The basic concept of succession planning is nothing new. Throughout history, every organization in the world has engaged in some type of planning for future talent needs, either actively or passively. Every entity who needs people to operate must replace people when they are gone.
We see this in our daily lives and in the media—it was well-known that Jay Leno was to be the successor for Johnny Carson and now Conan O’Brian will fill Jay’s shoes. Whether a company pays attention to it or not, the succession of people is often the difference in an organization’s sustainable success.