18 Best Books on Succession Planning

Leadership Succession Made Easy

Leaders leave. It’s inevitable. It might even happen today. Are you prepared?

Every organization needs a plan for leadership succession, but few leaders know how to start the process. WHO COMES NEXT? solves that problem and easily guides you through the steps of creating and implementing a viable succession plan.

This essential guidebook simplifies the process and gives you the tools you need to build and activate your leadership succession. You’ll find a comprehensive action plan, a library of all the tools needed to develop and sustain your plan, and a resource guide. You’ll learn how to:

Communicate with customers about the change
Identify talent gaps in your succession plan
Decide which succession planning model to adapt
Find your next generation of leadership within your organization
Handle the unique emotional complexities of succession in a family-owned business

Whether you are part of a small, family business, a Fortune 500 company or a non-profit, you need to start now by answering the question: WHO COMES NEXT?

If you are a business owner, or you are working with one, then this book is for you. The Succession Solution provides both an explanation of the importance of succession planning, as well as a practical, straight-forward, and proven system that can be used to continue your business to the next generation, whether your successor is a family member(s), an employee, or a third party. This book will show you how to achieve a successful transition of your business to the next generation of leaders. In fact, if you read and follow the steps outlined in this book, you will dramatically improve the survival and prosperity of your company’s future.

This book is going to challenge you and everything you think you know about succession planning.

For independent advisors, succession planning is quickly becoming the cornerstone to a strategic growth strategy designed to perpetuate their business and their income streams beyond their own lifetime, while providing a multi-generational service platform that attracts and rewards younger advisors. This makes succession planning one of the most, if not the most, important practice management tools in this industry today.

As an independent financial advisor, now is the time to address the question of what will happen to your practice and your clients after you “exit the building.”  In most cases, the answers are right in front of you. Thankfully, Succession Planning for Financial Advisors: Building an Enduring Business has arrived to transform today’s practices into businesses designed to endure and prosper and serve generations of clients.

• Learn how to create a “Lifestyle Succession Plan” that can provide a lifetime of income and benefits to the founder even as he/she gradually retires on the job
• Unlock the power of equity management – the best planning and building tool an independent advisor owns
• Learn how to attract and retain the best of the next generation to help you build a great business and to support your succession plans and care for your clients and their families
• Determine precisely when to start a formal succession plan and related continuity plan so that your business can work for you when you need it most
• Understand why succession planning and selling your business are completely different strategies, but how they can complement each other when used correctly

95% of independent financial service professionals are one owner practices.  To the positive, these practices are among the most valuable professional service models in America. But almost all advisors are assembling their practices using the wrong tools – tools borrowed from historically successful, but vastly different models including wirehouses, broker-dealers, and even OSJ’s and branch managers.  Revenue sharing, commission splitting and other eat-what-you-kill compensation methods dominate the independent sector and virtually ensure that today’s independent practices, if left unchanged, will not survive the end of their founder’s career.  It is time to change course and this book provides the map and the details to help you do just that.

For independent practice owners and staff members, advisors who want to transition to independence, as well as accountants, attorneys, coaches and others involved in the financial services space, there are invaluable lessons to be learned from Succession Planning for Financial Advisors. Written by the leading succession planning expert in the financial services industry, former securities regulator, M&A specialist, and founder of the nationally recognized consulting and equity management firm, FP Transitions, David Grau Sr., JD, has created an unmatched resource that will have an enduring and resounding impact on an entire industry.

An updated and revised version of the bestselling The Leadership Pipeline – the critical resource for how companies can grow leaders from the inside.

In business, leadership at every level is a requisite for company survival. Yet the leadership pipeline –the internal strategy to grow leaders – in many companies is dry or nonexistent. Drawing on their experiences at many Fortune 500 companies, the authors show how organizations can develop leadership at every level by identifying future leaders, assessing their corporate confidence, planning their development, and measuring their results.

New to this edition is 65 pages of new material to update the model, share new stories and add new advice based on the ten more years of experience. The authors have also added a “Frequently Asked Questions” section to the end of each chapter.

Q&A with Co-Author Steve Drotter

What is the single thing that has changed the most in leadership since The Leadership Pipeline was first published in 2000?
Since communication is such a central requirement for leaders, the changes in electronic communication have to be at the top of the list of impactful changes. Hand-held devices, social media, and speed of access combine to bombard every employee–leader or individual contributors alike–with messaging. What is good about that is very good–instant availability of people and information. What is bad about that is very bad–everything is “urgent” and everyone is distracted. Leaders have lost control of the agenda in meetings, in offices, and in peoples’ minds. A critical task for all leaders is to provide clarity of purpose and focus on the right outcomes. This has never been so important!

