Get Your Ship Together by D. Michael Abrashoff

Author:D. Michael Abrashoff
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2004-04-07T04:00:00+00:00

LESSON: Put success into succession.

Successful leaders aren’t quitters, which makes it difficult for them when the time comes to step down. That is particularly true for those who have only recently reached a high-level job. No sooner have you begun to feel comfortable and in command of your workplace than you have to start thinking about moving out and finding a replacement. But the sad truth is that if you want to fulfill your responsibility as a leader of your organization and its people, you have no choice. The hunt for a successor should start at least two to three years before your retirement date.

At Vision Service Plan, Roger Valine takes his responsibility for finding the right successor very seriously. He began his succession planning by talking with his vice presidents and a handful of other people around the company, asking for their ideas as to what would be important to VSP’s success over the next decade or so. He also wanted to know what kind of person would be appropriate to lead VSP in that new environment—what skills and personal characteristics would be needed? (The qualities Roger’s colleagues described—trustworthy, hardworking with good communication and strategic skills, and passionate about the business—sounded remarkably like the man the new CEO will replace.)

Roger has continued his conversations with his top aides and has solicited from them the names of potential CEO candidates within the organization. He also asked them to list each candidate’s strengths and weaknesses.

His attention to finding his own replacement mirrors Roger’s and VSP’s intense interest in succession planning. “We take it very seriously,” he told me. Every two years, vice presidents and directors are asked to name people in the company who might be either a short-term or long-term replacement. The immediate goal is to have some potential fill-ins ready in case a vice president or a director becomes temporarily unable to work or moves on to another job outside the company. But Roger has another motive as well: “It’s one of the ways we find out who our folks think are the up-and-comers. We try to give these people a bit more varied experience because most likely they’re going to be some of the future leaders of our business.”

Thinking about your future retirement may be unpleasant, but the alternative is far worse. No responsible leader would want to leave his or her crew floundering, with no one at the helm who can keep everyone focused on the enterprise’s goals. It’s something like drawing up your will—a disagreeable task that no responsible person can avoid.

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