๐ข๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ช๐ผ๐ฟ๐น๐ฑโ๐ ๐ข๐น๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ๐น๐ ๐๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฒ (~๐ฎ,๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ข๐น๐ฑ) & ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฃ๐น๐ฎ๐ป โ Part 1
What an almost 2,000 Years Old Family Enterprise and the Greatest-of-All-Time Succession Plan can teach Family Enterprises and Leaders on Leadership and Business Succession
Meet the worldโs oldest family enterprise: nearly-2000 years old, active in 183 countries and with over a billion subscribers. Its closest rival, Hoshi Ryokan is โonlyโ 1307 years old.
Itโs now undergoing its 267th CEO transition (Hoshi Ryokan has only had 46) via a search process that makes Fortune 500 firms look amateur.
It has survived:
โข A brutal corporate split (1054)
โข A bruising hostile takeover & proxy fights (1517)
โข Forced nationalisations in England (1534) and France (1789)
Yes, itโs the Catholic Church โ the oldest, most resilient โfamily enterpriseโ, and the Conclave โ its unique process of selecting a new Pope.
So itโs not a literal family enterprise, Catholics arenโt โsubscribersโ, the College of Cardinals isnโt a board of directors and the Pope isnโt exactly a CEO, but the parallels are striking.
With most startups crashing within a year, the average S&P 500 company lasting only 18 years and most churches dying at 92, this is the greatest succession plan ever.
๐๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ผ๐ป๐
Thereโs so much to learn from the โOG startup founderโ, Jesus Christ, and his succession planning ethos.
Hereโre some key takeaways*:
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๐ญ. ๐๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ, ๐๐ผ๐น๐ฑ ๐ฉ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ ๐ถ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป
Jesus had a bold vision โ to do his Fatherโs will โ to save the world and establish a new world order.
He shared this to his followers emphatically, and rallied a team around a mission far bigger than themselves.
๐ฎ. ๐ ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ง๐ฎ๐น๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ผ๐ฝ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐
Jesus invested deeply in his team. He mentored, empowered, corrected and modeled leadership and virtue, and was humble enough to stay mentored by his father.
He exhibited trust and patience with his team, despite their flaws (e.g. James & Johnโs temper, Peterโs impulsiveness and Thomasโs skepticism).
๐ฏ. ๐๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐ฆ๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฃ๐น๐ฎ๐ป
Jesus knew he had little time (Matt 26:11) and of the need to quell the human desire for power (James & John in Mk 10:35).
He therefore had an โexit strategyโ โ curate a pool of strong leadership talent and pick and groom a successor early (Peter).
He set an example of the importance of succession planning for the Church that it continues to emulate.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ, ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฃ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ
Many family enterprises today lack a succession plan, a clear and compelling vision and mission and a culture of curating and nurturing leadership talent.
And here you have a living, enduring, nearly 2,000-year succession plan; leaders tracing back in unbroken succession to its first leader, and the vision and assurance that even the gates of hell will not prevail against it.
Who better to learn from than the master, divine succession planner himself, Jesus Christ, and the church he built?
*Pt 1 of a multi-part series
