Blog Archives - Richard J. Bryan

The Role of the Board During Family Business Succession

The combination of family and business is always a challenging one – and never more so than during the changing of the guard. As I’ve seen first-hand, both during my travels as a succession planning speaker and in my experience taking over my family’s business, firm boundaries, and indisputable objectivity are essential to the succession planning process. As a succession planning speaker, I’m often asked for common succession planning scenarios in which a Board of Advisors can be particularly helpful.

5 Ways Leaders Undermine their Teams’ Success

It may sound counter-intuitive, but one of the reasons I’ve been so successful as a business turnaround speaker is that I’ve experienced nearly ALL of my clients’ challenges first-hand. There are countless situations in which we can unknowingly stand in our own way—here are five scenarios I see most often in my work, and how to get around them.

Why Families Fight During Succession and How to Stop It

It may not surprise you to learn that many businesses fail to survive the succession process and fall prey to family infighting. Here are a few reasons conflict situations that might arise during this complex and emotionally charged time—and how to defuse them.

3 Ways to Reclaim Your Commute

While I don’t really have a commute, per se, as a succession planning speaker I spend a fair amount of time traveling. And it seems I’m not alone; a recent AAA survey found that the average American adult spends about 300 hours—or nearly two full weeks’ time—in the...

4 Ways Millennials Can Actually Make Your Company Stronger

If you’ve been reading the news at all in recent years, you may have noticed a mounting “body count” of all the industries and institutions Millennials have, according to clickbait journalism, allegedly “killed” with their complex and mercurial ways. Shouty headlines seem to announce a new “death” every day – RIP, American Dream…and thanks for nothing, Millennials!

BUSINESS CONTINGENCY PLANNING: WHAT, WHY + HOW

As a succession planning speaker, I’m often asked about business contingency planning within the larger context of succession planning—are the two ideas related, and how? The answer isn’t difficult to understand, but it does require a bit of clarification.

INTERVIEW WITH JENA RODRIGUEZ

Listen to Richard’s interview with Jena Rodriguez …

3 WAYS TO TURN NEGATIVE FEEDBACK INTO A POSITIVE

While criticism is essential to the process of professional growth, no one enjoys getting negative feedback. I’ll share a few simple mindset adjustments that can make the process quite a bit more tolerable—regardless of whether you’re on the giving or receiving end.