Inside CEO Succession: The Essential Guide to Leadership Transition

Chapter 13

Measure Performance and Improve Process

“Checking the results of a decision against its expectations shows executives what their strengths are, where they need to improve, and where they lack knowledge or information.”

—Peter F. Drucker¹

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

—George Santayana²

After the new CEO is selected and the transition from the outgoing CEO to the incoming CEO is completed, the board needs to attend to two more important tasks. The first of these is gauging how the new CEO is performing in the new role during the critical first year. The second is to conduct a review of how the CEO succession process went. The first of these tasks is critical to identify any early indicators of ...