with a group of close friends. He organized a private lecture by Robbie and I in Buenos Aires and a few months later they visited his club in Sarasota to train and compete with U.S. players in a “Davis Cup” format. We share an interesting coincidence: he was the TV producer who purchased the rights from CBS to show Gabriela Sabatini’s semifinal and final matches in Argentina at the 1990 U.S. Open, while I was assisting her in her mental toughness training with Dr. Jim Loehr, sitting at the players’ box. “If Gaby lost the semis, I would have lost a lot of money, but I had the feeling she would win.”

A quality that distinguishes Horacio as a businessman is his intuition. He reads people and situations intuitively and his record of success and relationships are validation of his accuracy. When I asked him about his sense of legacy, he eloquently dug deep into his story as a trailblazing business leader to share his brilliant insights.

“Looking back, I realize I was lucky to be at the right moment in history. I started in the '70s with an advertising agency, in a 4x4 office, and over 10 years I dedicated myself to advertising for children and toy makers. For many years, I made a living from that and I was the one who led the advertising of all toys, it was a brokerage of TV ads for toys, a very special activity, a niche.

At the beginning of the 90s, the toymakers’ market collapsed due to the opening of imports and I almost ran out of customers. As I was linked to the TV channels exchanging advertising for programs for children, I started getting to know the programmers and they asked me for content and that's how the production company emerged, almost as a coincidence.

After two years, I closed the advertising agency and stayed with the production company. For me, the message is always the same: People do not know what a good business it is to be a decent, good person, and to be loved and respected by others.

In 1995, a Spanish group of executives (Globomedia) arrived in Argentina, led by Emilio Aragón, who was Milikito, from the famous clowns’ trio Gaby, Fofo and Miliki (Milikito played his son). They were looking for a producer to make the program El Juego de La Oca, which was very famous. Other producers recommended my company, Promofilm, emphasizing that I was a trustworthy person with whom they could do business. We did some programs together and although they didn't turn out very well, we all fulfilled our obligations. Then they began to give me advice on how to run my company, based on their experience in Spain (“Pay taxes, balance budgets, don't be like an Argentine cheater, be like an American who creates value and earns a lot”) and then they merged with me. There were coincidences but they had to do with being at the right times in the right places.

Regarding legacy, I always say that I enter restaurants with my head high; I was always in good terms with everyone. I have no enemies anywhere. Zero conflict… and, if there was any perceived conflict, I settled accounts for it not to grow.

When I became director of Channel 7, the TV union leaders, which are very strong in Argentina, invited me to meet with top government officials. They said, "With Promofilm we never had a problem." Back then, I had 500 employees and the union leaders had never seen my face. We had no union conflicts. The most important thing for me is always: "Be a good person, treat people well and be amiable, because that brings in business." It’s the opposite of what many believe, that by doing fast business they will grow. My progress, fundamentally, is that people trusted me, appreciated me and knew that I was not going to disappoint them, so they followed me.

The same thing happened at the company. For the employer, it means putting together a good team and having a lot of trust in employees, sometimes blind trust. If you have your staff, you have to let them run the project and then correct them only if they do it wrong. Otherwise, the company cannot grow. We were in seven countries. If I wanted to be in everything or impose myself, it was impossible.

In 2001, I had already merged with the Spanish group [Globomedia], the same people who had advised me to do things well in my company. They themselves greatly increased the value of my company, doing things well, and they paid me in shares of theirs, which six years later I decide to sell and retire. All this happens by setting a good example, by being lovable, not having enemies, not confronting. When we have to lose, we lose and we end programs that went wrong, not fighting, much with clients, not engaging in debate or discussion.

As a result, producers call you because you are zero conflict. It’s important that the producers have confidence in you. Some might think that they can keep more money in their pocket in one deal, but after that then they don't call you again. I always acted correctly, and after so many years people recognize me for it. They don't say “what talent he had, what genius.” They say “what a good person, I never had a problem with him, he always paid me, he always fulfilled his promises.” Not everyone thinks that way. Many believe that in business you have to be tougher, more energetic, like a fighter, more aggressive. Me, zero aggressiveness. There will be some who did not like what I did, it’s natural, but not because I provoked it.

