Most CEOs and most board members manage the CEO’s succession well. In many companies, CEOs are bound by tradition or policy to step down at a certain age, and plan accordingly. Many have enough vision and insight to overcome any momentary desire to stay on, and indeed take pleasure in training and developing the next generation of managers. But some CEOs have a very hard time dealing with succession and retirement. And other key players, including members of the board and top managers—willingly or not—may also avoid taking real action or give only lip service to change, thereby sabotaging a succession. Consider the following disguised composites of different actual cases:
A version of this article appeared in the January 1988 issue of Harvard Business Review.