Management succession planning matches the future leadership and operational management requirements of an organization with the skills and aspirations of the internal or external successors.

Improving the probability of a successful management transition depends on the successor’s knowledge, skills and passion for the business. We understand the complex dynamics of this process and have helped ensure successful transitions for hundreds of private business owners.

• Preparing Successors
• Key Factors

Preparing Successors

Critical Components

• Clarifying Roles and Requirements.

  Are family members entitled to a job by birthright or must they qualify like other employees? Are key employees prepared to take on a larger role? It’s important to create clear expectations and measurable standards to guide individual development and to define roles in the business.

• Leadership Development.

  The culture of private businesses is largely a function of the current leadership, company values and business history. Leadership succession involves the integration of these factors. Talent assessment, developmental activities and performance monitoring form the foundation to ensure continuity of the business.

• Mentoring and Stewardship.

  Private business owners are often concerned that their successors are not prepared to effectively manage without them. Family and employee successors require support to allow for a successful transition. This requires a defined training and development process with appropriate benchmarks and metrics to provide for a successful transfer of knowledge and skills.

Key Factors

Maintaining positive relationships with stakeholders is another key component to a successful business transition. Here are some factors to consider:

• Distribution and Growth Policies.

  Corporate distributions have a direct effect on a business’s value and growth trajectory. Corporate financial models serve as a platform to test and define distribution policies to balance corporate requirements with internal and external stakeholder expectations.

• Conflict Resolution.

  Business transitions naturally cause opinions and expectations to rise to the surface. To effectively address these conflicts, stakeholders’ interests must be identified, the “facts” objectively evaluated and communications channels reestablished or reinforced. Third-party facilitation can clarify misunderstandings and rebuild trust to establish a framework for functional stakeholder relations.

• External Relationships.

  We recognize the fact that multiple disciplines are necessary to successfully execute a business succession. In addition to our clients’ existing advisors, we have access to multiple organizations and experts who complement our services and augment the succession planning process.