Publications - Articles on Top-level Succession
Dan has been writing for a long time. Before the late-1990s, topics of his articles and books had to do with leading manufacturing companies during times of turbulence, merging approaches to operations problem solving and culture change, process improvement, systems integration, strategy execution, and organization culture. Since then, he has concentrated on CEO succession, the most important point in an organization's life and when the potential for improvement is highest. Here is a list of his articles and books on top-level succession.
"Power, Influence, and CEO Succession", (with Adam Bryant), Harvard Business Review, July/August 2024
"The Art of Leaving: The Impact of the Incumbent's Departure on CEO Succession", People + Strategy, Fall 2021
"A CEO’s Guide to Planning a Return to the Office", Harvard Business Review, February 2021
"Should a Crisis Change Your CEO Succession Plan", Harvard Business Review, April 2020
"The Case for a Chief of Staff", Harvard Business Review, May-June 2020
"Why New Leaders Should Be Wary of Quick Wins", Harvard Business Review, June 2018
"What CEOs Get Wrong About Vision and How to Get It Right", MIT Sloan Management Review, 2017
"The More Senior Your Job Title, the More You Need to Keep a Journal", Harvard Business Review, July 2017
"After the Handshake", Harvard Business Review, 2016
"When Charismatic Leadership Goes Too Far", Harvard Business Review, November 2016
"Five Things P&G's New CEO Needs to Get Right", Fortune, October 14, 2015
"How Departing CEOs Can Pass the Torch to Successors", Fast Company, August 19, 2015
"Priorities vs. Time", The Conference Board Review, Winter 2012
"The Art of Taking Advice and Using It Wisely", People & Strategy, Volume 33, Issue 2, 2010
"No Sense of Urgency... How Can a New Leader Get Things Started", The Conference Board Review, April 2009
"Changing Your Company's Strategy? Better Change its Personality, Too: The CEO-HR Executive Partnership", (with George Stalk), The Journal of the Human Resource Planning Society, People & Strategy, Volume 31, Issue 2, 2008
"Rx for New CEOs", (with Michael Watkins) Chief Executive (Cover Story) January/February 2008
"The Help Paradox", Conference Board Review, April 2007
"Getting Good Advice", Harvard Management Update, December 2006
"The Advice Paradox", Optimize, November 2006
"Almost Ready: How Leaders Move Up", Harvard Business Review, January 2005 (also reprinted in Harvard Business Review selected series "Managing Up" Spring 2016; "Secrets to Getting Ahead" Winter 2011; and "Managing Yourself" January 2005)
"Navigating the Succession Minefield", (with Michael Watkins), Harvard Management Update, 2000
"The Challenge of New Leadership", Leader to Leader, Summer 2000
"Transitional Tactics", Across the Board, September 2000
"When New to the Organization, Creating Momentum is the Biggest Challenge", Across the Board, November/December 1999
"The Successor's Dilemma", (with Michael Watkins), Harvard Business Review, November/December 1999 (also reprinted in "Harvard Business Review On What Makes a Leader" 2001)
Dan has been named as one of the most influential CEO advisors by Business Week and has also been featured in: The New York Times, Fortune, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Globe and Mail, Financial Radio Network, CNBC, Voice of America, Bloomberg, and National Public Radio.