Choosing Your Successor

This is the 3rd in a series of five posts from a book review of Succession: Are You Ready? by Marshall Goldsmith (Harvard Business Press, 2009).

1. Choosing a Successor: Debates about whether to hire an external CEO candidate or internal candidate has filled many board rooms with endless hours of discussion. Goldsmith argues for an internal candidate, where at all possible. He does so for some very good financial and emotional reasons, all worth considering closely.

2. Evaluating Internal Candidates: Do you really want this person as a CEO? This is a key question for CEOs choosing their successor. Also, considering the critical stakeholders (the board, constituents, internal executives, clients, etc,) does the candidate have a political possibility? Or, do critical stakeholders see this person as a “jerk,” a favorite catch-all descriptor for Goldsmith, because it often fits the character being described.