Succession Foundation
Who takes over what, and when, written down and agreed.
- Succession roadmap with dated milestones
- Successor readiness assessment and development plan
- Key-person dependency map
You’ll Love This IF…
Your business relies heavily on your presence
You want to step back without risking performance
You care about protecting your family legacy
This Won’t Work IF…
You prefer staying in daily operations
You don’t want to develop leadership
You’re not planning for long-term continuity
The Legacy Succession System
Build a business that runs without you. And without me.
I work with owners of family-run manufacturing businesses who worry about handing over to the next generation and can't step away from daily operations. Together we build the operations and the next-generation leaders, so you can retire on time and keep the legacy you spent decades creating.
6 monthsminimum commitment
12 to 18 monthswhat I recommend
25 to 30named deliverables you keep
Your business doesn't need another consultant.
You've built something real. Decades of work, a reputation earned on the shop floor, customers who trust you, veterans who have been with you since the beginning. And every serious decision still runs through you.
That's not dedication. That's risk.
I've sat in your chair. I've carried the P&L and made payroll in a hard month. A consultant gets paid to stay. I get paid to make myself unnecessary. Not someday. Not in theory. On the floor, with your people.
If your business can't survive thirty days without you making decisions, that's where we start.
Is this for you?
Honest about who this is for
This fits if
- You own a family-run manufacturer with 50 to 200 people
- The business still relies heavily on you being there
- You want to step back without the performance dropping
- Your successor is in the business but not trusted yet, or nothing is settled at all
- You care about protecting what the family built
This won't work if
- You'd rather stay in daily operations
- You don't want to develop your leaders
- You're not planning for long-term continuity
- You want a report on your desk and a consultant out the door
How it works
We move when your business is ready. Not when the calendar says.
We start with a diagnostic, so we both know where you really stand. Then we work through six succession domains. Each one runs the same cycle, and the next one only starts when the last one holds.
Every two months we sit down and review progress together, with the evidence on the table. If your situation needs it, we review more often.
0
Pre-Program Diagnostic
Once, at the start. Your view of the business and mine, side by side.
1
Concept Workshop
For each domain, we work through what has to change and agree who does what.
2
Implementation Cycle
Your people do the work in the business. I'm on site one week a month and remote in between. Nothing gets handed over as a binder.
3
Domain Progress Review
We check what holds without you. Ready means we move on. Not ready means we fix it first.
The domains, and what you keep
Everything we build stays in your business
The program produces 25 to 30 named deliverables. They're yours, not mine. When I leave, they stay. Here are the ones that matter most in each domain.
PHASE 0 · WHERE EVERYTHING STARTS
Pre-Program Diagnostic
No plan before we know the truth. This sets the baseline every later review is measured against.
- Pre-Engagement Self-Assessment: 96 questions, your view of the business
- Deep-Dive Diagnostic: my view, from the floor and your people
- Readiness Report: where you stand, the gaps, and where we start
The people side · Domains 1 to 3 · built on the Character-Driven Leadership Method
Family Dynamics & Governance
Family decisions and business decisions, kept apart and both made properly.
- Governance structure: who decides what, family and business
- Family stakeholder map
- Family discussion guide for the hard conversations
Veteran Employees & Operational Independence
Your veterans back the successor, and the knowledge stays in the building.
- Decision-rights matrix: what gets decided without you
- Critical-knowledge capture plan for key veterans
- Veteran role transition plan
The operations side · Domains 4 to 6
Customer Relationships
Your key customers stay when the face they know steps back.
- Key-customer relationship and risk map
- Handover plan for each key account
- Customer communication plan for the transition
Founder Independence Testing
We don't assume it runs without you. We test it.
- Founder-absence test plan
- Test results with the gaps found
- Gap-closure plan before the handover
Leading Your Post-Succession Life
The part nobody plans: who you are on the Monday after.
- Your personal post-succession plan
- Agreed future role and boundaries with your successor
- Post-Succession 90-Day Report
Financial Orientation & Flawless Transition
You know what the business is worth to you, and handover day runs to plan.
- Retirement and after-tax proceeds calculations
- Business valuation orientation
- Transition plan and announcement to staff, customers and suppliers
My commitment
I put my own time behind it.
Succession only works when both of us do our part, so we write both parts into the agreement. If you held up every commitment you made, and the succession goals still aren't met, I'll give you up to two more months of my time at no program fee.
The program fee is waived for those months. Travel and living expenses are still covered by you, as they are for the rest of the program.
The investment
It's a serious investment. I'll tell you straight.
Handing over a business you built is the biggest decision you'll make in it. The program is priced for that. The short questionnaire you fill in before our call asks whether an investment of this size is right for you now, so neither of us wastes the call.
Not ready for that yet? Start smaller. These come from the same thinking.
Who you'd be working with
Björn Vikard
Over two decades in aerospace manufacturing, from a CNC machine on the shop floor to the Managing Director's chair, across six countries. As COO and Managing Director I built a greenfield plant from an empty building, took on turnarounds nobody else wanted, and carried AS9100 and ISO 9001 from first implementation through the audit.
I'm the author of Leading with Character Across Cultures, Don't Exit Wrong and The Multiplying Mentor.
Born in Sweden. Based in Bangkok. Built in the field.
Questions owners ask me
Before you book
How long does it take?
Six months is the minimum. I recommend 12 to 18 months, because that's how long real succession takes to hold. If you need longer, we extend.
Will you be on site?
Yes. The standard setup is one week a month in your business, with remote work in between. If the diagnostic shows you need more time on the floor, we agree that up front. Travel and living expenses for site visits are covered by you.
Is this only for handing over to a family member?
No. Sometimes a son or daughter is on the floor but not trusted yet. Sometimes nothing is settled at all. We start from where you actually are.
What do I keep at the end?
Every deliverable we build, 25 to 30 of them. They're your business's documents and systems, not my property, and they keep working after I'm gone.
What happens on the call?
I review your situation, point out the key risks I see, and outline clear next steps. Whether or not we work together, you leave with something useful.
What makes this different from a consultant?
A consultant gets paid to stay. I get paid to make myself unnecessary. The work happens on the floor, with your people, and the measure of success is that you don't need me anymore.
Build a business that runs without you.
Book a call. Right after, a short questionnaire helps me prepare, so we spend the time on your business, not on introductions.
Let's Talk