Comments on: Succession Plans Suck (Sorta)

By: G3

G3 — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 18:42:22 +0000

Laurie,
I think this is an interesting piece. I have been skimming a few blogs and I like your style. I am also taking a liking to Dan Schawbel’s Personal Branding blog.
Succession development is an area that companies should focus more on. The two corporations I have been with have not done it well. We have recently named our CEO’s replacement, yet I cannot get a good review or any indication of what my future holds. Why spend resources picking the next CEO (that is usually someone already within the executive ranks), then go to the street for mid/upper level management openings!
Is it true that a company fill of idiots will only hire/promote more idiots?

I’ll keep reading, its inspiring. In a punk rock kind of way.

By: Dan McCarthy

Dan McCarthy — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 15:02:15 +0000

Laurie

By: Laurie

Laurie — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 23:35:07 +0000

@GenX I know you’re wearing a tiara to work.

@Tim Those are really good questions. Are you a member of HRM Today? I would post those questions as a discussion and see if you get more feedback and ideas!

By: Tim Walker

Tim Walker — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 22:35:23 +0000

Good post, Laurie. In the past I’ve written about the painful spectacle of big, alledly smart companies (e.g. Citigroup) that do a poor job of grooming successors for the CEO role. But that was considering the temporary impact of a headless organization, not the ongoing strategic importance of having good succession planning across an organization.

Now that I’m thinking about it from your perspective, I wonder whether it wouldn’t help for every company to develop its people, and thereby its succession planning, by asking these two honest lines of questions in every performance review:

1. If you were hit by a bus, who could step in and at least wing it in your role? Who would you *like* to be able to step in for that?

2. What roles different from your own would *you* like to build your skills for?

Think it could work?

By: GenerationXpert

GenerationXpert — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 20:45:10 +0000

1.5 years ago, my company hired me and another guy as part of succession planning. We’re a small organization, though. It’s been really great. And we had record revenue last fiscal year – and our annual conference has a record number of registrations this year.

On a down side, I have not received a crown nor a throne. But the septor they sent was pretty cool.

By: Laurie

Laurie — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:11:59 +0000

I like it. My thoughts? Teeth.

* Straight + white = management material.
*Crooked + stained = fast track to chumpsville and 2.5% merit increases.

By: Jimmy

Jimmy — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 13:47:43 +0000

Identification of A players and hi-po’s, takes so much time and effort away from important issues, like determining the potential negative net impact on earnings if a company were to allow women to wear open toes shoes in the office, or the equally daunting goatee question for men. I submit the easiest way to conduct succession planning is based on hair. Hard shiny hair = tremendous business acumen/potential for success. Couple that with hard shiny shoes (preferably closed toe) and you have a business juggernaut that will lead your organization into the financial stratosphere, and rain money on your shareholders.