This way of being was a legacy: my father was like this. I knew him a little, because he died when I was 17, just when I finished high school. It was a radical change in my life, from living very comfortably and relaxed, with a very good family, with a very successful father. He died of a heart attack at 46, the night I had returned from my graduation trip, and left a difficult economic and emotional situation. But he left a name, a surname, which served me a lot. I was Levin's son and people helped me because they loved my father very much. It was an intrinsic legacy. I felt that I had to follow that path. It's what I was, naturally. I didn't make a great effort. I am very similar to my father genetically. Above all I felt, it was my legacy and I had to fulfill it. It was the blood, the model, for many years.

He passed away on January 10, 1970. Many people talked to me about my father and I was proud. People knew him; he had been in advertising, on TV and media. I followed the path and increased it. And I lived longer than him, in another era. I understood it as a legacy. I had to keep the last name and pass it on to my children.

As far as my contributions to the industry, I must say that the ‘90s were very special in Argentina. They started with a huge crisis. From the crisis it progressed to destruction, Menem did things that we are still feeling today. On the other hand, it went to the strong peso that was worth one dollar. We had money. At that time, the business was Argentina. I thought we had to export. In '96, I started traveling to Venezuela, Colombia, Miami, Mexico and I started making productions in those countries. Then I associated with the Spanish, Globomedia. My biggest contribution were the productions and the formats. We set up several offices and did programs similar to the Argentine ones, with local people and we had many expatriates with children from other Latin American countries. My cousin Daniel Gutman organized it for me in Miami. We were very successful in South America.

Promofilm had offices in many countries, exporting productions to the world, as Survivor (Expedition Robinson). We made versions for 25 countries in Panama and the Dominican Republic - including Europe, because we were very good and very cheap. It was my biggest contribution to the industry. Many followed me, many talented Argentines, but we were the first, the ones who started the road, even though it was not worth leaving Argentina at that time. I thought that at that time we had to go abroad. The future was in exporting what we made.

The association with the Spanish group made a big difference. First, I had 25% and then I integrated the companies in a merger, everything that was Promofilm with what was the Grupo Arbol, Globomedia, which today is Mediapro. It was an impressive decision, because it changed my life. From 1996 to 2000 was the moment of glory, everything went well for us everywhere, but none of my children were interested at all to follow my path, to do my thing. I don't know if they were scared. There was only one who had a chance, my son. They all worked with me but they didn't want to commit. I realized that I was alone for the future. My wife managed the accounts. So I associated with the Spanish for their good rapport. Spain grew a lot from 2000 to 2006, Spanish TV took an incredible leap. With what we lived a month in Spain, in Argentina we produced a month of TV. I was very lucky, because I operated in the best times, before the disaster, and kept the good shares.

One day I saw a way out, intuitively… I saw different circumstances at the company and I imagined that I could leave. I did not feel comfortable; it’s difficult for me to have partners. My main partner had left the company, so I saw a light down the road, and one night at a hotel in Madrid it occurred to me how to leave, and I executed on it in two days. Until today, I continue to congratulate myself for having done it, intuitively or because of anxiety too, I felt it suited me.

My life was littered with anxious events. I am fast; I do everything with anxiety, always in a hurry. I decided it by myself; I did not consult with anyone nor talk to my family. I went back to Buenos Aires and said, "I left the company." Imagine everyone's faces. Then I dedicated myself to sorting out the dissolution of company, doing it gradually and well. There is a Facebook group on Promofilm, which has over 500 people, and every time I appear they fill my heart with joy. Everyone is friendly and greets me when I enter. They were all very young people, for whom Promofilm was their first job. They were very beautiful times; we did very beautiful programs.

In the future, I want to start writing. I’m encouraged to write a memoir. As I talk about the past, I remember. They say that as you speak, the desire to tell stories awakens.”

