People Succession: Lessons from Forward Thinking Executives in Middle-Market Companies

This book is a must read for executives, the board of directors, and people managers in middle-market and aspiring middle-market companies who want to proactively reduce workforce risks so that business goals can be achieved. This succinct read is tailored to today’s busy business leaders and: • Starts with 3 scenarios of an organization with a promising path for growth. The first scenario assumes business strategy execution without incident. The second scenario shows the economic dip over a 5 year period resulting from the unexpected departure of a key executive. The third scenario shows how the initial loss of the key executive snowballs into dramatically disappointing organizational results over a 5 year horizon. • Is loaded with first-hand experiences shared by 25+ executives in middle-market companies interviewed for the book who currently do succession planning and reap its many benefits (i.e. peer learning in print). • Provides a road map of the 7 steps involved in the people succession process in addition to time saving tips. • Identifies the top 9 derailers to people succession and how to address them. • Reveals sensible approaches used by busy executives when preparing people for future responsibilities. • The book explains why companies that rely too heavily on recruiting from the external candidate pool put business strategy execution at risk. • Speaks to CEO succession, board issues, and the monitoring of key performance indicators for determining if your people succession works. TABLE OF CONTENTS Forethought Acknowledgements Chapter 1: Why Succession Planning and Management Matters Chapter 2: People Succession Defined Chapter 3: The School of Hard Knocks Chapter 4: Career Champions Chapter 5: Climate Counts Chapter 6: Derail the Derailers Chapter 7: Derailer 9: Career Conversations Chapter 8: Talent Magnet Tool Kit Chapter 9: Wanted: Blue Boxers Chapter 10: The Board and Talent Analytics Chapter 11: Ready, Set, Go Afterthoughts About the Author