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Succession Stories continued to be the statement that surfaced most. "Would they work together well in my absence?" "Would I fully retire or just go part time?" "What do each of us want out of this situation?" The psychology portion of the decisions also was difficult. We found the father/child problems—that residual mentality that remained after they grow up and I turned gray—was an obstacle to our growth. Dealing with this required family counseling and personality testing. After we found out in black-and-white terms how each thought and reacted to events and behavior, we understood what had to occur. Trust increased and life got better. We all got on the same page. I strongly suggest that anyone contemplating a succession plan should first make sure all parties have the same agenda. The estate planning attorney and tax accountant asked a lot of questions and sorted through the family structure to establish a method that would be a win-win situation for all. We had to sign a lot of agreements, covering things like what would happen if my wife, Dianne, and I die. When our son, who is not involved in the business, receives his share of the estate from assets not associated with the business and that portion does not equal his oneWe found the third, then he starts owning stock father/child in the business. problems—that He has not been residual mentality involved in the business and these that remained stocks cannot be after they grow up voting stocks nor can they be sold and I turned gray— to anyone except was an obstacle family members so to our growth. they are worthless to him. The agreement Neil Manias, provides for a The Dine Co. reasonable time for the others to purchase these at a value based on a formula. Similarly, a surviving spouse has shares in their estate that must likewise be purchased for a fair value in a reasonable time frame. To shortcut this situation will surely result in family problems after the founder's death. Do not trust anything to word of mouth. I saw a family torn by a word of mouth issue after the parent died. It's not good. I suggest you do the following: Surround yourself with a good estate attorney, tax accountant, insurance company and a few trusted friends who understand business and can act as a counselor. • Collect articles from magazines, etc. and study the subject. Pass these on to the children to read. • Have family fun times with the whole family and do not talk business (our wives see to this). 24 FEDA News & Views • Get everyone reading on the same page, even siblings not involved in the business. • Get insurance on key people and carry policies to defray taxes in the event of your untimely death. • Have personality testing done so everyone can work in his or her comfort zone 80 percent of the time. Hire a business manager if your sibling is not comfortable with management issues. • Allow your children the freedom to make decisions. Practice makes perfect and builds character, too. • Treat your children as adults. • Do what is best for the family and "keep the family your main priority." • Don't arm twist or place expectations to "swing it your way" unless all parties recognize it as a legitimate goal and have discussed it (no hidden agendas). • Keep the time frame loose. If it's meant to be it will be, but allow at least five years. More would be better. We chose a gifting program to transfer stock to the children in the business. When 51 percent is transferred, I step down and they take the major responsibilities. My compensation will then be through agreements for consulting and non-compete. I hope, at age 62, I will have several more years left. They want me to continue to do the benefits package, insurance, pre-screening for hiring, advertising and, of course, review the P&L statement—doesn't sound like retirement to me. There is much more that could be said on this topic. I urge you to seek out seminars and publications on this topic and make sure everyone reads the same information. It can be a positive and rewarding experience to work through. Don't rush it. It's a process. You Can Never Communicate Enough, Advises Bargreen-Ellingson's Rick Ellingson Pegged as the great communicator in the Ellingson clan, and now keeper of the family history, Rick Ellingson recently sat down with his 90-year-old dad, Byron, for a very personal and somewhat formal one-hour interview. The noble intent being to make sure his great grandkids at least have an opportunity to hear from one of "the most humble and generous of patriarchs." He asked what it was like to grow up in an era marked by an economic meltdown. What drove him to pursue a career in foodservice equipment sales as a young man, and later continued on page 32