I’ve just received the news of Tara’s handing over of her business to someone else and moving on
This for me is quite remarkable and I must say quite impressive
The death of many Nigerian businesses is the thick-headedness of the founders and their resolve to run it till a few days to their graves
Succession planning is a very critical element in business survival as it depersonalises the business, ramps up corporate governance and ensures longevity
In one of my masterclasses, we had someone from a 100-year-old law firm come to speak
The Firm Olaniwun Ajayi was set up by the patriarch who handed it over to Prof Koyinsola Ajayi who in turn has handed it over to Owolabi who is not a biological relation to the best of my knowledge
In Owolabi’s paper, he listed 100-year-old companies operating in Nigeria and less than 20% were Indigenous
Our founders usually approach business and strategy from a Mr know it all perspective
They will regal you with stories of the good old days and bore board and management meetings with how they started with N5
In this regard, they fail to put in place a succession plan or either just frustrate the whole process believing that nobody knows the business more than them
This is why Fola Adeola’s pull out from giant GTB was just such a milestone moment
Today his successor is looking like Emperor Bokassa morphing and morphing in different formats all to remain on the seat
Another kind of annoying sit-tight syndrome is the one who would want to place a son or daughter in pole position even though there are more credible talents in the system
Serious employees would see a drug-addled spoilt brat rail roaded up the ladder simply because he is a privileged sperm of the founder
We saw how a huge bank with diamonds was brought to its knees cos of the insistence of the founder to hand over to his son who was very good at shooting TV Commercials and wearing black t-shirts instead of running a bank
There have been some beautiful examples like FCMB, where Ladi Balogun was really trained and prepared for the role.
He pushed FCMB to another level and superintended it into a position of continental relevance
Another good example is my brother Tunde Fajemirokun at AIICO and the Odukale brothers at Leadway
But in general, the cases have been that of idiotic failures that have seen very brilliant institutions wrecked by the founders themselves or by carefully chosen scions who fast-track the demise of the businesses
Founders and leaders from inception must come to the realisation that at some point, they would need to step aside
Every organisation at one point, would need fresh legs, and fresh ideas to face the volatility of the marketplace and this is why what Tara has done is quite remarkable
She has shown a clear understanding of the principle of change in business especially in her sector which is notoriously fast-paced and driven by trends
The need to transform, pump in new energy, innovate and reengage is very crucial in her sector
So this new leadership ticks all of those boxes and more.
You can even see it with the way the firm has been hugging the limelight since the announcement was made
This attention would invariably drive market share if well-corraled.
Tara is expected to move into an arms-length advisory positioning
What this means, is positioning herself to give necessary advice but not insistent on bullying her positions through
She must be like advertising titan Biodun Shobanjo who is reported to have ceeded managerial powers to his successors and moved on.
The temptation by founders to bear down on their successors usually leads to tension and loss of quality human capital at managerial levels.
Once they retire, they quickly get bored and start interfering and meddling which in most cases leads to anomie
Tara has taken the right step, but hopefully, she has put the right governance structures in place that would guide her successors while also giving them the breather to infuse their own personality into the business.
The absence of the structure would lead to ambiguity in vision implementation, leading to a derailment and opening up loopholes that the founder can take advantage of to make a comeback.
I am sure Tara would be working with sound financial advisers on this journey; if not, please send my number to her.
This is what we do at Barnaby and Edgar
Thanks
Joseph Edgar
Edgar is the founder of Barnaby and Edgar a thought leadership firm operating within the investment banking sector