Succession - When CEOs like Bob Iger, Founders Such as Howard Shultz Won't Let Go

 It's a phenomenon which management thought leader Jeffrey Sonnenfeld outed in 1988: The leader who wouldn't let go. The expose was "The Hero's Farewell."

More recently we have experienced that reluctance to leave the stage with Bob Iger at Disney and Starbucks founder Howard Schultz.

Now Disney has finally made a move to ensure that there will be a successor - and a strong one - to Iger when his contract is up in December 2026. It has elevated board member James Gorman, former CEO of Morgan Stanley, to chairman of the board and made succession his priority. Analysts expect some kind of announcement before Iger's contract is up. 

Since Iger's return to CEO the media has aggressively covered the moves he allegedly made to be invited back from retirement. Some are not pretty. 

At Berkshire Hathway succession is going slowly, with Warren Buffett still fully in charge. But because of the sustained financial performance of the corporation no one has balked. Disney and Starbucks haven't fared so well. 

In professional services such as Big Law, succession is also an issue.

 At Jones Day Stephen Brogan, who became the leader in 2003, stayed on until 70. His enormous power had been often discussed in litigation such as "Tolton, et al. v Jones Day" and the book "Servants of the Damned" by David Enrich.

At Paul Weiss, chair Brad Karp, at age of 64, still has plenty of runway, if he wants to continue in leadership. That began in 2008. The firm's mandatory retirement age is 70. Since Karp recently did a reset of the firm's strategy and his own brand he might aim to hang on to see all that totally implemented. Or he could accept an offer for another kind of big job. Part of his signature is being embedded in national progressive politics. 

In my intuitive coaching, especially of those over-65, there frequently is the tragedy of not letting go. Although they might be losing influence, power and maybe even compensation in their long-time career they will not shift direction and have a fresh start in something else. Often they appear foolish in the prolific postings on LinkedIn. Some even publish books (essentially yesterday's medium) which go nowhere. The low rankings on Amazon tarnish the branding they still are struggling to hold on to. 

However, there also have been examples of awesome transitions for the over-65. Among them has been one-time top 10 lawyer John Tarantino (I did not coach him). Although he still keeps his hand in practicing law he has evolved into a whole new professional identity: global inspirational speaker. That started with his Ted Talk "Redemption Stories" which has had almost 24 million page views. His more recent presentation has been in Belfast with  "THINK: Manifestation."

UPDATE:

I am thrilled to announce that LinkedIn News linked to this post.

Life is hard. Business is even more difficult these days. Get answers – and relief. Jane Genova is a results-driven intuitive coach, tarot reader and content-creator related to careers. Complimentary consultation (please text/phone 203-468-8579 or email janegenova374@gmail.com)