Dave Ciambella

Successor Imperatives: Does your successor have “WHAT” it takes?
April 16, 2008

In the midst of an interview with a Key Manager, I asked the following question: In the event Bob (dad/controlling owner) does not make it home tomorrow, what happens to the business? The Key Manager responded, “Well, I guess Johnny (son) would take over at which time I will find another job. Please, please keep this confidential Dave. There is no way in hell I will ever work for Johnny! After Bob is gone, so am I! The only reason I am still here is out of loyalty to Bob.”

Having the opportunity to meet with Johnny the prior day, I could appreciate why the Key Manager felt the way he did. Johnny came across as an arrogant, “know it all” despite the fact that he had limited work experience. Personal humility was a foreign concept to Johnny and if you looked up the word entitlement in Webster’s Dictionary, you would see a picture of Johnny.

Unfortunately, the above situation is more prevalent than you might imagine in the closely held business arena. Many times the culprits are the attitudes and behaviors of prospective successors (predominantly family member successors) coupled with severe enabling by the parents. These prospective successors do not fully understand “WHAT” it takes to earn the respect of employees and managers they may someday lead.

“WHAT” is an acronym for:

• Work ethic
• Humility
• Attitude
• Talent

Your prospective successor may be the most talented, intelligent individual in the business but if he/she does not consistently exhibit a strong work ethic, positive attitude and personal humility it is highly unlikely he/she will earn the respect of employees and managers they may some day lead.

This is what I refer to as the successor imperative!

Consider engaging in a brief exercise with your most trusted managers:

•  Have them rate your prospective successors on a scale of one to ten (10 being the best) in each of the “WHAT” work areas.
• Stress the importance of receiving honest, candid feedback from each person and give them assurance that the feedback will be kept anonymous.
• Utilize the feedback to provide appropriate coaching to your prospective successors.

Posted by Dave Ciambella on April 16, 2008 | Comments (0)