My friend Larry suggested an intriguing topic that has to do with succession planning – but not the type where organizations get thoughtful about their full slate of leadership talent. Larry recently retired from his senior marketing executive role in a large company, and now finds himself dabbling in about eight different ventures/hobbies.
Lately, he’s been inundated with questions from fellow “retiring boomers” who are unsure of how to handle their own personal succession planning as they conclude their current careers. What makes these folks different is that they work for themselves, or have unique jobs. Larry tells me that, regardless of the nature of their work, their challenges and questions are very immediate and real, and they lack any informed perspective on how to best approach them. For example, there is:
Tori - who started a non-profit organization 25 years ago. As she considers retirement, she faces past investors who are wondering why they should continue to contribute to the cause.
Bob - who is a CPA with a client base that is loyal to him. He feels he needs to provide a two year notice to his clients and partners and then phase himself out of the business, but doesn’t know where to start.
Karen - an independent contractor who sees her business on the wane and doesn't know if it is time to stop, how to stop, whether to close her business or attempt to sell it to someone else.
Bill - who is the founder of a small but successful advertising agency who wants it to continue to succeed but hesitates to give up control.
George - the first and only pastor for a church who doesn’t think he should be involved in identifying his successor, but also realizes that his lack of involvement may risk the future of the church and its membership.
As Larry points out, there are millions of other baby boomers starting to face similar challenges. What should they do? Unlike big companies, smaller organizations or self-run businesses don’t have a deep bench of talent. How do they identify a successor? When and how do they communicate their plans to retire? How do they effectively transition responsibility to others to ensure long term success?
They answers aren’t easy, and they’re probably unique for every situation. But some lessons from large companies probably do apply. First, they have to be honest with themselves about their situation (just as corporations have to be candid about their own leadership needs). Second, they need to consider alternative paths to the final answer. What are their options? It’s probably a good idea to plot at least 2-3 scenarios and solicit feedback from trusted friends or colleagues (companies often “horse race” several candidates for the same role). Third, they need a planful transition – an overlap with their successor (3-6 months is typical in some firms). Fourth, because their own passion for the job or organization is usually very strong, they might also make it clear to others that they’ll be staying involved as an advisor (retirees as mentors is popular in many organizations).
There’s no simple solution. But if retiring boomers brainstorm a few different courses of action and gather input from a variety of sources, chances are they’ll make the right decision, for themselves and their businesses or organizations. Larry’s right about one thing – this is something that’s going to gather steam over the next 10 years (I’m sure there are niche consultants gearing up as we speak to capture this very market). As for Larry and I – a tip of the hat to everyone who’s been successful enough to get to this square on the game board… good for you. Now, start applying the same smarts, guts and judgment to your succession planning that you brought to your careers. We’re confident you can do it!
Comments
Post has no comments.