Effective succession planning: ensuring leadership continuity and building talent from within

William J. Rothwell9780814408421, 0-8144-0842-7

If you’re looking for a quick, easy, and fun guide to constantlycultivating from within your organization the talent to move up andfill positions left behind by others, don’t look here. Written by ahuman resources expert who teaches at Penn State, EffectiveSuccession Planning must surely be one of the driest books everwritten on this topic, from its aggressively unsexy title and jacketto its college-textbook format and arsenal of supplementarychecklists, flowcharts, and exercises. Having said that, it’s alsoprobably one of the most thorough books on the topic (and a finecomplement to The Leadership Pipeline), incorporating methodical andmeticulous guidelines to preparing for and quickly filling crucialvacancies at all levels of the organization, from top management tosales, administrative, technical, and production positions. Not onlydoes it lay out a plan for instituting a long-term successionplanning program that includes everything from early action steps toongoing evaluation and revision, it also shows how to develop,monitor, and evaluate talent and skills in individual employees inorder to promote effectively from within (although it acknowledgesthat sometimes the best choices come from outside, and offers keysteps for optimizing the outside-search process as well). Everythingis covered here, from the legal implications of hiring and firing andonline and high-tech resources to major trends that will affectsuccession planning in the years ahead. And, thank god, the authorhas incorporated some case studies – both fictional/composite andthose of several large real-life companies – to add some names andfaces to a volume that’s about as dry as the Sahara, and (forhuman-resource professionals, at least) potentially as welcome as afresh supply of water if you happened to be stuck in such a place.

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Table of contents :
COVER……Page 1
EFFECTIVE SUCCESSION PLANNING THIRD EDITION……Page 2
CONTENTS……Page 8
L I S T OF EXHIBITS……Page 14
PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION……Page 18
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS……Page 32
ADVANCE ORGANIZER FOR THIS BOOK……Page 34
BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT SUCCESSION PLANNING MANAGEMENT……Page 38
WHAT I S SUCCESSION PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT?……Page 40
TRENDS INFLUENCING SUCCESSION PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT……Page 74
MOVING TO A STATE- OF- THE- ART APPROACH……Page 89
COMPETENCY IDENTIFICATION AND VALUES CLARIFICATION: KEYS TO SUCCESSION PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT……Page 115
LAYING THE FOUNDATION FOR A SUCCESSION PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT PROGRAM……Page 126
MAKING THE CASE FOR MAJOR CHANGE……Page 128
STARTING A SYSTEMAT I C PROGRAM……Page 158
REFINING THE PROGRAM……Page 189
ASSESSING PRESENT FUTURE……Page 210
ASSESSING PRESENT WORK REQUIREMENTS AND INDIVIDUAL JOB PERFORMANCE……Page 212
ASSESSING FUTURE WORK REQUIREMENTS AND INDIVIDUAL POTENTIAL……Page 236
CLOSING ‘‘DEVELOPMENTAL GAP’’: OPERATING EVALUATING SUCCESSION PLANNING MANAGEMENT PROGRAM……Page 258
DEVELOPING INTERNAL SUCCESSORS……Page 260
ASSESSING ALTERNATIVES TO INTERNAL DEVELOPMENT……Page 290
USING TECHNOLOGY TO SUPPORT SUCCESSION PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS……Page 305
EVALUATING SUCCESSION PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS……Page 325
THE FUTURE OF SUCCESSION PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT……Page 341
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ( FAQs) ABOUT SUCCESSION PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT……Page 364
CASE STUDIES ON SUCCESSION PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT……Page 370
NOTES……Page 400
WHAT’ S ON THE CD?……Page 420
INDEX……Page 424
ABOUT THE AUTHOR……Page 432