1/08/2014

A big F for succession planning

It would appear that succession planning in corporations is something of a myth, a critical operation need but given only lip service. DBS is an outstanding example that it ended with a succession of three foreigners in the CEO seat, the current on being a citizen only after given the post. What happened to succession planning that no Sinkies were line up, trained to assume such a vital appointment or seriously, none was found to be good enough? After the current CEO, would it be another foreigner to take over? Very likely if the track record is anything to go by.
 

After Hsieh Fu Hua at the SGX, the same story repeated itself that a foreigner is needed. Would it be another foreigner after the current one has departed? Why not, when the locals are not good enough, or succession planning is not something that they are interested. We have seen the drama of getting someone to succeed Ho Ching in GIC when they had to go overseas to seek foreign talents again for more good years. They thought they found a Goodyear only to find something missing and then no more Goodyear and Ho Ching had to be reinstated. Is the situation now better with a local being groomed in case Ho Ching wants to step down again? Or would there be another round the world trip to find the One for this job when locals are found wanting again? Would they do a DBS, give the job to another foreigner and hand him a pink IC to tell the daft Sinkies that another Sinkie is in place for the high paying job?
 

Succession planning is not always a lost cause in all the big corporations. SIA for one could groom and find locals to continue the stewardship of the airline. And I think UOB too would be in the good hands of another local if not forced to buy another foreigner to take over what Wee Cho Yaw has built in a life time. Has UOB done more badly compares to the other two big local banks that are run by foreigners? UOB is a good case to dispel the foreign talent myth. Otherwise the silly fools would tell Hongkong, China, South Korea and Japan to hire angmohs to run their banks. And if the angmohs are too expensive, find one from the 3rd World as long as he is a foreigner.
 

The best succession planning is perhaps in politics. And the best person that executed such a plan was none other than Chok Tong himself. The moment he took over the premiership he already had a successor in mind, recruited him and groomed him for all 12 years of apprenticeship before finally handing over the baton to him while Chok Tong still had many good years to serve. This is a classic succession planning that GIC and DBS or SGX can learn from. An incumbent CEO generously recruited and trained a local successor to replace him. And the successor was so appreciative to reward his mentor with an Emeritus Minister title for his effort.
 

Now, would we see a local take over GIC, DBS or SGX when the time comes? Do they have a succession plan in place? To be real, why would a CEO want to plan and train someone to takeover from him? It is simply stupid to do so right? Anyway, Chok Tong is still around and his talent in this area can still be tapped before it is too late. You need a great man or a dull one to do succession planning, or planning for one’s own exit or demise. Very likely the person in the hot seat wold make sure that no one is fit to take over from him, or even groom a dud to be discarded as not good enough. Across the causeway Mahathir did exactly that.

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

Some people may have lost the moral authority to lead.

Period.

Leaders such as Mao Ze Tong who had outlived their talents and over stayed their tenure most surely bring disasters to the land they lorded over ....... Think of the damage in his last 10 years ( 1966-1976 ) when Mao finally died at age 83. Imagine he had lived longer until 90+?

Longevity for autocratic leaders is a curse to the state 99.99% of the time ....... think Empress Dowager .......

Enough said!

Anonymous said...

What succession planning?

Most important is planning to create conditions to make 60% happy and satisfied, to have election success of at least 93% seats, and the strongest opposition not ready to be govt.

Once this can be achieved and assured, does it really matter who succeeds the ruling incumbent? Can be kee chiu, kee kar or kee whatever tio bo? Even a dummy also can.

Anonymous said...

Should follow North Korea style of succession. Anybody disturb just feed him to the dogs.

Anonymous said...

"Most important is planning to create conditions to make 60% happy and satisfied, to have election success of at least 93% seats, and the strongest opposition not ready to be govt."
Anon 9:05 am

No need to plan lah. It is already in auto mode.

Just like jet plane cruising at 20,000 ft. It is in auto mode. Pilot can sleep. Co pilot can sleep also. No need to slap one. Hahahahaha.


Anonymous said...

redbean talk about succession planning.
How many millions in salary have we paid LKY in his role as Mentor Minister to have a proper succession plan in place?
Are we satisfied with the results of his handiwork?

USA Presidency where got succession planning?
And yet USA is still the bestest country in the world.
Did outgoing Republican President George Bush "plan and groom" for Democrat Obama to take over?
No!
Did Democrats "plan and groom" for Obama to be President?
No!

Do you think President Obama (unplanned and ungroomed) is a better leader than Lee Hsien Loong?
Hell YES!

Is Lee Hsien Loong very overpaid compared to President Obama?
Hell YES!

Do we think PAP ideology is a lot of self serving bullshit?
Hell YES!

Anonymous said...

Once Emperor Dowanker dies, Singapore will have its very own Gang of Four. And they will be as quickly removed by very inpatient folks.

Anonymous said...

With no clear leader in sight in the opposition rank, sinkieland is not going to get much respite either going forward.

There might be sustained period of lost and despair before another possible leader is being thrown up amongst the populace.

Low Thia Khiang could have played that role few years back. But he is likely to be seen unfitting even if he wants it now. Too late liao. He has missed the train. May be 火车站 should be the next popular Hokkien song beside 爱拼才会赢 among his supporters to drown their sorrows for what could have been and myopic missed opportunities.

But SinkieLand will survive!

Those formerly from the same gang are generally viewed with much suspicion and apprehension.

Sinkieland, going forward, may have to leave it to destiny to take it from here to where it is suppose to be in the next few decades.

After on track for its first 20 years, sinkieland may have been off tracks for the past 30 or so. The cracks, symptoms and illnesses of bad prescriptions and excesses are already here since many years ago and likely to take on a much larger manifestation going forward in the next decades ......

