History tells us that Alexander the Great willed his kingdom to “the strongest.” Within a few years, there was no kingdom. We are also told of numerous instances that when a rival was vanquished, both the rival and his/her family were put to the sword. People in antiquity knew, who comes Next, Counts!

Business owners and captains of industry need to be keenly aware of who comes next. So does virtually every manager. For the business owner, it is usually a matter of continuity and equity. If the new owner doesn’t make the business work at least as well as the he had, his chances of getting his full payment are diminished, and the prospect of being drawn back into the business becomes a reality.

For the captain of industry, succession is a matter of talent, timing and will. Finding the team member, or outsider, to succeed him/her who has the right combination of talents to take the company to its next level, the willful determination to want it bad enough to make it happen and to be willing to do in on the leader’s schedule is often a daunting task.

I believe, however, the manager has the most challenging task of all. Both the business owner and the captain of industry have a host of advisors to help them through the process. The manager often has no one. Moreover, there is scant training available to help him/her make a determination to bring someone along, to search inside the organization or to hire for the position. While there are database programs designed to help the process, they are merely predictors that still require human touch to be truly effective. Succession of leadership in a critical work team can make enormous difference in the team’s performance and potential for continuity.

The importance of “who comes next?” is one of the most neglected of the important questions facing today’s organizations.

THOUGHT TO ACTION: If you are a business owner (even if you are 31 years old and plan to work forever), if you are a captain of industry (even if you are a baby boomer and plan to work forever), and/or if you are just a good manager who loves his/her job and team and is proud of the work you do together (and would love to stay forever) ask yourself, who comes next? If you don’t like the answer, you had better find an answer you do like.