After years of running his business nearly alone,
today Mike Neary looks around and blinks to make sure
he is really sitting in his own company headquarters.

Topic for discussion: What was Mike's biggest mistake for years?

Answer: Mike had low expectations and an unrealistic view of his own abilities. He didn't realize he was as good as he was and that he truly could attract the kind of people he has today. Winning the award led to an awakening for him.

Avocent makes a box to remotely control PCs and servers from 25 feet to 25,000 miles. Its founder, Remigius Shatas, knew from day one that he could not build a business alone.

He went out early and recruited his boss, a banker named Steve Thorton. Even with Steve, it took years of hard work and in 2000 they did $228 million in sales.

Topic for Discussion: How do you go about the task of letting others take over?

Answer: Pam McNair, founder of Gadabout Salon and Spas says we need to delegate with design. By this she means prepare. Think hard about the job to be delegated and about the person to whom you will delegate. Using the same analytical skills she developed as a hairdresser, Pam is able to turn jobs over to people on her terms who are best suited to the task. Just like she used to make her clients look good, Pam studies her employees then designs jobs that will make them not only look good but feel good too.

Topic for discussion: What is the ultimate delegation task?

Answer: Putting a succession plan in place which means you eventually replace and fire yourself. Anne Beiler, founder of Auntie Anne's -- the company that makes the best pretzel you have ever tasted in your life -- said she wants her company to out live her. She has acted on her goals by recruiting Sam Beiler and naming him President of the company.

He is qualified first because she trusts him. They both used this most important word when talking about the success they have had at passing the leadership torch. The inability to place trust in another person is probably the biggest reason entrepreneurs fail to put a leadership succession plan in place.

Most companies die with their founder or they die when the founder decides to quit working. Some would throw these types of companies into a category called "lifestyle companies." In other words, the company was a vehicle for the founder to live a certain kind of life. We disagree. Most small businesses would-could-and-should have a life separate and apart from the founder. If the founder would first learn to trust, it opens the way so the founder could find people in which to place that trust. And the business, with all its customers, suppliers, and employees, should continue to perfect relations, systems, and their contributions to their community and world. Happily this is the case with Anne.

Before he became president of Auntie Anne's, Sam spent years in the field. He and his wife became Auntie Anne's franchise owners in 1989, and then he became an employee of the corporation working with franchise owners. He was perfectly groomed. You might wonder about his last name being the same as Anne's. The two are cousins. The fact that Anne and Sam are related could bring up the seemingly endless discussion around family-business issues. Our observation of this situation is that endless communication internally at headquarters and externally to the franchisees has made the family relation a non-issue. Sam worked his way to the top. He was not given anything that he did not earn simply because his last name is Beiler.

You think about it: When was the last time you delegated a task? Are you happy with the results? What could you do to improve? What keeps you from passing the torch? Do you have someone you are training that can move into your place soon? Are you nervous that if you pass the torch, you won't have anything to do? Do you think your life might feel empty if you don't have to be in the office everyday?