Succession plans and mistakes of our past business magnates (2)

Organisational sustainability is the ultimate end that justifies the means – from the economic pillars to administrative and social functions – for all business ventures in their operating environments. It is the bedrock of qualification for successfully performing businesses that exist as going concerns. The organisation’s objectives are primarily set targets that are remotely attractive and driven by the aim of establishing business ventures, which are to make profit, and also maintain seamless performance management without a break in the future, as outlined in a well mapped out business plan. Such an achievable goal can only be actualized on the condition that strategic leaders effectively direct and control the management, to efficiently deliver on the strategically laid out plans. The strategy process invariably combines the principles of strategic management process, and the process in corporate governance principles.

Most of the businesses of old that were successfully established by governments, families or founders within our clime, lacked these basic principles hence, they experienced the daunting challenge of eventual business collapse. This finding was verified among family businesses when their strategic SWOT analyses were respectively and severally conducted. Forensically, the failures of such businesses were significantly traceable to a complete lack of strategic management succession plans. This observation was made because, inclusivity offers great opportunity for skill acquisition to potential strategic leaders that usually develop passion and job satisfaction (over a given period) from on the job training.

The observation is even more pronounced, especially amongst workers that exhibit a tendency for developable elements of occupational talent and capacity for efficiency in outputs. With such a process, replacement of business leaders, executives and key employees in any organisation constantly become easier and remain seamless, with a smooth uninterrupted transition.

However, citing example with some federal or state government-owned or family-owned businesses that made waves in the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s; by transferring management roles (in the case of government-owned businesses) and ownership by inheritance (in family-owned business ventures) from one generation to the next, never assures the organisation’s survival, unless such transition is adequately planned, proactively. 

Focusing on the southern part of the country (specifically as a pilot sample for the entire economy), business entities or very popular firms that stood out in the society as ‘household names’, have risen and fallen, and even went into extinction. The commercial cities and economic hubs in the South-South include Port Harcourt, Calabar, Eket, Warri, Uyo, Asaba, Benin, Ugheli, Sapele, Ukpilla, Auchi, Bonny, Ogharefe, Agbor, Brass, Burutu, Akasa, Yenogua, Auchi, Obudu, Ughep, Ogoja, Ikot-ekpene, Ikom, Oron, Igbanke, Elele). In the South West, they include Ibadan, Lagos, Agbara, Ife, Ekiti, Akure, Ore, Sagamu, Badagry, Ondo, Osun, Ijebu-ode, Lekki, and Ilesha. In the South East, they are Onitsha, Awka, Nnewi, Igbariam, Aguleri, Orlu, Owerri, Aba, Umuahia, Afikpo, Mbano, Enugu, Nsukka, Abakaliki, Ogbaru, Ohafia, Abiriba, Okposi, Okija, Oba, Ukpor, and Adani.

However, the commercial and economic nerve centres in the Northern part of the country comprise of the likes of Yola, Mubi, Yankari, Birnin Kebbi, Dadinkowa, Bauchi, Maiduguri, Kano, Kaduna, Jos, Lafia, Akwanga, Makurdi, Sokoto, Gusau, Zaria, Jalingo, Talata Mafara, Katsina, Numan, Mokwa, Akwanga, Idah, Otukpo, Lokoja, Ajaokuta, Obajana, Okene, Ilorin, Argungu, Jebba, which are not ignored or completely left out because they make strategic contributions to Nigeria’s economy.

Business activities across all vocations of economic and commercial engagements in various sectors (tourism and entertainment industry, ICT & intellectual property deliveries, agribusiness that includes fishing, animal husbandry, farming and food processing, petroleum industry and its ancillary support services, solid minerals, manufacturing sector, trading in general goods and services, and the professional service sector) holistically make up the macrocosm. A catalogue of failed businesses or moribund firms in these named locations, are readily available in those cities, towns and villages (in the 774 local government councils of this country).

Doing things differently to revive dead business entities which present state resulted from the application of wrong strategic management succession plans, majorly by family business founders, demands a careful reset of the entire operations with innovative approaches by conscious leaders who are deeply talented and can turn them around with the right administrative structure of operation; allowing for a sustainable organisation to be reinvented. This process being reintroduced into the system will need to be practised with physical observation of the principles of strategic management and corporate governance, on a daily basis. The fresh mode shall change the order for the specific purpose of actualising a brand new business that would never again go under. Such uninterruptible, reinvigorated concerns include, but not limited, agribusiness of livestock/animal husbandry, cash-crops farmed on rich arable land, which includes fishing and other aquatic lives, and commercial trading. Tourism and hospitality business (entertainment industry) is one strategic sector that demands substantial attention for its recovery and revival within the economy because the target audience attractively revolves around the youth’s age-bracket (with around 70 percent of the population’s demography) in the economy. Among the government owned business ventures, one major factor that adversely impacted them is over invoicing. It is a great error that left most government owned corporations dead or moribund. Organisational sustainability should be encouraged to thrive in every established business, both government and family owned.

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