Who buys it, the owner or the successor?

Either one can. Most often the owner buys it and the successor builds it. At checkout there’s a place for the email address of the person who will use it, and the link goes to them. Neither of you sees the other’s answers unless you choose to share them; the Compare Notes worksheet is how the part that matters gets shared, in a conversation between the two of you.

Couldn’t I just make a list myself?

You could, and if you will, please do. Most people don’t, for three reasons: it’s hard to know which questions to ask about parts of the business you’ve never worked in, nobody can see their own blind spots, and a list without dates quietly becomes a list of good intentions. The plan gives you the questions we would ask, with the dates and the conversation with the person you’re succeeding built in.

What happens after you buy?

A welcome email arrives with the link to the plan; there’s no account or password to set up. Most people spend three to four hours on it in all, one area at a time, over a few weeks. If the successor took the free diagnostic with the same email address, the plan starts from that report. You have twelve months to work it and change it as things change.

The Successor Coach Development Plan

Most of what goes wrong in a handover can be prevented

When a business changes hands, everything it earns for the next fifteen to thirty years runs through the new leader’s decisions — for most companies, millions of dollars. The first two years are where new senior leaders most often struggle, and most of what goes wrong can be prevented if it’s found early and worked on a schedule. This plan is how you find it and put it on a schedule, and you can see a real one below before you decide anything.

Why should you pay for a process you can’t see?

The walkthrough runs in the working app, on a sample plan that’s half finished: Michael Reyes, VP of Operations at a grading and paving company, eighteen months from taking over. He is a composite rather than a real client. We’ll point out nine things in about three minutes, and you can stop and try anything along the way: change an answer, move a date, or add an action. Nothing you change is saved, and nothing asks for your email.

Start the walkthrough

What you get for $289

Seven areas, eighty-three questions — the deep version of the free assessment
A dated plan of about four actions a month, across your own timeframe
The Compare Notes worksheet — a directed conversation with the current leader
A branded PDF the successor can hand to the owner, the board, or a spouse
Calendar files for every action, and email reminders before each one is due — with a one-click link to pick a new date
Twelve months of full access to edit it as things change
It takes three to four hours in all, one area at a time, over a few weeks — and fits a twelve-person company as well as a hundred-person one

The four steps

Free: The Successor Readiness Diagnostic — about seven minutes, available to both the owner and successor to show where the gaps are.
$289: The Successor Coach Development Plan, which turns those gaps into dated actions.
$699: The plan plus a 90-minute review video call with David once most of the plan is built — ideally with the person you’re succeeding in the room with you. Already bought the plan? Adding the review is $410.
Cohort: This is where you carry out the plan over a year, alongside other successors. $1,250 a month — or $995 a month at the founding rate for Cohort 1. Cohort 1 starts March 11, 2027 — see the program and apply.

Who it’s for, and what happens next

Who buys it, the owner or the successor?: Either one can. Most often the owner buys it and the successor builds it. At checkout there’s a place for the email address of the person who will use it, and the link goes to them. Neither of you sees the other’s answers unless you choose to share them; the Compare Notes worksheet is how the part that matters gets shared, in a conversation between the two of you.
Couldn’t I just make a list myself?: You could, and if you will, please do. Most people don’t, for three reasons: it’s hard to know which questions to ask about parts of the business you’ve never worked in, nobody can see their own blind spots, and a list without dates quietly becomes a list of good intentions. The plan gives you the questions we would ask, with the dates and the conversation with the person you’re succeeding built in.
What happens after you buy?: A welcome email arrives with the link to the plan; there’s no account or password to set up. Most people spend three to four hours on it in all, one area at a time, over a few weeks. If the successor took the free diagnostic with the same email address, the plan starts from that report. You have twelve months to work it and change it as things change.

“David helped me gain the tools and perspective necessary to step in as CEO at my family’s construction company. His wisdom and insights have impacted the trajectory of my career.”

Thomas Renfrow · CEO, Renfrow Industrial

Built by David Delk, who succeeded a founder as President and CEO and now leads Delk Consulting.

Build my plan — $289 Download the sample PDF Or start with the free assessment

The sample plan by date: a grid of Michael’s actions, one dot per action, across eighteen months and seven areas. — The sample PDF is 37 pages. This is Michael’s plan by date, one dot per action, filled when it’s done. The rest shows where he stands, every action by area, what Ray added in Compare Notes, and every answer he gave.

If your situation is different from Michael’s

The walkthrough uses Michael’s plan: a grading and paving company, eighteen months from the handover. Each of these opens a different sample in the working app, without the walkthrough.

Hollowell Comfort Heating & Air a fourteen-person company — what the lists look like when the key people are most of the payroll
Piedmont Precision Machining barely started — and his owner bought it for him
Cade & Whitmore a law firm with only twelve months, so the plan overflows and says so
Aldridge & Poe CPAs the finished one — all seven areas, end to end
Hartwell Grading & Paving Michael’s own plan, to explore on your own without the walkthrough