There are a lot of books on leadership, what sets The Leadership Pipeline apart?
The Leadership Pipeline isn’t theory. It is based on structured observation through over 1200 in-depth executive assessments of very successful people–contenders for CEO, CFO, Group Executive, and Business General Manager.

The Leadership Pipeline isn’t about fads or the latest new thing. It is based first on principles developed over 30 years.

The Leadership Pipeline isn’t based on one industry or one culture. Work in 100 companies spread through 40 countries provided the base data.

It provides real differentiation between the layers of leadership so the company or business has a way to keep leaders from working on the wrong level and failing to produce all the required leadership results.

What is a common misconception about what a leader should or should not be working on?
There are two common misconceptions about what leaders should or shouldn’t do. The first comes from the time horizon and the second comes from the uniqueness required of each layer.

The higher up a leadership position sits, the further out into the future the leader should focus. This time horizon difference starts very early in the leadership chain. An individual contributor should focus on the task at hand and its deadlines. Her boss, the first-line manager, should focus on annual plans. Her boss, the manager of managers should focus on a two-year time horizon. The time horizon extends for each layer above.

Each layer has a unique purpose that defines the contribution needed. Individual contributors deliver the product or service. Their boss, the first-line manager, enables delivery by defining requirements, training, coaching, giving feedback, and rewarding. Their boss, the manager of managers, drives productivity by making sure the first line manager actually manages. The next layer up, function managers, deliver competitive advantage. The next layer, business managers, deliver short and long-term profit.

Does this approach work for all companies, all sizes?
We have seen these concepts work with companies as small as 20 people and with global giants with several hundred thousand employees in 100 countries. The principles are exactly the same. Each layer has a unique purpose, each layer works in a different time horizon, and each layer must be differentiated from the layer below.

The leaders must provide clarity and focus no matter what the size of the company because the communication revolution affects and distracts everyone.

What are the central issues leaders must face in the next five to ten years?
The global financial crisis has resulted in pervasive uncertainty about markets, capital availability, the solvency of customers and suppliers, investment strategies, etc. The competition will be fierce from developing countries. Leaders at every level will have to focus more sharply on performance than ever before. Waste, false steps, tolerance for mediocre performance or performers, bad investment decisions, outdated processes, lack of empowerment, and the like will lead more quickly to business failure. Leaders will have to provide real clarity of desired outcomes for every employee, differentiated by layer, and enable focus on obtaining those outcomes by everyone in order for their business to survive

You’ve heard it before: 50% of all CEO succession attempts fail. This means 50% must succeed! Learn from leaders who beat the odds in Your CEO Succession Playbook.

For Boards and transitioning CEOs, consider this book your strategic companion from the start of the process right through to the hand-off, and discover how to address common concerns along the way. Learn why a CEO should start a conversation about succession planning early, even if they have no intention of leaving their role anytime soon. Stay above the fray by mitigating and managing power plays. And understand how to build a practical framework to help the departing CEO start a new life chapter that moves from success to significance.

Your CEO Succession Playbook is a 6-phase game plan for each step in the CEO succession process, one that doesn’t require you to work harder and faster,but rather more intentionally. With these strategies, you will build trust,avoid politics, and gain confidence in your leadership pipeline.

Among dozens of tactics and a suite of tools, you will get:

• A practical strategy for introducing the topic of CEO succession to your Board without prematurely accelerating succession;
• A CEO success profile that you can use to benchmark candidates;
• A model for determining who has the potential to be the next CEO;
• Strategies for how to best develop future CEOs;
• Advice on how to minimize ego-plays and power struggles and avoid “survival of the fittest” politics;
• Communication samples and tips for each of the 6 key phases;
• Leadership insights that distinguish who you need to be as a leader to build trust;
• Self-coaching questions to help you do what’s right for your business.

The purpose of succession-related practices is to ensure that there are ready replacements for key positions in an organization so that turnover will not negatively affect the organization’s performance. CCL first published an annotated bibliography on succession planning in 1995. That bibliography focused primarily on the link between succession and management development. This bibliography has a broader scope; it is an update and expansion, commensurate with the maturation of this area of practice. In addition to linkages between succession and development, we also consider representative literature on CEO succession, high potentials, and succession systems and architecture. It is hoped that those who use this bibliography will find resources that help them in conceptualizing, planning, and implementing effective succession systems in their organizations.

The insider’s guide to selling a law practice, transferring ownership, and designing a great Life After Law, written by two of the top authorities in succession planning.

Sixty-five percent of law firms’ equity partners in the U.S. are in their late 50s or early 60s. Over the next ten years, there will be many partners in firms of all sizes transitioning and exiting their practices. Many solos and sole owner attorneys as well as larger law firms are in “reactionary mode” and have not adequately prepared for the transition of firm leadership and client relationships. A firm’s very survival may very well depend upon coming to terms with succession and transition and doing so early. The purpose of this book is to provide guidance to firms of all sizes, especially smaller firms, and share succession and transition processes, approaches, and step-by-step action plans for solo practitioners, sole owners, and members of larger law firms. The book discusses what to do and what not to do, how to do it and provides case studies, sample action plans, sample succession plans, sample agreements, and other documents.

