Amazon.com Review
If you're looking for a quick, easy, and fun guide to constantly cultivating from within your organization the talent to move up and fill positions left behind by others, don't look here. Written by a human resources expert who teaches at Penn State,
Effective Succession Planning must surely be one of the driest books ever written on this topic, from its aggressively unsexy title and jacket to its college-textbook format and arsenal of supplementary checklists, flowcharts, and exercises.
Having said that, it's also probably one of the most thorough books on the topic (and a fine complement to The Leadership Pipeline), incorporating methodical and meticulous guidelines to preparing for and quickly filling crucial vacancies at all levels of the organization, from top management to sales, administrative, technical, and production positions. Not only does it lay out a plan for instituting a long-term succession planning program that includes everything from early action steps to ongoing evaluation and revision, it also shows how to develop, monitor, and evaluate talent and skills in individual employees in order to promote effectively from within (although it acknowledges that sometimes the best choices come from outside, and offers key steps for optimizing the outside-search process as well).
Everything is covered here, from the legal implications of hiring and firing and online and high-tech resources to major trends that will affect succession planning in the years ahead. And, thank god, the author has incorporated some case studies--both fictional/composite and those of several large real-life companies--to add some names and faces to a volume that's about as dry as the Sahara, and (for human-resource professionals, at least) potentially as welcome as a fresh supply of water if you happened to be stuck in such a place. --Timothy Murphy
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
""If you're leading the succession planning charge in your company, you can find most anything you need to know in this book."" --Training magazine
""Rothwell, through his aggressive research and a systematic approach to succession planning, has developed a guide for today's leaders and HR managers on how to be prepared to deal with changes in key human capital."" -- Patrick E. Gerity, Ph.D., Executive Director, State System University Center for Southwest Pennsylvania
""This book is practical, readable, and highly useful to anyone seeking long-term solutions to the succession planning dilemma."" -- Stephen B. King, Ph.D., Executive Director, Leadership and Management Development, Management Concepts
""Dr. Rothwell brings the practices of succession planning into the fifth generation in this new book. Practitioners and others who are faced with planning and implementing state-of-the-art succession planning programs in organizations will find this to be a must-have resource."" -- David D. Dubois, Ph.D., President, DuBois & Associates, and author of Competency-Based Performance Improvement
""Rothwell brings succession planning into proper perspective for organizations. From an in-depth strategic viewpoint to an operational, applications-based approach, the author has captured and delivered a comprehensive approach to succession planning."" -- Dr. Robert K. Prescott, SPHR, Director, Management Development Institute, Eckerd College, affiliate of the Center for Creative Leadership
""This book equipped me with the skill set I needed to create and implement an effective succession plan for my organization. I found the activities and practical guides and tips extremely helpful for making my succession planning initiative a reality. This will make a huge difference in our ability to retain and develop our employees."" -- Marsha King, Ph.D., Senior Management Development Consultant, Capital One Financial
HR Professional: ""...a valuable resource."""
