Bridgeforth Transition Process
Conversation
The Hardest Part of Transition is Getting People to Start Talking.
Have you ever noticed that once the “ice is broken” and you can get people to just start talking, that’s half the battle? Why is that? Two reasons. Fear of Judgement. Fear of Failure. That’s why most people never take the first step in a family business transition, or in really anything for that matter. They don’t want to be judged by their parents or their children. Or, they don’t want to be perceived as a “failure” if the next generation doesn’t have what it takes to successfully take over the family business – a perceived parental failure– or the NextGen doesn’t want to take over the family business – a perceived child failure.
So….we avoid the conversation altogether.
But….in our experience, if we can just break that ice and get people to start talking about how they view transition and the possibility of taking over the family business without that fear of judgement or fear of “perceived” failure, that is THE most important first step and why, in our opinion, any successful transition begins first with an open, transparent, conversation.
So, how does one go about starting that open, transparent conversation?
In our experience, most teams – especially family teams – almost always do NOT have the capacity to start and have that first conversation themselves. Why? Very simple. There are a number of emotional dynamics in families that a lot of teams don’t have, AND it’s impossible to both facilitate AND participate in a conversation at the same time. Why does that matter? If one member of the family is tasked with facilitating the conversation – usually, that’s the senior leader of the family – we lose a very valuable voice of the family unit as a participant. And, if we DON’T have an outside facilitator walk the family through the conversation, it usually just ends up that the rest of the family goes along with whatever the senior leader suggests, possibly out of respect, regardless of what the other opinions in the room may be — or said another way, it's just easier to go along to get along, regardless of the long term consequences. In addition, if left to their own devices, most families will not ask the hard questions – of themselves or each other – if not pushed to do so by an “outsider.” Someone who isn’t privy to the “skeletons in the closet,” someone who doesn’t have an inherent emotional attachment as a family member, and someone who doesn’t rely on the family for some form of fulfillment - emotional, financial, or otherwise. It's often that non-biased, unemotional outsider that can get to the heart of an issue and force the tough but necessary conversations to be had by the family that they’ve been avoiding for months, years, or sometimes even decades.
If that sounds like your family business, please know that there are resources like Bridgeforth that can help.
Documentation
If It’s Not on Paper, It Doesn’t Exist. If I Can’t See It, Neither Can Others
Have you ever noticed that people absorb information best, differently? Huh?
What I mean by that is that some folks absorb information best when its spoken and they can hear it, ie. they’re “auditory” learners.
Some folks absorb information best when its presented in pictures or they can see the written word, ie. they’re “visual” learners.
Some folks absorb information best when they can “feel” the information – ie. they can keep their hands busy when they’re absorbing information so they’re “kinesthetic” learners and to a large degree they learn by doing.
Which are YOU?
If you’re like the overwhelming majority of people in the US – 65% in fact – you’re probably a VISUAL learner.
Which means for you to fully absorb and understand information, especially detailed information, you have to physically SEE IT….either via the written word or via PICTURES. Hence, step #2 in the Bridgeforth Transition Process….Documentation.
In any type of family business transition, its simply not enough to talk about it, we MUST put pen to paper and Document it.
For the Visual learners among us, like myself, if we DON’T Document, we aren’t able to grasp, process, and remember what was talked about in step #1, Conversation.
Writing it out, or drawing it out, also forces us to distill down into a more succinct format; the information, the possibilities, and the options that were discussed in step #1.
Last but not least, Documentation gives us the mechanism to create ONE, uniform set of working documents that can be shared with the internal stakeholders as we move toward 100% alignment. Then, once we have alignment internally, we’re able to share with the additional external stakeholders that need to be involved in the next step of the Bridgeforth Transition Process, step #3 Communication.
Communication
It’s Not Enough For You Alone to Know the Plan. Clarity Drives Commitment.
"The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” - George Bernard Shaw
How often do we think we’ve effectively communicated something only to find out later that the person on the receiving end is actually more confused now than they were before we TRIED to communicate?
When it comes to Transition, Communicating the Plan effectively to ALL affected parties is one of the – if not THE - biggest challenges in the Transition Process.
Why? More often than not we want to jump right from Documentation (ie. we have a Plan) to the Execution (ie. lets implement the Plan).
Getting it on paper – ie. Documentation – is a good second step but then we need to actually MAKE THE TIME (ie. Schedule) and TAKE THE TIME (ie. Execute) to sit down and talk through the Transition plan with all of the key stakeholders.
So who might some of those stakeholders in a Family Business be?
Immediate Family
Grandparents
Parents
Siblings
Children
Spouses of Immediate Family
Extended Family
Key Non-Family Employees
Key Professional Service Providers
Non-Family Investors
Bankers
Insurance Professionals
Key Customers
Key Vendors
It’s one thing to Conversate about the plan with our “circle” of advisors, to Document the plan…..but to go about effectively Communicating the plan to the multiple folks in the “need to know” camp that will give us the highest probability that the Transition will be successful?….now that’s where the rubber meets the road.
If you’re one of those families that does have a plan but nobody knows what it is….please do yourself, your children, and the multitude of people that rely on the continued success of your family business a favor…TALK ABOUT IT!!!
Even though you may have already decided what the Plan is going to be and its not up for discussion any more, the simple act of Communicating what the plan is to those that are critical to the current and ongoing success of your family business will create Clarity, which in turn drives Commitment to Executing the plan in a way that it can be successful.
