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Top of Mind: January 16, 2014
January 16th, 2014
by Bill Boyajian

How to Highlight the “Success” of “Succession” Planning

If you are a leader, your primary responsibility is not just to lead but to develop new leaders so well that it makes your role less and less essential. This goes against the grain of what most leaders have worked so hard to achieve. Leaders rise to their position because of their inherent drive and abilities. It’s a paradox that the goal is to become less important and less indispensable over time.

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But to take your business (or anything you’re leading) to the next level, you need lieutenants who can help you get there. The real proof of your leadership will not come from your ability to build a business, foster the development of a division, or even create a winning team. It will come from your ability to secure the long-term viability of what you are leading by developing good leaders under you, and by planning succession effectively. Ego aside, you need to prepare others to take over and be successful. This is the ultimate test of your leadership.

Planning succession is not the end of your responsibilities as a leader. It’s more like the beginning of the end. Remember, the ultimate test of your leadership is not in leading, but in developing leadership in those around you. It’s the right thing to do to preserve and protect your firm, organization, department, committee, team — whatever you’re leading. Do it well and you’ll achieve the “success” in “succession” planning.

More on “Success”

In Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl wrote,

“Don’t aim at success — the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side-effect of one’s personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one’s surrender to a person other than oneself.”

 

Here are a few Business & Life Tips to think about…..

Business Tips:

  • A great concept has to have an executable strategy, and people will knock your concept unless they can see how you will execute.
  • Want to be an expert in something? There is no substitute for time, energy, or effort. Repeat: there is no substitute.
  • Fly at high altitudes and gain perspective. Things will become clear and decisions will be easier.

Life Tips:

  • In a rut? Need a break? Take some time off for yourself. You’ll clear your mind by getting away from the daily grind.
  • Body language sends a much stronger message than verbal communication. Guard your physical actions and reactions.
  • Think about the turning points in your life that activated a positive change. Try to recreate that same sense of accomplishment.


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“I needed help orchestrating a succession plan for our business. I had heard that Bill Boyajian specialized in assisting owners to transition their business to the next generation. He knows how to bridge the generation gap and deliver what each needs to hear. I would recommend Bill to any business owner who needs advice on succession planning from a trusted outside professional.”

–Charles Denaburg,
Managing Partner,
Levy’s Fine Jewelry
Birmingham, AL

"Our family needed some guidance on business transition and succession planning. We asked Bill Boyajian to help us because we knew we could trust him to tell us what we needed to hear. Bill became a valuable resource for our company and our entire family. He has the ability to meet each of us where we’re at and it has served us very well."

–Ceylon Leitzel
Leitzel Fine Jewelry
Hershey & Myerstown, PA

“We needed a plan to transition our business to a non-family member and we asked Bill Boyajian to help us. His experience in the area has really paid off, but we didn’t expect the added value of putting us together with a financial planner who helped organize our retirement needs. We now have the fundamentals to transition our business successfully, and we have Bill to thank for it.”

–Ernie & Debbie Cummings
Kizer-Cummings Jewelers
Lawrence, KS