International Business Mentors Blog

Business Succession Planning –Who cares! Someone else’s problem (after I have left)

You do not like to think about it, but one day you will leave your business or job. You could sell the business, retire or health problems can force the issue, so it is critical that you plan for that day. A business succession, plan outlines what will happen when you exit the business or job and who will take over your business or job. A good succession plan enables a smooth transition from one owner to another or from one executive to another with less chance of disruption to the business. By planning your exit or retirement far enough in advance you should help to optimize the value of your business or retirement nest egg and enable the business to meet its future needs.

Your business succession plan needs to be attainable, and you should set a realistic timetable and measurable milestones along the way, review these and stick to them.

Succession planning has been around for many generations and started with the need to manage the transition of wealth and power in ruling families and in business dynasties. The businesses succession planning process builds pools of people who possess critical capabilities or potential required to support the short and long term objectives of the business.

In well managed businesses succession planning is a way that the leadership can help sustain specific strategic objectives into the future, such as achieving its vision, goals and any specific objectives.

1. In succession planning the future requirements of the business must to be projected.
2. Then the capabilities and type of people that will be needed to fill key positions that support the business must be established.
3. Then there will be a gap between what you have now and what you need in the future.
4. Filling this gap is the central process of developing the succession plan.

Most succession planning tends to focus on just the key management and leadership roles. However, true succession planning is focused more broadly on filling these most senior positions, and also upon developing leaders, managers and team leaders at all levels.

If you are considering an exit plan and are going to sell the business then early succession planning is critical. The succession plan will be assessed by the buyers of the business. The better the succession planning and its implementation- the lower the risk inherent in the business in terms of people leaving or key positions exposed to unwanted vacancies. The succession plan can help to increase the sale value of the business.

What is the business case for doing succession planning?

1. To develop and improve the retention of talented people needed by the organization to meet its future strategic objectives
• This can be particularly relevant to the development and retention of talented women in business and other groups neglected by organizations
2. To add value and reduce risk to the organization’s strategic plan and contribute to ongoing business strategies
3. To encourage the development and advancement of the right culture and mix of employees
4. To ensure individuals receive, where appropriate, development opportunities and are successful in their career goals as well as contributing to the business’s success through their efforts and expertise
5. To ensure that the organization has full access to and develops to its potential the intellectual capabilities of their employees to meet the businesses strategic intent
6. To identify the need for replacement, design and select appropriate training and development programs, such as
7. International Business Mentors for senior staff, external courses such as MBAs, management programs to develop management strength; skills courses to improve technical capabilities
8. To improve employee culture, morale, retention and commitment
9. To improve the talent pool available to fill key positions and reduce the risk of inappropriate people filling these positions in the future

By
David Cartney, January 2009

At times senior decision makers need look in their own performance mirror using a Business Mentor

A business mentor can be critical for you when:

• The economy goes off the boil
• You are facing issues and need a fresh view
• The business strategy or performance needs a push
• You want to maintain your pace
• You know you need to be challenged
• You want to develop and transform yourself
• When you just need a quiet sounding board for your ideas or thoughts

Business Mentoring…Imagine that you are standing looking into a performance mirror, which reflects back yourself, the business issues and environment that you are facing. You are with your business mentor, who is your personal and trusted business confident with a great deal of business and mentoring experience to bring to the table.

As a senior decision maker you help your staff with professional development, but what about you?

• Here at International Business Mentors we take a broad practical approach with our mentoring relationships, encompassing your development (as the mentee) both professionally and personally. You are unique; therefore you need to have a mentor matched to meet your specific personal and business profile.

• International Business Mentors has an experience bank of business mentors who are trained to take the broad practical view of you within your business and mentor you within a close personal and confidential relationship. You can tap into their skills and experience which will cover a broad spectrum of business including-Strategy, Customers, Competition, Marketing, Operations, People and performance issues.

• You may be in a transition, in a new position or business and require assistance adjusting and adapting, assessing the situation you find yourself in, or you may simply need a sounding board for your ideas.

Contact us now to get your own business mentor!
Chris Cartney, Mobile 0407 560 520, +61 (0)3 9607 8270
Email: Chris at internationalbusinessmentors.com
Office- Level 40, 140 William Street, Melbourne 3000 Australia
International Business Mentors website

Business Mentors in the USA.

We have an expatriate Australian based in the United States with specific skills to assist those wishing to assess suitability for their product or service or to expand existing operations in the US.

Our Business Mentor achieved outstanding success in growing his own business in the United Sates achieving status in the fastest growing top 500 privately owned companies in the USA.

