Dear AWG Member Retailers and Team,
As many of you probably already know, my time with AWG is coming to a close at the end of this year. My experience serving and supporting you has been the pinnacle of my professional life. I feel my role of fighting for and representing over a thousand family businesses and working with the thousands of distinguished men and women teammates at AWG has been a blessing and a real privilege.
AWG’s future leadership will be left in the capable hands of Dan Funk, my successor as CEO. Between now and the end of this year, I will continue my commitment to serve and represent you to the best of my ability. I will work with Dan and our leadership team to ensure that your cooperative maintains continuous improvement and progress during this transition and will achieve even higher performance and excellence in the future.
One of my ongoing concerns for our member companies is transition planning, or, unfortunately, the lack thereof. Without the benefit of a good plan, far too many member companies are met with unforeseen circumstances that lead to closure, a quick sale situation, or disappointment when family members are unable or unwilling to take the reins. In business, as you know, the only constant is change. Changes are best met with well-planned responses, not a reaction, as reactions seldom yield the best results.
In many ways, your business is the embodiment of success for your family, your team members, and your community. Therefore, I cannot overemphasize the importance of a transition plan for every business. Leadership and ownership changes impact everyone associated with the business; they all deserve the best possible outcome. That can best
be achieved with a well-planned and executed transition plan. Isn’t your business, family, and teammates worth the time and effort of successful transition planning?
Unfortunately, the happenings in our life have a way of surprising us. Though I had no symptoms this fall, at a routine medical exam, I found out that I had four almost fully blocked arteries and a bad heart valve. Due to God’s grace and a fantastic surgeon, my open heart surgery was a success, and I’m back to 100%. But, without warning, my life and my work on AWG business went on hold for weeks. Being able to hit pause without consequences was possible due to a fantastic leadership team here at AWG that was ready, willing, and able to step in on a moment’s notice, and I never had to be concerned about a thing while I was out for recovery.
A transition plan is one of if not the essential parts of every leader’s role. A transition-ready team knows how to handle all the aspects of the business without you. They have been training and preparing, are well-suited for the job, are part of “the plan,” and know they’re part of it.
You may be looking for a family member to follow you in leading your organization. I, too, grew up in a family business, so that’s normal. But all too often, most family members we rely upon don’t have a roadmap to follow and don’t even know they are “the transition plan.” If they are ready and you are not, or they don’t know, they may lose
the drive that makes them the right person for the job, or they may take their dreams to another company or industry…they may not wait.
Alternatively, your goal may be to maximize the value potential of your company and monetize that for your benefit and the benefit of your family through a sale process; then, once again, are you doing all that needs to be done to maximize your business which represents your legacy and the economic stability of those about whom you care?
Transition planning is a way of providing and caring for those we love and care for, and I urge every business to have a legitimate transition plan. Unfortunately, no template, software program, or app will create a transition plan for you. Each plan is unique, and it is for you, by you, and led by you, the leader of your company. But the good news is
that excellent help is available for those who want it.
If you want to start thinking about transition planning, watch a few videos on AWGCrossroads.net. This site and these videos help you get a little more comfortable with the topics associated with transition and make this process less daunting and intimidating.
Our mission at AWG is to provide you with the products, tools, and services needed to compete favorably in all markets served at the lowest possible cost. I feel one of those services is transition planning, and one of the tools to help jumpstart the process is AWGCrossroads.net. Check it out.
The next step would be to talk with your district manager, division or regional leadership, my successor Dan Funk, or me about your needs and the goals you want to achieve. We are all here to help you.
I want to thank you again for the trust you place in us, your tremendous support, and your friendship.
All my best,
David Smith
President and CEO
