Succession Plan

They say God created heaven and earth in six days, and rested on the seventh day. For entertainment, God watched men make plans, laughed and was entertained.

For the past two years I have been making detailed plans to take a four month sabbatical starting October 1 of this year, hoping that during this time I could come up with a succession plan. As part of this strategy my son Dustin agreed to move back to Boulder and spend a year upgrading our brand, website, newsletter, operating platform, social media and technology.

Now that Highland City Club is a social and financial success, I figured I could emulate George Washington and go away before getting too feeble. So I started making plans to do a pilgrimage to Camino Santiago along the southern part of Portugal/Spain, and then borrow my daughter’s Mercedes Camper in San Francisco to see the northwest...

The other day Dustin sat me down and said "dad, you may think we are done, but I see ten years of work ahead. So take a few well deserved vacations and let’s continue on with the program."

I knew right away we no longer need a succession plan because it just happened. I feel privileged to have the opportunity to continue working on projects I am still excited about, but the burden of leadership is no longer mine. My goal is to morph from CEO to Chairman, from leader to advisor, from aging to sage'ing.

All’s good on all fronts. We now have a plan in place for Highland’s next 40+ years. Instead, during my pilgrimage, I’ll be thinking about "Highland Institute for Advancement of Humanity,” whatever that ends up being.

— Sina.