Rena Striegel of Transition Point Business Advisors Identifies Why Many Succession Plans Never Reach Completion
DES MOINES, IA, January 2026 – Many family-owned and agricultural businesses invest significant time and resources into succession planning, yet a large number of plans never move from discussion to completion. Meetings are held, advisors are consulted, and documents are drafted. Still, decisions remain unfinished. According to Rena Striegel, President of Transition Point Business Advisors, the reasons succession plans stall are often less technical than families expect.
Striegel has worked with families who are committed to transition but struggle to move forward. In her experience, stalled plans rarely indicate a lack of effort or concern. Instead, they reflect uncertainty that has not been addressed directly. Families may agree on the importance of succession while remaining unclear about timing, leadership readiness, or ownership responsibility.
One of the most common factors Striegel identifies is fragmentation. Succession planning is frequently treated as a collection of separate tasks rather than a unified process. Legal, financial, and operational considerations are handled independently, often without a shared framework that helps families understand how decisions connect.
“The industry of succession planning is messy,” Rena Striegel said. “Most professionals look at what they provide and package it as succession planning. A single professional is only serving one piece of the pie and neglects or discounts the other critical pieces. This is one of the reasons families fail to complete the planning process.”
When guidance is fragmented, families can feel overwhelmed by information without gaining clarity. Important questions remain unanswered. Who will lead? When will authority shift? How ownership will be shared. Faced with uncertainty, families often delay decisions to avoid conflict or unintended consequences.
Striegel also notes that communication patterns play a critical role in stalled succession efforts. Many families rely on habits that once preserved harmony but now limit transparency. Difficult conversations are postponed. Assumptions go untested. Over time, avoidance becomes a barrier to progress.
Through her work at Transition Point Business Advisors, Rena Striegel helps families examine succession as an integrated process. By addressing communication, decision-making, and next-generation readiness together, families gain a clearer understanding of what is preventing completion. When expectations are clarified and responsibilities are defined, decisions feel less risky.
Completed succession plans are rarely the result of perfect conditions. They are the result of clarity. When families understand where they stand and what is required next, momentum returns. Succession shifts from an ongoing concern to a process families can move through with intention and confidence.
About Rena Striegel
Rena Striegel is President of Transition Point Business Advisors and a nationally recognised authority in family business and agricultural succession planning. Raised in What Cheer, Iowa, she brings both professional expertise and lived understanding to the complexities of multi-generational enterprises. Striegel holds a Bachelor of Arts from Central College in Pella, Iowa, and an MBA from the University of Iowa. She is the creator of The DIRTT Project and host of the Ag Inspo podcast.
About Transition Point Business Advisors
Transition Point Business Advisors works with family-owned and agricultural businesses to support successful ownership transitions. The firm specialises in succession planning, communication alignment, and next-generation readiness, helping families move through change with clarity, confidence, and continuity.
Website: Transitionpointba.com
Facebook: Renastriegel
YouTube: @TransitionPointBA
