Linda Fairburn, is a Family Business Advisor who provides succession planning and leadership transition assistance for individuals and family firms, where business succession-planning and transition issues are the primary concern.
She specializes in the human-side of enterprises where unique situations call for integrated approaches to change management, leadership transition, remedial team building, conflict and interpersonal skills development.
When Linda engages with clients, she brings professional and personal experience to the process. With first-hand experience as a business founder, adult educator and change agent, Fairburn provides the right mix of skills and sensitivity required to successfully guide the often-challenging process of leadership transition, especially if you’re the leader.
Fairburn founded, then sold a successful business with the help of Robbinex Inc. During this experience she became very familiar with the Robbinex processes when they became central to buying out her partner and then selling her business.
While remaining Principal of Make Things Happen, the scope of transition services provided by Fairburn expanded in January 2018 when she became an Independent Affiliate and Managing Director at Robbinex. It has been a good fit for both businesses.
Since selling her own business, Linda is grateful for having the privilege to assist hundreds of individuals and organizations successfully sort out the difficult issues associated with enterprise transitions.
Education
- Master of Science in Organization Development (MSOD), Pepperdine University
- Bachelor’s degree in Education and Art Therapy, University of Waterloo
- Adult Education, St. Francis Xavier University
- Diploma in Biographical Counselling, Arscura
Linda’s best-selling Exit Right® Series includes:
- Exit Right®: A Guided Tour of Succession Planning for Families-in-Business-Together
- Exit Right®: Emergency Leadership Planning
- Exit Right®: Integrated Succession Planning
- Exit Right®: Succession Planning for Staff Positions
"Four Seasons" by Linda Fairburn. Represents the cycle of regeneration found in healthy organizations.
On a Personal Note...
Make Things Happen is a second-generation management consultancy. I grew up in an entrepreneurial family and have been self-employed since God's dog was a puppy - almost four decades. Growing up, my Father used to say to me, "The best way to predict the future is to create it" - and I've been doing that ever since. For example, I built a business out of an idea and created a successful exit - something many clients want to do eventually. I have experienced the joy and tensions brought by partners, partnership agreements and both ends of a shotgun agreement. I understand the responsibilities of holding a payroll. For me, and other entrepreneurs, this is the easy stuff.
Understanding your self, human behavior and interpersonal relationships is the hard stuff. For me, and many of my clients, we're at the age in life and stage in our businesses where we don't worry as much about making money as we do about what to do with it. We worry about the legacy we leave behind and how and who to leave it to. We worry about our relationships with long-term employees and family heirs. I believe you can't guide someone to a place you've never been or aren't willing to go yourself. Being a Family Business Advisor requires a great deal of self-awareness, professional acumen, relevant experience and audacity.
I work from a place of deep respect for family members, compassion for owners and understanding of businesses. My eclectic educational background paired with decades of experience as a business entrepreneur, change agent, art therapist and adult educator provide the right mix of skills and sensitivity required to successfully guide the often challenging process of succession planning. I have helped hundreds of organizations and families successfully sort out the difficult issues associated with families in business.
I look forward to meeting with you. Please contact Make Things Happen for a complimentary consultation to see how we might contribute to your success.