Morgan Weatherly, PhD is partnering with Treebank Legal to help with the “people” aspect of succession planning for family businesses. Morgan will help to identify stakeholders’ roles, responsibilities, strengths and
weaknesses. This can aid in identifying what stakeholders, if any, are promotable. She will also help identify cultural variables and goals, specific preferred management traits, strategies for leadership development, and how to properly address family dynamics. During the succession planning process, she can help to identify specific needs and goals of each family member involved in the process. She will help address family dynamics in order to develop the best strategy for communication within and outside of the family dynamic. She will work with Treebank as a support to solidify the succession planning process so that goals are achieved in way that supports all family members and stakeholders.
Succession Planning Process
Treebank brings a unique view to succession planning for your family and your business. John Martin spent nearly ten years in his own family’s business before earning a law degree. During his time with the family business, he experienced the uncertainty and conflict that often comes with succession
planning conversations. Treebank’s goal is to leverage that experience to bring your business and your family a sound succession plan.
Our approach to succession planning includes all stakeholders from the first stages of the process. We start with a collaborative introductory meeting that includes key stakeholders to clearly communicate the steps in building a solid succession plan. We partner with a licensed family therapist from the beginning of the process to help navigate family dynamics and establish a clear picture of each person’s ideal outcome. We also partner with your financial advisors to understand the economic impact of the
succession plan. Coupled with our Transition Readiness Assessment, Treebank can prepare you, your family, and your business for sustainable growth. Please note that the below process is high-level and highly dependent on owner preference. At the start of the engagement, we will discuss, modify and solidify the process to suit the business, family, and
owner dynamics. In some cases, an iterative approach is required and we may cycle through parts of the process more than once.
Stakeholder Involvement
One of our early steps is to identify all stakeholders in a succession plan. Typically, this includes
the business owner(s), owner spouses, adult children working in the business, adult children not working
in the business, key non-family leadership, employees, and any other individuals that have the ability to
influence a smooth business succession.
Owner Interview
Succession planning is fluid and an owner’s goals can change as we move through the process.
Another early action item will be to conduct a meeting (or sometimes multiple meetings) with the owner
and, typically, their spouses. In this meeting we will begin to identify what is important for the owner in
any succession planning outcome (i.e.; financial security, personal legacy, family legacy, employee
security, etc.). While we want to understand the ideal outcome for all stakeholders, the owner ultimately
makes the decisions and we use the information from this interview to set the tone and direction of the
process. Many times, the owner’s ideal outcome changes as we move through the process. This interview
establishes a baseline and common terminology so that we can identify and adapt to changes in thinking
or goals as we form the plan.
Group Introductory Meeting
When we have identified the stakeholders and conducted the owner interview, we will bring the
key stakeholders together to begin the process. We will plan the agenda with the owner and collaborate on
how to kickoff the process. Typically, we will introduce key advisors, explain their roles, communicate a
broad goal, and explain next steps. A broad goal for the process might be something like “Ensure that the
business remains profitable and focused through any leadership change” or “Identify, train, and transition
to the next CEO.” We work with the owner to come up with a goal that we think will resonate with
stakeholders.
Stakeholder Interviews
After the introductory meeting, we will schedule one-on-one meetings with each stakeholder.
The goal of these meetings is to identify personal goals, conflicts, strengths and weaknesses, at least from
the perspective of the stakeholder. Our licensed therapist plays a key role in these sessions to put people
at ease and encourage them to be candid in communicating their thoughts and ideas.
Reporting & Reflection
We will take some time to organize and analyze the information we collect through the first
stages of the process. Our goal at this step is to identify areas where stakeholders are generally aligned,
areas where varying degrees of conflict exist, and any common narratives about the business, the process
or the owner. We will then present this information to the owner in parallel to what we learned from the
owner. The key question after this presentation, is “What, if anything, in your thinking has changed?”
War Games
We use the information gathered in our interviews and feedback from the owner to “war game”
various succession planning scenarios. A few of the questions we address are “Who will lead the
company?” “How do we transfer ownership?” and “Is an internal or family transition the best option?”
Our objectives during this phase are to identify any changes to the owner’s goals and build more than one
scenario that meets those goals.
Group Presentation
When the owner is satisfied that we have more than one viable scenario, we take these back to the
group for presentation and feedback. We want to make sure that the owner’s goals are substantially met
with any of our scenarios. Presenting these to the group for feedback gives stakeholders a sense of
ownership — they have a meaningful opportunity to influence the decision on a final plan.
Execution
When the owner is satisfied with the plan and we have consensus from stakeholders, we
formalize the plan with legal documentation and a timeline. In some cases, timelines are fluid or based on
objective criteria instead of hard dates. As we execute, we monitor the process and advise where changes
are needed.
Clapping Trees Counseling and Consulting 