MIT Sloan Management Review

Too little — or too much — attention from head office executives can cause problems in a company’s global operations.

Many corporate programs to develop next-generation leaders fall victim to three pathologies that render the investments of time and money worthless. But there are ways of fighting these diseases.

For the past two decades, business leaders have focused exclusively on shareholder value. In a time of terrorism and corporate scandal, a much broader vision is imperative, as Yale School of Management Dean Jeffrey E. Garten explains.

Executives know they need to develop their company’s next leaders, but many are disillusioned by all the once-promising fads that have come and gone. Some, however, have discovered how an approach that’s as old as Homer can be one of the most effective means of developing high-potential managers.

Decisions on CEO succession have never been more critical to an organization’s success. No wonder, then, that boards are insisting on being involved in the process and not leaving the choice up to a departing chief executive officer.