Succession Planning

Succession planning is a critical but often overlooked aspect of running a cannabis business. As the industry grows, so does the need for strategic leadership transitions. Businesses can face significant challenges when key players leave, and the lack of proper planning can create “lotto or bust” scenarios, where the future of the company relies on uncertain luck rather than a clear succession plan. Key concerns include dependency on singular leadership, the brain drain from experienced staff, and the inability to backfill key positions effectively.

Generational Dynamics and Employee Engagement

The generational makeup of your workforce plays a significant role in shaping your succession strategy. Baby Boomers tend to have a long tenure mindset and may lack an exit plan or resources to transition. Gen X employees often look for growth opportunities and tend to stay in a business for around 3 to 5 years, while Millennials tend to move quickly, often staying less than a year. Career paths are no longer linear, and employees now seek flexibility, mentorship, and meaningful work. As a result, succession planning must consider these generational differences to ensure a smooth transition.

Developing the Next Generation of Leaders

The next generation of leaders needs to be nurtured and developed with a strategic focus on their knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs). It's essential to identify potential successors early and understand their motivators to create pathways for growth. This doesn't always mean climbing up the corporate ladder—sometimes it's about moving sideways into new roles or responsibilities. Transitioning Baby Boomers into mentor roles can also be an effective strategy to pass on institutional knowledge. Developing high-potential individuals (HiPos) through interim promotions and performance evaluations ensures a strong bench of leaders, avoiding “Popos” or seat warmers who lack the drive or capability to step up when needed.

Leadership and Culture: Shaping the Environment

The leadership style within a company has a profound impact on the work climate and ultimately, on performance. Leaders “make weather,” meaning their behavior and actions set the tone for the entire organization. Workplace experiences, productivity, and team cohesion are all shaped by leadership, with approximately 75% of the overall work experience being driven by leadership behavior. Therefore, cultivating compassion, patience, and persistence as core leadership values is essential in fostering a healthy environment for leadership development and organizational growth.

Managing the Business Lifecycle

The business lifecycle is divided into various phases, each of which requires different strategies for a successful transition. The initial plan focuses on identifying leadership gaps and creating a transition strategy. This is followed by leadership coaching and formal transition planning, typically in the first year. Post-transition support ensures that the company adjusts to new leadership while maintaining performance. Finally, when the business reaches its final phase, whether it’s through sale or other exit strategies, it’s crucial to have a solid plan for the CEO role and team realignment.

Performance vs. Behavior

While performance can be measured by results, it’s important to recognize that behavior plays a significant role in driving those results. Underperformance may often be masked by good numbers, making it essential to assess both the performance outcomes and the behaviors that led to them. Ensuring a balance between the two will help identify areas for improvement and development.

Preparing for Exit Strategy & Sale

Only about 30% of businesses make it to the second generation, and even fewer survive into the third generation. Family-owned businesses, in particular, struggle with creating exit plans due to the emotional attachment to the company and a lack of clear successors. Whether or not you plan to sell, it’s essential to build a structure that supports a potential sale, including a leadership team capable of stepping in when the time comes. The key is to make incremental improvements daily, ensuring the business remains attractive to potential buyers when the time comes to transition ownership.

Development Tactics for Success

Setting SMART goals, conducting regular team meetings, and engaging in 1:1s with employees are all critical tactics for maintaining progress. The “Stop-Start-Continue” approach helps organizations evaluate what’s working, what needs to improve, and what should be eliminated. These tactics ensure ongoing development and provide a clear roadmap for leadership transitions.

Open Questions and Barriers

Several open questions and barriers remain in the process of succession planning, including how to create a nurturing environment for leadership, what to do if the CEO isn’t ready to step away, and what to do if there are no natural successors in the company. Addressing these barriers is key to ensuring that the business remains operational and sustainable through leadership changes.

Succession planning is a complex but necessary part of cannabis business operations. With the right approach, businesses can ensure continuity, foster the next generation of leaders, and be prepared for eventual transitions. By focusing on leadership development, business lifecycle management, and preparation for exit, cannabis companies can create a lasting legacy that thrives beyond the founders.

• Succession Planning Services

  Most operators in this industry are too busy putting out fires to plan for what happens next. But here’s the truth: your exit will come, whether you’re ready or not. And if you don’t have a plan, someone else will write it for you—usually a lawyer or a liquidator.

