According to my latest poll, the #1 issue facing family businesses today is Transition Planning/Execution.
I'm not surprised with the amount of baby boomers looking to exit their business or transition it to the next generation.
Why is it so hard to have successful multi-generational businesses?
For many owners, they don't have a plan to prepare for a transition. Many look to the members of the family and pick the one best prepared to take over.
Here are 3 recommendations:
Have family member work somewhere else for 2-3 years at least.
Identify what the ideal leader looks like. Develop a job description and success profile for the position. Compare that to the family member and develop a training and experience gap analysis. Plan their development in preparation for the transition.
Create and/or expand the role of an Advisory board to work with existing owner and the adult child during the transition. This will create consistency and a source of wisdom for the new leader to tap into.
If you find yourself in that situation, give me a call. I work with business owners to prepare their company and their family members in advance for a transition.
Why risk a lifetime of work when you don't have to?