What will your legacy be?

f, new WEEKS ago my wife sent me .Cl,a troubling text. It read. "l have some bad news. Call me right away."

I assumed the bad news was something innocuous like a bounced check or fleas on our dogs. When I called, she was in tears. Her cousin Mike, age 42 and an enterprising young businessman, had died in his sleep. Mike had a history of heart issues, but there was no noticeable warning. He simply didn't wake up. Mike left behind a grieving widow, three young children, and a small family business.

Mike's death has had a strange effect on my thinking. At first, I must admit I was relieved that the family tragedy was a bit removed. When I heard my wife crying into the phone,I was terrified that somethine had happened to one of our children or our aging parents. I was thankful that the bad news wasn't even worse.

But, as time has gone on,I think about Mike almost every day, and I see and feel more of the tragedy of this young man's passing. His oldest child is l0 years old. One wonders what memories of his father the youngster will retain. And what about the younger kids? They will probably have even fuzzier memories of their dad.

Their retail business, still reeling from the lingering effects of The Great Recession, is left in the hands of Mike's wife. They had divided the duties so that Wendy was the creative, marketing, and merchandising genius, while Mike handled all the financial and administrative duties. Now Wendy [inds all of the business resoonsibilities on her shoulders, und she must chart a new future direction without her life and business partner. Mike's passing also started me thinking about family businesses in general. He didn't have the time or luxury to think about his legacy. He was only 42 years old and he was working too hard. But, for our family business readers who are older, how important is it to think about what exactly your legacy will be?

If your name were called next week, what would your legacy be with respect to your family business? Would your children and grandchildren commend you for having been a great steward of family and business resources?

Would they remember someone who carefully monitored finances and cash flow and understood the proper sources and uses of money?

Could they recall a terrific mentor? Would they remember a good teacher of life's and business's important lessons? Would they warmly think about a leader who hired excellent people and trusted them to do their jobs while holding them accountable for executing big picture plans?

Would they remember a cheerful optimist who had confidence that the family business could withstand any challenge if everyone rallied and pulled together?

Or, looking at the other side of the family business coin, would they remember a demanding boss so overwhelmed by hundreds of daily details that he barely had time to eat?

Would they lament a workaholic who expected everyone else to work super-human hours too?

Would they retain frustrated memories of a manager rather than a leader-someone who could only think of the next day or the next week and not five or l0 years down the road? Would they harbor resentment over someone who didn't have time to strategically plan for management succession and consequently left behind no one who knew what to do without his daily direction and supervision?

Would they be dismayed by the recollection of someone who didn't have the time or inclination to plan for ownership succession and who left the family with vexing, potentially divisive decisions about how family assets and company shares should be divided?

Or would they remember a pessimist who always saw the glass as half empty and their performance as somehow lacking?

Life is fragile and uncertain. Accidents and tragedies are real, and it isn't always "the other guy." We don't know when our names will be called. Don't we owe it to our families, our employees, our customers, and our communities to be good stewards and to devote time. attention. energy, and money to planning for the day when our efforts must cease? I bet Mike would say we do.

The reality is that we can choose to be the masters of our own time and the architects of our own destiny. Leaving the tasks and strategies of succession to chance, or dumping them into the hands of others, is planning to fail via failing to plan. And how might that stain an otherwise successful entrepreneur' s legacy?

- Wayne Rivers is the president of The Family Business Institute Inc., Raleigh, N.C. Reach him at wayne.rivers@familybusinessinstitute.com or (877 ) 326-2493.

Reprinted with permission of Key Resources LLC. No portion of this article may be reproduced without its permission.