Last week saw us nail the first round of Shareholder Alignment sessions for 2026!
Alignment is the first step in the Sudburys Strategic Roadmap journey for multi-owner businesses that are serious about strategy and implementation.
Having multiple shareholders in a business can be an absolute strength but it can also be a real working challenge and can act as a hand brake (or hand grenade) to the business over time if shareholder alignment isn't nailed down.
Our shareholder alignment sessions are focused on getting everything out on the table, so that shareholders can openly discuss things like how they work together, satisfaction levels with the business, personal financial expectations of the business, role contributions and working relationships, capability and vision for the future direction of the business, and appetite for risk and growth!
We start here with the shareholders, because unless there is clear alignment and agreement at this level, then progressing to a strategy workshop with a wider leadership team is a waste of time and energy. These conversations enable us to dig down to the heart of different viewpoints, different expectations, and different desired outcomes from the business.
Where there are differences in expectation or viewpoint, we spend time and we flesh that out, we focus on addressing any material differences early so that we can sort the foundations out before we move into strategic implementation across the business. The shareholders come out of these sessions with their critical focus areas, and a timeline that fits their desired outcomes.
These are some of my favourite sessions. They are honest, they are often raw, and they drive conversations that may or may not happen otherwise.
They call for courage, for absolute honesty and for some pretty open minds.
When we get to the nitty gritty about what shareholders expect from their investment, then this can often influence the over arching strategic direction in a different way.
As a part of getting to the heart of shareholder expectations, we use our custom Sudburys Shareholder Alignment diagnostic in conjunction with the GPS diagnostic. These two combined provide us a wealth of information to make each shareholder session super valuable.
Next on the Sudburys Strategic Roadmap for these businesses? Our Strategy workshops with their Leadership teams!
If it’s been a while since you feel your multi-owner business got on the same page with shareholder expectations, then don’t hesitate to reach out to book in a session or ask for a link to our diagnostic. It’s a great place to start.
