Fall Colors and Succession Planning

Fall is my favorite season because the air is delightfully cool and crisp and Mother Nature puts on her most spectacular show. It’s a great time of year for scenic drives to places like Vermont –  listed in National Geographic Traveler as one of the world’s  50 Top Places of a Lifetime – in the rarefied company of the Taj Mahal, Paris, Grand Canyon, the Great Wall and Tuscany.  My 3 days there working on succession planning with one of the largest and most successful CPA firms in Vermont confirmed its reputation for splendor.

Driving amid forests transitioning to shades of red, orange, gold, brown, and purple I took an unprecedented opportunity to “talk” with Chance the Gardener on succession  planning.  Chance is the character from  Being There – the 1979 film about a simple-minded Washington D.C. gardener whose entire speaking ability consists of short statements about gardening which are interpreted by Washington’s power elite as witty, allegorical statements about business and the state of the economy.

I asked Mr. Gardener how CPA firms will be able to maintain their independence and successfully transition to the next generation.

Chance: We must work hard to tend our garden well, giving it healthy doses of light and water so that in the fall, the fruits of our labor can be fully realized.

Rosenberg:  So, I’m hearing you say that the best succession plan is nothing more than good, solid practice management.  If firms continually focus on management basics such as growth, profitability, leadership development and servicing clients by teams instead of individual partners, succession plans will automatically evolve, just like nature. 

Chance:  Yes, there is nothing complicated in the garden.  Nature has its simple way of taking care of life.

Rosenberg:  One more question:  If you were the Managing Partner of a firm, what would you do to ensure follow-through?

Chance: I like to watch. The leaves of the tree will turn from green in the summer to shades of orange, red, yellow and brown in the fall. 

Rosenberg:  Ah, you’re so right.  If the MP monitors and coaches the partners throughout the year, then the goals will translate from words on paper to positive change in the firm.