Richard Wilson: using empty planning fields to find the next task
Richard described completing a one-page family office planning sheet, then using the fields that remained empty to identify work still to do.
The first pass was expected to be incomplete
In the recording, Richard introduced the sheet as a first step. He said the family would not be able to complete every field immediately. An empty field could reveal an unresolved part of the plan.
The missing answer had a job
The point was to use the incomplete sheet to guide the next conversation and further work. The example is more specific than a general recommendation to write a plan: the unfinished fields help identify what the family needs to address next.
In Richard C. Wilson's words
"those empty blank fields will give you hints at what you need to work on next." (Richard C. Wilson, How to Start a Family Office mini-series)
How to use this
- Complete the fields for which the family already has an answer.
- List the unresolved decisions revealed by the remaining spaces.
Questions and answers
Did Richard expect every field to be filled immediately?
No. He said the family would be unable to complete all of them at first.
How were the remaining fields useful?
They pointed to areas needing further discussion or work.