Managing Major Talent Transitions for Sustainability Results
Making a Business Succession Successful
The founding partners of a highly successful architectural company wanted to retire, and they had selected three candidates who were “on trial” to be their successors, one internal candidate and two new hires. The problem? The business had completely outgrown a one-for-one replacement of the talents the founders possessed, and two of the candidates were failing in their present positions, which argued unfavorably for promotion to running the firm. Moreover, the founders weren’t really ready to leave, and their efforts to shore up their successors undermined them instead. The firm almost lost three major accounts, and profits plummeted as inefficiencies escalated and talent threatened to leave. Nova’s experts began working with the founders and their identified successors, and as a result, the business has been restructured to better accommodate its size and changed marketplace. Two of the candidates have now been elevated to partnership, but with different responsibilities than those previously identified for an interval in which the founders can prepare themselves, their lives, and the business for the leadership transition. The third candidate has been reassigned to new duties much more to his liking. Accounts are satisfied, the employees are happy again, and the partners are looking forward to a smooth transition into retirement.