Transitioning a business to a successor is easy for owners who aren’t interested in the future of the companies they’ve built and believe that leaving behind a trail of broken relationships is just the price of a business transition. Business transitions are not so easy, however, for owners who care deeply about their relationships with the most important people in their lives and want their companies to flourish after they leave. We are privileged to work with owners in the second group and designed The Transition Roadmap Developer™ (TRD) to make the transition from business owner to former business owner as uncomplicated and successful as possible. The foundation for the TRD are the goals you set for yourself and your life after you leave your company. We call that life your “Next Adventure,” and in this article hope to illustrate the key role your Next Adventure™ plays in your business transition.
Business transition is a journey to an exciting destination.
Too many owners think of the exit from their companies only in terms of what they are leaving behind. What they overlook is that a business transition is a journey to a destination. And that destination is the next phase of their lives, or Next Adventure.
We ask owners to set goals for ten dimensions of their lives and usually ask the same of their spouses. These dimensions are:
- Spiritual
- Life Purpose/Direction
- Professional / Intellectual
- Financial
- Time Freedom
- Peace / Groundedness
- Relationships / Love Connectedness
- Play / Fun
- Physical Mobility / Health
- Environment
We’ve found that owners who paint the most vivid pictures of their Next Adventures enjoy the most fulfilling lives.
Your Next Adventure Is Your North Star.
Once you set your destination, it’s far simpler to make decisions at the forks in the road of your transition journey. You can gauge whether a choice moves you either closer to or further from your Next Adventure.
Next Adventures are positive motivators.
When we work toward a reward, we are positively motivated. When we work to avoid pain or punishment, we are negatively motivated. While both forms can be effective, most of the entrepreneurs I know are positively motivated.
In the context of business succession, exiting isn’t about loss: It’s about gain. Owners who can focus on their Next Adventures find it easier to do the hard work necessary to create a succession path, and to confidently invite others to join them on their journeys.
Next Adventures provide balance.
As owners of successful companies, we are, by definition, good at what we do. Sure, some days are more challenging than others, but we know what we’re doing and are proud of what we accomplish.
It can be difficult then to imagine what we could possibly do after we leave our businesses that will truly engage us, generate the energy we thrive on, and be a source of pride. Solving that riddle takes a lot of self-reflection, creativity and often a little guidance.
We offer a workshop (The Pathfinder™) for owners and others in transition (e.g., successors, college students, and service members leaving the military) that through assessments and exercises takes a deep dive into an individual’s temperament, defining experiences, values, and essential outcomes. Participants leave the workshop with an understanding of their personal mission, a six-year map for achieving purpose and fulfillment, and a detailed eighteen-month growth plan.
If you’d like to know more about The Pathfinder or the TRD, check out the Transition Tools page on this website or give us a call. We’d love to help you create and live your Next Adventure.
Elizabeth Ledoux is a co-author of the award-winning It’s A Journey: The MUST-HAVE Roadmap to Successful Succession Planning, as well as Accelerate Your Entrepreneurial Flight and Understanding the Growth of the Entrepreneur. She frequently speaks to organizations and business owners about challenges and opportunities in private and family business transitions, business and individual growth, and the business succession journey.
She serves as Chair for TIGER 21 in Denver, Colorado and was Chair for 14 years of the Women Presidents’ Organization’s Denver chapter.
