Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/679551
May/June 2016 31 Innovative Urn Ideas from Service Ideas Flame Free ™ Thermo-Urn ™ • 6+ Hours of Optimal Drinking Temperature • No External Heat • Coffee Stays Fresher Longer WWW.SERVICEIDEAS.COM | 800.328.4493 WE. SERVICE. IDEAS. CONNECT WITH US ON •70 t Anniversar• Changing the Way You Cook since 1990 800.988.8103 360.650.1111 woodstone-corp.com STONE HEARTH & SPECIALTY Commercial Cooking Equipment Discover why OVER 14,000 OVENS, rotisseries, charbroilers, tandoors, and planchas have been SOLD IN 80+ COUNTRIES worldwide. Made in the USA. Vist us at booth #3176 2016 business enterprise. Sometimes it's more time with grandchil- dren or hobbies. It's easier for senior leaders to transition gracefully when they have something meaningful and substan- tive to do after retirement! It helps to set a date, an age (65 or 70), and even to move your offi ce location to make it clear that you are no longer the president/CEO. Many times if you keep your old offi ce location, people will continue to come to you for advice rather than going to the new CEO. Q&A continued How do you handle the expectations of family members that are not directly involved in the business? We've learned through trial and error that having all family members in the dialogue early in the process is the key to harmony. This transparency ensures that there's no surprises and everyone has a clear understanding of the reasons decisions are made. When we began moving in this direction as a family, our thoughts and expectations weren't aligned with one another and it became clear for a successful transition we all needed to get on the same page. We scheduled our fi rst in-person family meeting and agreed that engaging an outside facilitator would ensure equality among our family members. We then followed through by contracting with a professional succession planning fi rm that interviewed each fam- ily member individually, compiled their fi ndings and shared those fi ndings with each participant. Then we all sat down together to discuss the game plan moving forward. We also set a protocol for confl ict resolution in the event anyone strayed from the plan. The heart of ensuring harmony and success was rooted in transparency, wherein we would commu- nicate frequently with one another so actions taken were never a surprise. When deviations would occur, this transparent nature allowed everyone on the team (the family) to quickly identify the problem and put the train back on the rails. Execution of a successful plan is evolutionary, not revolutionary, and the frequency of our meetings have changed to refl ect this. Initially, we met as often as twice a week. A few months into the process, they diminished to once per month. Today they are more on an as-needed basis, which is close to never. -Brad Pierce, Restaurant Equipment World