How do we prevent our ten year target and three year picture on the V/TO® from contradicting our timeline for a strategic exit, especially if our personal financial goals require a faster liquidity event?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

It is a common misconception that a ten-year target on your V/TO® means you must wait ten years to exit. In reality, your long-term vision and your exit planning timeline should feed into each other, not fight each other.

We align these two timelines by using the Step by Step Exit framework alongside standard EOS® tools. Your V/TO® outlines the ultimate destination for the business as a self-sustaining entity. Your exit plan, on the other hand, outlines your personal timeline for ownership transition.

A business that is built to run successfully ten years from now is highly attractive to an acquirer today. When we define your three-year picture and one-year plan, we look at them through the lens of maximizing enterprise value and closing your Value Gaps.

If your personal financial goals require an exit in three years, we do not ignore the ten-year target. Instead, we build an Accountability Chart and operational systems that allow a new owner or successor to easily see how the business will achieve that ten-year target without you.

Your exit readiness becomes a key driver of your quarterly Rocks. By building a business that can run independently of the visionary, we simultaneously fulfill the EOS® vision and make the business highly marketable for a clean, profitable exit on your preferred timeline.