Helps to prepare for passing the family business on to the next generation. Leaders will learn how to create a succession plan; how to develop opportunities for succession candidates; how to build consensus with the family and leaders on succession plans and finally leaders will learn when and how to let go of their own role in the business.

When value depends on how well you deliver, you need Strategic Supply Chain Management, Second Edition.

The Business Succession Planning Answer Book explores the issues that arise when the current owners of a family business wish to retire or otherwise transfer ownership of the business. These issues include ensuring that the owners have enough money to retire on, providing for what will happen to the business whether there will there be a transfer of ownership or whether the business will dissolve, providing for who will take over the management of the business, and how ownership will be transferred. Discussing and resolving these issues within the family can also be complicated and contentious, depending on the family dynamics. Advice is often needed from a professional on how best to resolve these issues and set up a smooth transition of the business. Essentially, business succession can be broken down into three main categories: management, ownership, and taxes. This publication discusses the distinction between management and ownership, exploring the possibility of transferring the responsibility for managing the business to one child while transferring equal shares of business ownership to all children. Business succession planning also looks at the minimization of taxes upon death. This may involve asset transfer tax strategies, for example freezing the value of the business while transferring the ownership. This publication explains how to accomplish these goals.

The industry standard in supply chain management―fully revised and updated to provide today’s logistics solutions

The proven pillars of success in logistics and supply chain management introduced in the first edition of Supply Chain Strategy now guide the supply chains of many of the world’s most successful organizations, including 3M, Abbott, BP, Coca-Cola, Disney, Hallmark, Honda, Mitsubishi, Oxxo-FEMSA, Payless, P&G, Pratt & Whitney, Wal-Mart, Rio Tinto, and many others.

This Second Edition features up-to-date case studies showing how those companies and more meet supply chain goals and helps you overcome your own challenges with the latest supply chain innovations, including big-data analytics, supply chain command and control centers, large-scale supply chain optimization, integrated supply chain planning, real-time global supply chain visibility, omni-channel logistics, re-shoring, global-sourcing optimization, cloud-based supply chain management, supply chain finance, global trade management, and fourth-party logistics.

Author of the bestselling text Supply Chain Management, John T. Mentzer′s companion book Fundamentals of Supply Chain Management: Twelve Drivers of Competitive Advantage has been developed as a supplemental text for any course dealing with strategy and supply chains. Written in an entertaining, accessible style, Mentzer identifies twelve drivers of competitive advantage as clear strategic points managers can use in their companies. Research from more than 400 books, articles, and papers, as well as interviews with over fifty executives in major global companies, inform these twelve drivers. The roles of all of the traditional business functions―marketing, sales, logistics, information systems, finance, customer services, and management―in supply chain management are also addressed.

EFFECTIVE ESTATE AND BUSINESS SUCCESSION PLANNING UNDER THE NEW TAX LAW

A properly designed and implemented estate and/or business succession plan is key to providing for and protecting loved ones in the most tax-efficient manner possible. A team of advisors must be assembled from the disciplines of law, insurance, finance, accounting, and tax in order to create a plan that optimizes planning opportunities incorporating both the current state of law with the current state of one’s mind. J.K. Lasser Pro Estate and Business Succession Planning, Second Edition provides you with a unique and comprehensive analysis of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, the new retirement distribution rules, Section 529 education plans, and split dollar insurance guidelines. It can help professionals and experienced individuals alike take advantage of opportunities presented by the new tax law, avoid common mistakes, and understand complex estate and business succession planning techniques. Written by two attorneys who specialize in estate planning matters, this easy-to-read book provides you with complete information and strategies for a variety of issues including:

• How to plan in light of the phased-in provisions of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001
• Top twenty factors to consider when creating one’s Will, as well as creating a Power of Attorney and Health Care Proxy
• Annual Exclusion and Exemption Equivalent Planning
• Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts and Crummey Notices
• Charitable Remainder Trusts and Foundations
• Family Limited Partnerships
• Business Succession Planning Techniques
• Split Dollar Plans
• Section 529 education plans
• Retirement distribution rules
• Self-Canceling Installment Notes
• Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts
• GRITs, GRATs, and GRUTs

And this is just a sampling of the expertise that the authors provide in a truly unique and understandable text. J.K. Lasser Pro Estate and Business Succession Planning, Second Edition contains all you need to make the most of the new tax law while navigating this complex area, and shows you how to protect and provide for loved ones for generations to come.