Many Family Businesses owners in Canada are ready to turn over a profitable, proven company to the next generation. They’re looking at their successors and hoping to see true leaders who will push the business ahead and ensure its success; especially important if their retirement income hinges on the profitability of the business they worked so hard to grow. How does one generation transition to the next while staying ahead of changes in technology and attitudes?
TotalLeader Solutions bridges the gap with an online interface that speaks directly to the behavior of the next, younger generation – poised, but maybe not-quite-ready, to take over the family business. “There is an upcoming generation that is completely comfortable online, and they expect to use cloud-based services as part of their personal and professional development. That’s one reason why we created the TotalLeader Solutions system,” explains Jonathan Creaghan. Working with his life-and-business partner, Joanne Malone-Creaghan, the team conducted two years of market research and planning, then another six months of digital development, launching TotalLeader Solutions in June 2017.
The main impetus for developing this innovate training tool came from their clients: “We kept hearing: OK, I’ve assessed my people, now what do I do with the results? Our system is innovative because it provides the user a complete leadership development program.” Going beyond the assessment, TotalLeader Solutions is “way more than a score,” explains Joanne. “It tells you how your leaders are doing; identifies what needs to be worked on; shows everyone how to improve and provides easy-to-use resources that speed up the growth of the business.” Putting this all under one cloud-based system enables the program to be implemented at a fraction of the cost of traditional training and makes it accessible by a company all year long. Two major benefits for Family Businesses who, while knee deep in their day-to-day operations, also want to plan for the future.
The 37th Manning Innovation Awards will be held October 24, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario.