Q001
What should be included
in a succession plan?
our take .
We’re starting from the premise that you, like us, are among the many people who would advise, “Every company should have a succession plan.” And then not fully adhere to our own beliefs. Most of us understand the importance of succession planning, but you, like us, haven’t carved out the time to do it, don’t know what’s involved, or don’t know where to start (if you do still need to get people on board the succession planning train, see Effective Succession Planning).
Admittedly, it’s also not super fun to ponder personally getting hit by a bus. Or, less dramatically, simply retiring at some point. What happens when you’re not around anymore? It’s an easy question to put off for tomorrow – again and again. People are messy, and so succession is messy.
What goes into the plan is also a question of what planning can do to systematize around the messiness.
At Permanent Equity, we start with circulating a handful of key questions for CEOs, which are featured in our portco succession planning questionnaires:
Where am I key?
What is my influence?
How ready is my team?
What are the next steps?
As a baseline, these questions require self-reflection, revisited at least every six months, about what you’re currently doing, what only you are currently doing, how you’re impacting the organization, where your team is (and who’s ready or likely to step up), the nuts and bolts of transferring responsibility (more tangibly important than you might think), and what needs to be done to protect the business, your people, and your legacy. You can see the questionnaire we’ve put together to begin gathering documentation and outlining the process here.
While this questionnaire contemplates the role of CEO, questions can be easily altered for other key roles. We’ve found the results can outline essential attributes of a useful plan. And, they also generate a load of questions.
Successful succession means the organization can solve for change over time. It doesn’t demean any individual’s contributions and can, in fact, help to make sure your influence outlasts your direct involvement.
As Oscar Wilde said, “The graveyards are full of indispensable men.” Your plan prioritizes what will best support the company, not individuals, over time.
on paper.
character to consider: George Washington
Inflection Points
When faced with difficult (and unprecedented) decisions about whether to stay or go, Washington thought deeply and unselfishly about what the nation needed at that juncture and what his own abilities would allow him to do. In voluntarily returning his commission as commanding general of the forces and stepping down from the presidency, you could say he has a track record of walking away from power (although not without a certain showmanship – he returned his commission to Congress by actually handing over his original commission papers, an…unexpected move).
Know When It’s Time
Washington contemplated withdrawing from consideration for office after his first term but was unsettled by continued foreign threats and instability. But even as he acquiesced to a second term, he was increasingly miserable during his last years in office, enduring infighting among his cabinet, an increasing feeling of burden, and a genuine wish to retire. He exited public life of his own volition, turning the reins over to his fellow founding fathers.
Legacy
King George said of Washington’s decision to step down after two terms as President, “If he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world.” If nothing else, the decision showed how he thought about legacy as a leader and a legacy of leadership for an organization. An individual leader’s place is as steward – and inherently temporary.
Works consulted:
What Today's Leaders Can Learn from George Washington
The Hollow Crown: Shakespeare on How Leaders Rise, Rule, and Fall
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