NeXT
“There is no success without a successor” John Maxwell
Dave Brandon was the CEO of Dominoes Pizza. He has recently become the Athletic director for the University of Michigan. He was charged immediately with reviving the Michigan University Brand. One of the things that he found necessary was to go back to having a “Michigan Man” coaching the football team. There have only been 19 head football coaches in the history of the program. However, Brady Hoke the new coach is connected to the last two champion football coaches at Michigan both Lyod Carr, and Bo Schembechler. The biggest reason for the lack of success in the program has been the failure of the previous Athletic Director to have a succession plan in place that brought a “Michigan Man” back as head coach. Brandon alluded to this idea when asked about taking his time to get the right man who was the right fit for the program to be the leader. He stated that there was no plan for when Coach Carr resigned for a successor from that program and that going outside was likely a big risk. Michigan is an elite program and it requires elite leadership.
Do you have a succession plan?
Recently we were all stunned by the fact that Steve Jobs revealed he was battling cancer. Sadly, he lost that fight. However, he not only left a legacy but he picked his successor, Tim Cook.
An Alabama native, Cook was hired by Steve Jobs in 1998 following Jobs’ return to Apple in 1997 to oversee the manufacturing of Apple computers. He had previously worked at Compaq and IBM. Despite speculation over the years that Cook could be lured to a competitor - with reports linking him with Motorola and Dell - Cook has remained a loyal member of Job's close-knit team.
He has built a trusting relationship with Jobs and has long played a key, behind-the-scenes role in steering Apple, alongside the tech giant’s colorful founder. In August 2004, Cook ran Apple for two months while Jobs recuperated from surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his pancreas. In 2009 Cook stood in as chief executive while Jobs took a leave of absence for a liver transplant. [1]
I am going to make a prediction about who is going to be the face of Apple over the next two decades. It will be a young man named Scott Forstall. How can I be so sure? He was a part of the Next company that was purchased by Apple to get to Steve Jobs back with Apple. He has been doing the presentations with Steve Jobs for all of the new phones and pads that Apple has been rolling out. He is going to be the front man because he has the charisma that Steve Jobs had. Cook will run the company, but eventually Scott Forstall will become the leader. Both Cook and Forstall are a part of the succession plan that was put in place by Apple when they discovered that Steve Jobs had cancer. Steve Jobs last public speech was given at Stanford University which is where Scott Forstall is an alumni.
Forstall came over from NeXT when it was purchased by Apple in 1997 and is regarded as one of the original architects of the Mac OS Xoperating system as well as the Aqua user interface.[2] He was promoted to Senior Director in January 2003.
Forstall became responsible for Mac OS X releases after Avadis Tevanian stepped down as the company's Chief Software Technology Officer and before being named Senior Vice President of iPhone Software.[3] He has spoken publicly at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conferences, including talks about Mac OS X v10.5 in 2006 and iPhone software development in 2008, later after the release of the iPhone 2.0 and 3G Versions and January 27, 2010 at Apple's 2010 iPad keynote. At WWDC 2011, Forstall introduced iOS 5. Forstall also appears in the iOS 5 video, narrating about three quarters of the clip, and in almost every major Apple iOS Special event[2]
Do you have a succession plan?
I think it is responsible leadership to have a succession plan for your ministry, business, and every task that you will undertake as a leader. In books like “Good to Great” and “Built to Last” by James C. Collins the idea of a succession plan is a part of how a company never gives in and builds a legacy. If you want your work to endure you must begin with your end in mind. You are going to leave the job you are in at some point, and what will be the result?
Do you have a succession plan?
Jesus had a succession plan. His plan revolved around 4 steps. 1. He called people to his team that he knew could replace him. 2. He mentored them and let them lead while he was present. 3. He sent them out on their own. 4. Finally, he left them to the task he prepared them for. No one was a greater leader than Jesus.
Who can replace you right now if you leave? If the answer is no one then it isn’t time to leave.
Who are you mentoring right now that you are letting lead in your business? Peter, James, and John were all leaders that Jesus knew could replace him and would do a greater job in impacting the world than even Jesus did. These were mentored and kept closer than the other disciples. Jobs’ team included both of the men I have listed above because he knew he was leaving. Steve Jobs said, “Death is the ultimate change agent for good.” If you do not have a team around that can carry your organization then it isn’t time to leave.
Who is leading in your business right now? If the answer is no one then you have to find and get the right people in your business and let them lead.
Your company is in danger of closing its doors if you don’t have succession plan in place for your eventual departure as the leader. You will not do what you are doing right now forever.
Do you have a succession plan?
“There is no success without a successor” John Maxwell
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