Leader to Leader guest blogger, Danny Stern, who manages business development and provides corporate and marketing strategy to Stern & Associates clients, shares his insights on Marshall Goldsmith's latest book, "Succession - Are You Ready?"
We’d like to congratulate Marshall Goldsmith on another achievement in his career as a bestselling author and executive coach. Yesterday, his latest book, “Succession: Are You Ready?” was the #1 seller on Amazon.com, and has remained there today.
The book, part of the Harvard Business Press’ “Memo to the CEO” series, couldn’t have reached bookshelves at a better time as the economic downturn has created an almost unprecedented amount of turnover in the C-suites of U.S. corporations. Marshall uses his experience to describe the human drama of executive succession and the steps incumbent CEOs and their successors should take to ensure a smooth transition of corporate power.
Marshall notes that the intimate connection between CEOs and their jobs is one of the challenges in every executive succession. “For a CEO,” he writes, “a job is not just what you do – it’s who you are. The transition process is therefore extremely personal and knowing when to step aside is your greatest challenge. It’s important to prepare for transition by slowing down yourself while simultaneously coaching your successor to speed up.” One important piece of advice he has for CEOs preparing to step down is to help their successors form the key stakeholder relationships that will carry the company into the future while also preserving their own legacy.
We’re very proud of Marshall’s accomplishments and the important role he plays guiding executives through these tumultuous times and helping all of us understand the importance of leadership and cultural change in corporate America.