Even the Vatican Needs Succession Planning

Perhaps nowhere on the world stage did the subject of succession planning get more attention, readership, page views and clicks than this past week when it was announced that Pope Benedict XVI would resign the papacy at the end of February – the first pope in six centuries to do so since Gregory XII in 1415.

Age jokes aside, I can safely say that was a little before my time.

The 85-year old pontiff, who made the announcement in Latin no less before a small audience of cardinals, explained that he no longer had the energy or vitality to perform his duties.

I’m not going to delve into his theological bent, his controversies or  even achievements as the leader of 1 billion Catholics, I’d rather  leave that debate to those with far brighter scholarly minds than mine. Besides, the subject de jour is succession planning, not whether one supports gay marriage or the right to choose.

There are a number of potential successors being mentioned, but I suspect that when the cardinals convene in March for the conclave – the meeting where a new pope will be elected – it would not surprise me if the new leader is someone from one of the developing regions where Catholicism appears to be  thriving  - Latin America, Africa and Asia.

But I’ll let venues such as Las Vegas set the odds, where I understand some books are already taking action.

While it would probably not require a formal conclave of religious contemplatives in red robes and miters and white smoke out of the chimney to signal that a new leader for a CPA firm has been named, it does give one a moment to pause and ask, “What if?”

What if the managing partner or CEO of your firm did get hit by the proverbial bus? Is there a contingency plan that would kick in? Okay the odds of getting hit by a bus are roughly 2 in 1 billion, but think about this: a pedestrian gets hit by a car every 8 seconds.

And it may not even have to be that dramatic. Perhaps it’s the worsening of an existing health issue or a long-term family emergency that would ultimately require a change at the top.

The fact is that it shouldn’t have to take succession on the world stage to hammer home the importance of succession planning. If your firm doesn’t have one – get one. If you don’t know how to get one or for that matter how and when to start one, we can help.

Leave the gambling to Las Vegas and Atlantic City. Because whether it’s the pope or a blackjack dealer, they will tell you that if there’s one thing for sure, there’s no such thing as a sure thing.