Succession Fact #3: Trust Between Parties

Succession Fact #3: No exit strategy or deal structure will work without trust between all major stakeholder groups.

D. Brown Management Profile Picture
Share
Succession: Fact 3. Importance of Trust Between Parties.

Whether it is a large and complex project or a business ownership transition, there will never be a “perfect” set of documents or plan. Like building a successful project, what allows great teams to work through these issues is open communication built on a foundation of trust between all parties.  

Divide trust in two categories knowing that both are required:

  1. Trusting of integrity and intent. Take 15 minutes to watch Brené Brown’s video on The Anatomy of Trust with a notepad in hand and a list of each of the major stakeholders who are involved in an ownership transition. Who do you trust? Who don’t you trust? Why? How will that impact a deal?
  1. Trusting of someone’s ability to execute. This is about competencies and no deal structure will create these capabilities. Who do you trust to execute? What are the boundaries of this trust? What can be done to extend these boundaries? How will these answers impact a deal?  

Get specific in your answers to where they are actionable. 

Have others go through the same exercise and openly compare notes. If that makes you uncomfortable, then you might want to very closely examine the level of trust you have between parties with the knowledge that doing so will have an impact on an ownership transition. 


Succession Fact #3: Trust Between Parties
Continue building value in your business, yourself and your key team members with a good succession strategy....

Succession Fact #3: Trust Between Parties
Continue building value in your business, yourself and your key team members with a good succession strategy....

Strategic Choices and Operational Execution
The best strategic choices will not outrun the results of poor operational execution. The best operational execution will be limited in performance by the quality of strategic choices. Both must be in alignment.
Accountability + Compensation: The Myths and Realities
No amount of accountability or compensation will create the competencies and capabilities required to deliver results. If your results are falling short, make sure that you are diagnosing the root cause correctly so you can design the best solution.
Business Operating Layer
Execution is the discipline of getting things done and is especially critical for contractors because we work in a highly competitive business with relatively low margins compared to the risks taken.