As a survivor who has passed the foremost trial of succession, it’s a good time to make an assessment of the things you have done right. There is no future dwelling on the negative. On the bright side, your survival affirms my theory that as a survivor, there is nothing you do wrong that cannot be many fold reconciled by the things you do right. As expressed earlier, success is not always defined in terms of those thin disguises purchased with prior profits. How many examples have you seen of people with mansions, yachts and jets going bankrupt? Success, which comes from the things you are doing right, is a NOW thing.
History is full of flame-outs who pretended to be on top right up to the court house steps. So in an effort to affirm our survival and the anticipated continuation of success (succession) we should recognize that success is embedded just as much in terms of the family, key managers, loyal employees, faithful customers and vigilant vendors who support us, as it is in the cash our businesses generate. These critical components to your survival have witnessed your stewardship of resources: people, time, money and purpose. This acknowledgement of proficiency in the soft side of Succession Success® is not intended to ignore the reality that we need cash to pay our bills but to accentuate that survival in the current traumatized market and in the demanding markets to come requires success beyond general profitability and cash flow.
This is the soft side of succession planning. You have obviously done well here without getting bogged down with family, key managers, employees and vendors, especially banks. These critical components of your Succession Success® have concluded that you care enough about their welfare that they are giving up something for your welfare. Whether conscious of your strength here or not, take it from someone who has devoted a 36 year career to succession planning, you have done a good job! You are a success. With the affirmation that you are doing something significant right, when the cash flow returns you should be hitting the ball over the fence.
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