Now Hear This!

There are inarguable certainties that accompany the aging process.

Receding hairline? Check. Well, to be accurate, no hairline.

Expanding waistline? Check – sort of. I like to think I’m fighting the good fight against that one. But in full disclosure it’s a lot harder now than when I was 25.

And perhaps more importantly than the physical deterioration, less patience? Absolutely!

My waning lack of patience has progressed to the point where if I’m in the rare mood for a quick-service meal, I refuse to go to the drive through and sit there idling while the cashier inevitably screws up the orders of the cars in front of me.

Ditto for the bank. I will not be held hostage behind someone who decided they need $200 in quarters and simultaneously requests a stack of deposits or money orders to boot.

Which brings me to the topic de jour of which I’m only going to say once.

Now that we’re post April 15^th, I will again restart my conversations with potential successor and seller firms.

But for the record I will make two attempts to contact you and help you with your succession plans whatever they may be. After that you’re on your own. 

Phrases that will terminate our potential working relationship will be on the order of “I’ve been thinking about it,” or “call me back in July.”

Trust me, I’ve been at this long enough to know that a) “thinking about it” is a polite way to say that you’re not ready and probably never will be and b) you will never be around in July and the contact process will drag well into August.

Exhibit A which went a long way toward igniting my new elimination process is a mid-sized firm in the Northeast who at one time entertained an upstream merger. They retreated from that strategy very quickly and then decided they would become an acquirer. I subsequently sent them a half-dozen potential practices all of which they turned down including two that landed squarely in their sweet spot.

Sorry, you’re are going to the back of the line this year – and I mean the absolute back.

Exhibit B would be the case of a firm owner who once attended one of my CPE sessions and contacted me about selling his firm. After a promising initial conversation, 14 successive emails or phone calls went unanswered.

Sorry pal, not this year.

Remember, “No” is the second-best answer you can give me.

And in 2019 I won’t be giving multiple opportunities to say it.