How Family Businesses Gain Clarity with the Objectives Matrix in Succession Planning

From uncovering personal values and legacy goals to naming deal breakers and navigating differing visions, this episode reveals how structured dialogue can ease tension and spark aligned action. 

They also share the unique role a guide plays in holding space, asking tough questions, and empowering families to move from secrecy to shared vision. 

• Loss of identity or purpose (owners & successors) 

• Fear of family conflict 

• Fear of making the wrong decision or saying the wrong thing 

• Fear of being misunderstood or not having a voice 

👉 Schedule a discovery call : https://transitionstrategists.com/discovery 

Key Topics Covered 

• What the Objectives Matrix is and why it’s essential 

• How stating objectives in present tense shifts energy 

• Real stories of emotional clarity and breakthroughs 

• Why deal breakers matter more than you think 

• Understanding > alignment: building mutual respect 

• The role of a guide in creating psychological safety 

• How secrecy can lead to conflict—and clarity can prevent it 

• Turning succession from a transaction into a transformation 

Chapters in this episode:

00:00 Introduction to Transition Work and the Objectives Matrix 
01:45 Marcy and Debbie’s Journeys as Transition Guides 
04:10 The Role of a Guide vs. Coach or Consultant 
08:25 Uncovering the Why with the Objectives Matrix 
12:40 Client Breakthroughs and Emotional Moments 
16:55 The Power of Deal Breakers 
21:15 Moving from Transaction to Transition 
26:20 Real-World Examples of Shared Objectives 
31:05 Creating Psychological Safety in the Process 
36:10 Owner Fears and the Vulnerability of Letting Go 
40:45 Key Takeaways and Where to Find the Tool 

Connect with Elizabeth Ledoux and the Transition Strategists: 

Website: https://transitionstrategists.com/ 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thetransitionstrategists 
Elizabeth on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethledoux/ 
Transition Strategists on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/transitionstrategists/ 
Transition Strategists on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@transitionstrategists 

Connect with Debbie and Marcy on LinkedIn: 

Marcy McNeal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcy-mcneal/ 

Deborah Davies:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/changeagent-coach-facilitator-deborah-davis-ms-pcc/  

Subscribe to “The Business Transition Roadmap with Elizabeth Ledoux” on your favorite podcast player: 

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3MxSYA2 
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3IhMMux 

Get Elizabeth Ledoux and Laura Chiesman’s latest book, “It’s A Journey: The MUST-HAVE Roadmap to Successful Succession Planning”: https://amzn.to/3oq2LQv

 

How Family Businesses Gain Clarity with the Objectives Matrix in Succession Planning  Transcript

Marcy McNeal:
Hello and welcome to the business transition roadmap. I’m Marcy McNeal, a transition guide with the transition strategist and I’m excited that you’re joining us today. Debbie, do you want to say hello?

Debbie Davis:
Hey there everybody. I’m Debbie Davis and I am a transition guide with the transition strategist and really excited to be here with you today, Marcy.

Marcy McNeal:
Yes, I’m excited for our conversation today, Debbie, because we have had some really wonderful discussions lately about the different tools in our transition roadmap developer process, including the compass. And I’m excited that we’re going to talk about one of the tools in particular today. But before we do that, maybe we should take a minute or two each and just share a little bit about our journey with the transition strategists and why we love this work so much. Do you want to go first?

Debbie Davis:
I would love to. So, my journey started about four years ago. I met Elizabeth at a friend’s birthday party actually and we started visiting and I was on a journey of leadership development on my own practice and just talked to her and hit it off after she shared with me the values that the transition strategist the company that she built had. And one of the values was people first. And I thought, “Oh my gosh, I need to learn more about this company, more about what they do, love the entrepreneurial space.” And then just jumped in, started learning and started supporting our clients. Like I said, that was about four years ago, maybe a little bit more than four years ago. And have loved, you mentioned the compass, loved the tools that we use, love the transition roadmap developer. And that tool, the compass, is just something that I’ve seen really benefit the clients that we support in that they get clarity. They get excited. They start moving forward after having been maybe a little frustrated, maybe a little stuck. And so I love seeing them embrace that and get excited about that.

