An owner has been healthy…until that last year before exit.
The health decline right before exit sneaks up on you.
Have you seen it in a colleague, friend, or family member?
They seemed fine, then by the time they actually exited, they actually weren’t so healthy. They declined quickly. It all took them by surprise.
In that last year before exit, they are
- preparing the business for sale or to run without them
- giving that final push to increase the value of the business
- getting projects across the finish line
- ensuring their successor is fully prepared or the next owner has all they will need
- clarifying their vision for what happens after they leave
- ensuring the team will be in great hands
- ensuring clients will be in great hands
- accepting invitations for meals and beverages to celebrate that successful career
Here are the biggest items that cause health to deteriorate unknowingly:
- Way more time at the desk
- Skip the gym when the day is too full
- Move, stretch, walk less while getting things done
- Grab and go food, often at the desk
- Robbing sleep to get more time in a day
- Feeling the stress but having no time to deal with it
- More time away from home as they near the finish line
- Providing more clipped, short responses to their staff, family as the pressure mounts
- Putting off annual medical visits, screenings, new symptoms until they get through this
- Ignoring signs of fatigue, decreased focus, physical symptoms, irritability, changes in relationships, and other signals.
Before an owner falls in this negative spiral, they can make a plan for health before, during, and long after the exit. None of us always gets a second chance.