I’m honored and grateful for having been invited by Horacio Levin to collaborate in the creation of inspiring programming for the youth of the world. We both believe in the power of stories, optimism, kindness and sports. Together with Daniel Gutman and my brother Robert, we envision opportunities to show that Breakthrough is possible and how we can think, feel and act to design extraordinary results.

Edith Aldewereld - Women in Sustainable Finance (WISF)

Edith Aldewereld is the co-founder of WISF (Women in Sustainable Finance) in December 2018. The vision of WISF is to create an inclusive sustainable economy that benefits our society, planet and economy at large.

“WISF is an international organization that aims to transform the financial industry into a sustainable industry and leverages the high interest of women in sustainable finance: with the combination of female energy, sustainable finance and private capital we create a positive impact and balance environmental, social and governance practices, in a way that the people living on our planet today can meet their needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own. We strongly believe in the power of co-creation and therefore we connect internationally with the right partners to leverage on each others’ strengths.”

Over the last 25 years, Edith has built extensive knowledge in asset management and international private banking. At Sonnenberg Wealth Management AG, where she is a partner since July 2015, she has created together with the Investment Team sustainable investment solutions next to the already existing classic solutions. This project, Moving Money to Meaning, is her passion. It reflects her personal values, mission and purpose with her working experience. The Core of Moving Money to Meaning are the opportunities to invest in Sustainable and Impact Investments. It is Edith’s mission to make the financial industry and Private Clients aware that wealth can be created whilst achieving a positive impact on society at the same time.

In addition to her work at Sonnenberg she co-founded with the University of Zurich the course ‘Sustainable Investments in Wealth Management’. She is also co-founder of the charity War Child Support Switzerland, which supports War Child in the Netherlands through fundraising. Since January 2019, she is also involved in ACATIS Fair Value AG on sustainable investment solutions.

From 2001 to 2015, Edith served in various positions in asset management and private banking at ABN AMRO Bank (Switzerland) and later at Union Bancaire Privée (UBP Ltd) in Zurich. As a senior portfolio manager in the discretionary portfolio management (DPM) department, she was responsible for several investment committees as well as for the customized management of the portfolios of UHNWI clients. She took care of the strategical development and tactical implementation of the DPM sales strategy and the retention and acquisition of clients worldwide. After her move to private banking in the year 2007, she held positions as a senior relationship manager focusing on the UK and the Netherlands. She continued this position after ABN AMRO Bank (Switzerland) was taken over by UBP Ltd in the year 2011. From 1996 to 2001, she worked as an investment advisor private banking at the ING Bank in the Netherlands.

I met Edith while consulting at ABN AMRO Private Banking Switzerland and I witnessed her high positive energy, as well as her pragmatism, decisiveness and impulse “to get things done.” Over the years, and during my regular visits to Zurich, we met with former colleagues for dinner (the mini-Sircles) and I learned of her intention to focus on sustainable investment solutions, which now drives her work at Sonnenberg Wealth Management.

Her successful development of Women in Sustainable Finance is a testimony of her leadership and sense of legacy: “I always say that my daughter Laura, who is now 10 years old, is my teacher. From the moment she was born, I realized this is not about me; it is about the legacy what I will leave behind for her. Living the example as a mother how I would like her to live her life. And I would like her to have the courage to listen to her heart, to stand up for it, regardless what the whole world is saying, and to live what makes her truly happy. She will not copy my words, she will copy my actions and that is why I have created Women in Sustainable Finance (WISF) together with my co-founders.

Personally, I strongly believe that every person on this planet has a personal purpose that contributes positively to our planet and society. And because I have always been working in private banking; I realized we can have so much more impact with our wealth and the wealth we are managing for our clients. I truly believe that the way you manage your wealth should be a true reflection of who you are as a person. It should reflect your values and in this way, you can invest your wealth whilst having a positive impact on our society and planet. Sustainable finance and impact investments are the tools to achieve this.