Marcy McNeal:
Yeah, that’s awesome. You know, I love hearing the stories of each of our guides and each of the people on our team and how they came to know Elizabeth. She is she’s a force in nature. She’s so great. I came to transition strategist about maybe nine months after you did. So, it’s been about three and a half years. And I met Elizabeth through a mutual friend and professional colleague who introduced the two of us. I was out in Colorado and met up with her in person and had a great conversation with her and I remember her saying, “I know you’re going to come do this with me. I don’t know when it’s going to be, but you’re going to.” And I was like, “Okay, what does she know that I don’t?” But you know what I what I didn’t realize is I had just been through a failed business transition. It was not my own company. It was the company that I had been working for prior to meeting Elizabeth. And one of the things that I love so much about this work is as I learned about our process, our transition roadmap developer, I could look back and see all the places where it went wrong. I hate to say that, but I could see, oh, that’s where it went wrong. And if we’d had that, that might have been different. And oh, wouldn’t that have been great? You know, because there was just the upheaval, the upheaval that it caused for two years in our company to our culture, to our staff, and even ultimately to our clients. When that didn’t go well, it ended up not going at all. It was a business closure. And you know, I so appreciate the process like you said that you know, it could be a two-year timeline, it could be a seven-year timeline, it could be whatever amount of time a business owner and a successor have. But the conversation and the steps that we take them through, we guide them through that, ask the questions that they may not ask themselves and really has them just so thoughtfully reflect and share with others what they want, where they want to go and what’s important to them. And you know, I love this work when we get to see, you know, the excitement on a business owners, you know, in for a business owner, but also for a successor when they see progress and they see what’s possible, whereas before they might have only seen their one piece of it and now they have a collective vision. So, it’s really cool. It’s really a privilege to get to do this work and I love the opportunity to be with you Debbie and we have such a vibrant learning community. I was sharing that this morning with a potential client for our work that we just we learn so much from all of us. We all share so much with each other about everything we do and all the people we talk to and the businesses that we encounter. And it’s really it’s really cool to be a part of this team. Really it’s really great.

Debbie Davis:
So, I hear go ahead. I hear the energy and the excitement around why you love this work. Or I can tell you love it. I feel like it’s almost magical.

Marcy McNeal:
Yeah.

Debbie Davis: Because I think it’s so like you literally see people go from this place of frustration, disappointment. We call them what dilemmas, right? Where they’re at a crossroads and they don’t know which way to go or they know which way to go. They have two options, but both are creating a problem for them. And we get to be part of them making a decision and the excitement behind after they’ve made that decision, how excited, how clear, how good it feels to be able to move forward and become unstuck. And that is such a great place to be with them on that journey. It’s exciting. And I share that with you. It’s just really exciting. The work we get to do, the opportunity we get to have to walk alongside people in such a very critical time in their life is just energizing. It’s a privilege. It’s very meaningful. It feels really great. I love it, too.

Marcy McNeal: And I think I love the distinction we have of the term guide as opposed to a coach or consultant or some, you know, some other term. But but the term guide is just it’s such a great description of what we get to do. We walk alongside and sometimes we walk ahead because we can see other paths and we can help navigate that and sometimes we walk behind because we’re watching to see if they don’t take a foot, you know, set a foot wrong and go down a different path that they don’t want to. But the idea of a guide is really powerful to me and you know in essence they so that they recognize they’re not alone.

Debbie Davis:
Absolutely. I think about being a guide and I’m curious. Is there an experience that you have that you really I mean it might be too early to ask that but that you can hone in on and that maybe your first experience as a guide and what that felt like versus where you’re at today. Tell me a little bit about that.

Marcy McNeal:
Well, coming from I appreciate that, Debbie, because I come from a coaching background, a training and coaching background. So training like do this and then follow up with the coaching of did you do this and how did it go and now do this next and and so it initially it was a real shift. It was a big adjustment and I can think back to some of the early calls that I had with projects that I was working with Elizabeth on and really the stepping back and looking and listening and then asking the questions.

If there’s something that has just grown myself professionally in the last three and a half to four years exponentially it is asking questions and really listening for what needs to be asked in this space. What is going to move that decision that conversation even maybe that conflict forward and what is there to explore. So I would say that to me has been how I’ve grown the most and becoming what I would say is really a guide and just continuing to practice that curiosity and asking those questions those really meaningful questions.

