EP 75: Dr. Tom Deans Shares How NOT Having a Succession Plan is Like Gambling at the Casino

You’ve heard me talk often about the importance of succession planning and how it is irresponsible for any business owner not to address this subject.

To talk to you about preparing for your succession plan is someone who has literally written the book on the topic, Dr. Tom Deans. Having delivered more than 2000 speeches in 28 countries, Dr. Deans is regarded as the preeminent thought-leader on the subject of inter-generational wealth transfers. With his family selling businesses for more than $100 million, he truly is the expert in the subject of transitioning family wealth.

Dr. Tom Deans is the author of three books on the subject of family wealth transfers. His first book, “Every Family’s Business: 12 Common Sense Questions to Protect Your Wealth,” remains the best-selling family business book of all-time -- selected by The New York Times as one of the Top Ten Books Business Owners Should Read.  The book has sold more than one-million copies in more than 100 countries. 

His second book, “Willing Wisdom: Seven Questions Successful Families Ask,” reached #2 on the Globe and Mail’s best-sellers List.  The book has received critical acclaim for its controversial explanation of why 15 million Canadians do not have a legal will. 

In May 2024, Dr. Deans released “The Happy Inheritor: How Successful Families Prepare Heirs and Transfer Wealth,” the third and final book in his Family Wealth Trilogy.  The book examines how many successful families transfer wealth with great care and joy through the use of facilitated family meetings to bring predictability and transparency to their estate plans.  For families who struggle with this process, the book offers insights into why. 
 
Deans is a graduate of Mount Allison University, McMaster University and earned a Ph.D. from the University of Warwick in England.  

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Cheers,
Chris