Succession Planning

All too many businesses, even those that prepare a detailed Business Plan, fail to properly incorporate a strong Succession Plan. Without exception, each of us will at some point exit our business, either by an established and planned timeline, or by unforeseen circumstances. As shown here, the statistics only emphasize the devastating impact of failing to have the right plan in place.

Succession Planning Workshop

%

of family businesses do NOT pass successfully to the second generation

%

do NOT pass successfully to the third generation

A very old saying goes like this: When is the best time to plant a tree? 20 years ago. When is the second best time? TODAY. Consider the following and begin your Succession Plan.

 

Summit Management consultants will help you:

  • Prepare your business for a successful transition
  • Assist you and your employees to develop a Succession Plan
  • Structure your Succession Planning Advisory Team (Advisory team includes CPA, Financial Planner, Attorney, and other key business representatives)
  • Assist you and your employees to maximize the value of your business

The Succession Plan is not based just on a single individual’s skills and abilities but rather on leveraged systems and processes in the areas discussed here. This provides the business with stable growth today and more transferable value in the future.

Strategic Planning

Organizational success starts with good planning. This same written plan carries through to the future transitional process. Your experienced Summit advisor will assess the current organization’s position and resources, and help design a planning process that will best provide the roadmap to realize your vision.

Summit can help your organization with all facets of planning, including:

  • Vision and Purpose
  • Plan Development
  • Plan Execution
Organizational Development & Health

An organization can only be as strong as its team and its team only as strong as its leadership. Once a strong strategic plan is in place, leadership must still guide activities within the organization to achieve the goals and objectives. This requires:

  • Development of a team with the skill sets, personalities, and structure appropriate for the products or services being provided.
  • Clear performance metrics and accountability to the team members and leadership.

Your Summit advisor(s) will work with you and your team on strategies for:

  • Leadership Development
  • Systems Integration
  • Growth Management
Succession Planning

There are two primary areas of concentration for a successful transition of an organization from present to future management:

1. Develop an organization with Transferrable Value.

Utilizing the elements established through Strategic Planning and Organizational Development allows the organization to help the leadership team grow and develop. Aligning goals with the company’s vision and purpose empowers leaders to make informed decisions. Transparency and delegated functionality help the owner grow the business and then permit a potential successor to see value in the organization.

2. Answer the questions specific to succession:

  • Who will be the successor?
  • When to transition?
  • What’s next for you?

Your Summit advisor will help you structure these key areas to result in a successful transition by concentrating on:

  • Maximizing Transferrable Value
  • Developing Key Metrics
  • Building A Succession Team
Build Value

Most business planning involves increased sales, more market share, less waste and/or any number of valuable goals with hope of increasing profit as a key element on the list. These are certainly productive goals to set, but do they increase the value that would be transferrable to the successor? Your Summit advisor will work with you to develop those goals that meet profit objectives while increasing transferrable value.

    Build a Transferable Organization

    Delegation is one of the most difficult elements of a privately-owned business. After all, the owner may have started the business and knows all elements of the business. Most owners often feel that “No one can do things as well as I can.” Even if true, this puts severe limits on growth of the existing business and makes a successful transition extremely difficult. Your Summit advisor will help you develop an organization suited to being run independently from the owner. Having these structures in place will then make the organization much more attractive to a potential successor.

      Develop Your Succession Plan

      Succession planning needs to involve various advisors. If you work with a financial advisor, they will help you develop a plan specifically designed to make the most of your retirement goals. A key element for a business owner needs to be the value of the business now, and at the projected time of retirement. Your Succession Planning Team must include experts from numerous disciplines, including the right combination of:

      • An Attorney
      • A Financial Planner
      • A Certified Public Accountant
      • A Valuation Company
      • An Insurance Provider
      • Others who can provide the best guidance in their respective fields

      Your Summit Advisor will work with you to help select, and then work with the team of advisors.

      Working too much?