Is stewardship the most important function of partnership?

The opening lines from Wikipedia:

“Stewardship is an ethic that embodies responsible planning and management of resources. The concept of stewardship has been applied in diverse realms, including with respect to environment, economics, health, property, information, and religion, and is linked to the concept of sustainability.”

I have always had a strong sense that, if professional practice is to make a lasting impression, it has to manage its resources for successor generations. Indeed, a lot of firms rely upon their founding year as a marketing tool: “Founded in 1868″, and sometimes the fact that one of the partners has succeeded to the practice of their forbears.