Keeping your plan either in your head or locked up in a drawer, only to be revealed when you’re no longer physically present (ie. death) or you’re no longer capable of physically running the company (ie. incapacitated) is a recipe for disaster and is setting your successor(s) up to FAIL.
So, engage your “circle” to help you formulate the plan, then document plan IN WRITING, and lastly Communicate the plan to those that “need to know”.
Initiation
You Can’t Finish What You Never Start. Different Outcomes Require Different Actions.
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” - Lao Tzu
It goes without saying that if nothing happens, NOTHING HAPPENS. There’s a time and a place for Planning the Plan. There’s also a time and a place for Executing the Plan.
After the PLANNING – Conversation, Documentation, and Communication - the first step in EXECUTION is to Initiate Action – hence…..the 4th step in the Bridgeforth Transition Process….INITIATION.
You can’t FINISH what you NEVER START!!
You see, the best laid plans are absolutely and utterly worthless without taking that first step to initiate action and then consistently execute specific actions again and again and again…..
Most failed transitions don’t fail due to poor planning or a flawed STRATEGY. They fail due to the lack of INITIATION and consistent execution.
Many are good at talking the talk of Transition…..few are good at walking the walk of Transition. Why? They try to make Transition a DIY project. Don’t DIY, hire a professional!!
You can say you want to Transition but when I take a look at your ACTIONS, what do your actions tell me?
Do you REALLY want to Transition? If you’re being honest with yourself, are you really READY to Transition?
If you’re not….that’s fine. Let’s stop kidding ourselves and wasting the time/talent/energy of those around YOU.
However, if you truly are ready for Transition….let’s setup a system that ensures YOUR Transition will be a successful one, for both YOU and for YOUR successor.
Completion
FINISH. The job that’s NOT DONE can never be a job that’s WELL DONE.
“My legacy doesn’t matter. It isn’t important that I be remembered. It’s important that when I stand before the LORD, he says, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant’. I want to finish strong.” - James Dobson
When it comes to Transition, our observation is that most people are really good starters, but very few are really good FINISHERS. Why? It’s due to what we call the Novelty of New and the Frailty of Motivation.
It’s quite normal for families embarking on Transition to make significant headway toward their Transition goals right out of the gate and then somewhere along the way – after the novelty has wore off and the reality has set in – to stall out.
Often times it’s not intentional, it just happens. The realities of running a family business are demanding enough, let alone having to “deal” with the extra work required of a Transition.
If this describes your experience with your family Transition, you needn’t worry. YOU’RE NORMAL!
But at the same time that’s NOT a free pass to stay stalled out.
YOU have to find a way to re-energize, re-motivate, and ultimately re-start the Transition process. Because as we all know, the job that’s not done can never be a job that’s well done.
So, what are some practical tips for pushing through to Completion….to re-start the Transition process that’s stalled out?
In our experience, most – dare I be so bold as to say all – families at some point will absolutely need some “outside help” to either start or to keep the process moving.
Why? Its’ virtually impossible to both facilitate the Transition process and at the same time be an active participant in the Transition process. That’s why the #1 recommendation is always….
#1 - Hire a professional that does Transition for a living. This is what they do all day, every day and can be highly effective at helping hold everyone involved in the process accountable.
#2 – Set deadlines and checkpoints. Even if you have an idea of WHERE you’re going, it’s damn hard to keep people aligned and engaged if we have no idea of WHEN we expect to get there. What gets scheduled, gets DONE!
#3 – Musical Chairs. Remember the first rule of musical chairs is that 2 people can’t occupy the same seat! If you’re the older generation, know that eventually it’ll be time to “vacate the building”. Literally. If you’re the younger generation, remember that to LEAD and run a business, you don’t take what you get, you GET what you TAKE. There will come a time that you’ll have to step up and insist. Otherwise, it quite possibly will never happen.
#4 – Remember Your Activity is NOT your only Identity. This goes for all generations. A successful Transition absolutely depends on YOUR ability to LET GO! Let go of your former role. Let go of your former activities. Let go of your former responsibilities. For Change to occur, Change has to occur. It’ll feel awkward at first. That is OK. Things will get better and you’ll soon establish a new normal, hopefully a successful one!
Reflection
The Key to Improvement is Action followed by Reflection followed by Re-Action.
“We do not learn from experience….we learn from reflecting on experience.” - John Dewey
When it comes to decision making and execution in the family business, how often do we truly take the time to Reflect?
To reflect on our performance, on our principles, on our practices, or on our priorities.
If you’re like most entrepreneurs and business people, you are hard wired to be a DO’ER. To Get Sh!t Done. And then to Get More Sh!t Done.
But to truly understand our impact, our intentions, and our instincts….this can ONLY be done by first taking action – hopefully well informed action - and then being very deliberate about REFLECTION.
Reflection on….
What worked? What didn’t work? What areas of our plan performed as good or better than expected? What areas of our plan performed worse than expected?
Or, said another way….if we were to start over and either achieve the same outcome or a different, better outcome; what would have to change in order to make those two outcomes possible?
You see, when we’re “in it”, in the business, in the day to day, in the execution….its extremely hard – some would say impossible – to view the situation objectively and without bias. We’re simply “too close to the fire” to see straight.
Which is why after we’ve initiated and completed the EXECUTION of the plan, it is so very important to take the time – nice quiet time – in thought and reflection to assess the execution.
How often are YOU sitting down with the sole purpose of reflecting? When it comes to transition within your business, do you view Reflection as a vital component of YOUR process? Do you build it into your day, your week, your month, and your year…..
If so, what could you potentially change about your performance, your principles, your practices, or your priorities if you did?
