Abraham Lincoln famously said: “Don’t swap horses in the middle of the stream”. Is a global pandemic the best time to change leaders? Or is it better to avoid dramatic changes during uncertain times?
While we’d like to be well prepared, and knowing that succession planning is a process rather than an event, families may find themselves needing to accelerate the process at these times. Unplanned transitions don’t have to inevitably end in disaster, but when they happen, they do rely on a concerted effort by other family members and stakeholders.
The current business conditions necessitates that family businesses take stock, review and stress-test existing structures. While it is never easy to have discussions around death and succession, it is essential to avoid conflict in the unfortunate event of a loss within a family no matter what the external situation. The lockdown has been a catalyst to prompt families to reflect on succession planning in a wider sense.
A true succession plan is about fostering open communications and getting your family on the same page about its values and goals of both the incumbent and rising generation. A good succession plan leaves a positive legacy and unites the family around common goals and values.
Consider This: Has the pandemic brought forward discussions about succession in your family? Has it uncovered existing stresses in the succession process (or lack of)? Have you set realistic goals about the timeframe for an effective succession?
Original articles:
- Should a Crisis Change Your CEO Succession Plan?
- What COVID-19 Has Taught Us About Wealth And Succession Planning
- Steer Your Family Businesses Through an Unplanned Transition
- Why now is the time for GCC family businesses to review succession planning
- World’s Rich Are Spending the Pandemic Weighing Succession
- Wealthy Families Need More Than a Financial Succession Plan: They Need a Process
- Succession planning in a pandemic: How Asia’s affluent prepare for the future
Here is more on reading on family succession planning.
