Who's Next?

Succession planning is the mark of a robust organisation that focuses on the long term.

- Sudip Verma

Alexander III of Macedon, better known as Alexander the Great, succeeded his father Philip II to the throne at the young age of 20. Though he remained king of Macedonia for only about 13 years, he changed the course of history and geography with his military exploits. At its peak, his empire stretched from Macedonia to Egypt and from Greece to a part of present-day Pakistan.

It is said that Alexander the Great wept when he was told that there was no land left for him to conquer. Almost everything in the known world was under his reign already. He died young. On his deathbed, when he was asked to whom he will bequeath his empire, he replied, “To the strongest.”

Is it any surprise then that the territorial gains Alexander accumulated during his short life of 32 years were squandered off owing to internal strife amongst his generals and family?

Alexander remained undefeated in life. However, his legacy would have been even stronger and longer had he thought about succession when he had the time.

That was 323 BC. Unfortunately, things are not too different in 2019. CXOs having a strong successor in place are still an exception than a rule.

Think about it. How many leaders you know have identified a successor and are working with the identified successor with a plan? I do not know many leaders and organizations who are doing it consciously and doing it well. And I am a leadership consultant who meets a lot of clients.

Succession is not seen as a business risk, but it indeed is one, and quite a big risk at that.

Four succession essentials to apply

Leaders build succession readiness by doing the following:

Make leadership a business imperative: In Global Leadership Forecast (GLF), the world’s largest leadership study, conducted by DDI, EY, and The Conference Board, only 14 percent of leaders believed that they had the talent to execute their strategies.