Our cover story looks at top execs who have “retired,” only to reemerge after a short break.
Letting go of a company you founded or ran for years can be difficult. We only need to look at the striking number of top execs who have “retired” only to reemerge after a short break.
Reduced roles at a company often lead to confusion and hard feelings.
As
one of our “How To” columns points out, “Without a new role, it is too easy to slip back into doing the work you are trying to retire from, which can prevent your successors from fully moving into their new roles, and send mixed signals to the organization about who is in charge.”
For our
cover story, Laurie Schreiber, a senior writer at Mainebiz, talked to farmers about the transition. Websites like Maine FarmLink and New England Farm Finder connect farmland owners with prospective buyers. The idea is to sell, lease or work out other arrangements.
As Laurie reports, deals do fall through. Arrangements don’t go the way they were planned. In one transaction, the bounty was a share in the farm’s CSA. “Clear communication, clarity of vision, open mindsets and transparency with the business finances are all key elements to a successful farm transfer,” says the head of a nonprofit that negotiates land trusts.