  CDM offers tailored Succession Planning Services for cannabis businesses that want to protect their legacy, transfer leadership with purpose, and make sure the next generation doesn’t burn down what took years to build.

  What We Offer

  1. Ownership Transition Planning

  • Identify successors—family, partners, staff, or buyers.

  • Define transfer timelines: short-term emergency or long-term retirement.

  • Draft operating agreements, equity splits, and decision-making frameworks.

  2. Leadership Development

  • Assess current team’s readiness.

  • Build training tracks to level up key staff into management roles.

  • Coach new leaders on compliance, finance, and operations.

  3. Exit Strategy Design

  • Choose your path: sale, merger, family transfer, employee buyout.

  • Prepare financials, brand assets, and SOPs for valuation and due diligence.

  • Create a clean exit playbook to minimize tax hits and legal exposure.

  4. Legacy & Brand Preservation

  • Document your company values, vision, and culture.

  • Develop a transition narrative to hand down to staff and customers.

  • Ensure your name doesn’t disappear after the ink dries.

  5. Crisis & Contingency Planning

  • Build a plan for illness, death, lawsuits, divorce, or sudden closure.

  • Emergency contact chains, bank access, insurance updates, power of attorney.

  • Protect your people and your business—even if you're not around.

  Why It Matters

  • This isn’t just weed. It’s your life’s work. You’ve built something real. It deserves a future.

  • The market’s consolidating. If you’re not planning for change, change will swallow you whole.

  • Your team needs clarity. No one wants to ask, “What happens if they don’t show up tomorrow?”

  Buyers don’t want chaos. If you’re trying to sell without clean books, trained staff, or a stable operation—you’re leaving money on the table.

• Leadership Track

  DescriptiThe Leadership Track is a structured, guided development program designed to train and elevate internal candidates into leadership roles—whether for a formal ownership handoff or day-to-day operational control. It combines real-world coaching, SOP development, compliance training, and strategic thinking to create capable, confident, succession-ready leaders.

  This isn’t fluff. It’s a hands-on roadmap to hand off responsibility with clarity, not chaos.

  Ideal Candidate Profiles

  • GM-in-training: long-term employee who knows the floor, but needs help owning the back-end

  • Department head: head of cultivation, retail, inventory, or production who could lead if supported

  • Family successor or business partner: someone who has the trust, but not yet the toolkit

  • Co-founder or partner: who never got trained in operations or leadership but now must step up

  What’s Included

  1. Initial Assessment

  • Skills matrix: operations, communication, compliance, finance

  • Personality and leadership style (e.g. DISC, StrengthsFinder, etc.)

  • Role clarity: defining their future responsibilities

  2. Core Curriculum (Customized per role)

  CategoryKey TopicsOperationsInventory control, seed-to-sale traceability, vendor intake, POS & ERP useComplianceRegulations overview, inspection prep, COA & labeling basicsFinancialsCOGS, margins, forecasting, basic P&L literacyLeadership & CultureStaff management, scheduling, conflict resolution, delegationStrategic ThinkingKPIs, business planning, expansion logic, competitive analysis

  3. Shadowing + Assignments

  • Shadow existing leaders (store manager, buyer, ops director)

  • Own a key project: inventory cycle, product launch, or training SOP

  • Practice decision-making in controlled environments

  4. Coaching & Review

  • Biweekly 1-on-1 coaching sessions

  • Feedback from managers and peers

  • Midpoint and final review

  Deliverables

  • Leadership Development Plan (custom doc for each person)

  • Role Readiness Checklist (what they’ve mastered, what’s still in progress)

  • SOPs or Projects Completed during the track

  • Final Review & Promotion Recommendation (if applicable)

  Timeline: 3 Months (Standard Track)

  MonthFocusMonth 1Assessment + Operations→ Interview + Skills Matrix→ Intro to SOPs, tech tools, systems→ Start shadowing and mini assignmentsMonth 2Compliance + Leadership→ Learn traceability, audit prep, compliance risks→ Begin managing small team tasks or schedules→ First project ownership beginsMonth 3Finance + Strategic Thinking→ Intro to cost modeling, budgeting→ Strategic planning exercises→ Final project wrap-up + final coaching session