Through Women in Sustainable Finance, we would like to empower women in the financial system to start thinking about their personal purpose and values and to live it in the work they do. We want to create a system change from growth driven to purpose driven. Why? Because we do no longer believe in a fear-based, growth oriented system. We would like to enable our members to connect with themselves and to live their purpose, so they can contribute positively to our society and planet.

Because we need money, capital, to ‘Move to Meaning’ (that is why we operate in the financial sector), to create a system and new technologies and methodologies to be able to live in balance with ourselves, our surroundings and the resources of our planet. We want to empower our members to thrive out of the authentic connection with themselves, and from there they are able to share with their environment because they do what makes them happy and fulfills them. They are in balance with themselves and with their environment, being it privately or professionally.

It is not about the amount of hours we work; it is about what we contribute and how we see purpose in it. In our vision we have a financial system where all money contributes to a sustainable society and planet and where every individual has the potential to be authentic, in balance with itself and with everything around it, living its purpose and therefore contributing positively to our society and planet.”

Mac Lackey - Serial Entrepreneur - TheFenx.com and ExitDNA.com

Mac Lackey is a Charlotte, NC entrepreneur who has built and sold five companies. He served as Founder/CEO of KYCK (acquired by NBC Sports), Mountain Khakis (acquired by Remington), InternetSoccer Network (acquired by News Corp SKY), and various other ventures.

Mac was also the co-founder and served as Chairman of ISL Futbol (representing legendary Football Club Barcelona’s schools in the United States) and a Venture Partner of VentureSouth.vc, in addition to his role as an executive at SportsEngine (a division of NBC Sports).

I met Mac Lackey at one of his open talks at a Charlotte brewery, where he generously shared his knowledge and perspectives on entrepreneurship with a group. A friend of mine had suggested I attend, as Mac could be an interesting guest for TheSircle dinners I organize.

In our subsequent meetings, we explored the confluence of performance in sports applied to succeeding in business, economies of scale, and how to make an impact through visionary projects. Mac also mentioned how at some point in his career, he had to recover from a devastating, destructive event generated by a partner, which forced him to pivot and rebuild his company. He had to resort to the resiliency he learned on the soccer field and reconfigure his team to move on and achieve extraordinary success.

Throughout our explorations, I found his “Life Wealth” concept intriguing, as it drives his personal philosophy and he emphasizes it in his talks with entrepreneurs. He summarizes it in concrete terms: "More importantly than some of my work experiences, I am a devoted husband and proud father of two amazing girls. The biggest thing that being an entrepreneur has done for me is give me true life. I have traveled the world (15+ countries over the past few years), lived abroad, met my idols, had 50-yard line season tickets to my favorite team (FC Barcelona), and never missed a Donuts with Dad or a chance to carve a pumpkin with my kids. I hope people choose the entrepreneurial path, and if they do, I’ll do all I can to help, support, encourage, and arm them with advice and tools that made the path a great one for my family."

In reference to his sense of legacy, Mac describes it as follows: “Looking back over my life thus far I can see those key moments. Those key decisions (conscious or not) that brought me here. I was blessed with a pretty quick brain. That put me in the “gifted and talented” classes, which probably meant better teachers, and more opportunity. I had a gift for soccer, which I pursued out of passion, but it has opened doors all my life. And I had great parents who cared for me, supported me and encouraged me. This combination set me up for a great life.... ironically it was my mistakes that really set the tone.

I was at a top-10 University on a soccer scholarship when my series of dumb decisions (favoring partying over most things) led to my expulsion. Kicked out of college. Lost my scholarship. It felt like I had blown it and the path to redemption wasn’t clear.

Fast forward a few years and I graduated a senior with a 4.0, I was a collegiate All-American in soccer (a childhood dream realized)... and within 4 years of graduation I was a multi-millionaire having already built and sold my first company.

It had already been an interesting life. Young, married, successful. But little did I know that the most profound experience, the one that would shape my future and likely lead to my legacy thinking was just ahead.

