What’s at Stake: Why You Can’t Succeed at Succession Planning Alone 🦋

Succession planning succeeds when leaders walk together, not alone.

For years, I watched business owners try to navigate succession planning in isolation.

But here’s the truth: No individual can know all the pitfalls. Without community, you will fail 😬

You already know the typical approach.

Head down. Figure it out yourself. Maybe hire a consultant.

Just keep working. 🙌🏻

That approach leaves founders blindsided by dangers they never see coming.

It’s how businesses that honor God for decades collapse in transition.😬

It’s how impactful enterprises become “nothing more than some physical assets” when the founder leaves. 🔥

I’ve discovered something transformative: The power of a group.

A community of founders and CEOs with unique experiences, mistakes, and scars.

I’ve worked with over 20 founders in breakthrough groups, and I’ve seen succession plans come to life through collective wisdom.

What’s at stake? Your legacy. The business you’ve spent decades building. The impact that could continue for generations—or die with you.

Think of succession planning like coaching a championship team.

The head coach recruits an offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, special teams coach—each bringing different expertise.

That’s what you get in a breakthrough group—a full coaching staff who can help you avoid the pitfalls they’ve already navigated.

Because trying to figure it out yourself creates dangerous blind spots.

You draft documents. Create timelines. Think you’ve covered everything.

And eventually realize: someone has to ask the provocative questions you haven’t considered. (That someone being YOUR BREAKTHROUGH GROUP 👈🏻.)

The Seven Pitfalls That Will Derail Your Succession Plan ⚠️

People spend 3 times more to avoid a problem than for an opportunity.

A pitfall is a hidden or not easily recognized danger.

Here are seven pitfalls community helps you avoid:

1. Failure to Recognize the Need for a Competent Successor

2. Failure to Plan and Share Succession Agreements

3. Failure to Instill Your Values in Successors

4. Failure to Maintain Financial Strength

5. Failure to Empower Next-Generation Leadership

6. Failure to Allow Margin for New Opportunities

7. Failure to Plan for a Meaningful Finish

As one member said: “I know the pitfalls. I can tell you what NOT to do. By working together, you’re halfway there.”

If you’ve built something with real purpose...

...the next right step isn’t figuring it out alone. It’s joining a community that can help you finish well.

The secret: It all starts with conversations—conversations you can’t have alone.

What is going on in your organization that you’re concerned about navigating?

Are you concerned about what comes next for you?

Coming Next Week: 7 Pitfalls to Finishing Well workbook with checklists and discussion questions.

Want to join a breakthrough group? Email Sunshine@cultivatingimpact.biz with “Waiting List” in the subject line.

Hit reply: Which of these seven pitfalls concerns you most?

Harry T. Jones

P.S. 70% of businesses never make it to their second generation of leadership. You and I are changing all of that—together.

NEXT WEEK: Avoid the Seven Pitfalls That Derail Transitions, Fracture Teams, and end Multi-Generational Impact.