Week 31 of 52. Welcome to Drucker Mondays, a 52-week journey through the new book, A Year with Peter Drucker: 52 Weeks of Coaching for Leadership Effectiveness, by Joseph A. Maciariello. Each Monday, we'll feature a Drucker fan and his or her favorite snippet from the week's topic. (Subscribe on this page.) Jim West is our guest writer today.
Week 31: The Succession Decision--Maintaining the Spirit of an Organization
THE BIG IDEA FROM THE BOOK: “The succession decision should focus on the maintenance of the spirit that keeps the institution alive. Solutions have to fit the specific organization and maintain its spirit of performance.”
JIM WEST'S FAVORITE DRUCKER INSIGHTS from Week 31, pages 241-248:
• “No one should ever be appointed to a senior position unless top management is willing to have his or her character serve as the model for subordinates.”
• “Succession is one of the key responsibilities of leadership.” (Max De Pree)
• “Whoever tries to pick a man or staff an organization to avoid weakness will end up at best with mediocrity.”
• “Strong people always have strong weaknesses too. When there are peaks there are valleys.”
JIM WEST'S COLOR COMMENTARY:
I am currently beginning the search for a successor of a founder of a ministry. I find it easy to get “down in the weeds” and focus on a long list of skills, talents and passions of the individual I think would succeed. I need to step back and focus on “maintaining the spirit that will keep the ministry alive and thriving.”
“The succession decision is a gamble,” says Drucker. Our focus needs to be on a candidate that can not only maintain, but enhance the current vision while using their strengths to change the things that can be improved while embracing new opportunities and challenges.
THIS WEEK'S QUOTES & COMMENTARY BY JIM WEST:
Jim West, Managing Partner & Co-Founder, The Barnabas Group, and Executive Director, The Pocket Testament League, is an eight-time World Jiu Jitsu Champion, holds a 5th degree black belt in judo, and a black belt in jiu jitsu. In his spare time, Jim has traveled to over 100 countries, climbed to Everest Base Camp, and completed the 630-mile South West Coast Path across England.
TO-DO TODAY:
Focus our search on finding the person who will maintain the spirit of the organization.
NEXT MONDAY:
On August 10, 2015, Cameron Doolittle will share his color commentary on Week 32’s topic, “Planning for Succession in Organizations,” the second of two weeks on "The Succession Decision."
Comments