Critical positions and the Apple lesson
Step 1 / 3·Prepare people before they're needed
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Learning objectives — after this module you will:
- Define succession planning and its purpose
- Identify critical positions by clear criteria
- Draw lessons from Apple's succession
Prepare people before they're needed
Understand the preventive nature of succession planning.
Succession Planning is the proactive process of IDENTIFYING and DEVELOPING people who can take on critical positions when they fall vacant — due to retirement, promotion, resignation, or an unexpected event. The goal: when an important seat is empty, the organization doesn't fall into crisis.
The core difference from 'replacement hiring': succession planning prepares in ADVANCE, from within, with a development path — not scrambling to hire externally once the seat is already empty. It's tightly linked to talent review (9-box, talent pool from the previous course).
Which positions are CRITICAL?
| Criterion | Question |
|---|---|
| Strategic impact | Would a vacancy here derail business goals? |
| Hard to replace | Are the skills/experience scarce and hard to hire quickly? |
| Operational risk | Would a vacancy paralyze an operational area? |
High rank isn't automatically critical
A technical position without a big title but the ONLY person who understands a vital system — that's a critical position. Conversely, some management positions that are easy to replace may not be critical. Judge by IMPACT, not by rank.
Key takeaway: Succession planning prepares people IN ADVANCE for critical positions — identify critical ones by impact, not by rank.