In August of 2000 my first daughter was born. Just the previous month we sold our second company and life felt amazing... but with the birth of our daughter came the realization that my success.... from school, to soccer to my early companies shared a common thread - an obsessive focus on one thing - the world around me be damned. It manifest in sleeping on the floor of my office and working 80+ hour weeks.

Something would have to give. I couldn’t be the kind of dad I wanted to be - home for dinner, coaching the teams, carving the class pumpkins, etc. if I was always at work. I could either try to be a GREAT dad OR continue as an obsessive entrepreneur.

In that short month, August of 2000 I made THE decision. The one decision that above all others has shaped my life.

I made the decision not to accept that trade off. I decided then and there (although I had no idea how I was going to do it) that I was going to be a great dad AND a scale entrepreneur.

Over the next 19 years the decision proved to be one of the most important and powerful decisions of my life.

In August of 2019, almost exactly 19 years from the original decision, I dropped my daughter in NY for her freshman year of college. And looking back it was a truly amazing ride. During those years, I built and sold 4 more companies AND coached the teams AND carved the class pumpkins. We traveled the world, moved abroad WHILE I ran my companies. I made the decision to not accept the tradeoffs and found a powerful secret that I call Living a Scaled LIFE.

It isn’t about scaling a business. Or having good work-life balance. It is a decision to pursue a robust and scaled LIFE... a life marked by experiences. Time with family and friends. Travel. Pursuing what truly matters in all areas of your life.

Today that is what I do. I teach and try to inspire others to make that choice. To not accept that tradeoffs. To Live a Scaled LIFE. I consider this my life’s work and hopefully the legacy I leave.

I do this via my community: thefenx.com and my exclusive mastermind, ExitDNA.com”

Mac Lackey plays a pivotal role in Charlotte and the U.S. entrepreneurial landscape. His legacy as a successful serial entrepreneur combines the four key factors of seeing the glass as full and a half: Imagine your ideal lifestyle, one of Life Wealth; Improve your knowledge, skills, attitudes and habits that lead you to create new value; Inspire others as you achieve your goals and Ignite other’s passion to follow your path. He leads aspiring entrepreneurs and successful ones seeking an exit or a more enjoyable life from experience and example. The path of the Phoenix.

Lluis Bruguera - The Spanish Tennis Powerhouse Legacy

My emotional ties with Barcelona run deep and are rooted in tennis. Sport psychologist Dr. Jim Loehr and I consulted Sergi Bruguera and his father and coach, Lluis Bruguera over a period of three years. Sergi unleashed his talent and determination and went on to win two French Open titles at Roland Garros and a silver Olympic medal. His highest ranking was #3 in the world.

For decades, Lluis ran one of the most successful tennis academies for talented juniors in the world, which he sold a few years ago. I had the opportunity to lecture several times at the academy on Mental Toughness Training and admire the organization, family atmosphere and the dedication of the coaches and young players. Since its inception, the academy has produced 25 ATP and WTA players ranked in the Top 100, 3 Roland Garros titles, 1 Wimbledon title and 2 Olympic Silver medals.

My relationship with Lluis continues through a legacy project that can influence tennis development worldwide. Over the years, he has gifted me several of the most extraordinary and exhilarating culinary experiences I’ve ever had, which have expanded my understanding of “the good life,” friendship and culture.

Lluis is a brilliant strategist, a straightforward shooter, a careful analyst and a tenacious builder. I find him a true representative of the Catalonian spirit. Nothing he’s ever accomplished was a fluke, he made it happen, step-by-step. He has a keen eye for understanding the essence of the issue and finding ways to simplify it so the solution to the problem can be replicated and open to further innovation. He also can identify talent as few coaches can, and he can tell you why and how they can avoid ending in the refuse pile, if the player is willing to work for it.

“I understand legacy as what you leave behind with pride, something done or created that can be of use for others. In life, you triumph if you conquer important achievements, if you start something no one has ever done, or you are among the first ones in the world to do it. You do it well; you open a path. You create something original or do it differently, you succeed and now they follow you on your path.

