To war-game a succession plan before the board discusses it, put the plan for the seat, the named emergency and long-term candidates with a short note on each, the relationships and authorities the current holder carries alone, and the communication plan into one request. Then instruct Pingpong to test the plan as if the seat went empty next Monday: who runs the company that week, who calls the largest customers and investors, who can sign, and which other executives might leave. Ask for every gap and the board question it would raise. Do it before the board meeting.
This page is for chief executives planning their own succession or a key officer's, and for board chairs and nominating committee chairs reviewing the plan. If the succession comes with broader changes to reporting lines, see war-game a reorg before you announce it. Executive starting points live under Pingpong for executives.
Two plans for one seat
A succession plan usually needs two parts. The emergency plan covers the seat going empty with no notice: who serves as interim, what they can decide, and how long the board expects the arrangement to last. The planned transition covers the next one to three years: which internal candidates are being developed, what an outside search would look like, and when the board decides between them. Many plans describe the second part well and leave the first as a name on a page.
What directors tend to ask
- Has the interim candidate run a board meeting or met our largest investors?
- Which customer, partner, or lender relationships depend on one person?
- Who can sign contracts and move money if the current officer is unavailable?
- Which executives would leave if they were passed over, and what keeps them?
- What do employees, customers, and investors hear in the first 48 hours?
A worked example
This example is illustrative and does not describe a customer. The founder and chief executive of a 250-person industrial software company was unreachable for three weeks last year during a family emergency. The board has asked for a written succession plan by its next meeting. The draft names the chief operating officer as emergency successor and the chief product officer as the leading internal candidate for a planned transition in about three years, with an outside search as the alternative.
The chief executive pastes the draft, notes on each executive, the top 20 customers with their executive contacts, and the signing authority matrix.
A useful pass starts with the first week. The chief operating officer has never attended a board meeting and has no relationship with the two investors who hold board seats. Seven of the top ten customers list the founder as their executive contact. The bank mandate and two supplier agreements require the chief executive's signature, and the plan does not mention delegation.
Then the longer horizon. The plan names the chief product officer as the likely successor but includes no development plan and no point at which the board will assess progress. The chief revenue officer, whom the founder considers a flight risk if passed over, is not mentioned. There are no draft messages for employees, customers, or investors.
The chief executive revises the plan before the board meeting. The chief operating officer starts attending board meetings and takes over regular contact with both investor directors over two quarters. The founder introduces the chief operating officer to the executive contacts at the top ten customers. Signing authority is delegated in writing and filed with the bank. The chief product officer gets two stretch assignments and a nominating committee review in twelve months. The founder has a direct conversation with the chief revenue officer about their path. Three short draft messages are kept with the board chair and general counsel, and the board schedules an annual review of the plan.
A request you can copy
Below are our succession plan for one executive seat, notes on the emergency and long-term candidates, the relationships and authorities the current holder carries, and our communication plan. Assume the seat goes empty next Monday. Walk through the first week: who leads, who contacts customers, investors, and lenders, and who can sign. Then assess the long-term plan for development steps, decision dates, and retention of other executives. List every gap and the board question it would raise. Use role titles in your answer.
Role titles work in the request too if you would rather not paste names.
How Pingpong runs the war-game
The web review app sends your request through several models in order. Each later model receives the original request and every earlier answer, with instructions to assess the work so far. Confirm each flagged gap with the people involved before you change the plan. For the steps inside the app, see running your first review.
What a model can't war-game
A model does not know how each director views the candidates, what the executives have privately said about their own plans, or what your bylaws and voting agreements require when a chief executive changes. Governance, employment, and disclosure questions belong with your general counsel.
When the plan goes to a board vote, see war-game a decision before the board meeting. More guides live under work decisions before you commit.