How does a company successfully transition from one generation to the next? For many teams, just the term “succession planning” can be overwhelming. All the details of buying/selling and ownership transition are daunting, but beyond all that is one question plaguing business owners: "Even if we had all the legal details worked out, how does my business practically transition to the new ownership so that I can step away?"

Here’s the story of one team that successfully transitioned to new ownership within the EOS Process™.

One of the first things an EOS Implementer™ does when working with clients is to determine the right structure for the organization using the Accountability Chart. While this can be a straightforward exercise for your senior leadership team, some of your team members may have difficulty when it's time to build out the Accountability Chart for their own departments.

Here are a few tips to help you navigate this process with your team.

The overall safety record in commercial aviation remains strong, despite occasional high-profile incidents. In fact, the chances of fatality in an aviation accident are 1 in 9,821, while in an automobile they're 1 in 114! There is a simple formula for the high success rate in aviation: great processes plus solid training/certification plus an obsession with clear responsibilities.

I had a recent client session end with the team looking a little hangdog and expressing some disappointment. This was an EOS Vision Building™ 1 session, which includes getting the team’s Accountability Chart to about 90% complete and defining their Core Values.

When we dug into their disappointment, here’s what emerged:

• One team member was unhappy that in strengthening the Accountability Chart, they had surfaced a lot “Right Person/Right Seat” issues that needed to be solved.
• They were all unhappy that they were going to have to figure out how to make the Core Values they defined fit into the legacy Core Values imposed on them by their corporate parent.

So why were they disappointed?

If you’re like many entrepreneurs, you started your business with a great idea and did everything yourself. You generated sales, delivered your products or services, handled the finances, managed customer service and emptied the wastebaskets. As your business grew, did you fully remove yourself from most of these functions, replacing yourself with a more energetic, competent version of yourself? Did you begin with those things you weren’t good at and didn’t enjoy, or happened to be good at and didn’t enjoy? Did you “let go” once the new person was in place and established their competence?