In life, I always wanted to win, to go as far as possible. To do that, I had to work more and create something that would allow me to go farther than anyone else.

As a coach, I realized that tennis is a game and I had to understand it to dominate it. I saw that the player was a whole person and that had to be considered. Strokes were not enough, I had to teach them to win, to use strategy and that the mind was essential. Within the mental there’s confidence, a winning mindset, motivation, patience, sacrifice and above all, emotional control.

I realized that not all players were the same and that I had to personalize my coaching to promote their abilities while reinforcing their weaknesses. My son Sergi was very skillful, a winner with a great mind, but he didn’t have the strength of Sampras, Becker, Agassi and others. However, he could make his shots go faster, so I thought that the racquet should go faster. Using the wrist was not considered OK in 1985. I also thought about fitness and in talking less and doing more.

I created drills were the coach would feed from a basket, or by hand or at the volley, which would allow him to complete the task without talking. The goal was to identify the problem find out which drill could solve it. I created the Spanish System and Method that many have followed. After Sergi came Moya, Corretja, Costa, Ferrero, Ferrer, Verdasco, Francisco Lopez till Rafael Nadal arrived. Sergi was considered the ideal clay court player, then Nadal made the impossible possible.

I was the Director of the Royal Spanish Tennis Federation, as well as the Catalonian and the Turkish Federations, having helped many others along the way. I was the first private coach hired by a player.

I created the Bruguera Tennis Academy, first of its kind in Europe and followed by many others. I was Davis Cup Captain and won Grand Slams with Sergi and Garbiñe Muguruza. The Bruguera System and Method has reduced tennis instruction to five (5) keys, facilitating the identification of the problem and the solution.

In my path, there’ve been those who have helped me see what I hadn’t seen. In the early 1990s, I had the opportunity to work with Jim Loehr and Carlos Salum, which allowed me to perfect fundamental aspects.”

When we collaborated with Lluis, what stood out for me was his ability to listen, digest and adapt complex information so Sergi could use it precisely and instantly. Sergi is one of the most talented players I’ve had the pleasure to work with. When Jim Loehr and I started coaching him, he seemed to be coasting; he still had the attitude of a good junior player, not a pro. He noticed how top players changed their attitudes once they climbed up to the Top-10 rankings, they would not treat him in a friendly manner as before. He also showed a bit of rebellion and a desire to enjoy time away with his friends, to escape the pressures of the tour. But he always responded to a challenge, he was extremely competitive, so that became a hot button to push and get him to work harder. I consider that his physical trainer, Salvador Sosa Llop, did a lot for his mental toughness as well. He knew how to incite Sergi’s primal competitiveness.

As Lluis describes, he had to use Sergi’s small frame to generate extraordinary acceleration to hurt his much stronger opponents, at a time when almost all of them were visibly stronger, taller and tireless grinders, especially on clay. By transforming Sergi into an athlete with a mental toughness edge, Lluis maximized his strengths and compensated for his weak points. Sergi’s excellent career is the evidence and his enhanced understanding of sport science principles improved the output at the academy and Spanish tennis as a whole (since 1993, Spanish tennis players have won 30 Grand Slams, won the Davis Cup 6 times and the Federation Cup 5 times - 6 total).

iGuzzini - Better Light for a Better Life - Made in Italy for the World

When it comes to sustaining a powerful family legacy tied to a successful international business, the complexities multiply. Clarity of vision and agreements on what “legacy” constitutes are essential. The legacy is in full display.

During the 2012 International Sircle in Ancona, Italy, the participants had the opportunity to visit the prestigious iGuzzini company in Recanati, organized by Sabrina Dubbini of the Istituo Adriano Olivetti. The family-owned firm is an international community at the service of architecture and the development of lighting culture. It’s a production center with a strong, deep-rooted vocation for innovation; a center of excellence dedicated to the study, design and management of lighting in its various forms.

