In this candid conversation, I sit down with Mitch Sowards, who sold his 30-year-old IT services firm and transitioned to executive coaching. Mitch shares the unvarnished reality of business succession - from navigating partner dynamics and valuation surprises to the difficult decision of finding the right buyer.

Beyond the transaction itself, this episode explores critical coaching lessons: the importance of involving your leadership team in major decisions, the paradox of transparency versus confidentiality during a sale, and how introversion can limit a leader's ability to gather unfiltered feedback from employees.

Mitch reflects on the cultural due diligence that should precede any merger, the inevitable disappointment that comes with business sales, and a surprising silver lining; how dispersed employees carried his legacy forwar ...