Our Mentor possesses sound knowledge and experience in rapid business growth and profitability.

Our Mentor now assists Australian companies/businesses succeed in this unique market place which offers enormous potential.
Expertise includes:

• sound knowledge of the US market
• feasibility, studies
• opening new markets
• extensive experience building profitable, international, technology, reseller, consulting, retail and support firms.
• developing strategic alliances with recognised organisations and individuals
• raising funds for growth and expansion and developing top-flight technical and management teams
• further expansion into the International Arena including Japan, Asia and Europe

For further information on how we can assist you break into this exciting International Business Forum, please contact Chris Cartney.
Click Here to email Chris Cartney

International Business Mentors

Click Here to visit the International Business Mentors website

It is not enough to know that women are under-represented on boards and senior executive positions worldwide and also here in Australia, in fact according to the Australian Government Office for Women, there are more women than men graduating from university with a Bachelor degree, so the problem is a lot deeper.

And although, women are well represented amongst graduate in-takes in many large companies and this represents a significant investment in attracting substantial female talent, many of these organisations tend to lose disproportionate amounts of their investment in women, as many leave. From my interaction with a broad range of women in business, I have found that many women prefer to leave larger organizations well before they can maximize their contribution or reach their full potential. Many leave well before they get even close to the top of these organisations.

This problem of retention will not improve until businesses face and challenge the experiences of women in business. Businesses must understand and deal with the issues which cause women to leave, or become complacent about high achievement within these larger organisations.

A similar problem occurs, perhaps to a lesser extent, in the professions. Although women are still under-represented in the partnership groups of law, accounting and consulting firms these cultures are changing and the worth and contribution women make, is becoming increasingly recognized.

Changing company cultures to accept and validate the worth of women in top positions is a slow process and needs commitment from the top down through organisations. The fact is that many women opt out and channel their talents into establishing and running their own businesses, whilst others simply resign themselves to continuing in a career that does not utilize them to their full potential and may not develop their careers far enough.

There are some strategies that can assist overcome merely existing in the business environment and help elevate women to the top jobs that their potential would indicate.

An area that I specialize in is providing business mentors to develop the individual’s potential within the business. And for women a well matched Business Mentor can have an enormous impact on their contribution to Business. Whilst both genders can benefit from a Business Mentor, women have specific challenges to master. Here at International Business Mentors we match individuals with their personal Business Mentor. Your Business Mentor must have the right skills and relevant experience to help you, as well as have a good personal fit with you. These are critical factors in the selection and matching process.

We find that confidence is often a barrier for women, so they stop taking risks and trying new things, which eventually leads to slower growth and development. Another example and a recurring theme is the need to feel included, and women in business want to fully contribute in a meaningful fashion. Women in business need to feel accepted and valued.

Women don’t want to be pandered to- they want to be given the best opportunities and to be judged on their performance.

Even though in the past decades we have seen substantial improvements in the acceptance and encouragement of women in business, still many organisations have been slow to give women equal opportunity in the workforce. This is despite the worldwide moves to promote and acknowledge that women are more than capable of performing the roles that men had traditionally had a stranglehold on.

Globally the development of women’s networking groups has been encouraging, with each group having their own slant and level that they pitch at, but significantly most have certain fundamental functions in common. Importantly, these groups offer a forum to share information and resources, and help women in business with career development and give valuable support. Many women in business groups have sophisticated websites and high tech programmes all aimed to assist women to either improve their careers through improving their contribution to business performance or encouraging them develop their own businesses.

The need for services to promote and encourage women in business has also been supported by governments. Here in Australia federal, state and local government offer assistance programmes and the same occur in many other countries and regions. While these services and programmes are very welcome, the commercial business mentoring services we offer here at International Business Mentors compliment these broad approaches, as we offer an individually tailored mentoring relationship which is tailored to your individual requirements.

Many professional bodies now have special member groups for women as well as committees, research and development programmes and industry sponsors events and prizes for women, such as here in Australia Telstra provide an exciting and well publicized campaign showcasing some of Australia’s most inspirational business women in the Telstra business women of the year. Also, the Westpac Bank has a dedicated Business Women’s team. The aim of this team is to support women in business by providing opportunities for women to grow both personally and professionally through leadership, education and networking

Law firms, Accounting firms, Banks and other financial institutions and Governments are addressing the commitment needed to develop and retain their talented women. This reform is starting to impact on company cultures and small business. Women are capable of great things. Yet to overcome barriers women need to be proactive about their own development.

A well matched personal Business Mentor from International Business Mentors can help your advancement in an established organisation or improve your performance and confidence at the helm of your own business.

Written By: Chris Cartney