How To Ask Your Boss for a Divorce

Working in a company is like being married.  You want the same things as your bosses and colleagues but there are ups and downs and stresses and strains.

Often a company is made up of a collection of businesses.  Some will do well and some will struggle and some have enormous potential.  Businessmen at the top, if they are truly motivated by creating wealth for the owners and minimising risks will judge each business on these factors alone.  However, that's not often the case.

Take the example of an engineering subsidiary of a medium sized corporation.  The operation in based in the West Midlands but most of the company is based in London working in sectors relating to each other but only loosely.  The Managing Director of the Engineering business has delivered constant profits but has completed business plan after business plan for expansion and acquisition which will truly dominate his market sector.  But no one wants to invest.  Why?

Often a company is run like a small village - where your face fits or it doesn't.  Anyone who isn't in the village - say in the West Midlands - simply isn't aware of the politics and nuances of life in the village.  Facts, often, don't matter.

If this is the case and the MD of the Engineering business wants to progress he should seriously seek a divorce from the company and buy out the business in a Private Equity backed Management Buy Out.

If your wife or husband came to you and asked for a divorce and there had been no arguments, no drama, then you'd be shocked and disappointed and seriously question their motives.  That's what it is like with a commercial divorce and it can be quite dangerous for the executive involved.

Often the best thing to do is to seek out and build a very tight team who would be the nucleus of the management which is ready to buy out.  Make sure that each of them can be trusted not to talk for now.  A plan should be built - often this is on the shelf already - and then seek external help.

Potential MBO teams should contact a third party to act as an intermediary between them and the company bosses.  A plan should be built for the third party to approach them with a presentation which shows all the benefits in the separation - not least the new financial injection to the company.   This especially applies to the situation where the executive is trying to buy out the whole business from the owner/entrepreneur/founder where emotions are often higher.

Key to everything is timing, patience, care and planning.  The rewards for a MBO are there, they wont go away, just be cool and calm. Recognise the fact that many bosses will see it as a rejection of them personally, they may also be jealous so put the £s aside and think about the motives and feelings of the decision makers....that is key to a successful Management Buy Out and a civilised divorce.