(File photo)

There's no yogurt on the menu, but The Works Gourmet Burger Bistro owner Ion Aimers knows a thing or two about growing a good business culture, according to experts.

Earlier this spring, unfortunately, the restaurateur spent a few days in hospital recovering from a heart attack. Mr. Aimers is OK now, but for five days the restaurateur lay unconscious, unable to run the business he founded and grew since 2001.

Even after regaining consciousness, Mr. Aimers needed a few more weeks before returning to100 per cent, and said he will continue to rely heavily on his managers and executives.

"I think everybody pulled together and did exactly what they should have done in the situation," he told the OBJ recently. He singled out Jeremy Strong, his number-two guy and director of operations, as well as Evelyn Cheesbrough, an administrator who ran the business's paperwork, as staff who made it happen. "And all five restaurant managers who all jumped in and did what had to be done," he added.

Somehow, without a formal plan in place for such an event, the Works worked. Burgers were flipped and salads tossed. Plans to open the restaurant's fifth location last month went ahead as scheduled. Most patrons were completely unaware the restaurant's founder wasn't on the premises, as staff ensured each Avril's Avocado Avalanche had the right amount of grilled eggplant.

"I think that's very, very much still how our company works," he said.

But it doesn't always work out this way. Mr. Aimers was out of the office for just a short while, but if the boss's departure was longer – or if it was permanent, as in early 2007 when Ottawa-based Semiconductor Insights's chief Doug Smeaton died suddenly in a St. Lawrence River diving accident, exiting the firm halfway through a deal's completion – the bottom can fall out quickly.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) has long advocated that small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have formal succession plans in place. According to the federation, a large number of SMEs put little thought into planning for the unthinkable, yet sometimes inevitable.

"You have to plan for the unexpected," said Corinne Pohlmann, director of national affairs at the CFIB. "You, as a boss, have to start that process and show who you're identifying (as your successor), and communicate that to your people."

CFIB research found only 10 per cent of SMEs have a formal, written succession plan, while 38 per cent have an informal, unwritten plan. The remaining 52 per cent don't have any succession plan at all, and so the CFIB provides a step-by-step manual for preparing a succession plan for its members.

Pohlmann said anecdotal evidence shows that some businesses are getting the message.

Michael Rosenburg, principal at OYG Consulting and author of the Flexible Thinker series of books, said that plans are important but companies that pull through periods of instability tend to already have a strong work culture in place.

Workplaces where employees are trusted and where they know what's expected of them are more prepared when a boss is momentarily or permanently out of the picture, he said.

"It sounds like (Mr. Aimers) has empowered people to make decisions and work independently," he said.

Mr. Rosenburg said workplaces should be modelled on improvisational comedy – which, as it happens, is his previous career – where colleagues set one another up for success.

If improv cast members aren't set up well by their mates, the improv isn't funny and the group fails, he said. Companies should emulate improv, instilling a culture where egos are checked at the door.

He said he's seen too many cases where leadership, when coming from someone besides the leader, is seen as a negative.

"As much as a succession plan is important, what happens (at many firms) is one person is seen as a threat to another," said Mr. Rosenburg. "It's almost like, 'Let's keep everyone at mediocre levels, because if anyone is really good, they might take my job.'

"What (Mr. Aimers) has done is created a culture of empowerment, where people feel like they can do their jobs (and) they know what's expected of them, so if something happens to him, he can go out of the picture."

Indeed, according to Mr. Rosenburg, Mr. Aimers helped foster a work environment capable of running the business in his absence.

But did the events nevertheless spur Mr. Aimers into formalizing a succession plan for his small business, like the CFIB suggests?

"Oh, probably," he said. "But how often does stuff like this happen? Not too often."

---

FACTS

Mr. Rosenburg is speaking in Ottawa May 27-28 at a succession-planning seminar for the public sector. For more information and to register, please visit www.infonex.ca/822/overview.shtml

Tips and advice on succession planning from the Business Development Bank of Canada

www.bdc.ca/en/my_project/Projects/growth/succession_planning.htm

Highlights from surveys on SMEs in Canada, from the CFIB: