Make sure everybody knows who is in charge when it all goes pear-shaped
It seems that this blog may be read by some quite important people. Yesterday (20/12/2012) in the UK Parliament’s House of Commons, Peter Bone, MP for Wellingborough, asked who would be in charge of the country if the Prime Minister were to be killed in a terrorist attack. Unfortunately, the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr. Nick Clegg, was unable to give a satisfactory answer.
Elsewhere on this blog in Succession Planning and Business Continuity and Have you got a Succession Plan, I emphasise that businesses should plan for the unplanned absence of key members of staff. Mr Bone’s question highlights the paramount importance of knowing the line of succession at the top of an organisation.
He posits a situation where the head of the organisation, and the one vested with the authority to take decisions with far reaching effects, is no longer around to exercise that authority. Decisions still need to be taken and the decisions could materially affect the organisation. Thus, the person taking those decisions needs to be sure of their authority.
This may sound a bit dry, but actually it’s very important. In the case of a country, those decisions could result in armed conflict. In the case of a business the decisions could determine the survival of the business. If the decisions fail to secure the future of the business, disgruntled investors could sue the Directors of the business. Whether or not the decisions were taken in accordance with the business’s Articles of Association could be crucial.
Knowing the line of succession in advance means that everybody knows what to do, who to listen to, and who not to at a time when the organisation is already under stress due to the loss of the Boss.
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