The holidays are a time for families to celebrate the spirit of giving. It is a time to reflect upon the many blessings we enjoy in this special season and to look back at our accomplishments over the past year. It is also a time of looking forward to the New Year and making that time-honored New Year’s Resolution or sometimes Resolutions.
Over the 40 plus years it has been my mission to help family owned businesses pass along the dream that represents their business to their children, I am often struck by the incredible amount of inertia that seemingly exists for family business owners with regard to succession planning. How else to explain such widespread avoidance of even discussing the subject? I believe that one of the most difficult things business owners struggle with today is passing the baton to the next generation. The proof is in the lack of action. There are countless reasons (excuses) as to why nothing can be done in the here and now:
“I am going to work for another 15 years; I will start planning then.”
“My son and daughter-in-law are not interested in working hard enough to keep the business successful; I am not sure I want them to have the business.”
“I am not going to pass this business along to them; I had to work to build this business and I want them to have to do the same thing.”
“It is so difficult. I want to be fair, but my son can’t run the business; my daughter has the skills, but I worry about my employees accepting her as my successor.”
“I need to keep running the business because I need the money; it represents the majority of my net worth and I worry about how I will live.”
“My son is an engineer and my daughter is married to a doctor. My daughter’s son is interested in the business, but he is only 15. It will be years before he could be ready to take over. What can I do?”
“If I am honest, I don’t like to think about my own mortality. The business IS me, it’s who I am. I feel like I would lose a big chunk of me if I weren’t here.”
And a million more issues and questions; as many as there are family business owners.
A time management expert once defined time as the sequence of events, one at a time, in our lives. The most perishable commodity we have is our time. This is all the more reason to take action now. While the sands of time continue to slip through the neck of the hour glass, we do nothing! Unless we are intentional with our efforts, the sequence of events one at a time does NOT include any time, thought or commitment to plan for succession!
Why not make this YOUR New Year’s Resolution for 2016?
“I will begin to plan for the eventual succession in my business by focusing attention on some of the important issues that I struggle with regarding my family and this business.”
Let us help you plan for succession! We have a proven process, developed over the last 40 years, that can be YOUR blueprint for success!
