CEO Succession Planning Is Not an Event—It’s an Operating Discipline
This article was first published on LinkedIn . CEO succession planning is one of the most consequential responsibilities of a board—yet too often, it’s treated as a reactive event. It shouldn’t be. Succession planning should be an ongoing discipline, not something that begins when a CEO signals their departure—or when a crisis forces action. The best organizations build it into their operating rhythm. A few principles I’ve been reflecting on: Internal candidates outperform external hires According to study by the Yale School of Management, insiders promoted to the CEO role consistently outperform outside hires. And yet, we often overvalue external candidates. We trust polished interviews over years of observed performance—despit...