Succession Planning

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”
Chinese Proverb

Succession planning is a process rather than an event. It begins at the outset and continues throughout the duration of the family business. Whether yours is a family enterprise or closely a held business it is never too early to begin.

Most entrepreneurs have never gone through a succession planning process. It may seem premature to be planning your exit from a business you are still in the process of growing. However careful succession planning is a standard practice of successful multi-generational family enterprises.

We help our clients:

  • Build a succession process that supports multi-generational families
  • Clarify and articulate family values, vision and long-term goals that support a successful transfer of ownership and leadership
  • Explore individual and family levels of commitment to the business
  • Develop policies and procedures for next-generation employment that help avoid challenges such as nepotism
  • Clarify requirements of the next generation leadership in the context of the business strategy
  • Develop systems to support meaningful family career opportunities

 

Succession planning consists of two equally important parts:

  1. Preparation of agreements and documents for the transfer of operations and ownership.
  2. Next generation development

We help family enterprises foresee challenges to the future of the business by guiding them towards a realistic assessment of the next-generation family members to whom the ownership and control of the business will pass. We call their attention to essential questions such as:

          •  Does the next generation have the leadership skills needed to head the family and the business?
          • Are younger children struggling to understand their roles or clarify their positions in the family and in the workplace?

         We then aid in developing and implementing a proactive approach to deal with challenges such as:

          • Mentoring the next generation
          • Making compensation decisions
          • Team building
          • Developing a board of directors or advisors
          • Outgoing CEO new-life transition
          • Career development for family members who are not in the business
          • Family members transition out of the family business
          • Stress management