“I can’t talk to him anymore, he won’t listen, he won’t back away from the business and it’s going to kill him one day soon. What do I do?”
It may be a ‘he’ who won’t listen but it may certainly also be a ‘she’. The task of leading a business can easily blind anyone to the impact it has on their health and wellbeing. Place this in a succession context and one of the ‘complaints’ you often hear is about health and a failure to acknowledge and address this issue.
The baby-boomers generation that is presently working its way through the succession process is one that grew up on ‘toughing it out’ and putting work, duty and obligation ahead of personal health and wellbeing. People leading closely-held businesses often had no one but themselves to rely on and therefore carried it all on their shoulders. The impact on their health was not an issue to be considered because ‘what other choice was there?’. This programming is not something that can be turned off overnight and therefore raising the issue of health and its impact is something that is often ignored.
Add into this mix, the fact that in a succession context the exit strategy may not be that clear or simple.
There may be concerns over the ability of the next generation to step up successfully, the next generation may not be interested in the business, or financially the business may not be doing as well as hoped.
The financial performance of the business is one of the most common barriers in succession as it directly impacts all options. Can it provide sufficient capital for us to retire? Can it support our family and our children’s families? Will we be able to pay out all our debt? And what will happen to the employees and their families who have supported us over the years? These challenges can weigh heavily on the owner’s shoulders, and they may feel they have no one to share them with.
Stand in the shoes for a moment of the person leading the business: “My health is not holding up, everyone around me is telling me this but what can l do? The business is not where it needs to be. I can’t step away now. I have no choice but to push harder to try and make it all work.”
It’s not that they don’t recognise what is happening, it’s just that they see no other option but to run the gauntlet of failing health, expiring time, and their sense of where the business needs to be.
Reminding them that their health is not holding up will likely have the reverse effect to what you desire, and push them to work longer and harder. The answer is to step beside them to try and lift some of the burden and maybe reset the goal expectations to remove the pressure to deliver.
Help is needed and goal posts may need to be shifted. This is the path to improved health.
Active Knowledge Questions:
- Have you tried stepping in the shoes of the person who is carrying the burden of the business? Really stepping into their shoes and leaving behind all your thoughts on what you think they should be doing?
- Do you understand the challenges faced by the business to provide for everyone’s needs?
- Do you have a deep understanding of the financial implications of succession to the business and family?
- Can you find a way to walk beside that person and carry some of the burden without them even realising what you have done?
Searching for the world’s best succession guide? Buy Transition – Orienteering The Five Lands of Succession.
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All the best in the success of your business,
Richard Shrapnel
