They were real upfront with us about our succession plan. Don and Joe just talked about what happens next in succession and strategic planning, and in order for Dad (me) to get out, I would have to take on less responsibility. My two sons were going to have to belly up to the bar and get more involved, and that’s pretty much what we’ve done.
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Creative Imprint Systems
Family Succession – Transitioning Ownership to Family Members
When it comes to family business succession planning, nothing good happens by accident. Family business succession planning includes elements of ownership transition, management succession and strategic planning, each calling for different skills. Although family succession seems like the easiest of all succession plans, it can actually be one of the most difficult for a number of reasons.
Don’t be the business owner who thinks:
“I thought my son/daughter could run the business, but it’s not working. Now I have to come back to save the business!”
The most common reasons that family ownership transitions fail are:
- Lack of an executive development plan, coaching and mentoring programs for children/family successors.
- Children/family successors have never really been put in positions of authority with levels of accountability.
- Owners wait for successors to become like them, but they almost never do.
- Children don’t really want to buy into the business. They are content being an employee.
- Children/family successors fail to earn the respect, confidence and faith of key employees and stakeholders.
Planning for your exit is more than conducting a business valuation or preparing the legal documents to transfer the sale. It’s about preparing your children so the company can continue to grow. An exit planning consultant can help you identify potential family succession planning issues, implement executive leadership training, develop workforce planning and create actions plans that will result in your next generation being able to lead and manage future operations.
Planning takes time. Print our succession assessment and determine your organization’s readiness for a family ownership transfer.
