This blog is a product of Kevin Lovewell’s journey from Carl Gould’s book “Seven Stages of Business Success.”
Phase 7 – Succession
Stage seven represents successful succession occurring, the owner has a retirement or exit plan – their legacy is in position structurally and financially.
The owner has found a buyer or the IPO is in position.
Conclusion
In this essay we have framed organisational growth as a race, with seven predictable phases of acceleration, slowing, crisis and recovery. We have identified the characteristics of each phase using three elements; ownership planning and control tasks that are important, together with managerial characteristics that evolve from each crisis; and shaping the right organisational structure.
The intent of this essay is to highlight that the future of any organisation is not so much fashioned by externalities than by deficiencies and downright failures of contemporary business thought. The traditional business plan falls well short of being an adequate tool for owners. This however can be overcome by using simple, structured yet uncomplicated plans that focus on the underlying phase of organisational growth being confronted. We have produced many business plans using this framework and we have called them “business plans on a postcard.”
Obviously I have adapted Carl Gould’s underlying directions with knowledge gained in my travels. I still encourage people to read Carl’s book and there are a few others like Alexander Osterwalder’s 2009 book called “Business Model Generation.” Looking forward to your comments and going a bit further in my next blog. ~ Kevin
