Dennis Carey Info.

It might seem strange, or at least counter-intuitive, to begin looking for your own replacement immediately upon beginning a new job, but that is exactly what Dennis Carey recommends should be the task of a newly appointed CEO.

According to Dennis Carey in his book CEO Succession,

“Companies that are truly successful at succession are those that focus on building strength and leadership at every level. If done continuously and properly, this “succession culture” becomes an integral part of the fabric of the company. A fabric or matrix is, in fact, a good way of conceptualizing “succession culture,” fostering strong relationships and interdependency of individuals at all levels.”

In an article appearing in the McKinsey Quarterly, Dennis Carey explains the need for boards to focus their energies on creating corporate strategies for success. As Carey writes:

“As companies turn their attention from compliance to growth and innovation, boards must focus on strategy.”

Several years ago new accounting compliance rules were established by landmark congressional legislation, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Due to this comprehensive law corporations were forced to turn inward for a time to retool their companies to better comply with legislation.

As Dennis Carey observes in his article,

“Now, by and large, boards have come to terms with the new governance rules, and it’s time to move on.”

Moving on means that instead of boards attending to compliance, it is time to refocus and attend to ways to create to link, “a board’s human capital to the long-term strategy crafted by management to create more value for shareholders.” This, according to Carey, “should be the next wave of governance reform.”

Recent business trends have shown a marked increase in the number of former chief executives taking active roles in steering troubled companies.  For instance, John “Jack” Krol was recently named as outside chairman of the auto-parts maker Delphi Automotive LLP.  He is a retired chief executive of DuPoint Co.

Dennis Carey, a senior client partner at recruiters Korn/Ferry International, explains that “”These chairmen are strategic equal partners of the CEO because they already demonstrated a successful ‘in the trenches’ style of management.”

Mr. Krol, who Dennis Carey helped to recruit, says he has worked on Delphi matters quite a bit, and that he was planning to advise Delphi CEO Rodney O’Neal on his 2010 and 2011 operational plans.