In The Dance of Business Successor Development, we described the three phases of teaching and mentoring successors. In Phase 1, owners lead, and successors follow. In Phase 2, owners and successors alternate the lead, and in Phase 3, successors lead, and owners follow. The trickiest part of the dance is Phase 2 because when successors begin to assume greater levels of responsibility, they make mistakes and owners must let them. It’s awkward, and miscommunication and misunderstandings are almost inevitable. That’s why we developed three rules of engagement for successor development
When was the last time you thought about how you do what you do to make your company successful? If you are like most owners, the answer is “I don’t think about how I do what I do. I just do it.” Part of succession planning, however, involves teaching a successor to do what you do. We call this phase of succession planning “The Dance of Business Successor Development.” The Dance of Business Successor Development Before the dance begins, you create a curriculum meaning you break down what appear to
Have you ever imagined that the transition out of your business could be the capstone of your career as a successful owner? Or do you think of the succession planning process only as contingency planning for your retirement? For a moment, consider the possibility that business succession planning can lay the groundwork for your next adventure and ongoing success of your business and all those who depend on it. First, the transition of a business is not just a one-time event. It is a journey that involves owners, their families, successors, and companies. Second, the business succession
Successful business owners are typically visionaries. They have the ability to look ahead, anticipate both threats and opportunities and take action accordingly. Just as typically, the eventuality they will one day leave their companies can be a blind spot. Even owners who recognize they will put their companies in the hands of successors “someday” often don’t know how to approach the topic with others without making everyone uncomfortable — or worse. If you are one of these owners, here are six tips we share when we coach owners through introducing
Succession planning, business transition planning, business succession planning and exit planning: These are just a few of the terms that business owners see in messages, posts, and newsletters from their CPAs, attorneys, investment advisors, life insurance agents, business consultants, business brokers, and even their bankers. Unlike business succession consultants, many of these professionals have added exit or succession planning to their core practices. Regardless of what they call themselves, all mean well: They want to contribute their expertise to help business owners transfer their companies to family members, employees or
I’ve written before about why it’s never too early to start business succession planning. Yet, even when owners recognize the benefits of planning for the transition of their companies well in advance of any transfer, some continue to put it off. Why? In my work with business owners, my team and I identified four assumptions that they commonly make about the succession planning process. 1. Expect perfection When owners begin to get a clear picture of everything that’s involved in a successful business transition, many get stuck. For good reason!
The first question that owners typically think about when they begin to look ahead to leaving their companies in a successor’s hands is some variation of How much is my business worth? or How much cash do I want or need when I leave? How much . . . ? is a critically important question, but it stops many owners from making any progress in creating their business transition strategies. The Transition Roadmap Developer™: The Gold Standard of Business Transition Strategies Our proprietary business transition planning process, The Transition Roadmap
Curt Bear, host of the podcast The LoCo Experience,* sat down with Elizabeth Ledoux to talk about her journey from engineering student at the Colorado School of Mines to systems designer for medical and dental practices; from petroleum engineer and mom of two to student of human behavior; from founder of an international consultancy to author and now founder and current CEO of The Transition Strategists. Elizabeth Ledoux Podcast Interview LoCO Think Tank – a great listen! Elizabeth shares some of the insights she’s picked up from her experience
The playwright George Bernard Shaw said, “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” Statistics from family businesses in transition certainly agree. The Family Business Institute cites a 2005 Canadian Federation of Independent Business survey that found that “…while 74% of the senior generation leaders report there is a clearly communicated succession plan, 78% of their successors report there isn’t!” Based on the work my team and I have done with numerous owners to craft transitions for their businesses — many of them multi-generational