  Optional Extensions:

  • Month 4–6: Deep dive on expansion, brand building, financial literacy

  • Custom training for multi-store operators or emerging executives

  Pricing

  PlanCostDetailsSolo Leader Track$1,750/monthIncludes assessment, coaching, curriculum, shadowing planTeam Track (2–4 people)$4,500/monthGroup curriculum + individualized coachingExecutive PrepCustom quote6-month program w/ advanced strategic planning, succession readiness

  Why This Works

  Most dispensary owners and operators have never been taught how to hand off control—so they either burn out or give it away to the wrong person. The Leadership Track gives you the time, space, and structure to grow someone into that role, before the pressure hits.

  Let me know if you want a workbook, SOP templates, or onboarding packet to go with this. We can also align this with your succession audit results for a full transition strategy.on text goes here

• Succession Audit

  A Succession Audit is a structured review of your business’s readiness to transition ownership, leadership, or both. It identifies operational, legal, financial, and cultural gaps that could derail a smooth handoff—whether to a family member, staff, or outside buyer.

  This is not just a formality. It’s a diagnostic tool to tell you what’s missing, what’s at risk, and what needs to happen to ensure the business can survive and thrive after your exit.

  What’s Included

  1. Ownership & Legal Structure Review

  • Operating agreements, LLC/Corp docs, equity splits

  • Buy-sell agreements, vesting schedules

  • Power of attorney or successor designations

  • Licensing & regulatory ownership declarations

  2. Financial Health Snapshot

  • P&L trends, balance sheet, and cash flow review

  • Debt obligations, taxes, liens

  • Valuation-readiness: books, audits, due diligence gaps

  3. Leadership & Personnel Assessment

  • Key roles and responsibilities (Org chart + bench strength)

  • Staff training needs for management succession

  • Employment contracts, equity incentive plans, retention risk

  4. Operational Documentation Review

  • SOPs for daily operations, sales, inventory, compliance

  • Departmental workflows and tribal knowledge risks

  • Tech stack dependencies (BioTrack, METRC, POS, ERP)

  5. Culture, Brand, and Vision Capture

  • Mission and values documentation

  • Customer communication strategy during transition

  • Public-facing leadership (who’s the “face” of the company?)

  6. Risk & Contingency Planning Check

  • Emergency contact trees, succession-in-crisis scenarios

  • Insurance policies (Key Person, Life, D&O)

  • Cybersecurity, password access, vendor relationships

  Deliverables

  • Succession Audit Report (PDF + Live Doc)

    • Summary of findings

    • Risk levels by category (Legal, Financial, Operational, People)

    • Priority recommendations

  • Org Chart + Key Person Risk Map

  • Action Plan with next steps for succession planning

  Timeline: 4 Weeks

  WeekActivityWeek 1Kickoff + Document Intake→ Intake form, legal docs, financials, staff list, licensing info→ Initial owner interview (1-2 hours)Week 2Internal Analysis→ CDM team reviews documentation and interviews 1-2 key staff→ Operational walkthrough or virtual tour (if needed)Week 3Risk Mapping + Report Draft→ Draft report of succession readiness and red flags→ Build action item checklist and personnel mapWeek 4Final Delivery + Review Meeting→ Deliver full audit package→ 1-hour review call with owner(s)→ Optional add-on: presentation to partners, family, or staff

  Optional Add-Ons

  • Exit Strategy Design (valuation planning, deal structure)

  • Leadership Training Track for internal successors

  • Ongoing Succession Coaching (monthly retainer)

• Pricing Plans

  Succession Audit

  $1,000 flat fee

  One-time review of business structure, staff, and transition readiness.

  Leadership Track

  $1,750/month (3-month minimum)

  Training, SOP development, and 1-on-1 coaching for future leaders.

  Full Succession Plan

  $5,000–$15,000+ (project-based)

  Complete transfer strategy, including legal prep, brand legacy plan, and buyer or heir onboarding.

  Crisis Readiness Package

  $2,500 flat

  Emergency binder: legal docs, bank info, team chart, key passwords, SOPs.

  Custom quotes available for multi-location operators, legacy brand transitions, or long-term support agreements.