Leadership Development 199
pany could come up with only an interim replacement. Bechtel had no
replacement at all for P. Stuart Tholan, president of Bechtel Europe,
Middle East, and Southeast Asia. But Foster Wheeler, a $4.5 billion
engineering and construction company in New Jersey, had no such gap-
ing holes because they had done careful succession planning for unan-
ticipated events.
The U.S. government has a succession plan in place in case of the
death, impeachment, or resignation of our top executives. We have
become all too familiar with it through the cases of John F. Kennedy,
Richard Nixon, Spiro Agnew, and Bill Clinton. But it exists for a rea-
son, and smart companies ensure that they too have a succession plan in
place that addresses all contingencies, even the ‘‘unthinkable.’’
In practice, this means that a company should be constantly assessing
all of its ‘‘high potentials’’ so that in an emergency or planned move, all
are placed where they can make the maximum contribution and be
most fully developed. This also may mean ‘‘prodding’’ the CEO, since
no one likes to confront the possibility of their own disappearance or
death.
One leader who confronted and accepted his disappearance and
death long before it took place was Jesus. He consciously prepared his
followers to take up their complementary responsibilities after he was
gone, giving specific instructions as well as inspirational motivation. He
even gave his ‘‘executives’’ new names befitting their new roles. To the
disciple formerly known as Simon, he said, ‘‘And I tell you that you are
Peter [which meansrock], and on this rock I will build my church.’’
(Matt. 16:18)
A modern example of someone who knew the importance of devel-
oping and appointing a successor is Roberto Goizueta of Coca-Cola.
‘‘To Goizueta, succession was the logical culmination of a program he
designed to develop and promote talented people. He saw the decision
to delegate authority as one of his three main tasks... And he saw
designating a successor as the ultimate act of delegation.’’^5
‘‘In the beginning’’ of biblical leadership, leadership development
and succession planning were not done consciously. Much of the activi-
ties took place naturally and spontaneously. The experience of Noah