[widgeon13]

succession planning doesn't necessarily mean you are training your replacement, it means you have depth in the organization. It's critical to the organization in the event of a HR catastrophe. I never felt threatened by the concept in 30 years with the same company and retired as a VP. To me it has always been viewed as a practical concept. Early in my career there was a hotel fire in White Plans NY that killed/trapped managers in a conference room, can't remember how many were killed from the same company, plane crashs, 9/11 event. To me it's just good common sense planning concept, certainly better than MBO BS.

The only ones that should feel threatened are the fluffers. In a large organization, most promotions are not predictable, people leave for another company, die, get fired. Most promotions that I received during my career were not anticipated three months prior.