Why So Many Companies Fail at CEO Succession Planning

It is easy to see how a smooth change in leadership is critical to the success of any organization. A poorly executed CEO succession has immediate negative effects on stock price, strategic momentum, company reputation, and employee morale. There is every reason for a board to get succession planning right, but too often the process is not given enough consideration. Here are five reasons that can be easily corrected, if only directors will take ownership of the responsibility. These include: 1. CEO succession is a rare event, 2. the process never ends, 3. focus on the past, 4. the CYA era, and 5. it becomes the CEO's job.