Debbie Davis:
So makes me think of the process of listening as you say that has changed for me, right? Because you listen for things that aren’t being said or things that are said that are potentially truth or not. Something sometimes it’s a hurdle that they’ve created. It’s a limiting belief that they might have but there’s parallel right between coaching and guide. But at the end of the day, I’ve also learned a lot about the listening space and the asking question space and that is so powerful in the work that we do and like honestly as we think about the topic that we’re going to talk about today, you know that’s critical in part of the development of that. So we’re going to talk about the objectives matrix. Is that right?

Marcy McNeal:
Yes. Yes. That one of we were talking recently about what’s one of our favorite tools in the road map developer and the compass is that big six questions: the why, the what, the who, the when, the how, and the how much. And we you and I were talking recently about the why and how powerful that why is in guiding all of the rest of the conversations. And the tool that we use is the objectives matrix which is how people identify their why across a number of areas both individually: what is it why am I doing this transition what do I want what do I want out of it which is you know and then what do I want for my family for my spouse for my children what do I want for my company what do I want for my business my employees my partners if I have them. So really examining all of those motivators, all of those motivations for why you would actually take on a transition process like this as opposed to just selling and jumping ship because that might be the easiest thing. What we find or at least what I’ve experienced and I think you have as well, Debbie, is the people that we work with, they do have a really big why. And they really do want powerful things for themselves and for others in their lives and otherwise it would just be easier to just go find a buyer and sell.

Debbie Davis:
Absolutely. And I think about as you just said that they do have this strong desire and that strong desire is buried so deep within them as opposed to externally living. So I think about one of the reasons that the objectives matrix and answering the why is so important is there’s actually a problem I think that exists for each of our owners and I think that problem that exists is what is my purpose and how will I have significance at some point in my life and so you know that’s a fear that they harbor within them and don’t often bring out if they’re not intentional and this process allows them to be really intentional about answering that question. What is their significance? What is their purpose? But also to your point earlier, what how does that matter to my, you know, they have fears around their family. How does that matter to their spouse, their significant other, the relationship that they have? Because I think it’s so powerful to recognize that they have something, their spouse or significant other has something, but then they have something together. and then family, the business, the community, the partners, the successors. I mean, everybody unpacking all of that isn’t part of the normal transaction, right?

Marcy McNeal: Right.

Debbie Davis:
Right.It is part of our transition process. And that intentional effort to dig so deep and uncover all of that is what makes this makes the objectives matrix so very, very powerful.

I’m curious you and I talked a little bit about this as we start the objectives matrix. Walk us walk me through that process a little bit and then maybe some examples that you might have and let’s play around with some examples of where we’ve seen that come to life because I think that’s so powerful.

Marcy McNeal:
Yep. So really that objective is like the steps and the process is you know what we typically do is we would give the framework which is the tool itself to all the people who are directly participating in the transition. So it could, you know, your owner, maybe if there’s more than one owner, it be all the owners and potential successors if they know them, if they have them in mind. But because I think really what we’re looking to do is it’s it’s not about alignment necessarily. It’s about understanding and appreciating. So we always have them share and communicate with each other what they’ve gone through when they look for themselves what is it what is my objective what are my objectives for me my family etc all the way down through the business and through the employees and because one of the things that I’ve seen really powerful power that that comes out of the objectives matrix that is so powerful is it’s now an open conversation it’s it’s It’s kind of that space to declare this is what I want to cause. This is what I want to have happen.

And when it gets out into a conversation, the power of it is really, it’s remarkable. We can all make little lists, but if we keep them secret, it’s not going to make a bit of difference. It’s just like your own secret list.

Debbie Davis: That’s I think about the I had a CEO just go through this the other day and he’s like you know he almost put it off a little bit like you want me to just make this list and it’s kind of awkward well then you he’s like okay I’m sitting down with it on this day and he’s going to work through it and he wrote everything down and he’s like okay got a text and he said man this is really hard and I’m like if it’s if it’s hard for you you are doing it right keep going.

Well then you know once we have the meeting and asking one him stating it, two us asking questions, me asking questions to your point just brought this out to be so very very rich and to your point stating it in that way of the full development. You know, that’s that’s almost like seeing the something so very close to their heart that has only lived in their minds within them on paper and saying that to another person is so very validating, so very real. I mean, it’s not uncommon to see tears. I don’t know about your experience, but…

Marcy McNeal: Yep. Definitely.

