Sustainability in Succession Planning

 "The Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett, said in a 2007 letter to shareholders that he has long had three internal candidates to succeed him as chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway, and had identified four potential candidates for the investment side of his job.

Last year, the company announced that it had hired Todd Anthony Combs, a young former hedge fund manager who may turn out to be the heir apparent on the investment side of the business.

Buffett, now 80, announced details of his succession plan in his typical folksy style, writing in the 2007 letter to shareholders: “I’ve reluctantly discarded the notion of my continuing to manage the portfolio after my death — abandoning my hope to give new meaning to the term ‘thinking outside the box.' - Going somewhere? Some CEO exit strategies"

Most of us can appreciate an investor with a sense of humor… or perhaps not.

This quote does elevate a major concern for organizations as baby boomers reach an age of transition from work as they have known it to the next stage of their lives.

CCSR is doing a bit of thinking “outside the box” in response to the “silver tsunami” among nonprofit and governmental founders and executives.  We are reframing our strategic planning emphasis to introduce the idea of sustainability in a framework of succession planning and executive transition support.  

What does that look like?

To start with, WSU CCSR is conducting a study of current nonprofit leadership demographics and transition service needs among Kansas nonprofits.  The study will employ electronic surveys, key informant interviews and focus groups sessions.  This study will be conducted to better understand transition related trends in Kansas, to understand the extent of succession planning needs among nonprofits, and to determine the types of specific supports required to respond to trends.

Based on what we learn we plan to offer regional “cohort” workshops for agreed upon nonprofits which may include funders (of this proposal) and their grantees about succession planning in general and emergency back-up plan and policy development specifically.  Following cohort sessions, CCSR and TransitionGuides will offer follow-up assistance, where appropriate and requested, to individual nonprofits that are interested in follow-up assistance.