For next-generation leaders
You’re going to be handed the whole thing.
Running a part of the company well and running the whole company are different jobs, and the second one doesn’t come with instructions. A free seven-minute assessment shows you how ready you are and where the gaps are.
The job is different from what you expect.
Roughly half of new senior executives fail in transition — more than a third even when they were promoted from within (DDI, 2021). Usually it isn’t a lack of ability. Nobody prepared them, and the job turned out to be different from the one they’d been doing well.
Here is what changes. You stop being measured on your work and start being measured on other people’s. People begin managing what they tell you, so honest information gets harder to find. Your strengths have shadow sides that can start to work against you. And the decisions that reach you are the ones without a clear right answer — if there were one, someone else would have made it already.
If you run this company for the next fifteen to thirty years, everything it earns in that time will run through decisions you make. That’s usually millions of dollars of profit, and in most transitions the owner’s retirement is paid out of it. Most of the difference between the best and worst version of those years is set in the first two.
Successors fall into three groups.
A few will succeed no matter what anyone does. A few won’t succeed no matter what anyone does. Most are in the middle. They have real leadership ability and even more potential, but they also have gaps. Without a specific plan, many successors in this group stall. With a plan, most of them will succeed.
From the outside, the three groups look alike. The difference usually shows up about eighteen months after the handover, when it’s expensive to fix.
“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
What the assessment does
You rate twenty-one statements and fill in three short lists, covering the seven areas that decide whether a transition works. You’ll get a scored report naming your strongest area, your two weakest, and what typically goes wrong when those two areas are weak.
Here’s one suggestion: take it, then show your report to the person you’re succeeding. How they react to your scores will tell you more than the scores themselves.
Who’s behind this
David Delk spent 22 years at a national organization, where he succeeded its founder as President and then as CEO. He leads Delk Consulting, which brings operational clarity, execution, and accountability to small and midsize businesses. He also coaches many leaders in senior roles. Two recent ones: a next-generation CEO leading his family’s business of more than thirty years, and a PE-backed CEO taking over a regional IT firm.
“Working with David transformed my organization. His insights have helped me navigate sticky situations successfully and have led directly to revenue gains on the bottom line.”
Caleb Robey · Founder, Depot Analytics
“David has been an incredible resource of wisdom and insight to me and our organization in helping navigate the complexities and challenges of senior leadership. He has the unique gift of asking great questions and also offering real time solutions that have moved our mission forward.”
Josh Beers · President, OneLife