Debbie Davis:
And just and it’s not a heavy tear. It’s more of a um almost like a gosh, this is meaningful to me and this matters to me and and I’ve been seen and it’s sometimes the first time. You know, CEOs live in a place where a lot of people don’t get to see their hearts, don’t get to hear what’s deep in their minds and so it’s very it’s a really good experience.

Marcy McNeal:
I was just gonna say if I can I let me just add one thing really quickly, Debbie, because one of the things that I find that I don’t know about you, but I have experienced numerous times is the instructions we give on the objectives matrix is to write things as the present tense.

Debbie Davis:
Yeah.

Marcy McNeal:
As opposed to I wish, I want, I would like. It’s written in as I am doing or I have something. You know, fill in the blank. And the power of that small tiny shift is really remarkable because it’s then like speaking it into existence like oh okay yeah this is going to happen.

And the other thing I would say you mentioned the tears I’ve experienced in particular I think with business owners or CEOs sometimes it’s tears of relief.

Debbie Davis:
Yes.

Marcy McNeal: That I’ve actually said it. I’ve said these things and you know like and it’s okay to want things. It’s okay to want things for myself. It’s okay to want things that you know I’ve up until now felt like I shouldn’t have or couldn’t have or or or whatever the case may be. And there’s there’s yeah there’s a relief that they don’t have to be the one. They’re not alone. They don’t have to be just doing this by themselves.

Debbie Davis:
Yeah. So, and and moving forward because now that that’s out of them and out there, we take it to the next level, right?

So, it’s having those conversations, not just with us. But the minute they start having those conversations, it’s their conversations with other people, significant people. Could be the spouse, could be the successor, the potential successor. But it it’s and it could be their advisory board, attorneys, tax accountants, all of these people, the community members, right?

They’re able to say, “This is what I see for my future. This is what I am doing in the future.” And it allows them to move past that phase of everything’s bottled up. They can have a transaction, but now they can have a transition and communicate it really well with confidence, with clarity, with their energy that is in a good place. They know exactly where they’re going. And that is such a major shift. It’s a release of that energy in a good direction and they’re able to move forward.

And that is I see that time and time again. I I I’ve been literally told one time I had a man and wife owner transitioning out and bringing a successor in and we finished the objectives matrix and it was probably their third meeting into the objectives matrix and they said Debbie thank you for the therapy session and we’re we’re guides we’re not therapists but they literally said it was so rich for them it was so helpful for them as they shared their objectives and you mentioned we’re not looking for 100% alignment.

So talk to us a little bit about once we have husband wife come together and we share or we have two owners sharing with their kids of four or what I mean it can be any dynamic. What what do we do with that? Let’s talk through that a little bit.

Marcy McNeal:
Yeah. Well, you know, one of the things you reminded me a minute ago as an example of what we do with it is that I’m working with an owner right now who very recently came through the compass process and some of the actions that he had out of that part of his milestones were to communicate what he wanted what you know to communicate those those objectives and I think He was, one of the objectives that he had was that he wanted to be working four days a week.

And he came into that conversation with me thinking that’s not going to be possible. My team isn’t going to understand. Things are going to go haywire if I’m gone on that particular day.

And so over the course of our conversation, he kind of gave himself more and more permission like, okay, it is it okay, I can do that.

But out of that he went back and one of the next steps after the objectives matrix was to get into communication and the momentum that that brought to him being able to meet that objective was I think shocking to him.

I think he was, you know, he talked with his potential successors, of course, he talked with his family, and then he talked with the entire company and the response was not surprising to me, but surprising to him. It was like, of course, you should be doing this. We’ve all been kind of wondering when you’re going to start taking a day off, working four days a week.

But it was the velocity of having that be so clear and being able to know what he wanted to communicate and having those next conversations the velocity was just so impactful.

And so to me, that’s you know we take those objectives, communicate them to who needs to be communicated and then you’re enrolling or inviting other people to participate in the next steps and just the ongoing conversation because it’s not going to go exactly the way anybody pictures it and you have to come back to that piece of your road map when it gets a little wonky and you need to get it back in alignment with what you want.

Debbie Davis: So, I think that’s beautiful.

I think about as we bring families together, to your point, it’s clarifying. It’s saying, “Here’s what we have. Here’s where we’re going.”

And when we have different opposing visions or objectives, right? We have a difference. It’s not that one is right or wrong. The objectives can be different.

The beauty of it is that we are transparent about communicating it and we’re understanding it fully.

