Is your business ready for you to move on?
Owner-managers are often the biggest barrier to the growth and success of their own business. Few businesses achieve a successful transition from owner dependency to management team dependency.
The solution is threefold.
1. Start with the end in mind
- Businesses that are wholly dependent on the activities and performance of their owners are unlikely to attract a significant capital value on a sale.
- Most businesses are owner dependent at the outset. The skill lies in reducing this dependency over time.
- At the point of sale, the business should be able to run without the involvement of the owner, except where the owner is performing a line management role that can be filled through normal recruitment or search.
2. What you should do
- Take charge of the strategy of the business and focus on the big issues. Spend a minimum of 50% of your time thinking about the future of your business, i.e. working “on” not “in” the business.
- Hire the best people you can afford to employ.
- Let go of routine management tasks.
- Give your managers the tools and authority to do the job.
- Motivate and encourage your management team.
- Develop the team’s skills, knowledge and understanding.
- Make independence of management clear to all your stakeholders.
- Maintain a sensible work/life balance.
3. What you shouldn’t do
- Abrogate your responsibility for the management of the business.
- Interfere in the day-to-day activities of your managers.
- Undermine or criticise the activities of managers in the eyes of staff.
- Introduce unnecessary and/or burdensome management systems.
- Take credit for the success of other team members.
- Allocate responsibility without authority.
- Lose sight of your objectives and goals.
For more information please contact us on terry.irwin@tcii.co.uk
Terry Irwin
Director
TCii Strategic and Management Consultants