The importance of succession planning
By Jamie Stafford
sk anyone in the business : one of the boating industry ’ s greatest strengths is its tight-knit community . Often , this expresses itself as a family-owned and operated company deeply involved in the local community . Of course , while a business may stay within the family , it will naturally have to change hands as the older generations age into retirement and the new generations gain confidence and leadership skills . Or , in another scenario , a business may look to expand under new ownership , handing the reigns to someone else in order to foster growth and new beginnings .
Whatever the situation , when the time comes to welcome new leadership , it is important that there ’ s a succession plan in place . Some of you may hesitate – what exactly is succession planning ? It can sound intimidating ; a word like succession brings to mind things like kingdoms and dynasties . In reality , it ’ s not quite that broad . Succession planning , at its simplest , is the process of identifying leadership roles within your company , identifying people that may be a good fit for those roles and creating action plans to help them assume those leadership roles when the time comes .
Armed with this knowledge , it ’ s clear that having a succession plan is vital . “ It ' s for everyone ’ s benefit ,” says David Parker . “ It gives your people , your teammates , confidence in the future .” And Parker would know : he is the founder of Parker Business Planning , a well-known and well-respected consulting company in the boating industry that helps dealerships across the country develop best practices , prepare for the future , and yes , plan for succession . One dealership that is currently going through this process is
Mark ’ s Marine , a Boating
Industry 2022 Top 100 dealer . Mark ’ s Marine was founded by Mark Gagnier in 1970 . Originally based in International Falls , Minn ., the dealership moved west to Idaho and expanded to a new location in 2005 .
Now based in Hayden , Idaho , the dealership has put down deep roots in the
Mark ' s Marine , based in Hayden , Idaho , is transitioning leadership with the help of succession planning .
community . In recent years , as the old leadership moves to the next adventure , new leadership has begun to flourish . Aaron Thykeson is the future of Mark ’ s Marine , but he didn ’ t get there without a roadmap .
“ Even if you ’ re not planning a transition , every business should have a succession plan in place and should dusting it off every couple of years ,” Thykeson says . “ For us , the most important reason to have it in place is to ensure our people are taken care of and our culture remains true . Something could always happen , so you always want to make sure that the business and the people continue to run smoothly .”
Mark ’ s Marine began their transition just under a decade ago . “ We started about eight or nine years ago in the nebulous preliminary stages ,” explains Thykeson . “ That initially involved doing some 20 Group participation , which is a really good chance to get a look at how your business operates from an outsider perspective ; codifying our processes and policies and making sure we knew what we wanted our ideal business to be structured like ; and participating in a number of industry conferences , which we found valuable enough to continue to attend those today .”
Initially , the dealership had been searching for a buyer to step in and take over . “ We were looking for a cash-out buyer . What was really important for us at that point was one , that they could afford the business , and two , ensure that our people were taken care of . We did have a number of good buyers but not ones we thought could maintain the culture – it would have been too much of a corporate transition for our taste .
“ So then , we were looking for someone who could come in and help me run the business . I needed someone to help maintain our relationships
44 march 2023 www . boatingindustry . com