And that I think about I have a client right now who is there are a family of four and then they have brought in a COO as well. He’s part of the group. So a total of five of them and they all shared their objectives and in that sharing they were they knew that one person said hey I think this is going to be different than this person and they all talked about that in the one-on-one meetings.

So then when we brought it all together we want to highlight those things right we want to talk about those things and say this is normal to not be 100% in alignment. There’s no way. And we don’t want everybody to be in agreement.

That group think mindset. We want to have everybody uniquely seen. There’s beauty in that. And then the beauty also is in being transparent around it and understanding it and preventing butting heads in conflict.

It allows the conflict to be navigated in a way that is appreciated, respected, honoring the people that are behind the beliefs or whatever it is they’re trying to achieve.

And that’s a big benefit of having the objectives matrix and talking through those.

So that particular client has literally made that part of their cadence of meetings. They talk about the objectives matrix of everybody. They add to it throughout the time that they’ve been working with me and are having discussions around what does this particular objective mean to you? They want to understand it and they want to honor it in the best that they can.

Now the flip of it is we do have objectives that can be short term, mid term, and long term and have to change perhaps have to be adjusted perhaps. But we’re doing it a lot of times we’re helping them do it in a way that is honoring and respectful of them because not everybody gets what they want. We have to come together to try to get the most of what we want if at all possible and it’s a beautiful place to be. Anything you want to add to that or

Marcy McNeal:
As you were talking I thought of something else that we haven’t touched on yet with the objectives matrix that I think I have experienced to be really powerful and that is that’s the deal breakers. Oh yes. So part of what we have folks do is identify which objectives are deal breakers. Like if I can’t if that thing can’t be accomplished, I’m not going to move down this path.

And one of the things I love about that is it’s more often in my experience more often than not when we come together to discuss and share the objectives matrix people have some people have a lot of deal breakers and it’s like okay well okay not everything can be a deal breaker.

But I love that through the course of the working of that conversation that you can hone in you can actually strip it down to what is actually a deal breaker versus a I’d really like to have and I want to have versus no this is I can’t budge on.

And I find that what you were talking about having appreciation and at least an understanding among all the parties that are in the conversation of what are their true deal breakers and how and then how do you navigate those because those have to be at the forefront of all the other conversations. As you were talking I thought of something else that we haven’t touched on yet with the objectives matrix that I think I have experienced to be really powerful and that is that’s the deal breakers.

Debbie Davis:
You know, I think it’s worth mentioning too an example of a dealbreaker. Do you mind if I share one?

Marcy McNeal:
Absolutely. Go ahead. I don’t mind. I want you to.

Debbie Davis:
Oh, I So, I love this deal breaker. Same family that took the objectives matrix and is using it today on their cadence of meetings. I don’t know if it’s bi-weekly or monthly what but at the end of the day one of their deal breakers is that as they consider navigating through the transition and it was consistent among all of them including the additional COO that came in anything that would break up the family that would cause the family to be disjointed and so much conflict that they couldn’t continue to come together was a dealbreaker.

So it’s like if the family became disjointed, they also realize they have the option to sell and rather than transition to the kids and if something is going to get in the way of the family staying together, they will sell it.

And I think that’s a great example of the kind of clients that we attract. They are definitely family oriented or relational oriented and two very they want to preserve that and a transaction a business transaction is secondary.

They want their legacy to carry on first and foremost. And so just think it’s a really great example of a deal breaker for our group to understand.

You know, and let me share a different example that you made me think of that because there are some of those deal breakers where, you know, absolutely. They’re like, that’s not going to happen. If it looks like that’s the road we’re going down, we will pick the option that the only option that would preserve the family.

I’ve had in the last few months a couple different businesses go through the options matrix and identify to this is paraphrasing maintain the culture maintain the healthy culture or whatever has been their culture they’ve created beyond them and they mark it as a deal breaker.

And I just it’s interesting because through conversation and guidance on you know from us someone like you or I you know we sometimes have to confront the reality of you actually will not have any control over that and how even though it’s really really important to them no matter who they transition it to they have like the letting go of it it will become what it becomes but you can certainly look at and choose an option that puts the odds in the favor of that happening.

So, you definitely know certain options it’s much less likely to happen than others.

But I have seen people have to sort of wrestle with that and be like, “Oh, okay. Yeah, I really would love that. It’s important to me, but I’m eventually going to have to let that go. Maybe not today, maybe not next week, but eventually.

