Relay races are unique among track and field events. In other events, individual skills and performance are all that matters. Relay races, however, are chains that depend on each runner, including the weakest link. Even where all the links consist of strong runners, the chain relies on the smooth and effective baton handoff. A secure handoff must not slow down the next lap; this is critical. Interestingly, what is true in track and field competitions is equally applicable in business and politics.
In business, successors are often groomed by the executive they succeed or in the case of horizontal hiring, by a comparable executive at another company. The goal usually is consistency, which minimizes rocking the boat. Sometimes, years of preparation, including selection, timing, governance, etc., contribute to maximizing prospects for successful and smooth transitions. Done well, the moment of succession, of passing the baton, is seamless.
In politics, consider the U.S. presidency, where each new term is a new race. The successor may not even know or have met the predecessor. Each may come from different political parties, branches of government, military, academia or even from industry. For a short period, approximately a dozen weeks, transition teams from both sides usually work assiduously on the details.
Peaceful transfer of power or authority in government does not constrain or restrict the successor. Indeed, unlike business, consistency is neither sought nor required. Successors may adopt policies and actions that are polar opposites from the predecessor. How the successor treats the office is developed anew with each succession. Successors may reach far back to predecessors seeking common bases for future decisions (e.g., the Monroe Doctrine), but even that is selective and up to the whims of successors. Indeed, the culture and goals of the country are interpreted by the newcomer, as he or she sees the ever-changing world and as corralled by the historic and current decisions of the other two branches and the states.
Having said all that, there is a history of presidents, starting with George Washington, giving farewell addresses, aimed at influencing not only their successors but also addressed to all Americans and even beyond. More recently, a new tradition arose, where outgoing presidents leave a short letter to the incoming, in the drawer of the desk in the Oval Office of the White House. The act of leaving a private message in the Oval Office desk drawer is photographed by a seemingly spying lens outside, peering through the oval office windows. It is the dramatic stuff of movies, which may explain why the custom was started by Ronald Reagan.
Such letters are not aimed at details, which transition teams handle. The letters usually entail broader and deeper concepts: reminders of humility and human limitations, expressions of the primacy of the people, as well as highlight the burdens and weight of presidential responsibility.
Another specific arena is family businesses. The common assumption is that letters in the desks are least necessary for family businesses. First, it is generally assumed that in family businesses, the successor is the son or daughter of the predecessor. That may be true in the transitions from 1st to 2nd or even 2nd to 3rd generations. After that, the likelihood of a nonfamily successor increases.
Where the successor is a son or daughter, one would think there was a lifetime of preparation. While that can occur, it may be more infrequently than suspected. Advanced planning is a vastly underused tool. Many parents defer succession preparation, saying, “the kid isn’t ready.” Sometimes they mean what they say (rightly or wrongly), and other times, it really means that the parents aren’t ready to let go. In addition, there is a tendency for kids to rebel, to reject their parents’ lessons and messages. While rejected, however, they are often heard. Not resonating, the messages may still be heard and remain lodged in the subliminal.
Even where there is a lifetime of preparation, over many years messaging is filled with thousands of details which may hide big picture, philosophical, and conceptual elements. The myriad operational suggestions are meant to develop good management skills and are important. What about teaching good leadership, important in any business but especially in family businesses which bear the added complexity of family (if business is a chess game, family business is three-dimensional chess)? Like with management, leadership lessons must be updated to meet current times. Unlike management training’s multitude of lessons, in leadership a few rules may suffice.
So, what about a letter in the desk drawers of family businesses? If a parent chooses to leave one for his or her daughter or son, what should it say, and what should it not say?
Of course, the precise contents may vary based on the specific circumstances, e.g., the size of the family, the generations involved, the predecessor’s duration of service, whether the successor will remain involved, the age and experience of the successors, as well as external factors (real and perceived), including economic, political, social, and the businesses and markets themselves. However, the goal should be focus, focus on the few most important considerations, so those circumstantial factors aren’t unreasonably weighted.
The writer should determine the few most important, big issue messages. Interestingly, these may or may not be the messages the predecessor wishes his or her predecessor had left. Times, companies, and families change, often not in synch. Having said that, predecessors’ messages may be useful input. The most valuable messages are likely grounded in old family values and culture, upgraded to fit current needs.
Values are not just slogans framed and hung on walls. They are embedded in our actions, how we value and treat stakeholders (e.g., employees, customers, suppliers, shareholders) and each other.
Values may have directly guided the company’s prior leaders and been embodied in their actions over the years. Merely hanging on the wall, they may sound like platitudes written by an HR exec or seem to be “do as I say” suggestions. In practice, however, they become the fiber that binds, even across generations. For example, I have seen wall plaques such as:
We value and care about our employees
We respect and cherish all our stakeholders
We respect and are here to serve all family members
Such hangings become trite, barely noticed, and remarkably unmemorable. But when the company does something extraordinary or special to reward or support an employee, or when the company’s decision is to forego profits to support a customer or supplier in a time of need, that is not only remembered by the direct beneficiary, it becomes company lore, yielding dividends for years.
I suggest that in your letter, you not only relate the principle but refer to the stories of their applications. Particular stories may relate events over months or even longer, but can be effectively told in a couple of short paragraphs. You likely needn’t tell the whole story; a simple reference may do for family who experienced or heard numerous repetitions of the story. For example, “Remember the Joe story,” may suffice.
Care must be taken to avoid attempts to get a successor to “do it my way.” Similarly, the goal is not to create guilt trips, as those rarely work and even when they do, they bear serious repercussions. If the first draft of the letter begins with, “Grandpa always said,” or “As I always say,” hit your delete button and start over.
Unless you are an extraordinarily gifted writer (and thinker), your first draft will prove inadequate. Rethink, edit, condense, revise, and do it over-and-over again.
Hopefully, your letter will be read and prove helpful to your successor. However, even if not read and taken to heart by the addressee, the exercise of disciplined writing of the letter may alter your thinking and leadership approach. Indeed, that process can facilitate and improve the odds of succession success, and ultimately, successful succession is a major responsibility of leaders.