Step 3: List three most important activities that produce income for business?

Step 4: Mark three activities from list (Step 1) that you don’t like to do or are weak at completing?

Step 5: Review list from step 4. Who would be good candidates for complete items you don’t like doing? Is it a virtual assistance? Significant other? Assistant?

Step 6: What would be an ideal method for you that you could work with three people you want to allow other people to handle for you?

Step 7: What one time-consuming activity will you delegate right away?

Step 8: What first step can you take to start this process?

Step 9: What immediate benefit will you get from delegating this out? How much time would it free up? What will you replace that time with?

Unfortunately, Mom is often unaware - an unknowing, well-intentioned component of this communication problem. To visualize concept of triangulation, think of Mom, Dad and son/daughter being three points of triangle. Son/daughter will go to Mom with a problem they are having with Dad. Mom then talks to Dad where he explains his side of problem. Mom reports to son/daughter what Dad said - or what he tried to say. In this example communication linkage never directly connects son/daughter and dad. Consequently problem continues to fester because it never gets resolved. The two key parties never deal with issue, one-on-one.

For families in business together, getting any and all disputes and misunderstandings resolved is critical to success of succession strategy. Not doing so can stall entire succession planning process.

It is interesting to note that when disputes between siblings bubble to surface at succession time, siblings in business often tend to be more "rational" about process whereas siblings not involved in business tend to deal with succession process from an "emotional" point of view. This creates an environment that produces many opportunities for significant conflict in family and business.

Without outside intervention, reconciliation and remediation can be very difficult. For parents it can be heart wrenching - especially for Mom, business family's CEO. She becomes "shock absorber" for much of emotional drama that occurs during business family's succession process.

Smart succession management for business families includes preparing next generation of family owners for leadership of business. Smart business families also prepare for generational transition by identifying and training someone within family to be next CEO (Chief Emotional Officer) for family.

Don Schwerzer is the founder of Atlanta-based Family Business Institute and the Internet organization Family-Business-Experts.com