In 2016, I returned with an American executive from an industrial roofing company who wanted to learn how successful family companies had overcome internal struggles, financial crisis and market challenges. Mr. Mauro Guzzini, member of a long dynasty of innovative entrepreneurs, agreed to meet with us and answer our questions on legacy.

Since 1959, iGuzzini has focused on the study, design and production of innovative indoor and outdoor lighting systems. They have grown from a small firm in Recanati to become a leading international group in the architectural lighting sector and they have brought light to workplaces, cultural heritage sites, cities and infrastructures.

Some of their extraordinary light projects include “Light is Back,” which was launched in the 1990s to contribute to enhancing and protecting cultural assets. The project involves adopting artworks and monuments by providing the consultancy and research required to identify the technologies and methods best suited to facilitate their use and protect them from the damage caused by light radiation.

Among the “Light is Back” adopted cultural assets are Michelangelo’s Pieta at the Vatican, Tintoretto at Scuola di San Rocco in Venice, The Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, The Last Supper in Milan, Florence’s Cathedral, the Galleria Borghese in Rome, the Mostar Bridge in Bosnia and Herzegovina, St. Petersburg in Russia and Beaubourg in France.

I had the opportunity of watching The Last Supper’s documentary at their wonderful auditorium in Recanati (featuring Poltrona Frau chairs in upholstered in Chinese red leather), produced to generate strong emotions and an instant understanding of the power of light. In the “Lights is Back” projects art and architecture become 'live material' that recount a story and identity through a special lighting scenario, which makes light the co-star of a wider process of transformation and cultural improvement. In other words, social innovation.

Another presentation showed the creation of a square (piazza) at an Expo creating an adaptive building with lights, using a Versace motif. The purpose was for the Expo participants to enjoy a meeting place in which they could experience the power of light and design. It became the talk of the show, with traffic increasing every day as the visitors engaged emotionally with the space and created a memory.

Adolfo Guzzini, President Emeritus, whom I had the pleasure of meeting, defines their purpose as follows:

We want a light that can illuminate the smiles of people whom we meet on the street, creating and spreading happiness. We want a light that guides our children’s way back home, in the dark winter evenings. We want a light that warms the family evenings spent at the park, leaving behind a trail of games and laughter. We want a light that creates life in our city, giving new hues to its dark forgotten corners. We want a light that reveals and incites us to rediscover the hidden treasures of our history and culture, illuminating the monuments and buildings that speak about our past. We want a light that gives shape to the buildings, the initiatives, and the dreams of architects and designers. We want a light that marks the beginning and the end of the streets in our city.

In my conversations with Mauro Guzzini, he identified the following fundamental legacy-building factors:

• FOCUS: The company started in 1912 with imports from Argentina, focused on designing and creating utensils made of animal horns. Later, they developed the first acrylic products in the world with a German patent. Overtime, their products evolved into lighting, kitchen, bathroom and electric circuit products. They currently runs 4 major divisions internationally

• GOVERNANCE: The Board includes 11 family members. Adolfo Guzzini initiated the Family Governance approach. The fundamental aspects of family unity were time spent together, communication and the creation of a Family Pact. There are strict rules for joining the firm, demanding a high education level and outside experience. To avoid conflicts or voting independence issues, spouses cannot join the firm. Experts in family governance and communication facilitate their family and board meetings.

• SOCIAL MISSION: The company has chosen environmental protection, biological and psychological wellbeing and sustainable economies as integral elements of their social mission. They promote the responsible use of energy to support cities for a real improvement of social life. They join regional, national and international networks.

• ECONOMIC PROGRESS: Their emphasis is on being an economic engine through Light, Energy and Design products, as well as their protection of the nuclear family and the longevity of the economic region. They support the Recanati and the Marche Region (iGuzzini is a sponsor of the ATP Recanati Tennis Tournament, among other initiatives). They survived the 2008 financial crisis by cutting down costs and rewards to protect employees’ jobs and benefits, so their families would not suffer. They also worked hard at finding new international markets, which allowed them to increase revenues and not having to ask for government or bank loans.

