12 Tools To Run Your Family Office Like A Silicon Valley Startup

This article originally appeared on Forbes Leadership. See my related post, “How To Build Your Future Family Office” to learn more about the new roles of a modern family office.

Get ready to swap your whiteboard for post-its and online collaboration. Shutterstock

Family offices have evolved from the mega-money-centric, often hidebound institutions of a bygone era (by which we mean a few decades ago). Today the services offered by an energetic family office more closely resemble those of a life coach/creative director/spin-doctor, than a financial advisor. Tasks, like positioning the family business within a specific area, managing potentially negative ‘press’ or guiding the business to the “next big thing”, are all within the scope of the new family office.

As the sheer speed of change today in virtually every business and communications sphere nears the social equivalent of light-speed, many older family offices have had difficulty keeping their services relevant. Ponderous is definitely out — family offices today need to be light, agile and able to pivot. But it’s a big universe out there: Where and how to begin? Check out the following short list of resources that can help turn your family office from a dinosaur into a veritable Silicon Valley startup.

Internal Communication Tools:

• Podio allows for the creation of workspaces for different areas of your business and eases the tracking of tasks, events and resources while allowing for the creation of custom apps that work the way you do.
• Slack is a tool from the startup world that can help you better organize daily communications while connecting to the other tools you frequently use.
• Trusted Family is a tool built specifically for managing the many aspects of communications involved in running a family-owned business.

Project Management Platforms

• Trello uses project boards, lists, and cards to enable you to organize and prioritize your projects in a manner that suits your organization. Trello can be shaped to fit various different project methodologies and is especially suited for KanBan process management fans.
• Monday originated in the advertising world and is a big help with simply visualizing complex project planning.

Research and Innovation Guides

• The Consumer Trend Canvas from Trendwatching is a tool that helps track and analyze trends, then make sense of them before applying them to your own business.
• PSFK is a great source of innovation news closely tracking current international trend areas. By following your industry on PSFK you can keep abreast of major movements in your business category.
• Fast Company contains excellent content focused on innovation and ways to generate ideas by gathering content and organizing it into stables that relate to your company’s business areas.
• Springwise is a portal that started in 2002 and still regularly shares inspirational startup ideas that might help direct your thoughts toward the ‘next big thing.’

Reputation Management Tools

• Mention is a great media monitoring tool that tracks various online platforms and alerts you when your company is mentioned on the web, helping ensure that negative comments don’t slip through.
• Brand Mentions is a recent media-monitoring entrant similar to Mention, but with a tighter social media focus.
• Buffer offers an app to help you keep track of content you want to share to control the narrative and help craft the company’s reputation.

I am the owner and director of Simple, a brand management & consulting firm based in Copenhagen, Denmark. We focus on helping family-owned companies solve old and new problems, plan for continued family involvement over coming generations, and build solid, innovative businesses. My academic background lies in strategic brand management and communication, but the more pertinent fact is that I grew up and worked in a family-owned business in Cape Town, South Africa. This is why I have firsthand knowledge of the unique strains and challenges inherent in working with family members, and want to help other family-owned firms make the most of their strong points while skirting common problem areas faced by family-owned firms.