subject: Family Business Succession Planning Mastermind Groups [print this page] Family business succession planning is composed of various elements, not necessarily the ones you were thinking about when you searched for the term on Google.
Traditionally people consider succession planning in terms of management transition, ownership transfer, and estate planning. Others understand that these terms refer more often than not to the results of succession rather than the process itself. For example if your next generation successors are not prepared to take over the business, what difference does the process make, because if you're smart you won't turn it over to them in the first place.
Estate tax strategies are a perennial political football and savvy business owners know for sure that whatever they are today is not likely to resemble what they'll be when they are applied to you and your family. The obvious result is people like you just kick the can down the road waiting for things to settle down, the economy to stabilize, and your successors to magically become qualified to take over.
Applying the law of gravity to family business succession, successful business owners know that there is only one way to coast, and it's not in the direction you will be proud of down the road. Instead of sitting around why don't you do something productive?
Why not assemble a half-dozen individuals you respect from your industry and get together in an industry specific mastermind group that meets once or twice a month? Since you are in the same industry the insights will be directly relevant to you. And if you have your meetings over the phone, except for once or twice a year meetups at association events, you will not be telling your troubles or your secrets to your neighbors or competitors.
In addition to learning how your peers are handling their family business succession planning issues, what strategies they're considering, and which advisers they trust, you'll be able to brainstorm your situation with them. But that's not all. In that same peer to pee mastermind group you'll address strategic planning issues, consider management development strategies, and discuss leadership issues among a group of people whose opinions you trust.
You will also, and this is the most important element or the process, will be able to test your assumptions before you act on them. Sometimes we come up with a "brilliant idea" and we announce it before we've considered all of its ramifications. In some cases this only a financial disaster, other times it cripples our relationships with people that are important to us.
When we are going through the business succession planning process poorly considered ideas can fatally impact our progress. No matter what business you are in the mastermind process, especially the 21st century over the phone variety can help you make better decisions and achieving better results for your family business succession.
Over time collaboration with your peers in a mastermind group can make a world of difference in how you proceed with your succession planning and strategic planning decision making process.
