- SUCCESSION PLAYBOOK -
Personal Freedom On Your Terms
Cash Target Ready
Incredible Result: “I know the score and whether I am ahead or behind.”
Avoidable Train Wrecks: Insufficient cash-in-pocket to meet your business and personal needs or objectives.
Main Play: The "Rubber Meets The Road" Report
What This Is: You have a realistic view of the true, “transferable”, fair market value of your Company, based on normalized, forecastable EBITDA and reliable market-based pricing multiples, and this (after tax) value (when combined with your other wealth and insurance) will provide the cash resources you and your family need or want for the long term.
Key Successors Ready
Incredible Result: “Our leadership depth chart is as solid as the best professional sports team.”
Avoidable Train Wrecks: Wrong successor, no successor, or great successor leaves (to go help your competition).
Main Play: The Leadership Development Program
What This Is: You have developed key members of your Leadership Team who could immediately (or who already) hold your Company’s top three executive positions today, who align with your culture, who can operate successfully without you and who have completed the shift to a pioneer leadership mindset.
Company Ready
Incredible Result: “We are profiting today by always being in prime purchase condition.”
Avoidable Train Wrecks: Company not always in prime condition to be operated, transferred or sold.
Main Play: The "House-In-Order" Checkup
What This Is: Your business, financial, accounting and legal controls position you to always operate effectively, tested by always being able to meet a potential buyer’s rigorous due diligence review. You have minimized necessary contractual consents needed to sell the Company. Your business structure is designed to fit your specific Business Model and is also based on what you want to ultimately transfer or keep.
Tax Reduction Strategy Ready
Incredible Result: “We are living up to our patriotic duty to help control the size of government by paying the least taxes legally allowable.”
Avoidable Train Wrecks: Income tax hit.
Main Play: The Income Tax Reduction Strategy
What This Is: Your personal and your Company federal and state income and capital gain taxes will be minimized during all Four Quarters of your time in action (and upon the future transfer of your Company) because your Business Model, your business contracts which implement it, and your corporate structure, have all been designed with the proper tax strategy actions to help achieve this.
Inside Route Exit Option Ready
Incredible Result: “We built our Company together. My Team is ready and able to take it forward.”
Avoidable Train Wrecks: No effective inside route exit.
Main Play: The Inside Route Exit Plan
What This Is: You have one or more key persons, partners, family members, or an ESOP who could and would purchase the Company now, on the price, terms and feasible financing you’ve agreed to with them, and they have the ability to successfully own and operate the Company into the future.
Outside Route Exit Option Ready
Incredible Result: “If the best interests of my Family and our Team are served by bringing in an outside owner for our Company, we know we’ll be successful doing this.”
Avoidable Train Wrecks: No effective outside route exit.
Main Play: The Outside Route Exit Plan
What This Is: Due to your known Business Model’s unique design, your Company culture, your leadership team, your proven performance, your realistic future outlook and a professional M&A market test, a financial or strategic outside buyer would pay top dollar for your Company right now on terms you’d agree to.
Quick Facts
You’ve been successful in building and operating your Company. Will you be successful in transitioning, retiring and exiting from your Company in the future - at your option, on your terms and on your timetable? Specific actions are needed to achieve a successful transition and future exit, retirement or time off (from ownership, active duty, or both). The beginning of your Fourth Quarter is the time to be taking these actions.