Welcome to Family Navigator

The FamilyNavigator is based on the analysis of the responses of all the participants who completed the FamilyNavigator. The questionnaire is an outgrowth of research conducted by family business expert, Dean R. Fowler, Ph.D., to develop the FamilyNavigator with its focus on four Focus Areas, which are critical for successful intergenerational family transitions.

As you will see in this report, each of the four Focus Areas has three Competencies which measure and reflect a family's progress towards transitional success. The FamilyNavigator provides analytical and graphical results for each of these twelve Competencies. It also suggests a roadmap of focus and actions, which should maximize the odds that your family will successfully reach your transitional goals and create a sustainable family legacy which will last for generations.

The FamilyNavigator is rooted in a purposeful approach to planning based on the culture, vision, and values of the family. The four Focus Areas should be traversed sequentially starting with the issues of Family Dynamics and moving on to the Competencies in the Focus Areas of Preparation & Development, and Business Preservation & Growth. Completion of the journey through these first three Focus Areas provides the underlying foundation to address the fourth Focus Area of sustainable Transition Planning.

Too often the technical issues of the twelfth Competency – Estate, Financial & Tax Planning – drive and dominate the planning process. We have discovered the best technical planning occurs as an outgrowth of first addressing the other eleven Competencies. If you have already put a comprehensive technical plan in place before engaging in the FamilyNavigator, you will want to carefully review that technical plan to see how it is aligned with the needs of your family as illuminated through the FamilyNavigator.

Contact Information

For more information, please contact us at:

Email: jgentine@benchconsulting.com