Written by The Root Cause Is Too Often This
There is a YouTube video of Gino Wickman doing his whiteboard arrow talk. It is eight years old and less than 3 minutes long. It is still very relevant. If you’ve never seen it we embedded the video for you at the end of this post. When I first watched a light bulb went off 💡- This is the exact same problem business owners have when it comes to the important job of creating a succession plan. Even with the best advisors, if they do not work together the planning does not get done correctly if at all.
Makes sense doesn’t it? As a business owner you can fill out a fourteen page questionnaire and look at a dozen different succession planning solutions but if your advisor team is not working together it is can be a complete a waste of time. This leads to your frustration. You pay money, spend time and get nothing in return. If you happen to run your business on EOS® then you also understand you want the right planning advisors in the right seats. In succession planning you will need to work with your Attorney, CPA, Wealth Advisor and often your Insurance/Risk Advisor. They must understand the planning from a business owner’s perspective and be team players.
Team Players – If you bring all four advisors together to work on a succession plan the room is full of some pretty big egos including you the owner. This should come as no surprise. We see this all the time when advisors start firing out ideas before everyone comes to an agreement of the problem that needs solving. The arrows move toward alignment when the advisors agree on the problem and the objective. The objective is often what the owner wants.
Focusing on achieving alignment with your planning advisors has great benefits. First you increase the odds of a successful outcome and completion of the work. You will also save time and money. Don’t forget it will also greatly reduce your frustration level. Team alignment is job #1.
At Marshall+Viliesis we work to help owners and advisors work efficiently, effectively and as a team in the planning process. After all it is a process. Should you have questions and want to have a conversation please use the link at the end of this post to schedule a call. If you are an owner or an advisor we are here to help.