When you are committed to a profession such as ours, it takes a commitment to lifelong learning to stay at the top of your game. There is no learning destination, ultimate professional designation or degree that declares you as Ms. or Mr. know it all. That is simply impossible. Just like life itself, stuff happens. Laws change, markets change, the facts and circumstances of the families and businesses we serve change – and we need to be ready to adapt plans to meet these and all of the future changes that we will all encounter.
Professionally for me, the most learning over the past three years has come by learning how to let go of the day-to-day reigns and serving as Chairman of our entities. Frankly, I see this journey as very similar to the journey of going from parenting to grandparenting, where you lead by doing and have little to do with the day to day raising of the children.
By stepping back and working on the business instead of in the day-to-day operations of the business allows you to see a completely different picture. As simple as this sounds, I see this transition as one of the most difficult that business owners may ever encounter. Sure, all businesses have challenges, and in the building stages you really don’t know where these challenges will surface or when they’ll arise. If you don’t get through those successfully, your business will not survive. But truly building a successful business requires thinking that enables the founder to realize that the business needs to thrive without you (because no one is guaranteed a tomorrow!) and that you should not be the chief cook and bottle washer.
To make that happen requires talent and a deep bench. Finding, training, and retaining great talent is not easy. Thankfully, this is something that we have done a very good job with at Napier. The leadership team at Napier is outstanding. The last thing I have to worry about is the day to day, the mentoring of younger advisors and the quality of services delivered to clients of the firm. And for that, I am as thankful as each one of our clients are.
If you want guidance with grandparenting, call my wife Joan – she is the best. If you or someone you care about needs help transitioning to a Chairman – The Napier leadership team helped me do it and they can help you too.
