We were engaged by the husband & wife owners of a family company that had been expecting their adult son to take over the business within a few years. He had been born into the business and had been trained by his father for many years. Unfortunately, the son met and married a new partner that hated farm life and encouraged him to move away and start fresh elsewhere. The owners were devastated, that the succession plan they had been working towards for many years had fallen through. The were miserable thinking there was no exit strategy now available to them.
Throughout an afternoon strategy session, the owners understood their company business model and value better and we mapped out a plan to provide backup to them to alleviate some of their stress and pressure and prepare for a new succession strategy. The owners felt much better and recognized that they still had plenty of years that they could manage their business, provided they brought in key backup for day-to-day activities to allow them more opportunity for strategy work and time off.