4 Simple Steps to Make Change Easy

We have become conditioned to believe that change is hard.  That is not always true.  For example, we do not even think about the change we made from lying down to rolling over to sitting up to crawling to standing to walking to running.  It happened so naturally that many of us do not even remember when we did not have the requisite skills to perform any of those activities. Ah, you say, but that is different.  Perhaps.  But is it really?  We explored, discovered, and practiced new behaviors until they became so natural that they no longer required conscious thought.  So what is different about those changes from the ones we move from one state to another?  The primary difference between those changes which seem to be natural and those which are imposed upon us, either by ourselves or by others, is that we accepted the fact that the change was happening.  Once we accepted that reality, we gave ourselves choices and options. To read the ending to this blog, click here.

To Sell or Not to Sell? Removing the Confusion from the Question

I know someone whose business has been for sale many times over the length of our relationship.  In fact, he could actually have sold it on at least six occasions that I know about; and each would have given him a “never have to work again” lifestyle.  But, for reasons best known only to my friend Sam, he routinely leaves a willing buyer scratching his head in bewilderment.  He has another offer on the table.  It’s a very good one by most people’s standards, especially considering the nature of his industry.  Good as it is, the smart money is betting against the sale.   Maybe some of you have been in a similar situation, either as a business owner or as a business advisor to someone like Sam.  Just after he told me about his most recent offer, he began expressing disappointment that the business was valued properly and that the negotiations were being handled by a bunch of young MBAs who had no appreciation wheeling and dealing.  “All they see,” said Sam, “is their worksheet.  They don’t know what to do without it.” To read the end of this blog, click here.

How to Address Marginal Competency in a Family Member or Business Owner

Although an uncomfortable subject, it is reasonably predictable that some of us will outlive our brain. Advances in medical science have increased the likelihood of beating cancer and the likelihood that more of us will experience some degree of incompetence prior to death. Incompetence will be preceded by a transition with good days and bad days until at some point there will be confirmation that we are not able to manage our affairs. In a classic retirement environment this is no big deal. However in the family business realm where founders and subsequent successors commonly stay engaged well into their late 70’s and early 80’s because they are either addicted to the culture or they are an integral component of the success formula. In light of the difficulty self assessing competency and the emotions associated with telling a love one that they are losing their marbles, Marginal Competency represents a significant challenge to both the business mission and family harmony.  To read the end of this blog, click here.