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The need to develop leadership succession plans is of key importance, yet most companies lack them. This article offers reasons for this failing, including CEOs’ resistance to facing their own mortality, and board members being too concerned about job security to broach the topic. It also examines company outsiders versus insiders in leadership succession and shares lessons from top-performing companies. Finally, it offers five key steps for firms to follow in avoiding a crisis in leadership succession, including giving prospective leaders the opportunity to meet with the board of directors, encouraging differences of opinion, and ensuring that the CEO recognizes the importance of leadership succession.

As a comparison of Costco and Sam's Club shows, stingy pay and benefits translate into higher costs in the long run.

Behind most downsizing announcements is a viewpoint that sees employees as costs to be cut. Another viewpoint, one that is rarely expressed, sees employees as assets to be developed. These viewpoints are important, not just because they may influence an executive's decision to downsize, but because they usually influence how employees see themselves - and perform. As this author points out, it's almost a difference between assets and liabilities.