Six Steps to Successful Succession
The following includes excerpts, reproduced with permission, from a blog entry by Patrick Pruett.
One managing partner writes: How do you create an environment/plan that makes young people want to take over the firm? Research shows that most people place the “cultural” components ahead of the size of their paycheck. So when you consider what your firm needs to do to create the right environment, keep in mind the following six steps toward succession.
- Hire Right. Employ team members who value the things your firm values.
- Find Staff Hot Buttons. If you are not sure what drives and motivates your team members, ask.
- Map It Out. Take the time to map out what a career path would look like for someone to become a partner in your firm.
- Build Leadership Muscle. A CEO once told me he didn't want to spend the money training people for fear that they might leave and he would ‘lose' the investment. My response was: What if you don't train them and they stay?
- Cultivate the Culture. If you value your firm your people will too. If you value and believe in your people, they will value and believe in you.
- Start Now! The old adage “don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today” is a good philosophy for building your firm's next leadership team. Too many firms today have partners ready to retire and no one in the firm to take over.
For the complete blog entry, read “How to Succeed in Succession.”
From The Rainmaker Academy, http://www.therainmakeracademy.com, May 11, 2011.