Leadership and cognitive decline from aging bosses are key issues in America’s with high-powered professionals working past traditional retirement ages, writes Callum Borcher for The Wall Street Journal.

More than half of private businesses are owned by people over 55 years-old. They should do an honest assessment that might mean cutting back hours or handing over the reins to someone else.

Julie Charlestein, the fourth-generation CEO of Premier Dental Products in Plymouth Meeting, created a succession plan to take over for her father in 2016. The plan took years to put together.

Finding an agreement on an ownership structure was complicated, with children and grandchildren in the mix.

“It involved a lot of negotiations—a lot of difficulty, quite honestly—and a lot of differences of opinion,” she said.

Charlestein turned down her father’s initial offer to make her president while he remained CEO since it seemed to be a promotion in title only.

She later agreed to become president that carried a more robust job description. She is now president and CEO.

Charlestein created a board of directors of nonfamily members.

The 52-year-old said she wants to be held accountable from straight talkers who will someday, if necessary, replace her.

Read more about how Premier Dental Products in Plymouth Meeting managed the issue of an aging boss in The Wall Street Journal.