Accountants, lawyers, wealth managers, and insurance agents.  All have a specific role to play and all need to be consulted.

Do you have a legal will?  Have you arranged for the thoughtful distribution of your wealth for after your passing?  Have you considered tax implications of succession?  Will your loved ones be cared for when you “change locations”?

Do not delay and do not forget about these crucial aspects of succession planning, but a WORD OF CAUTION.  Not all “Family Business Advisors” are the same.  The threat of silo planning is real and dangerous.  Be sure to ask your advisors of choice what training and experience they have in the “wholistic” process and if they are interested in meeting together as a group to discuss your overall plan.

Shameless plug:  Are you a Trusted Family Business Advisor?  You will not want to miss our workshop that is designed to help you in your career!  Click here for details.

This weekend, many provinces in Canada will celebrate Family Day.  Even if you don’t live in Alberta, Ontario, or Saskatchewan, we would like to invite you to use this weekend as it is intended—as a reminder of the significance of families.

It will not surprise anyone that research has shown how strong families spend time together  (http://www.lsuagcenter.com/en/family_home/family/parenting/strong+families+spend+time+together.htm).  Working long hours (as business owners often do) cuts into this coveted family time (http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2007/02/13/family-time.html).  As children get older, it gets even more challenging to find time to spend together and for some reason, it seems less
important.  As a family in business, however, I would argue that no matter what age the children are, the family must prioritize non-business time together.  Remember the Three Circle Model—the health of the family and business are intertwined.  Having common experiences and bonding times as a family helps provide a solid foundation for your business.

Discover activities you can enjoy together and try something new.  Explore a local nature reserve or take in some theatre.  Whatever it is you do, enjoy yourself and be intentional about building relationships.

With the announcement of our workshop, “Understanding the Heart of Business Families,” and St. Valentine’s Day just one sleep away, it seems fitting to write a note of encouragement that I hope will warm your heart.

Business families are the pivotal element of entrepreneurial growth.  More than anyone else, founders and successors can lift us out of the economic abyss of distrust and overvaluation into which the world has fallen.  You more than anyone can keep us on a solid track.  Small and medium-sized enterprises embody and preserve our heritage of freedom, individual responsibility, constructive competition, community concern, and earned prosperity.

Thank you for all you’ve done and for all you do.

I sometimes wonder if the reason so many New Year’s Resolutions fall by the wayside is actually because of a fear or dislike of change.  Change is, for most people, uncomfortable.  It’s different and strange.  It may even require sacrifice.  Why put ourselves through so much?  Were things really that bad before?

For the founder of a family business, succession planning brings about an enormous amount of change.  The kids will run the business differently, and some founders may never accept that.

An exercise I have found helpful for families struggling with this issue is to list all the family member’s names on a piece of paper.  Now, using the three circles as a model, write down what each family member’s “three circles” will look like in five years.  What do they hope their family life will be like?  What will their realistic involvement in the business be?  Will they be owners?  This sobering exercise can help prepare business families for inevitable change and help founders visualize what succession will look like.

Over the past several weeks, I have been highlighting the importance of setting our values right.  In order for succession to succeed, the values of the founder must also be passed on to the successor.  Ron Jenson’s MAXIMIZERS Principles list ten values that I feel stable family businesses possess.  They are timeless!

M – Make Things Happen:  be proactive vs reactive

A – Achieving Personal Significance:  you have a destiny

X – X Out the Negatives:  the mind matters

I – Internalize Right Principles:  the moral foundation

M – March to a Mission:  have a destination

I – Integrate All of Life:  watch for balance in your life

Z – Zero in on Caring for People:  use things but love people

E – Energize Internally:  success flows from the inside out

R – Realign Rigorously:  expect the unexpected

S – Stay the Course:  never quit

If you don’t see yourself or your successor mirrored in some or all of these, don’t be discouraged.  Begin the conversation and remember that training your successor is a process.  And for yourself, many of these principles require a change in action and behavior.  Pick one that you want to improve on, list habits of yours that may be contrary to that principle, and start working at it with a partner.  But may I suggest that the last “S” go along with any personal improvement decisions we make—Stay the Course and don’t give up!