Be comfortable. Get be okay with that. that’s you’ve done you’ve done the very best and created what you’ve created and you’re going to choose the folks that you feel are in the best position to carry that forward.

Debbie Davis: So yeah, and I think that’s a really great point because I think it allows our owners and the successors or whoever is in that call to be part of that conversation so that when the conversations happen outside of the meeting to be able to say to the audience, most of the time the employees that are in the company, that things will change and we’re doing our best. We do value the culture that we have today and we will do our best to preserve it and we are all part of that. And at the same time there are certain things that are out of our control and change does necessitate or even drive a shift in culture and at the end of the day I think it’s an opportunity to be transparent to be somewhat collaborative and know that we’re all in this together. And it just again I think it’s a testament to the objectives matrix. We thought this through. We care. We want to bring you along. And it’s it’s such a valuable component that we see and want to support

Marcy McNeal:
Yeah. 

Debbie Davis:
Yeah. It’s really really good.

Marcy McNeal: So Debbie, quick question for you. I know recently we were chatting about the role kind of the unique role of a guide as it relates to the objectives matrix. the whole compass, but even specifically the objectives matrix. Do you want to speak a little bit to how support and interact in that process?

Debbie Davis:
Yeah. So, I love that. It’s a great question. I think one we’ve both had great experiences with that and have had those people on the other end that have said gosh thank you and we appreciate you so much and just value you so much. So we have the opportunity to sit in a space with these people and help them walk through a very important time in their life and be part of that success and that feels really good.

And so looking back on that we want to gosh what was that? What was that that created that good relationship, that energy, those dynamics?

And recently on a team call that we all had, we went, “Oh my gosh, people share with us so much personal information, business information. And they’re so very open and transparent and and we have to show up as somebody that is trustworthy. We have to show up as somebody who has their best interest at heart. We have to show up as somebody who does listen incredibly well and asks very pertinent questions.

And so, we’ve all done a lot of work ourselves to get to that place. And how do we do that?

And one of the nuggets that we pulled from that was we have the opportunity to create psychological safety for those folks. And psychological safety has four major components.

And psychological safety is inclusion safety. So we are including them into the conversation. We’re inviting them. We’re asking questions. We’re creating a space for them. Learner safety, contributor safety, and challenger safety. So those are the four components of that psychological safety. And I think we do a really great job of balancing all of that, asking them to contribute, us stepping in and contributing appropriately without being offensive, asking hard questions.

And we can’t do that until we’ve created that space for the relationship to have the challenging conversations.

And then we’re always open. We have such a learner group that’s our natural tendency anyway. But it’s all of those coming together really harmoniously to create psychological safety so that we don’t just help people through transitions. We cultivate a really great relationship with the team of people who are exiting out and those coming in and setting them up for great success. And it’s I mean that’s why we love the work that we do. It’s incredibly meaningful. It’s incredibly deep in terms of the relationship, in terms of the level of trust that we create and they give to us. It just feels incredible.

Anything I missed that you can think of?

Marcy McNeal:
I was going to add, you know, there’s something there there comes a point when we get so in it with the owners and the successors. We get so bought in. We are so right there cheering and nudging when needed, but we’re so committed. We’re so committed to them taking the steps and hitting those milestones and having those wins all along the way that like we’re fully participating. I mean, we’re not doing it, but we are fully participating with our heart and soul that it moves forward and goes well and they can navigate those challenges and those little bumps in the road. But, you know, we probably would not be able to create that psychological safety as you mentioned if we aren’t that committed and that engaged in their success.

And I think one of the things that I appreciate and I think a lot of our clients appreciate is that we’re to some extent we’re sort of outcome agnostic. We’re not tied to a specific outcome that they accomplish or they pick a certain path or they take a certain strategy. We guide them and then we stay with them through the things they choose. And it’s just so exciting to see them hit those marks and keep moving forward.

So yeah, anyway, it’s that commitment. It’s that really deep commitment that we bring.

Debbie Davis:
Yeah, I can relate to that. I think the and where my head went when you were just saying that is there’s so much emotion around their fears and us creating the place for them to be able to share those fears and work through those fears. It makes me think of owner psychological fears.

You know, I think they have those what is their identity? what is it relative to them personally but also their family members, their financial security, their business success, their legacy, their control and power, their involvement in the community, and how will they be relevant going forward?

