Conversations with Kellogg January 27, 2010, 11:57AM EST

Lessons from Leno and Conan on Managing Succession

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Adam Galinsky

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So when you have a case when the succession plan isn't well-executed, you create a mess. How do you go about cleaning it up? What do you do about the bad feelings that have occurred?

As a board, you have to make sure the other person leaves. You have to say: "Our primary concern is the franchise, the enterprise. We have to make a decision about what's best." Make it clear that you tried something and you know your experiment didn't work, and you are moving forward with a new plan. And do it quickly. The NBC thing seemed actually to play out reasonably quickly. It may have seemed slow because it was so public, but from a corporate perspective it was relatively fast, and that's a good thing.

That's what a board does—the role played in this drama by the brass at NBC. What about the new CEO—the person in the Leno role? It's not their fault that they were brought in or back as a rescuer. So how does that person smooth things over?

It's a three-step process. I call it the "three R's"—redirection, reciprocity, and rationality—that my colleague Brian Uzzi and I have developed.

• First, you redirect people's anger away from yourself and to the appropriate source. For example, Leno needs to tell people he didn't put them in this situation, NBC did. For the new CEO, it was the former policies that have put them where they are.

• Second is reciprocity, giving before you ask. You first offer the people something they want. You create goodwill that can be used for exchange later. You could offer bonuses to people who stay around. If it's a case where people are afraid that they will lose their jobs down the road, you tell them you will help them find new jobs if they help you during this critical time.

• Finally, you have to bring it back to rationality. Let them know if they screw around with you, you will come after them with all the weapons at your disposal. You have to do those steps in that order—the sequence is very important.

Adam Galinsky is the Morris and Alice Kaplan Professor of Ethics & Decision in Management at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. He has published more than 100 scientific articles, chapters, and teaching cases, and his research and teaching focus on leadership, negotiations, decision-making, diversity, and the development of organizational values and culture. For more information about the Kellogg School of Management, including its MBA and its executive education programs, visit www.kellogg.northwestern.edu.

The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University is widely recognized as a global leader in management education. A regular feature of the BusinessWeek Online Management Channel is Conversations with Kellogg in which Management Channel Editor Patricia O'Connell talks with a Kellogg School faculty member about the management challenges that lie behind the breaking business news stories of the day. Kellogg's faculty members are known for their research, teaching, and practical connections to the world of business and management through the school's MBA and executive education programs.