Posted on Wed, Apr 08, 2009
Like every business founder or owner operator or even professional CEO, whether I want to or not, one day I will have to exit my business. It may be health, or more happily, it may be retirement or a desire to contribute in other ways. My business has occupied most of my time and even more of my thoughts for 20 years…I want the customers and employees who have made it successful and who rely on it to be able to benefit from it long after I am gone.
I need to prepare the business for when that time comes. Obviously, the key is a strong executive team and a robust long-term strategy. But have I really got the right people and pieces in place…could the business stand alone if it had to? How much do I unconsciously fill in the gaps, how happy would I be with the decisions that would emerge without my input? Would I be proud of my company if I saw it in action a year or two after my departure?
These are difficult questions to answer…they are hard for a professional business leader, but perhaps even harder for a founder/entrepreneur. It’s a cliché, but the business is “your baby”, and it is very hard to really take your hands away and let it walk on its own if you are close enough.
My solution to this has been to plan, and soon to execute, a trial exit: A year in which the management team will run the business in their best judgement, reporting to me on their planned actions, but having autonomy to operate the company as they see fit, while I would intervene only if I really believed a major strategic or tactical blunder, which could threaten the core of the business’s well-being, was about to be made.
This is intended to be a record of my thoughts and actions as my family and I prepare to spend a year in France, and I attempt to ready the business to do without me for a year. I am writing it for anyone who is interested, but perhaps it will be of most interest to business owner/operators who, like me, know that one of the best things they can do for their business is to ready it for their eventual exit, whether that exit is planned or unplanned. We are all deeply committed to delivering value to our customers, to creating better futures for our employees through a successful and prosperous business. This is for people with good businesses they love…if you’re looking for tips on how to escape a business that’s all stress and no sense of accomplishment, I’m not going to be of any help!