See the introductory post to this series on identifying values, featuring content based on Ron Jensen’s MAXIMIZING Principles.

Don’t quit.  Don’t lose interest.  Don’t slide slowly into indifference.  Keep going forward.  A parked car is hard to steer.

It’s been said that “as a man thinks, so shall he be.”  If a family business has succeeded, this drive and determination is inevitably a significant value for the founder.  To persevere through the trials of business and entrepreneurship takes courage and dedication.  If the successor does not share this same optimism and they think failure is an option, then perhaps professional managers, merging, or selling out may be wise options if the founder wants the business perpetuated.

As a quick recap, we have been focusing on key values that help many founders be successful.  Succession planning is about more than just transmitting technical skills and information.  Succession must include a seamless transition of values as well.  It means owning the “issues” as well as the shares!  See the introductory post for more details on Ron Jensen’s MAXIMIZING Principles.

Life is rarely straightforward and it is never easy.  But instead of sulking and getting anxious, success comes to those who are able to assess problems and adapt to the new situation.

It’s happened to all of us.  You’re driving home on your usual route when suddenly traffic comes to a halt.  There is no collision—just usual volume delays.  We know these kind of situations occur and they may even occur daily, but it doesn’t necessarily stop us from getting frustrated.

What Scott Peck suggests in his book “The Road Less Traveled” is that we need to start with the assumption that we are here to solve problems.  When these difficulties occur, we are active agents in the realignment that is necessary.  Find a new route home.  Take public transportation.  Turn up the music and sign along.

Successful successions occur when family members understand this concept and are prepared to realign rigorously as circumstances arise in both the family and the business.  People age, economies change, technology creates obsolescence, relationships change; be ready with plan B or C.

See the introductory post to this series on identifying values, featuring content based on Ron Jensen’s MAXIMIZING Principles.

Who we are on the outside is a reflection of who we are on the inside, including our morals and attitudes.  We must succeed internally before we can succeed publically.  Stephen Covey suggests that private victories precede public victories.

This kind of internal understanding is especially important for leaders.  If our morals are not intact, how will others be convinced that they should follow us?  Unfortunately, our educational institutions in the past several decades have inundated our children with narcissistic thinking.  If self-absorption, independence, and pride are abounding in the successor, a founder may want to consider selling or merging the business with people who do not have such qualities.

See the introductory post to this series on identifying values, featuring content based on Ron Jensen’s MAXIMIZING Principles.

If you are or you know of a successful business owner, then you are aware that it was not just technical skills that got them to where they are.  Their people skills are likely also top-notch.  In order to succeed, one must value their customers, their employees, their competitors, and people in general.  They use things and love people instead of using people and loving things.

Do your successors also understand this?

This is not a value that can easily be faked.  One’s daily behavior and history will soon reveal their true self.  A review of our checkbook and calendar reveals what we love.  I encourage families to truly care for each
other, their staff, and their managers. This is what creates great companies.

How does your family do at this?

See the introductory post to this series on identifying values, featuring content based on Ron Jensen’s MAXIMIZING Principles.

It won’t come as a surprise to anyone:  the life of a business owner (especially the founder) is unbalanced.  But in order to truly maximize life and live successfully, it is essential to discover this value.  The health of a family business is dependent upon the health of family relationships; it is therefore important to be as disciplined about family time and free time as with working and building the business.

In a previous blog, I outlined Ron Jensen’s 7 F’s of balance:  faith, fitness, family, friends, finances, fun and firm (at Christmas time we add “Food” so it becomes the 8 F’s).

When this value of integrating all vital aspects of life are found, the business owner will get more enjoyment from life, and will often have a more productive and profitable family business.