The Importance of Succession Planning

The news of Apple's CEO Steve Jobs taking medical leave due to a hormonal imbalance ended months of speculation about his medical condition. A gaunt Jobs showed up at an Apple News Conference last fall, vaunting investors' fears that he was of ill health. Jobs, notoriously tight-lipped, would not take questions in regards to his health at the time of the event. He simply went on with his presentation like he always does, only to add fuel to the flames of speculation surrounding his status.

Wall Street-oriented Web sites wrote articles and hosted forum postings about Mr. Jobs' health, and its effect on Apple as a company going forward. Anyone that knows anything about Apple knows that the company is Steve Jobs and vice versa. Mr. Jobs returned to his beloved company in the late 90s after being forced out by the board years earlier. After his much hailed return, the public had an incredible array of outstanding products put on the market by Apple: the iPod, the iMac, the iTunes music store, the revolutionary Mac OS X, and, of course, the iPhone. Mr. Jobs is nothing if not one of the greatest technological Visionaries of our time.

Which leads us to the question of his succession. Forbes, Fortune, and other business periodicals have been rhetorically asking about the plan at least since his ultra-thin presence on stage last fall. As a publicly-traded company, it is a fair question: shareholders have the right to know who will take over as CEO of any company should the unfortunate happen to the current leader. It should be a part of any company's strategic plan - public or private. If the plan is shielded from investors or employees, it exudes unpreparedness on the part of the company in general and the board of directors specifically. In short, it doesn't look good. And it certainly doesn't provide confidence in the company's stock. Shares of Apple on January 14th had to be halted in trading after the news broke about Mr. Jobs' decision to take a medical leave of absence. They were halted in NASDAQ trading only after they dropped over 10% that afternoon.

Of course, not every CEO is as heralded as Mr. Jobs. Be that as it may, CEO anonymity it shouldn't get these companies a free pass when it comes to succession planning.

Interestingly enough, Warren Buffett has had to deal with these very same questions for the past few years at his shareholder meetings held in Omaha each spring. Mr. Buffett used to deflect these questions, simply stating, "I get an annual medical physical, and I feel just fine." However, Mr. Buffett had the foresight to tell his investors that there are three candidates who are "ready, willing, and able to take over command of Berkshire's day-to-day operations and investing activities" should he become incapacitated. It did not take a severe downturn in his health for Mr. Buffett to see the need for a succession plan. (The Board of Directors at Berkshire Hathaway are well aware of Mr. Buffett's succession plan wishes.)

Which brings us to your organization. How prepared are you for someone else taking over your company? How prepared are your employees without you at the helm? Have you groomed two or three potential candidates for your leadership position? Have you informed your board of directors about your succession plan?

Clearly, no one is infallible and no human is immortal, even though many Apple enthusiasts wish Mr. Jobs were. Keep in mind Mr. Jobs is only 53, which is young for one of the most successful technology companies in the history of business.

Run-on-the-Banks back in fashion; Trust Shattered

What has been happening with our nation’s financial system is endemic of the free markets gone awry, greed, and too little government oversight. 2008 has proven to be an incredibly terrible year for financial services companies, many of which have seen their stock prices slide to 52-week lows. Trust in these banks—and even in our nation’s financial system as a whole—has been shattered. Our markets have been taking a beating, along with the financial companies. One of the largest government takeovers in our nation’s history just happened last Friday night with Indy Mac being taken over by the FDIC—all $36 billion worth. Indy’s stock plummeted from $29 a year ago to around 29 cents today. What happened? Depositors ran on the bank to the tune of approximately $1.3 billion. (www.thestreet.com ; search for Indy Mac.)

History has proven that Run-On-The-Banks happen when depositors lose all Trust in the bank that holds their deposits. Customers’ faith in deposits is the vital key in a financial institution’s success. When a bank—an investment bank, a retail bank, or otherwise—loses its clients’ trust, financial institutions capitulate, as in the case of Indy Mac last week and Bear Stearns back in March. It should be noted that these were not start-up banks, nor fledgling enterprises with only a few years of existence under their belts. They were once shining institutions with long, proud histories; they were icons of the greatness of our nation’s free enterprise system. They were icons because of their pristine reputations. However, once that reputation is tarnished, even if only in the minds of industry peers, the damning run-on-the-bank boulder starts rolling. It’s nearly impossible to stop it. Ask employees of Indy Mac. Ask former employees of Bear Stearns. Ask former employees of Arthur Andersen, the former Five of the Big Five accounting firms now whittled down to Four due to its lax auditing of Enron’s cooked books.

