Equinox Focus Events are Growing.  Due to increasing attendance at our monthly Equinox Focus events, we have relocated them to the Hyatt Regency Bellevue, just across the courtyard from our offices.  This move offers more flexibility in space and amenities for the varied formats of our programs. 

As Chris Corrigan so aptly stated, "You can never over-prepare in business!"   Yet, we know, from strategic plans to budget plans and marketing plans to staffing plans, business owners find it difficult to fit it all in.  Now I raise the issue of succession plans... another one of those plans that doesn't seem critical today; but, in the grand scheme of things, it is a critical factor in business continuity and longevity.  The topic is most commonly raised in connection with an owner's retirement; but it also applies in situations of death, disability, and other withdrawals of owners or executives from the company.  

 
With closely held businesses, the succession issues that affect ownership also affect management because the same people typically hold both positions.  The close-knit group find it difficult to distinguish between their ownership in the company and their roles as employees of the business.  For this reason, a critical protection for the company is often missed:   You cannot fire an owner but you can fire an employee.  If an owner fails to perform his or her duties, the owner can be fired as an employee but remains an owner with a right to participate in the profits and losses of the business.  For many businesses, this just doesn't seem "fair."   If properly addressed up front, though, "fairness" can be built into the formal relationships among the parties.