I just think we address so many very deep and rich components. I think oh gosh, reputation to them, their company, their status, and then also all of that relative to the successor. Owner takes all of that on and there’s so much fear around that that they harbor that they’re allowed to share with somebody who creates that space.

I think it’s just such a rich opportunity to work through some of that and I’ve experienced it. I think about I have a person right now that I’m working with who is navigating some of those fears that have held him back for so long.

And to your point, it’s like I see the end of and the end has changed over time, which is great.

To your point, we’re super agnostic, but helping him at least get to the point where he can say, “I’ve completed this piece of this and I’ve put it out there and there are so many fears or potentially are they interested, is this worth what I think it is. Am I ready to let go to be that exposed to be that vulnerable? And there’s so many things and it’s like standing out there and putting yourself out there and we create the space to allow them to be that vulnerable and with them and to the point where we are literally side by side with them going, “Yeah, it’s okay. We can have that conversation.”

And it’s just phenomenal. It’s a really great opportunity to be there.

I think about the objectives matrix and the big picture our process as we think about the importance of that.

And I want to just kind of realize that you know we’ve gone in the weeds as to what how deep that is but I think as we zoom back out and we consider the value of that you know the beauty of the why is relevant to the transition of the business as opposed to the transaction of the business.

The transaction and you had mentioned it earlier, we’ve not been on journeys with people who have transacted a business sale and one thing that motivated me, I had a client in the leadership space who transacted and within a year of that transaction, less than a year of that transaction, the business went out of business.

I mean, he sold it. The new owners. It was a waste of time, a waste of money. They closed up shop and went home.

And our goal in the transition with these owners is that they transition that legacy. They transition the benefit that that business gives to the community, to the employees, to whoever they’re supplying their product or their service to.

And so at the end of the day, there’s such a commitment on the owner’s part to go through that transition.

And that’s why there’s so much emphasis put on the why and understanding that and being able to communicate that and act with that level of confidence and commitment.

And it does you had said it earlier it’s something they always go back to whenever we hit a hurdle, death, conflict, other options, people leaving, people coming in we always go back to those objectives to be able to say, “What is it we’re trying to accomplish?” And it’s such a beautiful tool to be able to help us move forward and through as opposed to stop and stuck.

Marcy McNeal:
Yep. I love that. I love that. Debbie

Debbie Davis:Marcy, this was such a good conversation about the objectives matrix. I think it makes sense for us to tell our listeners where they can find that.

Do you have insight into that? Can you share?

Marcy McNeal:
Yes, absolutely. So, if some if any of you joining us today are interested in exploring that tool and seeing what it might provide for you, your company, or if you’re a successor looking to maybe have some conversations with your business owner, you can go to our website, the transitionstrategist.com, and we have a transition tools tab.

And when you hit that tab, you’re going to see a number of different tools. You’ll see the objectives matrix. You can actually read more about it, see some examples.

And it’s a really it’s also in the book. It’s in the book that Elizabeth and Laura wrote, the It’s a Journey.

And that’s it’s written out and explained in that book as well.

So, there’s a couple different places people can access this.

They don’t have to be actively in a process with us as guides or as clients to get the benefit of that tool.

So definitely we encourage you to go and explore it and should you want to have a conversation with any of us about how to navigate that and utilize that in some way you can always reach out to any of us that you can find there on our website or just fill in a contact form and someone will reach out to you if you’re interested.

Thank you so much for spending this time with me.

Debbie Davis:
Oh my gosh, a pleasure. Loved every second of it. Always had fun getting ready for this and enjoyed the opportunity to share and hopefully somebody because I think it is just a beautiful topic.

Marcy McNeal: Yep. I definitely hope some people got some good ideas and maybe some encouragement maybe some encouragement out of this today. So, thank you all for joining us on the business transition roadmap. We’ll see you next time.

 

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The Business Transition Roadmap with Elizabeth Ledoux

How do communities thrive? When businesses experience healthy growth and transition. Join CEO of The Transition Strategists, Elizabeth Ledoux as she and her guests identify what makes a successful business transition roadmap. If you know you want to transition or exit your business “one day”, today is the right day to start planning. This show will give you the roadmap.

If you’ve enjoyed this podcast, you can check out other episodes here: Podcasts – The Transition Strategists