Introduction to "Founders, Successors, Managers"  by Boris Vukić

Organizational changes are difficult. They generate uncertainty and risk and can become stressful for all involved.

‍One of the most difficult changes is leadership succession; The informal power structure is impacted. Relationships are strained. The incompatibility of styles causes miscommunication and hard feelings.

The most difficult leadership change is succession within the family when the leadership is transferred from the founder to the next generation.

The difficulty stems from the fact that the founder has dedicated his or her life to building an organization, to make real a dream they had early in life. They spent more time taking care of this “child”, the company, than their own offspring. And now comes the time to transfer all of it to a son or daughter, a new leader that might not be qualified, not experienced enough. Got the job because of bloodline, not because of competency. Another problem is that the inheriting leader wants to realize his or her dream and not necessarily of their parent. They start making changes in direction and intention which give enormous pain to the founder seeing his Taj Mahal being destroyed to build something else.

Father’s son fights erupt. Families might fall apart. One of my clients, his son refused to let his father ever see his grandson. He would not talk to the father and did not attend his funeral either.

PAIN pain pain. To both sides. The new leader wants to start fresh and see no interventions from the founder. He or she refuses to continue to live under the glaring light of the founder. And the founder feels rejected, pushed out, and divorced from their lifetime work.

‍Succession planning and execution is the topic of Boris Vucic’s book. It is based on many years of helping companies and families that are making this transition. His advice is on solid ground, they were tested.

‍I strongly recommend this book to anyone planning to retire and transfer the company he or she has founded to the next generation. I hope you will find "Founders, Successors, Managers" by Boris Vukić to be an invaluable resource. Secure your copy now by placing a preorder!
‍