They say the only guaranteed things in life are death and taxes.  What would happen if you one day suddenly got hit by a bus?

 As an owner or founder, no matter what age you are or what state your business is in, you need to consider the proverbial “hit by a bus” scenario. Take a moment now to think about these questions:

1. What would happen if I weren’t around or couldn’t continue running my business?

2. What would happen with my team? Who would lead it?

3. What would happen with our clients? How would they transition to new ownership?

If you are like many owners, your answer to these questions might be “I don’t know” or “I’m not sure.”  Or even think, “Well, I have a good team.”  But the best teams won’t be prepared for your departure unless the business is deliberately structured to facilitate a transition at some point in time.

It’s important to realize that you aren’t the only person wondering about the future of the business.  The Next Generation is grappling with its own set of questions:

1. What happens to me if the founders are no longer around?

2. How will I pay for the business if I want to buy it?

3. If I became an owner, how would I handle the extra workload and provide continuity of relationships with clients?

As a business owner, you’ll need to take an all-inclusive view of generational transitions, one that addresses not just your needs but those of your team.

“Ok, but where do I begin?”

Glad you asked! One of the first and most important questions founders struggle to answer is “Who will be the next generation?” Many founders leave that question to chance, consciously or unconsciously, assuming that the next generation of leaders will magically appear.  That’s wishful thinking.  Your first step on the road to a successful transition is to deliberately develop your G2s (short for Next Generation), starting right now.

At Inspire Network, we’ve identified five essential characteristics of effective next-generation owners:

1. They are good people. By that, we mean they are representative of the character of your business, possess a strong work ethic consistent with the culture of your team, and have an “attitude of servitude,” that is, they care about serving others.

2. I have a transformational growth mindset. That means they actively pursue opportunities for personal, professional, and business growth.

3. They have mastered creating delightful client experiences.

4. They are highly effective leaders.

5. They are highly proficient in business acumen.

Prospective next-generation owners don’t come pre-wired with all five attributes. But when deciding which team members you want to develop for the next generation of leadership.  We have a lot of experience in this, so we designed a program for prospective next-generation owners called NextGen Owners Academy (NGOA).

NextGen Owners Academy is an intensive “boot camp” in which participants engage in sessions to work on:

• How to deliver a true and masterful client experience in your industry

• How to be leaders who will inspire others and drive results and outcomes

• How to strengthen their business acumen

At Inspire Network, We recognize that you, as a founder or owner, have primary responsibility for developing your G2s.  However, participation in NGOA will not only accelerate the individual development of G2s but also fuel the transformational growth of the business as a whole.

The heart of NGOA is a specialized mastermind group. How does a mastermind group work?

As Stephanie Burns explains, “A group of smart people meets weekly, monthly, daily even if it makes sense, to tackle challenges and problems together. They lean on each other, give advice, share connections and do business with each other when appropriate.  It’s very much peer-to-peer mentoring, and if you’re lucky enough to get invited to one, you will most likely see a marked change in yourself and your business.”

Peer collaboration is a strong component of these sessions. However, each meeting is facilitated by one or more of our senior Inspire Network coaches.  In addition to monthly mastermind sessions, NGOA participants receive individual coaching from both a founder’s perspective and a next-generation owner’s perspective.

If you commit to developing your next-generation leaders NOW, you’ll have peace of mind knowing that you will have left a lasting legacy behind for your family, clients, and team.

Are you ready to take the next step and learn more about our NextGen Owners Academy? What are you waiting for?

Check out the original white paper talking about this very topic.