Update on Transition Strong
It is really hard to shut the door on a dream. It is painful to take a long-held vision, tie a bow around it and relegate it to a fond memory. However, this is what entrepreneurs have to do all the time. We have ideas that we believe in. We have a vision of how our idea will build a better world, reach more people, drive sales and create opportunities. We test, we cajole, we drive and we push… all in hopes that our idea was right and it will catch fire among its intended audience. But this doesn’t always happen, and so it is with our Family Business Assessment and its big sister product, Transition Strong.
Ten years ago, a small team of us had the idea that if we could create an assessment tool, make it robust and user friendly while also being automatic and web-based, that this would help to make it easier to have the initial conversation with family business owners about their future. We asked our growing network what they wanted, how they wanted it and what it needed to do. We collected ideas, ran pilots, gathered feedback, tweaked and prodded until we had something that we all just simply loved. We rolled it out across the nation to accolades. We were told that it was a beautiful tool, desperately needed and certain to succeed. And then the ardor cooled. A few people used it, a few sales occurred but never the rush that we had dreamed about.
So, we hit the road again, we revised the tool, spent a small fortune on re-programming and tried once more. But alas, sales were slow to nonexistent. We scratched our heads, vented our frustration among ourselves and tried to practice what we preach – listen to the customer.
This is what our customers told us: “We need a more robust tool”… “We want a complete package that tells us how to do this in a step-by-step manner”.
Ah ha! We got it! What we had just wasn’t in depth enough! We set off to meet our customer’s demands. We developed the in-depth and, we think, truly beautiful product known as Transition Strong. We tested, piloted, trained and celebrated. We were so proud! Our intended customers told us that it was terrific… the champagne flowed. Unfortunately, the sales did not. Since launching Transition Strong in mid-2013, our sales have never materialized.
After lots of conversations with our network, many questions asked and a few wise answers gleaned, we have decided, sadly, to put these two products to bed. They will no longer be available to the network as the cost of maintaining the site and keeping support staff on hand in case they are ever used has become too great a financial burden and a constant reminder of the need to change with the times.
What did we learn? We learned that we have a very smart and engaged network that almost learned too quickly. Most of the advisors that we spoke with had taken their initial (and free) exposure to the assessment and to Transition Strong and developed their own, customized list of questions and approach to working with their customers. Simply knowing that they could ask these questions and explore these issues was akin to providing training wheels and now those training wheels have come off. We know that you are doing good work and we know that as a network you are serving thousands of family businesses every year. You just don’t need these tools to do so.
We also learned that there are other tools in the marketplace that are meeting your needs, such as The Sellability Score, Core Value, The Business Transition Academy and others. We learned that what we are best at doing is not pushing a product, but rather at teaching a core methodology that increases opportunities for in-depth client engagements. We learned that we are really effective at imparting the key skills of questioning – so that advisors can do this on their own, without a fancy tool.
For those of you who are wondering ‘what next’, we plan to make a pen and paper copy of the basic assessment available online and free to members. You’ll see the types of questions that we asked in the assessment and the kinds of answers and feedback that we would give a client. You can use this as a guide to help you in your interactions as you develop your own core set of questions and your customized methodology. For the few pre-purchased assessments, we will certainly honor that commitment.
If you have any questions or you feel you need more support to serve your clients well, talk to us. We are here, we try very hard to listen and we want to support you as you support your clients. Let the journey continue.
Sybil Ege
Glad to hear that you will make a “pen and paper” copy of the assessment available to members. As a newbie, I am sure i will find it useful.
Lise
Thanks Sybil – yes, I think that the pen and paper copy might be quite useful – although, like everything, we’ll need to get your feedback. We’ll be posting this as soon as we can make it beautiful and user-friendly – so watch for the next announcement.
Also, as a newbie, I really hope you’ll be joining us in Nashville this year – we’ll be demonstrating a lot of wonderful tools that have been developed by our strategic partners and members – many of which we believe can support your work with clients in a variety of ways. Hope we’ll see you there!
Cheers,
Lise
Leonard Holler
Lise – I am truly sorry to hear your news. Because of the WYEN-SBDC organization’s budget constraints and some timing issues I have not been able to attend your ‘Gatherings’ or subscribe to the Transition Strong program and its associated training. I, however, have a definite interest in the succession of family businesses and hope someday to be in a position that could benefit you more. As a professional CPA and CVA, much of my training funds are required for re-certification of those professional designations. Therefore, limited funds made it necessary to prioritize my training programs. I look forward to running into you in the future and being able to share many stories of the successful family business transitions based on the philosophy you have promoted for years. – Leonard Holler, Casper, WY.
Lise
Leonard – thanks so much for taking the time to write! We love it that you have remained a loyal supporter – keen to help the businesses in your community and share the message. We fully understand that many of our most ardent supporters are not always able to invest in our programs and services – and we will continue to value our relationship and welcome any opportunity to connect – no matter how infrequent. The most important thing is that we are all working together to help the businesses that need us – so rock on! 🙂
Lise
Dan Kippley
Lise and team,
I sincerely apologize for not engaging sooner and putting the assessment tool to better use. Now that I am becoming more keen on using the tool, how many assessments will I have access to? What is my timeline to use them all?
Looking forward to seeing you at the National Gathering!
Peace,
Dan Kippley
Lise
Hi Dan
No worries at all – we know you and are well aware of your efforts and keen interest. We will be working with you on an individual basis to make sure you can access any services that you have invested in and we know that you’ll be a great resource as we explore additional tools to help our clients. Just let us know when you have the client work lined up and we’ll get you the tools! We are really glad that you are out there and your continued support of the program and ability to grow your local network is truly impressive!
Cheers, Lise
Mary Parkin
Dear Lise,
The distilling that you have done on what you are good at and true to is always the key..as you know. I have spent many a perplexing day trying to give the customer/client what they say they want only to discover “that’s what they think they want” therefore no go!
Again, your site is beautiful.
Mary
Lise
Mary – so glad you ‘get it’! And, thanks so much for the kind words on our website – our developer is awesome! 🙂
Lise
Vicki Prock
I’m biased, of course, but as you know I have loved and used the assessment and TransitionStrong tools for a while now. The farewell is sad – and necessary – and yet I know that I have been able to take away several key ingredients:
1) Asking powerful questions
2) Listening keenly to the answers
3) Keeping the balance between family and business in mind
4) Being open, honest, and respectful with my clients
I’m thankful that I’ve had access to the content and process of both.
Lise Stewart
Vicki – you have been one of our most valuable pioneers, which makes your insight worth so much! Thank you for sharing the things you have learned. The journey continues and it makes me so proud to know that we are making a difference – together!
Cheers, Lise
Tamar Gisis
Lisë,
The learning value for me was enormous but the business model was not sustainable. So, even though you are saying farewell to the program, the knowledge is out there being used by many advisors; who, I believe, are as grateful as I am and the family business clients I work with.
Can’t wait to gather soon. Tamar
Lise Stewart
Tamar,
It has been one of the highlights of my career to work with you and see you blossom in this important field of work. It is partly because of you and other advisors of your ilk, that we saw the value in teaching the process of questioning and empathetic discovery, rather than giving the questions and providing the discovery tool. Thank you for all of your input – and we will all continue to work together, share ideas and grow this network until our impact is felt across the nation… and beyond. See you in Nashville! 🙂
Lise
Phill W
Tough Call – We know you followed a dream/vision, invested your heart, worked incredibly hard, and now you are showing us your business smarts.
Leading by example but still a tough call….
Phill