Fall 2014 issue of Horizons

FEATURE

Principle 2: Start With Readiness Preparation is a must for any journey, including succession. The incumbent and next generation teams must be ready for the time, commitment and motivation it takes. As shown on page 21, the most common trigger for commencing succession was the readiness of both these groups. Principle 3: Set Your Goals Before The Journey The importance of establishing and setting your goals before you commence your journey cannot be overemphasized. When respondents considered or looked back on the process to identify the main outcomes achieved, there was a change across the dimensions of before, during and after, as shown below.

Principle 4: Harmony Is A Must Creating, sustaining and enhancing harmony through the succession process is a must. The importance of family harmony is illustrated below, as it remained an important consideration across all three dimensions.

Principle 5: Price Is Not First – Key Considerations As can be seen above, the focus of the succession process across all phases is on ‘continuity of the business’ and ‘ongoing jobs for employees’. No matter what your intent is, whether to sell, retain or transfer the business, these goals do not change. Getting the best sale price is not the first consideration, rather it is an outcome of the focus on continuity and jobs. Principle 6: Plan Early, Start Earlier For effective succession, the business has to be able to meet the combined needs of the exiting and incoming generations. The process of building the financial capacity of the business to cater for these needs takes time and must be understood, planned for and acted on, well in advance of these needs materializing.

page 22 | horizons Fall 2014