Peace and prosperity always tend to be shorter than suffering, trials and tribulation in the journey of a people. Asked the Jews. Since the time of Moses, their ordeal arguably isn't over yet!

Hopefully, the ordeal sinkies may suffer would not be 3,000 years long for 20 years of hope and prosperity.

Anonymous said...

RB, is ours a dud too? U tell me lar.

Anonymous said...

You can have a dud as the conductor while the orchestra will keep playing.

patriot said...

Frankly, I fail to understand Redbean here, in fact me got lost reading this Post.
What succession? In a democracy, the Best deserves to be elected, so, the Successor should not be a heir apparent.
And
what the fuck is happening when a youngish chief handed over the Power to a younger rookie to run the show and afterwards is found wanting?

Singapore is no Qing Dynasty when and whereby the Next Ruler was pre-determined.

patriot

Anonymous said...

Tummysick did not want an investing or financial expert who can outshine the CEO, for Chairman. RB, what advice can you give, to accumulate enough merit for a sinkie who aspire to be CEO of Tummysick other than to marry the PM?

We all learnt from Catherine Lim that what you call Goh Chok Tong's succession planning was also called seat warming and he also gilded the lily while he was at it!

Anonymous said...

The Current CEO of Singapore Airlines is an angmo.
Whether he is a Singaporean, Permanent Resident or an Alien is not known.

Anonymous said...

pap sec-gen is already 61,
his 2 deputies are 59
56 years old which made then too old to succeed the party by then
the so called 'pm in waiting' not even full minister yet in 'big' ministries like defence, trade or finance after that still need to go thru dpm role for at least a decade like PM Goh.
So 3 more years for minister post plus discounted 7 years in dpm roles he will then be ready in 2024 !

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

Patriot is very sharp today. He knows I am talking nonsense. What succession plan in a democracy unless it is a dynasty. Otherwise every 5 years it is a new ball game.

Our democracy has been hijacked until you can have career development, apprenticeship, mentorship, promotion, creation of more new positions to reward/promote, performance bonusess etc etc.

Did I hear someone said this is not your grandfather's company?

Anonymous said...

Rb:/ Did I hear someone said this is not your grandfather's company?/


Rb, you are DEAD WRONG!

It is not somebody's grandfather's company.

It is his grandfather's, father's, sons', grandchildren's, great grand children's, great great grand children's ............

Sinkies enslaved in their own sinkieland next 300 years ......... ?

Btw, the Dynasty of Han lasted more than 400 years and many generations of Liu's surname emperor, all descendants of the first Han Dynasty Emperor Liu Bang .......

Would we see another 400+ years of dynastic succession in sinkieland?

Uniquely sinkieland?

Welcome to the new feudal age and feudalism in the 3rd Millennium ...... ?

More, more, more ........

Harder, harder, harder ..........

Leg open big big, wider, wider and more wider ..........

Hurray ..... 6.9, 9.6, 69, 96 ....... Hip Hip Hurray .........

World class salaries .......

World class talents .........

World class economic paplicies .......

World class future ........

World class happiness ........

World class Yum Song .........

Jin Ho Song ........

Anonymous said...

When in doubt, go back to your roots, the reliance of the uniform groups are somewhat what the ruling will turn to, the visit to that girl who has her hands caught symbolises his methods and his wishes, but the consequences will be an increase heighten of super ignorance, not the reversal, an inflated ego means a cast of inflation, which is happening now.

Yes, they will retain their seats still but if 2016 jump is more than 5%, then we might get to see a new government come another 2 holiday of voting, but with the influx of the outside parasites, who knows....but the eventual outcome seems to be cast as the new citizens will take into parliament, so either way sinkies will loose......it's just too late now.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

Quite true. Communism is dead. Capitalism corrupted, Democracy dysfunctional. Look at Thailand, they did not want Democracy anymore and want to return to kingship.

Singapore should go back to kingship or dynasty as well. Remember the golden years of Tang Dynasty. Was the founder a Li Shiming?

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

Anon 1:28, I thought the CEO is Goh Choon Phong? When have they sold out to angmohs again?

b said...

"Singapore should go back to kingship"
- Singapore should return to colonial master UK and we will have a british passport and can go europe and have some form of free education, free healthcare, free pensions etc. It goes to show asians rulers are lousy rulers.

b said...

I do not care what rules - democracy, communism, capitalism, facism, socialism whatever are just bullshits. So long as the ruler is like a benevolent one like the brunei king where everyone has proper house, car, education, job, healthcare, retirement, no need to work as cleaner at 80yo will get my vote.

Anonymous said...

Sinkieland now economics wise mb rule by papitalism. ...... ?

Politics wise demoguanxy .......?

Socially by dramaticracy .......... ?

Anonymous said...

My apology for a making a bad mistake to all here.
CEO for SIA is Goh Choon Pong. The CEO for SATS is an angmo.
Got them mixed up.
Sincere apology for the wrong information from Anon 1:28 pm.

b said...

CEO is angmo or not does not matter. It is only a front cover. The major decisions are still controlled by the major shareholder. Just like the political system, mps are like managers, ministers are like senior managers, the policies are controlled by the Lee Empire Foundation. Only an alien invasion can bring about a big transfer of wealth.

Anonymous said...

I really understood where RB is coming from, his daily religions writings as a glimmer of hope to all the sinkies out there, a check into the now, reality.
I can hear his anguish, amiss all his wants of kopi kau's, the frustration on why, what is happening, the things he read has converted this old fart into words which he grinds out every day without fail.

Kudos to you RB.

Whatever happens, I hope, even if its too late, that you never stop writing into your blog, cause that's the first thing I read now rather than all the fake news around.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

Thank you anon 10:57, from one old fart to another. Just keep the kopi kau coming: }