Succession and Choosing 3rd Party Advisors

Most contractors have gone through the succession process zero times.

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Even those that have gone through the succession process before are typically facing far different scenarios the second time around. 

Succession: Effectively Selecting Your Team of 3rd Party Advisors. Primarily Accountants and Attorneys.

Choosing the right team of advisors will help you effectively explore options and refine the details of your specific succession. Few basic rules:  

  • DO NOT hand over the process to a 3rd party. You own the process. These people are there to advise you, but ultimately, the decisions are yours to own. 
  • Not all advisors will agree and that is okay and even desired so that you can use your analytical skills to make the best decision.  
  • Not all advisors will be good at all stages of the process.
  • Your existing attorney, CPA, and consulting relationships may or may not be the best choice for helping you through the succession process. Run them through the same rigorous selection process as other candidates for your advisory team.  
  • Develop a rigorous selection process for picking your team based around the outcomes you want to achieve. Treat this the same as you would for hiring a high-level executive for your team.
  • If you think the fees for some good 3rd party advisors is expensive, check out the cost of a failed succession deal.  

Succession and Choosing 3rd Party Advisors
Continue building value in your business, yourself and your key team members with a good succession strategy....

Succession and Choosing 3rd Party Advisors
Continue building value in your business, yourself and your key team members with a good succession strategy....

Five Stages of Adult Behavior
The larger your team gets the more important it is to learn as much about talent development as you have learned about construction means and methods. These are not skills that can be delegated to someone in HR.
Rockstars, M&M's, Safety, and Contractor Growth
As projects and contractors grow in size and complexity, it is impossible for leaders to be everywhere and see everything, yet they are 100% accountable for the outcomes. Leverage simple indicators like a rockstar to quickly identify areas of concern.
Succession Planning at All Levels
If a construction company is growing at 15% per year, then it will double in size about every five years. Therefore, in general, every position must be training at least two people that will be capable of succeeding them within five years.