If Your CEO Left Tomorrow – Who’s Ready to Lead the Business?
It’s the sort of question that can keep board members awake at night: the chief executive is walking out of the door tomorrow, who’s going take the reins?
Senior recruitments are often laborious, usually expensive and not without risk. In the interim, organisations can risk lurching into panic, patching together arrangements while competitors surge ahead. Whilst not glamorous, effective succession planning can enable businesses to maintain continuity, reassure investors and employees, and, crucially, seize the opportunity to inject fresh ideas at the very top.
At its heart, succession planning is about stability. Markets don’t like surprises, staff don’t like uncertainty, and customers don’t like disruption. A clear plan provides confidence that, whatever happens, the business can continue without missing a beat. But it’s more than simply naming a deputy and hoping for the best. True succession planning is about cultivating a pipeline of leaders who understand the business and can steer it through both calm waters and choppier seas.
Unsurprisingly, the military has long recognised this challenge. In the Army, every leader — from the most junior to the most senior — is trained to step up and assume the responsibilities of the role above them at a moment’s notice. The principle is simple but brutal: you’re always “one bullet away from command.” While business life is mercifully less perilous, the idea is powerful. By preparing people in advance to take on more responsibility, organisations create resilience, reduce panic when change arrives unexpectedly, and build confidence that leadership is never in short supply.
The best succession plans don’t just replicate the outgoing leader’s style; they also make space for new vision and ideas. An organisation that insists on cloning its current CEO risks stagnation. One that appoints a maverick outsider risks losing its cultural glue. The trick is to prepare successors who are steeped in the company’s values but equipped to reimagine the future. Continuity of culture and capability, combined with openness to change, is the winning combination.
Of course, succession planning can be tricky at the top. Telling a senior team member they’re “on the bench” can be as dangerous as saying they’re not. The best leaders make succession an open, developmental process, not a game of favourites. Rotating responsibilities, stretching assignments, and giving exposure to the board can build capability while keeping ambition alive. Transparency, fairness and regular communication help avoid the sulks and keep your top talent engaged.
Succession planning is rarely about the immediate crisis. It’s about long-term thinking: building depth, strengthening culture, and preparing leaders who are ready not just to step in, but to step up. Whether your current CEO plans to stay another decade or is eyeing the golf course already, the question is the same: who’s ready, and how ready are they?
Because if the answer is “we don’t know,” then it might be time to lose a little sleep.