How it works · FOOS™
The Family Office Operating System™
The kind of system wealthy families have long used, built for any family: a model, a growing set of tools and a meeting rhythm that let your family run together on purpose. Every family starts with the 30-Day Family Diagnostic.
The model
The Four Laws
Perspective, Conversation, Identity, Structure. Each builds on the last. You can't design structure until you understand why conversations stopped feeling safe.
The tools
A growing toolkit
Every family starts with:
- A one-page family map
- Every voice, in writing
- A roles map: who carries, decides and wants what
- Ground rules for hard conversations
- Your three priorities and a meeting agenda
More tools join the system as it grows, like conflict resolution and liquidity and contingency planning.
The rhythm
We start it. You keep it.
- With us: the 30-Day Family Diagnostic.
- Then, every quarter: your family meets and scores progress on its three priorities.
- Every year: your family refreshes its vision and values.
We set up your first meeting and its agenda. If you'd rather have us in the room each quarter, we offer that too.
Step one
How the 30 days run
One law per week, ending with the whole family in one room.
| Week | Law | What happens | Your time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Everyone is right from their own perspective | A one-on-one conversation with each adult in the family. Each person says what they see, what they carry and what they need, before anything gets debated. | 60 min per person |
| 2 | Conversations break down when safety is lost | Each person fills out a short workbook on their own: what makes it safe to speak up in your family, and what shuts it down. We put everyone's answers side by side to show where they agree and where they don't. | About 1 hr each |
| 3 | Identity drives behavior | Each person writes down their own role: what they carry, what they decide, what they want, and whether they chose it or inherited it. We show where everyone's answers overlap and where they collide. | About 1 hr each |
| 4 | Structure and liquidity determine whether a family empire feels like a trap or a launchpad | Whole-family session: we walk through what we found, including where your setup gives people choices and where it traps them. You leave with your next family meeting on the calendar and the agenda laid out. | 2 hrs, whole family |
In person or over Zoom. We invite everyone with a stake: owners, operators, spouses and adult kids. Not everyone has to be ready on day one, and the door stays open for anyone who wants to join later.
What you walk away with
Picture your next family meeting.
No attorney in the corner, no one bracing before they speak. People disagree, and the conversation keeps going.
- Every voice, in writingA summary of what each person needs from the family, in their own words.
- A one-page map of your familyWho's involved, what's shared, who decides what, and where the strain is showing.
- Your next family meeting, on the calendarIts agenda is the three things your family prioritized.
Done means: every person has been heard one-on-one, the whole family has seen the findings together, and your next family meeting is on the calendar with its agenda set.
Who it's for
For families whose design no longer fits, or never existed.
People marry in, marriages end, kids grow up, loved ones pass and roles shift. The right system grows with them, so what you've built becomes a launchpad for the next generation, not a trap.
- You share assets across generations: a business, real estate, investments or land
- You've done estate planning but have no system for how the family operates now
- You had a system that worked, and new people, new roles or new times have outgrown it
- You built it, and want to design how your family runs before habits harden
- You're the second, third or later generation, living inside rules you didn't write
- You're mid-handoff, with one generation stepping back and the next stepping up
Not a fit if
- You want someone to pick a side or settle a legal dispute
- You want to use this to build a case against someone in your family
- You need legal, tax or counseling advice. We work alongside those pros, not in place of them.
- Your whole family, up to 8 adults
- Paid in full at kickoff, or two payments of $4,000
- Travel for in-person sessions billed at cost
Questions
What families ask first
Do you replace our attorney, CPA or advisor?
No. We don't give legal, tax, financial or counseling advice. We work alongside your advisors, and anything in their lane goes back to them.
Does everyone have to take part?
We invite everyone with a stake: owners, operators, spouses and adult kids. Not everyone has to be ready on day one, and the door stays open for anyone who wants to join later.
Do we have to meet in person?
No. Sessions run in person or over Zoom. Travel for in-person sessions is billed at cost.
What happens after the 30 days?
Your family runs it: a family meeting every quarter on your three priorities, and a vision and values refresh once a year. You leave with the next meeting on the calendar and its agenda set.
If you'd rather have us in the room, we offer ongoing support: we facilitate your quarterly meetings and bring in new tools as the system grows. We'll scope it with you at your final session.