โ Scribed by Quinn Spitzer; Ron Evans
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
Succeed at Executive I n the royal courts of an earlier time, leadership succession was a simple matter of preserving the bloodline-a system that produced a few bright lights, a lot of I m bulbs, and minimal stress for the monarch. In today's baronies, modern corporations, finding new leaders is more complicated-but equally urgent.
Until recently, many organizations' succession process was almost as automatic as the passing of the crown. But few people today take a complacent view of the issue. One mfference is the sheer numbers of prominent leaders who have left or will be leaving their organizations in the near future. Examine, for example, the Bttsivless Week list of the world's best executives fi-om 1996. Roberto Goizueta passed away in 1997. Also in 1997, Glaxo-Wellcome's Sir Richard Sykes relinquished the title of CEO. Chrysler president Bob Lutz announced his retirement date. Norm Augustine retired from Lockheed Martin. And the lugh-profde ousters of the late 1980s and early 1990s at blue chp companies like American Express, General Motors, IBM, and Kodak are a fi-esh memory for many of today's leaders.
Why do some transitions a t the C E O level take place so smoothly while others founder? A year-long analysis of 13 recent CEO transitions, including those at Apple Computer, AT&T, Chrysler, Harley-Davidson, and Hewlett-Packard, suggests a number of lessons about successful leadership transitions. Of the cases we stuled, two in particular-Corning and Glaxo-Wellcome-offer especially rich learning.
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