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8 Steps to Achieving Your Business Succession Goals: Part I (1-4)
June 28, 2007
Most people would rather have a root canal than talk about the issues impacting the succession of their business. Succession planning can be perplexing, distracting, frustrating and even depressing. However, do not be discouraged because the rewards are great. By addressing the issues impacting succession, you are building business value and positively impacting your employees, vendors, and community that benefit from your business.
In order to be successful and keep a positive attitude, business succession planning requires a process that facilitates the achievement and maintenance of teamwork, momentum and focus.
Below are the first 4 steps of an 8 step process that will help you stay focused and achieve your goal of perpetuating your business legacy through the next generation.
1. Confirm your succession vision. Before you launch your planning, come to grips with what you want to do with your business. Succession of a business to family members and/or key managers or sale to a third party is not a project it is a lifelong process that requires conviction and decisiveness. By confirming the feelings of your heart before you ask the advice of experts, your odds of success will grow dramatically.
2. Make a commitment to your succession vision. Theory and concepts are wonderful but eventually you must step out and start the succession process. Making a commitment requires that you communicate your commitment to family and management so they can hold you accountable when sticky issues take you out of your comfort zone. The sooner you make your commitment the sooner your family, managers and business will be prepared to deal with the issues of succession.
3. Assess your succession assets and liabilities. Do not run this gauntlet oblivious of the issues with which you will be confronted. The fulfillment of your vision will require family, management, financial, emotional, and technological resources. In order to pursue your succession passion with confidence, you need a realistic understanding of your issues and the resources you have to apply to those issues.
4. After appropriate refinement, confirm and communicate your succession plan. From discussion and debate with advisors comes a viable succession plan. From further discussion and debate with family, managers and vendors comes a realistic plan supported and promoted by all the critical parties. Everyone may not love all aspects of your plan but after being involved in a reasonable process that projects your passion and conviction they will get on the bus or get out of the way.
onto the next 4 steps for reaching your business succession goals.
Posted by Loyd Rawls on June 28, 2007 | Comments (0)
