EP1 - Continuity Through Change.

Season 7 begins with a simple truth: change is inevitable, but being unprepared is optional. In this opening monologue, Jason introduces Continuity Through Change and outlines what this season will explore: leadership under motion, foundations that hold through transition, and the often-ignored emotional mechanics behind ownership decisions. 

Transcript

[0:13] Over the last year this podcast and the work behind it has evolved not because the mission changed but because change is part of the mission. Season 7 is about helping owners think clearly acts deliberately and prepare for what they can't fully predict, I'm Jason Miller I'm glad you're here and let's get started. So welcome to season 7 of Journey to an ESOP and Beyond podcast.

[0:47] There's a phrase that gets repeated so often it almost disappears into the background, you've heard it before this won't be the the first time you're hearing it I'd find that hard to believe but you've heard the only constant is change. Or another 1 change is inevitable.

[1:10] Most owners hear those phrases nod and then go right back to trying to build something permanent, this season is about what happens when permanent turns out to be an illusion and what's strong owners do instead. If you've been listening for a while you may have noticed some changes over the last several months, the Cadence is different we're releasing weekly now the structure has evolved, you're hearing different approaches and a more consistent second voice in McKenzie alongside me that I ever was to, Phillip in the previous seasons one of that erases what came before and builds on it, and I'll be honest there was a moment early on where responsibility shifted faster than I expected and if I said I wasn't at least a little terrified that just wouldn't be true, not because of drama or conflict or bad blood or anything like that but because change even good change, demand something of you before it gives anything back.

[2:22] That experience isn't unique almost every owner eventually faces a moment where the ground moves before they feel ready, sometimes it's operational sometimes it's personal and sometimes it's structural and often if you or your family or anything like me or mine it's all 3 at once.

[2:47] Our work this season sits right there in that space between stability and motion. Over the coming months we'll be releasing a series of conversations we call foundations on transition, this isn't a checklist and it isn't something you download and complete it's a way of thinking about ownership before decisions are forced. It's going to be released deliberately 1 piece at a time so that you can engage with it when it's relevant and not when it's urgent. The point isn't to prepare you for every possible change that's just not realistic the point is to help you build foundations strong enough that change doesn't immediately put everything else at risk. And yes this season we're going to talk about esops, we're going to talk about succession we're going to talk about governance leadership identity responsibility because those things shape outcomes long before documents do. We'll explore how owners build identities that survived transition how leadership evolves before ownership changes. Responsibility really looks like when it shows up earlier than expected and how employee ownership changes the echo of decisions.

[4:11] The most spent time on the emotional mechanics of all of it the part that many advisers skip even though it's where most owners actually get stuck.

[4:23] 1 commitment remains unchanged. This podcast exists to make complex ideas around employee ownership understandable accessible and usable. We'll continue to explain the why not just the what will slow things down and Clarity matters, we'll stay grounded in real owner experiences and not just abstractions. Openness doesn't mean oversharing though I do tend to like sharing personal stories these days, it does mean that we have respect for you the listeners intelligence and Trust in your ability to engage thoughtfully, and that's the standard that we're keeping change is inevitable. But being unprepared is optional. So season 7 is about choosing preparation not for 1 transition but for a lifetime of them. I'm glad you're here so let's get to work.

[5:36] If you're starting this season with us subscribe and listen week to week season 7 is designed to unfold in real time with each conversation building on the last stand choose 1 other owner that you know what other founder to listen alongside you this season, someone that you already talked to, about decisions or pressure what it's like to be a CEO or a leader inside of a company or those people that you talk to about what what's coming next. Share the episode with them compared notes Let the conversation extend beyond the podcast. Change doesn't pause neither should the conversation around it.

[6:25] Thanks for listening I'm excited about what season 7 is going to bring not just to you. But to everyone that you have influence over and for all of the change that you're going to be prepared for because of it. I'll talk to you next week on the journey to an ESOP and Beyond podcast thank you.