Engaging in sound succession practices is like brushing your teeth. You can get away with skipping it for a while. But if you do it in the long term, things “fall out” (people or teeth).

In today’s fast paced business environment, it’s more compelling to keep your eye on the immediate issues. And I’m not even saying crises. You could be focused on sales volume. Or operational efficiencies. Or innovative practices.

But, you need to keep in mind the source of all good things in companies – it’s the company’s people!

And fact is, people move on. Sometimes for other opportunities. Sometimes from dissatisfaction. Sometimes due to natural (but unfortunate) circumstances. Those are the times that you’ll feel succession sneaked up on you.

The antidote to this is simple to understand and hard to practice (like so many good things in life). You need to see succession planning as one of the critical elements in your business – just like selling, servicing, producing, etc. Build it in as one of your regular business processes (e.g., doing a quarterly review of positions possibly needing new personnel combined with looking at each member of the company’s career development plan). It wouldn’t be that hard to work with your HR department to set up a system to do this.

Don’t become a succession horror story (e.g., “If we had only planned ahead years ago …”). Take the initiative and start your succession planning process today.

Succession planning is a funny thing. Most people know that it’s critical to the future of any business – no arguments about that. But, most businesspeople don’t go beyond the endorsement of the concept, to doing the hard work.

Why is that?

First, there’s the inevitable question about who will be the successor? And, if one person is chosen, will others feel passed over?

Second, if there is no internal successor, what are the odds of the company doing a successful external search? As many external executive searches end in failure, most companies don’t want to go down that road.

Third, if no successor can be identified, what are the options? Sale of the company? ESOP?

Fourth, if the person being succeeded isn’t ready to retire, what will be that person’s new role in the company?

Fifth, the issue of mortality. If you are being “replaced” (just that word makes me want to say, “ouch”) you naturally may begin to feel that your end is coming.

So, what do you do?

Fact is, change is a constant. No, really, it is. And all we can do is to flow with the natural ebb and flow of life. I like that succession is more often referred to as succession planning. If you give your company the opportunity to consider all the factors noted above, you can plan for them all. Progressive companies look for the opportunities succession presents. For example, an opportunity to infuse new ideas into the organization, and even new expertise.

Businesses that shy away from succession need to find new courage (”backbone”?) and stare succession planning in the face. Yes, fail to plan, plan to fail. It’s more than a cute saying. Every year, businesses unnecessarily fail because they didn’t plan for the future.

What are the ways your company is doing succession planning? Is it working? Let us all know.

Many business owners don’t like to think about succession. It almost doesn’t make sense – succession is one of the most critical activities for ensuring the long term success of a business. Yet, succession is seen by many business owners as a bitter medicine they would just rather skip.

I know – it doesn’t make sense. But once you see succession first and foremost as something very emotional and very personal, you begin to see succession as a different animal.

Let me put it simply.

Most business owners see succession as an end – not just the end of their business but of themselves. Hard to get excited about succession if you only see it as your end.

In the short term,  many owners see it as an end to having control over their businesses. And that level of control isn’t necessarily bad. It can be a level of control that has brought customers and clients a wonderful level of customer service – making sure everything is “just right”. That leads to happy customers, repeat business and great word-of-mouth referrals for new work.

In the long term, owners feel something they won’t readily admit when they consider succession – they feel a sense of their own mortality – the beginning of the end. So, succession brings feelings of loss. And, in turn, makes it all the more avoidable.

And yet, the more progressive business owners take a more enlightened view. They see their businesses naturally evolving. They see themselves as stewards or facilitators of that process. Their role as leaders is allowed to change over time. And, they are comfortable having somebody else take over the lead operating role.

They may move into a different role in the business, or may pursue other personal interests.

I’ll quickly admit that I know many more owners who need to maintain control than those who are progressive. And, those few progressive owners I have known have seen incredible business growth once they stepped into new, non-operating roles. They knew they had done all they could to start-up their companies and bring initial levels of success. And they knew their companies could still grow but that the business needed a new talent with new skills at the helm to make that growth a reality.

If you aren’t yet as progressive as you’d like to be, I would ask you to pose the following questions: “Why did I go into business?” None of you will say, “To have control over my company!” Instead, you’ll think about growth, making customers happy, having an engaged workforce, etc.

As you start the new year, think about the succession process in your company. What is your best role in your company in the short and long term? The planning starts with you. You’ll need to do two things to get started: deciding what you want to do once you aren’t running your company and what are the characteristics of the person who’ll run your company in the next stage of its journey.

Succession is natural – embrace it and your are more likely to have the success you want.

Succession is one of the toughest things for a President/CEO and senior management team to tackle. Often, the approach at most companies is not to do anything. Why do this when the consequences can be dire, including the premature sale or demise of the business?

The fact is that succession means engaging in thinking and actions that, for top level positions, will change the organization. Resistance – not doing anything – feels the best in the SHORT TERM. Time passes and nothing bad seems to happen. The status quo is maintained. Everybody seems happy and is productively working.

The, BAM! Something changes. A key member of the senior management team leaves, becomes ill or even dies. Then, resistance – out of necessity – drops right to the wayside. People scramble to figure out “Plan B” to fill a slot, temporarily or permanently.

Importantly, this approach is a reaction. And, as you’d expect, the results vary widely. Just what you’d expect from a hit or miss approach.

So, yes, resisting succession planning (and then not putting a plan into action) is the norm. But, why don’t you break the mold. Be a trendsetter and have the courage to begin looking at your company’s future.

And, even if you’re the top executive, don’t think of succession as an ending for you. If you’re that good (and you probably are) start thinking of your talents, interests and new ways to bring value to your organization, industry or community.

Is change scary? It can be and resistance to succession puts off looking at your future (and your company’s future) straight in the eye. But, the future is coming and you don’t know when. So, take control of your future while also better safeguarding the future of your workforce, your family and yourself, by starting a success planning process. Do “Plan A” and don’t be a victim of “Plan B.”