1. What are the central challenges facing Al Blanchard, Grandview Industries, and the Blanchard family? * Finding a successor that will fulfill the needs of the company and satisfy the family. The process of finding a successor does not come over night and requires diligent thinking and planning. * For Grandview Industries the future is bright. It is growing steadily and tripling in sales, so the real challenge Grandview faces is finding a president and committee that will continue to develop the business and satisfy the hundreds of employees * For the Blanchard family, they all need to come together and come up with a solution that is best for Grandview. The Blanchard’s is a pretty big family so not everyone is going to be satisfied with the decision. As a family though, they must be behind the next business leader 100% and choose it carefully.
2. What would you recommend Al Blanchard do, in his leadership capacity, on behalf of Grandview Industries and its shareholders? * I would recommend Al to stay as president for another 2 years or so. Currently he is the only viable option for this position at this time until the family works out the transition. Stepping down while Grandview is performing at a high level would be the wrong decision for Al to make. He has done an excellent job delivering dividends to family members, which have been keeping them happy. * In addition, as the business is developing and the number of shareholders is growing, any successor would have his hands full if he took over at this point. He has a list of candidates who are capable of taking the role, but in Al’s case, he has to know making a succession decision doesn’t take a day, a week or a month, but a year to carefully think out the process with family and board members. 3. What process should Al use for choosing the next president? * I believe Al should