At the heart of all of these business meltdowns is a breach in trust. As we’ve seen in recent headlines, this trust exists largely in the minds of customers and shareholders. When it is tainted, even slightly, alarms go off in the minds of the stakeholders, and laser-like attention focuses on the company’s foibles. Management is grilled. The firm’s books are poured over and scrutinized. Savvy short sellers circle the company like sharks—bet heavily against it—and make piles of money when the company’s stock goes down. There is little management can do to assuage these stockholder fears; this horse has long left the gate. The run-on-the-bank has too much momentum.

How do we prevent this from happening again? It’s difficult to say. History has proven Boom | Bust cycles happening again and again in our great nation. They date all the way back to the Railroad Boom | Bust in the mid-19th century to the current real estate Boom | Bust we’re experiencing right now. Market participants don’t like to admit that bubbles burst, but they always do. It’s only a matter of when. Often, it begins when a few financially savvy people get the idea that prices are ridiculously high and thus begin the massive sell off. Usually this is at the highest prices where trust really needs to be verified. If it isn’t, market meltdowns ensue.

Remember: World Class Results Demand World Class Trust
www.worldclasstrust.com

Speaking Programs

I wanted to take a moment and share with you a few of my speaking programs in addition to World Class Trust, which I love (www.worldclasstrust.com). The first program is my Strategic Planning program. It's highly interactive and aimed at C-Level types who are looking for help in company direction and performance improvement. The second program is something I call PQS, which stands for Productivity, Quality, and Service. This is largely based upon the Continuous Improvement Process (CIP), something I've been an advocate of since I became a Vice President many, many years ago. (OK, not that long ago...) Anyway, take a look at the short program descriptions and let me know what you think. These will all be posted to my speaking Web site, www.worldclasstrust.com, by today.

Remember: Trust is the foundation to each and every healthy relationship - personal or business.

Mark's Speaking Programs

Strategic Planning

Pre-retreat preparation is a 2-step process. First, all participants read a book on corporate vision. Second, participants complete a survey of SWOT questions, verify the company’s vision, and define an initial list of long-term objectives. Next, the retreat consists of collaborative discussions to clarify the SWOT and hone corporate vision. Long-term objectives are precisely defined with target dates. Initial department goals built around business drivers are also defined. The final portion defines sharing of the plan with all employees and establishment of follow-up retreat dates.

PQS Best Practices

The value of watching yourself perform has been a long-time sports coaching tool. For the first 15 years, game films were scrutinized by players and coaches. More recently, practices were taped so that coaches could instruct individual players on specific techniques.

Mark Bonkiewicz takes this proven coaching practice of video footage to the business world in a dynamic way.

Stage #1 is a workshop that utilizes a national championship football, highlights of the winningest division I college football team, and a DVD of the team’s former head coach, Dr. Tom Osborne. Dr. Osborne is a subject matter expert on vision, leadership, execution, and team unity.

Stage #2 is the capturing of actual work footage at the shop, jobsite, or the manufacturing floor. The footage will contain best practices, average work behaviors, and areas needing improvement.

Stage #3 has the participants fully engaged in judging their performance with objective standards that are customized to their firm and industry in the areas of productivity, quality, and safety.

American Airlines & Trust Erosion

This week, American Airlines canceled over 3,000 of its scheduled flights due to a wiring check within its MD-80s' landing gear. American gave no warning to the passengers who were traveling, and made little concession to its customers in transit for their lack of notice. Thus, many passengers were left holding their bags at various airports around the nation while American toyed with its MD-80s. American wasn't able to find accommodation for each passenger despite its best efforts, stranding passengers at airports or hotels overnight. Not the best way to go about winning new friends and influencing people.

