This is often the most challenging part of a succession plan, letting go of control of your company.

You cannot be everything to everybody and always be at the helm of your business.  With many entrepreneurs, having made all the decisions previously and being responsible for those decisions has been a burden but also becomes a person’s raison d’être.  For that leader – person to let go can be daunting because the responsibility will be in another’s hands. Often this choice can be difficult to accept because the owner often could have done a better job if he/she did the job himself/herself rather than let someone else make the choice and take the responsibility for that choice. Unfortunately, we have limited time and many priorities in life. See what the Coke CEO said about time and priorities. Click here for Coke’s CEO view on time and priorities.

 

When to pass on the control of a company is a truly personal choice.  It could be up front in a succession plan where the first generation truly wishes to move on with other things outside of the business and leave the decision making to the next generation.  The control could be maintained while the first generation retained an equity stake in the business and then relinquished when all equity was exhausted or repaid.  In the most controlling of circumstances (and least preferred), is for the principal-leader never to give up control, waiting until the demise of the principal to see who, at that time, emerges as the leader of the business.  This last method can often be disruptive on the business and stressful on the family, in an already stressful time.

Think about what timing is right for you to begin to share or give up control and when, as part of your succession plan, you wish to pass on voting control to the next generation.

Learn, think apply.