Should you pass on more than knowledge of your business’ specifics to your successors in your business? What would that information be?
I think this is essential to effect succession.
Does your business have a soul? or does it exist just to make money and provide a comfortable lifestyle for the family, its employees and other key stakeholders? This may sound like a judgmental statement. It is not. Whether or not your business is there for a greater purpose is really up to you. There are many businesses that are there just to make money….take Wall Street for example. Some pundits allege that the greed in Wall Street is one of the reasons why the US economy is in its current state.
I often ponder the fable of Midas. To me and many of my clients, their business is much more than profits and losses. It is purpose, intent and most importantly, humanity. The tale of Midas, in case you would like a refresher, is in link below.
Take one client for example. Their family has seen so much inter-family strife for the last 3 generations. The current leaders of the business first want peace and in order to do so have had to do something unusual in their family, trust each other. They also have a mission and belief to do business in the right way, even though it may prove to be more costly. Their business could be a significant polluter but with an expensive water treatment system installed on site, they keep the potential damage to the environment to a minimum. This is doing business with a conscience.
Learn think apply!
Thanks for the link. In my view, the soft issues are generally more challenging, often overlooked and addressing them results in better outcomes. Many focus on the technical matters, estate planning, wills, share ownership and do not address these soft issues.