Succession Plan

GATE: Confirm brief before proceeding.

Phase 2: Assess

Role Criticality Matrix

For each key role, evaluate:

• Impact if vacant — what breaks, what stalls, revenue impact
• Time to fill externally — weeks or months to hire and ramp
• Knowledge concentration — is critical knowledge in one person's head?
• Risk level — High / Medium / Low based on the above

Successor Readiness Assessment

For each potential successor:

• Ready now — could step in within 30 days with minimal support
• Ready in 1 year — needs specific development to close gaps
• Ready in 2-3 years — high potential but significant gaps remain
• No successor identified — flag as critical risk

GATE: Present the assessment and wait for user input before building development plans.

Phase 3: Build

Deliverables

1. Succession Planning Document

• Role-by-role succession map with named successors and readiness level
• Risk summary with roles ranked by vulnerability
• Development plan per successor with specific actions and timelines

2. Development Action Plans

• Skill gaps identified per successor
• Specific actions: stretch assignments, mentoring, training, shadowing
• Milestones and check-in dates (quarterly minimum)

3. Emergency Continuity Plan

• For each critical role: who takes over tomorrow if needed
• Knowledge transfer checklist — documentation, credentials, relationships
• 30-day stabilization playbook for each critical vacancy

4. Knowledge Documentation Template

• Process documentation for critical workflows
• Key contacts and vendor relationships
• Decision-making authority and escalation paths

Phase 4: Polish

Review and Update Cadence

• Quarterly: check successor progress against milestones
• Annually: full reassessment of critical roles and bench strength
• Trigger-based: update immediately when roles change or people leave

Communication Guidelines

Advise on how to discuss succession planning transparently without creating anxiety — frame it as investment in people, not replacement threat.

Example 1: Solopreneur Preparing to Step Back

Critical roles: CEO/Founder (everything), Lead Sales, Operations Approach: Document all processes, cross-train a senior team member, identify external candidates for advisory support

Example 2: Growing Startup (20 people, 3 department leads)

Critical roles: CTO, Head of Sales, Head of Operations Approach: Identify one internal successor per role, create 12-month development plans, establish emergency coverage pairs

Anti-Patterns

• Secret succession plans — hiding the plan creates politics. Be transparent about development opportunities.
• Naming one successor only — single points of failure in the succession plan defeat the purpose. Identify 2 candidates per role.
• All development, no documentation — if critical knowledge lives in someone's head, a successor cannot access it. Document first.
• Ignoring the founder role — solopreneurs are the biggest single point of failure. Plan for your own absence.
• Set and forget — a plan created once and never reviewed is a false sense of security.

Recovery

• No internal candidates: Build a plan combining external hiring pipeline with accelerated development of closest internal candidates.
• Founder cannot delegate: Start with documenting one process per week. Delegation is a muscle built gradually.
• Key person resistant to knowledge sharing: Frame it as reducing their burden, not replacing them. Everyone benefits from documented processes.
• Too many critical roles: Prioritize by impact. Start with the top 3 highest-risk roles and expand later.