The Succession Plan

An old merchant had to divide his business among three sons. He could give each a division now and watch what happened, or plan the final state he wanted and work backwards.

He imagined the end: the eldest running trade, the middle son managing the warehouse, the youngest handling accounts. Then he asked: “What must be true the year before that? And the year before that?”

He worked backwards ten years. Each year’s arrangement was designed to make the next year’s transition natural.

When the succession finally happened, it seemed effortless. The sons didn’t realize that every opportunity and assignment they’d been given was the result of their father thinking from the end to the beginning.