A major hurricane ripped across the US political landscape when the news came out yesterday afternoon that Justice Scalia had died in his sleep. The court does not stop functioning. They have many important cases to hear this term. A split and unpredictable court has become more so. So, everyone is now rethinking the possible outcomes.
The system for replacing Justices of the Supreme Court is clearly laid out. The President nominates a candidate who then has to be approved by a majority of the Senate. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he will not schedule a hearing for any nominee for at least 11 months. Clearly, any nominee that President Obama picks has a small chance of being approved. A split and hostile Congress won’t make much happen for at least a year.
What if this was your business?
Let’s say you actually had a succession plan that is known and accepted in your organization and by your customers and vendors. You have that, right? Check.
And, given that you are in swimmingly excellent health, any succession plan is just theoretical, right? But timing, while unknown, is critical. Let’s say you were about to close the acquisition of a rival and you were signing personal guarantees that tied up everything you had, and you had a stroke.
Or, because of a family dispute, you can’t get enough shareholders to agree to take out a somewhat risky loan that could take you into a new extremely fast growing and profitable market. Add to it that the window of opportunity to get in before your competitors is small.
Or, because of an unusual weather disaster like a hurricane or an earthquake, your business is shut down for several months and your bills don’t stop coming due.
My point is this: the unexpected will happen. The timing is unknown.
Just like the federal government, and their constituents-that would be us,-you will be affected by the intent and alignment of the decision-makers. If they trust each other, if they agree about the goals of the organization, if they want the same future,. If your team is in alignment on vision, mission, goals and you have thought about what might happen on the down-side, the organization will move forward and recovery will be fairly quick. If they don’t have the same values, goals or desired outcomes, you will be in gridlock, just like the Supreme Court, and Congress.
Begin the conversations this week. If you are not in alignment, it is better to find out now, and address it.
Illustration courtesy of http://icmag.com