Success and Succession

To young leaders.

A brief note on success and succession.

Aristotle measured the success of any one life through a concept he called “eudaimonia”, which roughly translates to “well being” or “flourishing”.

Your eudaimonia is largely a function of how you choose to live your life but – even after your death – it is also affected by how your children choose to live their lives.

In other words, the success or otherwise of your successors is a part of your success.

So too with leaders. Your success cannot be measured during your tenure as leader alone. To be considered a great leader, the company you lead must flourish for at least a decade after you leave.

You ensure great succession by deeply instilling vision and values at every level of the organisation and entrusting the leadership to those who best uphold and exemplify them.