Case Study: A Tale of Two Cities; Creating Unintended Resistance to Change and Transformation, Issue 117

Issue 117: July 13, 2023

We now present a true story, a tale as old as time, of what happens when you unknowingly create resistance to change.  We’ll share the saga and let you draw your own conclusions about the outcome.

Succession

The founder of a digital media platform specializing in the strategy and operations of the design industry for a C-level audience needs a succession plan.  She is in her early eighties and wants to be sure the brand she has nurtured and loved for 50+ years will have a home after she decides to step down.  Having said that, she admittedly reports she will work until she can’t, assuming she will pass on defiantly at her keyboard.

So, she and her managing editor set off on what will turn out to be a search for the Grail in the hopes of finding a suitable acquisition partner. The journey will not be easy. The two have been running the business as a boutique thought leadership media brand more as a passion than a vocation. They love what they do and are repeatedly …