• INTERNATIONAL FOOTPRINT: The company embraces the “Made in Italy” brand and its promotional principles. They differentiate their image and products by working with the best architects in the world to design unique light fixtures and solutions. They aspire to appear in architectural specs, so the construction industry notices their importance as preferred providers of extraordinary products. They have an important international presence and expansion plan that includes representatives in 92 countries. They have received multiple International Design Awards and continuously expand their “Light is Back” adoption of cultural assets and projects.

• SUCCESS FACTORS: They were able to implement a successful diversification, take time to consider new ideas and improve the communication among family members. They focus on the big issues but attend to emotions, as well as organizing gatherings regularly. The Family Pact is drafted with outside help and they all sign it. They organize a yearly Family Leadership Retreat and participate in family business networks to better generate solutions. They also organize generational family gatherings to intensify the mentoring and camaraderie among age groups.

What impressed me most about iGuzzini since I first heard of the company from a former CEO of one of their divisions, is their capacity “to do the right thing” under extreme circumstances, with a socially conscious and responsible understanding of Capitalism. As a family business, the nuclear family (theirs and the ones in the Marche Region) are at the core of their decisions. Through that lens, they have set priorities that benefit the company in both the short term and the long term, with a sense of sustainability and legacy. By their own account, they have resisted the attempts from some of their family members to implement shortsighted plans that could have seriously hampered their future. Persuading rebelling family members is not easy, they admit. Yet they applied all methods of persuasion, gradually, persistently, with versatility and with independent outside support. Within four years, they emerged from the 2008 global financial crisis unscathed and improved. When I tell their story in the United States, people shake their heads. Examples like iGuzzini are rare, there are not many companies “built to last,” which are global and still brand themselves proudly as “Made in Italy” as a philosophical stance, as a competitive advantage, as a badge of unparalleled quality. Better light, better life, stronger legacy.

How You Can Start Planning You Legacy

Here’s a checklist you can use to align the key elements of your legacy:

1. As you plan your future, filter your decisions through this question: “Does this support the life I’m trying to create?”

2. Examine the answers to these legacy-building questions: “How is the world better because I achieve my objectives? Who else besides me benefits from my most critical decisions? How is my achievement a message to the world? How do I want to be remembered?”

3. Share your personal history with your family and friends. It amazes me to discover how many people fail to do this. This is also why I wrote this book, and why you might want to write yours. Start by completing the sentence “This I believe…”

4. Be a mentor. Become the guide, thinking partner, leader and living example who can make a difference in those close to you and those whom you can influence.

5. Be an ambassador or a champion for a cause. Seed the cause with your time, advice, mentoring and/or funds so it can achieve its objectives, transform and thrive in the future.

6. Set up a leadership development program in your organization to ensure that you can detect, educate and promote those who want and deserve to lead according to its vision and values.

7. Make every interaction a piece of your legacy. Even a small gesture, a tip, a supporting comment or listening to someone’s perspective can be transforming and memorable. Use the processional effect: as you act, you lead and you positively transform.

8. Give meaningful gifts. Put some thinking into personal, corporate and philanthropic gifts. Understand who the recipients are, what their situation is, what gift would be meaningful to them and how it can be a contribution to their growth, improvement or transformation. Intentionally meaningful gifts can be a stepping-stone to your legacy.

9. Organize your finances and set up a portfolio of gifts that includes inheritance, philanthropy and gifts. Although a financial advisor can help you structure a long-term plan, you can start by envisioning the effect you want to have through your assets.

10. Craft your Message to the World. You might want to define and verbalize your Message to the World, which can encapsulate the reasons and objectives of your legacy. I have created a special Chapter for you to explore the steps that lead to the crafting of your message and its uniqueness.

UPCOMING CHAPTERS (PREMIUM EDITION) - To Be Released in October 2020

Chapter 11 - Your Breakthrough Blueprint Workbook and Chapter 12 - Your Message to the World

Make Breakthrough Happen

[Return to Index - Table of Contents]