Here we go again. Another airline super-blunder that could have been avoided had they put a better plan in place. While the wiring problem does take some time to fix, it's certainly not something that can't be performed with typical maintenance. Or if the problems were more severe, they simply could have taken 2-3 planes out of flight commission for a short period of time, fixed the problems, and moved onto the next planes. Some of these MD-80s are over 30 years old; they're bound to need some serious maintenance every so often. Certainly the issues could have been avoided by thinking through the best steps necessary and executing them along with other normal operations. Instead, American has a rather difficult and negative public perception to deal with as they move forward with their business. United dealt with something similar to this a year or so ago when they informed some of their best customers - the frequent United fliers - that they were jettisoning their frequent flier program in an effort to save money. Could anything be more asinine? If you already have a public-image problem, don't make it worse by adding fuel to their fire!

Few people enjoy traveling by air today. Having to deal with security regulations, long security lines, lost baggage, and snooty ticket counter reps, airlines not only mistreat their customers, but their employees as well. The hassles are simply too much for people to handle. Trust has eroded at most of these companies, and it may never return. Two Chapter 11 bankruptcies were just announced this week. One airline even shuttered its operations completely two weeks ago with no employee notice.

You know how hard it is to rebuild trust between people once the initial bond of trust is broken. It can be done, but it takes a lot of effort and forgiveness in people. In that regard, the airlines have a Long way to go to rebuild trust with their employees and customers.

These companies have gone from being in an incredibly exhilarating and beloved industry 30-40 years ago to being in the worst-performing and most hated industry in our nation. This is widely the result of trust erosion between management and employees; the company and its customers; and the company and the public at large.

Have you ever wanted to ask...

Have you ever wanted to ask a person of influence or wisdom a business or leadership question that has always been on your mind but haven't been given the opportunity? What would that question be? Who would you want to ask? What if you could come together with a select few other people and share in this exclusive experience? Such a rare opportunity seldom presents itself for those of us who would relish the opportunity to participate in an event this special.

I am hosting the legendary Dr. Tom Osborne on a series of two teleconferences which are open to a limited number of registrants. In addition to coaching the Huskers to 3 national championships in his last four years as Head Coach, Dr. Osborne and his wife, Nancy, started the not-for-profit-organization called Teammates in 1991 which has grown to 3,200 mentors. He was also Congressman of Nebraska’s 3^rd District for six years. On our two scheduled calls, I will ask Dr. Osborne questions about leadership and about how the principles embedded in his book, Faith in the Game, can catapult all sizes of firms to greater levels of success. Dr. Osborne will also discuss a few lessons in leadership he's learned since becoming Athletic Director at the University of Nebraska.

These phone-based teleseminars are scheduled for Thursday, February 21^st, February 28^th and March 6^th from 8 until 9:30 p.m. CST. Listen from the comfort of your home, hotel room, or vehicle if you’re traveling. The first session is a free preview call with Dr. Osborne’s pre-recorded comments. Then, you register and pay for the second and third live teleseminars at which time you can submit your question to Dr. Tom.

Your question will go into a pool with questions sent in by other registrants. Specialized software will analyze all the inputs and select the ten most popular questions. Half of those questions will be answered by Dr. Tom during live teleseminar number 1, and the other half during live teleseminar number 2…in addition to questions posed by me.

For just $49.95, you can have the opportunity to learn key lessons about business and life from not only an NCAA coaching legend, but one of America’s foremost authorities on organizational leadership. In three full hours, you will learn dozens of priceless and timeless nuggets of wisdom and trust.

Now, here’s where it really gets exciting for you…I am also offering an affiliate program to those people who are as excited and pumped as I am about the Dr. Tom Osborne teleseries. Your firm will receive a 10% Referral Fee from the teleseminar sales to your friends, family, and peers. For example, if you sign up for our affiliate program and you have 100 people register for the two paid calls, you will receive a $500 check from Dynamic Consulting by March 21^st. Registering to become an affiliate of this program is free.

When you decide to become an affiliate, you simply click on this hyperlink:

http://www.dynamicconsulting.net/askDrTomAffiliate.asp This is our affiliate resources page on our Web site. On this page, you can download the email template to send to your friends, family, and associates, as well as download Ch. 5, Goal Setting, from Faith in the Game. The instructions on this page will tell you everything you need to know to register as an affiliate, customize our email template cover letter, and send your email out to friends, family, and associates.

I'd recommend you get your friends and family to register immediately because the 1,000 entry phone lines are going fast as coaches, former players, fans, and business professionals hear about this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

I’m confident that you're as excited as I am about this extremely rare opportunity!

