As a business leader, you face countless challenges in keeping your business running.

You are well-armed and experienced for most of these challenges, however, one challenge many find particularly daunting is the succession of a business. The transition can include the transfer to a family member, to a key employee or a sale to a third party.

It is a challenge, but you must eventually decide the future of your organization.

Without an effective plan for the succession, it is very likely your business will diminish or even fail altogether. Statistics show that approximately 75 percent of all businesses fail to survive past the first generation of owners. More than 85 percent fail by the third generation, and over 95 percent fail beyond that.