Business Monday

You’ve probably seen people spend thirty or forty years building an empire.

• They sacrifice weekends.
• They miss birthdays.
• They work late into the night.
• They endure losses, debt, and uncertainty.
• They employ professionals to guide them in decision making.

Finally, the business succeeds. It thrives.

Then one day, the founder dies.

The children inherit the business, the buildings, the vehicles, and the accounts. But within a few years, the empire begins to crumble.

You start wondering what really happened. Some say; “He died with his business”.

Now, you can inherit a business but, you cannot inherit a vision.

The founder saw what no one else could see. Every sacrifice was connected to a purpose. The children may only see an asset to manage, or worse, an asset to sell.

A business built by one person’s vision cannot survive on another person’s obligation. This is why succession is not about handing over ownership, it is about transferring purpose.

If your children only know WHAT you built, but never understand WHY you built it, they will struggle to carry it forward.

The same is true for partners and employees.

A healthy business doesn’t merely pass on shares:

• It passes on values.
• It passes on a culture.
• It passes on discipline.
• It passes on responsibility and,

Most importantly, it passes on a vision that others willingly embrace as their own. Your children most times don’t care about this and that is just OK!

If you want them to; invite them into the journey while you’re still building. Let them understand the problems you’re solving, the people you’re serving, and the principles that guide every decision. If they are uninterested, don’t force issues.

It will take you time to understand that just because they are your children, they are not part of what you see. They may have different problems to solve and not the ones you are solving.