It'll be great to have you as an affiliate! If you have any questions, please email me at markb@dynamicconsulting.net.

Don't Agonize...Apologize!

All of us are humans so doing perfect work is impossible. The best we can strive for is excellence. There will always be a gap somewhere in our work where we let people down. The key is watch for the imperfections, identify them, apologize to those who were negatively impacted, make the correction, and keep moving down the road of life!

I personally had two incidents of imperfection in our business last week. The first major glitch was this very Ezine, Mark's Trust Assets. It is scheduled for creation and distribution every second Thursday. Neither I nor my IT guru, Jeff, caught it. Now keep in mind that Jeff works like a Timex watch. Imagine that…one of our key marketing tools used to communicate with our business and professional peers and friends was totally over-looked!

The second major glitch was the delivery of a proposal in my consulting business. It was scheduled for Friday, 1-11-08 at 4:30 p.m. Please recognize that this is the first time in my business career --- during which I have literally made thousands upon thousands of sales calls --- that I had a request from a highly qualified prospect to deliver their proposal on a Friday afternoon. They are in their "harvest season" and need to interact with their customers/clients from 7:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. daily, so that is why they requested their proposal during their "down-time" of 4:30 – 5:30 p.m. on Friday.

When did I realize these two errors? They were discovered during my preparation of this week's Action Plan last night. Yes, for over three decades I have invested time on Sunday to finalize my WPOA (Weekly Plan of Action) for the next week. Those two errors sounded like a freight train horn when I found them! I was frozen on the railroad tracks and the train was bearing down on me, full throttle. How would I react?

I automatically thought of my parents and grandparents and their sage words of wisdom --- "honesty is the best policy." I added a new gem last night: Don't Agonize…Apologize!!!

So please allow me to apologize for missing my every second Thursday broadcast of the Mark's Trust Assets Ezine.

Obviously you receive value from our Ezine or you would not invest the time to read it! Same thing with this blog. Somehow while converting my 100% paper based, 30-year old habit of using a Monthly Master Calendar and Weekly fold-up sheet to Microsoft Outlook with a daily fold-up sheet, I failed to add this bi-weekly Ezine to my task list! The bad news is that I fell off the wagon while learning a new productivity enhancement tool. The good news is that I bounced off the ground and ran mightily to jump back on the wagon of productivity and re-building trust. My IT guru will build an alarm into his scheduler every second Wednesday to remind him to call me and ask for tomorrow's Ezine!

Regarding the missed proposal delivery, I emailed an apology late last night to my prospect. To make amends for our error, he also received a dinner offer for delivery after 6:30 p.m. so he can eat while Dynamic Consulting delivers his customized proposal of solutions. You will hear the rest of that story next week!

Living Every Day to the Max!

Are you ready for your final day on earth?

This is an extremely challenging question that most of us want to avoid. For those of us who live in Omaha, NE, the tragic event last Wednesday at the Von Maur store at Westroads Mall has forever changed our lives.

In our consulting and speaking business, we work hard to differentiate ourselves from competition. We work hard to build trust and deliver high value to our clients by employing in-depth questioning, listening intentionally, analyzing your answers, customizing all of our work, providing excellent turnaround time, and positively impacting your bottom line.

Von Maur is the store that we have utilized to purchase and ship gifts to prospects as a unique tool to introduce ourselves to them. My wonderful wife of 34 years, Paula, was at Von Maur on the third floor at Customer Service just 20 minutes before the tragedy occurred.

We are extremely grateful that she – and our friends and family – were unscathed. Our hearts and prayers go out to all the victims, their families, and friends. Paula knew several of the victims and can attest to the genuine, concerned, hard-working, fabulous people that they were.

So…the question for each of us is…Am I ready to meet my Maker? Am I ready for today to be my last day on earth? Are there any wrongs that need righted? Does anyone deserve and need my apologies and my request for forgiveness? Are all my legal affairs in order? Is my family protected with a will or trust? Do I have enough life insurance to provide for my family in my absence? Is the written succession plan for my business complete?

Your family, friends, peers, employees, customers and clients should all have the highest level of trust in you. If the answer to any of these questions is no, let’s all commit to tie-up the loose ends in our lives before the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Day. This will be a fine way to be one step ahead of the game going into 2008.