212 THE BIBLE ON LEADERSHIP
didates best prepared to succeed him, and every May and November
the directors reviewed the files of the top fifteen managers for strengths,
weaknesses, and future assignments. He was trying to avoid a succession
process that became ‘‘a bloody dustup’’ of ‘‘poor preparation, out-of-
control egos, and bad choices.’’
When Bill Taylor became CEO of CIGNA at age 44, the selection
of his successor may not have appeared to be a priority. But Taylor
realized that the age of a CEO is irrelevant in succession planning, since
emergencies and unplanned events can, and frequently do, arise. He
made succession planning and management development two of his
top priorities, discussing the qualifications of two to three replacements
regularly at board meetings and in-depth once a year. He also wrote a
letter ‘‘to be opened in the event of my death or disability,’’ which
recorded what had actually been said at these meetings; he realized that
in the scramble for power, the data might be subjectively interpreted or
distorted. Taylor made sure that succession planning extended down
several layers of the organization, to include business heads and high
potentials, with a particular emphasis on young managers who would
be the lifeblood of the organization and who would be the most likely
to become the next CEO.^19
David Packard of Hewlett-Packard also realized the importance of
systematic succession planning, particularly in a company closely identi-
fied with the personalities and policies of its current leaders. ‘‘The ob-
ject is to build sufficient strength into the organization so that the future
of Hewlett-Packard Company is not dependent upon any one or two
or three people, including Bill [Hewlett] and myself.’’^20 These two lead-
ers were not about to fall into the trap of France’s Louis the XIV, who
proclaimed, ‘‘Apres moi, le deluge,’’ which roughly translates into,
‘‘After me, the company’s up for grabs.’’ Nor did they want to use as
their credo King David’s initial succession philosophy: ‘‘After me, who-
ever is still standing.’’
Becton Dickinson realized the need for a more formal succession
process when Ray Gilmartin suddenly left to become CEO of Merck
(whose succession plan for the internal candidates also went awry, since
Gilmartin was an outsider). Becton Dickinson was left with a difficult