You are living large. Doing things. Going places. Have you thought about making your corporate will?
Is there life after death? Who knows? Over a billion people believe that there is but none have any proof of it. Nevertheless, there is merit in thinking about this issue while you are alive!
Let me explain.
Leaders often worry about their legacy. What will people remember them for when they are gone? Their actions, while they are in their position, often reflect this thinking. While this motivation can help focus leadership on the path of the good versus the absurd and self serving, I believe, it should be complemented with another consideration: what condition will I leave my empire in?
Arguably, these two issues are part of the same objective. If you do not leave your empire in a good state, your legacy is bound to be tarnished. Legacies are formed over decades. Your time in office is important but the intervening time from when you leave office to the first mention of you is critical.
What is Jack Welch’s legacy? I think he is one of the most accomplished business leaders of our time. GE is going strong and will for the foreseeable future. What is Lou Gerstner’s legacy? Again, IBM is going gangbusters. Both these leaders were accomplished and the results showed when they were at the helm in their respective companies. But their legacy is based on what happened after they left. It endures with the success they perpetuated. It would have been marginalized had their companies not done as well after they left.
What is the legacy of Sandy Weill of Citigroup? I believe his accomplishments, while CEO, are at par with those of these other two marquee leaders. However, does he find mention in the same context as these other two? Over time, will he find mention with these other two? The jury is still out but the chances are bleak.
I believe Mr. Weill will not get his deserved place in the sun because of a lack of a succession plan. His successor, Mr. Chuck Prince, did not take Citi to new heights. Indeed, Citi has struggled since Mr. Weill left. Mr. Prince’s recent abdication has further confirmed that Mr. Weill failed in a critical area of leadership: succession planning.
As CIO, are you prepared to lead? Then you must be prepared to leave! Because leadership’s true test is not in your presence but in the endurance of your ideas that live long after you are gone.
CIOs, as other leaders, are often intimidated by talk of their departure. Most people do not want to leave because they fear that they will become inconsequential. And then bills have to be paid!
So they do their best to hang on and worse. They try to stifle any “competition” and deliberately thwart any succession planning surrounding themselves with riff raff – sycophants and “yes men” who are servile and never challenge you. We have already seen what these monkeys can do to your career. But what should really concern you is the irreparable harm they inflict to your legacy.
CEOs think succession planning is the purview of their HR specialists. Really?
Over the years the role of “human resources” has diminished to “human discourses.” HR departments are UN style debating societies staffed with well meaning people who focus on staying out of trouble. When they act it is to provide cover for some nefarious action. Their role is to bolster the legal department’s “case” not uphold and foster the much talked about “human capital.”
Succession planning is the first thing on a human resource professional’s mind. It is the last thing that should be entrusted to them.
So think long and hard about who you are and where you are headed. Think harder about what you want on your tombstone!
