Steelcase, the office furniture maker based in Michigan turned 100 years old recently.

The feat of surviving 100 years in this age of the ebb and flow of business is hard to imagine. Times change, and businesses must change with those times or they run the risk of being outdated. The fickle nature of the consumer makes it difficult to adapt. The pace of change is further heightened by the rise of technology. Navigation is difficult.

But Steelcase proclaims that it is not an office furniture maker but rather it is a company of ideas. They state simply: “Companies don’t survive for a century, ideas do.”

I love that.  And I couldn’t help modify the Steelcase motto to families: “Families don’t survive for a century, but their values will.”

That bears some explaining. Families often lose any sort of shared identity and purpose as the years pass and generations multiply. There are good times and bad. Some families are rocked during times of difficulty and break apart. Others cannot stand their own success and wealth and suffer similar fates.

Like Steelcase, the families that stay close and thrive together are those that have a reason to be. Values. Ideas. What are the ideas that a family will live and die for? We’ve seen it time and time again. Those who have a reason to rally around a big idea will more likely survive the test of time.

What are some of the big ideas? Faith. Service. Generosity. Freedom. Those are the ideas that outlast the waves and produce an enduring family.

To begin defining your family’s values, one of the first things I encourage you to do simply is to talk about it.

• What do you do well as a family?
• Where do you share common interests and pursuits?
• What does it look like when you are doing well as a family or when you are not?

These questions might unveil common themes.

If you’re not sure, still have the conversation. The choice to start is the most important. The wisdom you gain through each step will only grow.

Take a practical step in discussing values by downloading my guide to Identifying Your Family’s Values!

Bill High

Bill is CEO & Founder of Vyne Legacy. He works with families to equip them with tools to build multigenerational legacies, and he teaches givers and financial advisers on transformational biblical generosity. He is the co-author with David Green of Giving It All Away and Getting It All Back Again: The Way of Living Generously.

Published July 27, 2018

Topics: Family Legacy

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