Don't Mess It Up

How Founders and Their Successors Can Avoid the Clichés That Inhibit Growth

Les Trachtman

• Publisher: River Grove Books
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781632991881
• eBook ISBN: 9781632991898
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Entrepreneurship
• Index: Business

In Don’t Mess It Up: How Founders and Their Successors Can Avoid the Clichés That Inhibit Growth, author and six-time second CEO Les Trachtman offers his expertise on the most effective ways to successfully hand off your company to a worthy successor. He also has advice for those who are inheriting a business and want to take it to the next level, as well as for boards who are dealing with these leadership transitions. In his direct, no-nonsense approach, Les shows readers how seemingly harmless business clichés such as “get it right” and “be careful” can have a detrimental effect on a company’s future by conveying that such imperative ingredients such as risk and innovation are things to now be avoided.  Readers will learn how to:
• Understand the metamorphosis required to transition from great founder to great CEO
• Know when, and if, it’s time to replace yourself
• Pick the right successor
• Prepare yourself and your company for the fragile transition
• Create a successful CEO transition
• Separate yourself from the company ?There is likely no one more experienced in founder transitions than Les Trachtman. He has been an innovative and respected successor at six different companies; let his hard-won advice guide you through your transition and toward success.

INDEX

A

after-action reviews, 24–25, 52

Amazon, 48

Antioco, John, 13

Appalachian State University, 149

Apple, 48

“Asking for help will make me appear weak” cliché, 115–18

authority

delegating, 145

delegating responsibilities but withholding authority, 37–38

distributing to small groups with clear ownership responsibility, 41

establishing clearly, 155–56, 164–67

reluctance of employees to level with you, 92–93

B

The Backwards Brain Bicycle (video), 34–35, 154

beginner’s perspective, 5, 81–83

Ben Franklin Effect, 117–18, 158

Berger, Warren, 87

Bezos, Jeff, 48

Blockbuster Video, 13

Bloomberg, Michael, 167

boards of directors aligning with, 127–28

changes against founder’s wishes, 155–56

clean break with founder, 108

clearly delineating changes in role, 155–56

expectations of, 125–26

getting opinions before taking issues to, 120–22

making excuses to, 125

meeting selectively with certain members before board meeting, 129

offering opportunity to provide guidance, 124–25

populating with “friendlies,” 130

probing CEO’s process, 124

remaining on after transition, 170–71

succession plans, 140–41

supporting successors without reservation, 154

surprises and, 129–30

typical member’s approach, 127

as your boss, 125

“The board will think I’m in over my head if I let on how much I don’t know” cliché, 124–28

Bosack, Leonard, 48–49

Branson, Richard, 142

Brody, Mike, 83–85, 112, 147–49, 160

burning the boats, 168

C

Catz, Safra, 164

CCF (Children’s Cancer Foundation), 140–41

Chamberlain, Joshua, 17–20

Chambers, John, 48, 138

change

accepting, 2, 159–62

change begins at top, 111–13

changing organization before you think change is needed, 70

“Curse of Knowledge” and, 75–77

encouraging, 170–72

watching people change and mess it up, 160–61

Char...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Foreword
• Introduction
• ONE: MESSING WITH SUCCESS
• TWO: SEEKING HIGHER GROUND
• THREE: THEY’RE EXPECTING ME
• FOUR: JUST ASK WHY
• FIVE: THE EMPEROR HAS NO CLOTHES
• SIX: ONE IS THE LONELIEST NUMBER
• SEVEN: WITHOUT YOU
• EIGHT: PASSING THE TORCH
• Index
• About the Author