Prepare or React?
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The hunt for a research question continues. The current battle involves a debate between analysing what a board should be doing previous to a CEO succession or analysing what a board should be doing once a succession event begins. Analysing how a board prepares for succession would complement the succession planning literature and could be interesting given that the wide majority of CEO appointments in the sport world are external and succession planning usually refers to grooming an inside candidate. Is it possible for a board to develop suitable inside candidates? Should sport organisations put fixed terms on CEO appointments to allow for better planning opportunities? Can an organisation really prepare for a succession event without having a specific candidate in mind?
On the flip side, how do organisation act during the actual succession event is also important. Any event planner will tell you that even the best plan can all fall apart. What action does a board take when selecting a CEO? Are current plans taken into consideration? How much of a factor does time play? Who is involved in the process?
Lots of questions. It’s tough because every time I get closer to finding an answer, a new series of important questions appears. There is just so much that can be done, and it all appears to link together. One of the toughest decisions is finding a question that will fit the scope of my research. I’m not sure what is too big (obviously, researching how a board can plan and the effectiveness of said plan and implementation strategies is too big, but how too big?). The nice thing is, whatever I end up doing, there will be ample opportunities to continue the research in a PhD (if I decide that’s what I want).
Lots to read about and decide about… Time to go back to it…
May 2nd, 2010 at 10:41 AM
Sweet – you have discovered that good questions led to more questions! For me questions are life. My research will be about a lived experience in narrative. I no longer believe in certainty as I once was led to believe was something that could be found if I looked for it. Scary I know but delicious the same.
How can people from outside an organization make any kind of contribution to meaningful change without some sort of shared understanding of how things have come to be?