A quote commonly attributed to William Shakespeare applies in nearly every relationship but always reminds me of a common pitfall in family business transitions: Expectation is the root of all heartache. Expectations in family business transitions are especially toxic because they can damage or destroy the irreplaceable relationships between parents and children. We all bring expectations into the workplace and parents and children in family businesses are no exception. Children often come into a business thinking they know more than they do and expecting to be successful because they’ve heard
According to the Conference Board, there is a 99% probability of recession within the next 12 months.[1] That expectation raises a question for owners who are thinking about (or are already working on) the transition of their companies to successors: Should you be planning a business transition during a recession? Should you forge ahead or hit the pause button? Entrepreneurs, wealth creators and transition strategists are not pessimists by nature. Instead, we are nimble problem-solvers who, through a combination of hard work and creative thinking, create better futures for ourselves,
In early 2023, the Colorado Chamber of Commerce released the Colorado Competitive Landscape Report: 2022 Sentiment and 2023 Outlook. In it, CEOs of public, private and non-profit organizations shared their thoughts about workforce challenges, Colorado’s business climate, their operations / strategic plans and what 2023 might bring. Succession Planning is in the Eye of the Beholder As a business transition guide, one of the findings that interested me was that most companies include “succession planning” in their strategic plans, yet their approach to planning varied dramatically. “One respondent reported having a
Owners who ask me whether I recommend selling their companies to a third party are often stunned by my answer: Maybe or maybe not. They are stunned because I’m a transition strategist who works with owners planning business transitions every day. And yet, I can’t recommend an exit path until owners tell me what they want the transition of their companies to achieve. Is the M&A market the best exit path for you? Maybe, but let’s go a bit deeper into the question. The first and fundamental question: Why? The
I’ve written about the three primary reasons owners get unstuck and take the leap into their business transition journeys: 1) a reckoning with mortality, 2) the achievement of a goal or 3) a reaction to events outside the business. In this article, I share four steps to getting unstuck in business transitions using, as an example, an owner who experienced a death in the family. “Liza” the young daughter of one of our clients, “Simon,” died after a tragic climbing accident. This loss made a permanent mark on Simon, his
Procrastination: It’s a behavior that everyone agrees is rarely productive and yet, in some areas of our lives, we’re all guilty of it. When we procrastinate about taking out the trash or making dinner, the consequences are minimal and generally short lived. The price of procrastination in business transitions, however, is high and very often long lasting, if not life changing.* The length of your runway As transition strategists, we’re evangelists for long runways. What we mean is that the more time owners give themselves to plan their business transitions,
If you run an enterprise alone or with only one partner, no committees or obstacles prevent you from making decisions or changing direction on the fly. The same is likely true if you operate an enterprise with your adult children because they grew up listening to and watching you. They understand your values and vision, and the lines of communication—at the dinner table and at the office—are open and well-used. Now imagine the effect on the lines of communication when a third generation enters the picture. When your children have
In a prior article, I wrote about four elements (or competencies) of emotional intelligence that serve business owners well when involved in transitions. In this article, I look at the flip side: the value of emotional intelligence for successors in business transitions. Emotional Intelligence for Successors in Business Transitions – And Beyond Four elements of emotional intelligence—personal agility, empathy, intentional communication and trust building—are competencies that successors can draw upon to facilitate their transition from successor to owner, especially when they grow frustrated with the pace of the transition. These
As a successful entrepreneur, it’s natural for you to solve some problems by thinking outside of the box. That ability to put disparate elements together, often in ways others would not, is known as inclusive thinking. Too many owners, however, look at the transition of their companies to successors from only one perspective. The purpose of this article is to show you how the power of inclusive thinking works in succession planning. During uncertain times, it can be tempting to assume that the business transition you’ve dreamed of either must
