The Succession Plan

Andy Jassy took over as Amazon CEO on Monday — capping a monumental rise in the ranks over two-plus decades. But the succession plan at one of the world's largest companies has some pivotal lessons for us as well.

Jassy started at Amazon at its onset in 1997 and became widely regarded as founder Jeff Bezos’ “brain double.”

He attended board meetings with him and sat in on his phone calls so he could learn to think the way Bezos did, even challenging him when necessary.

Some companies have a formal succession plan in place, others less so.

But regardless of our age, experience or title, we’d be wise to structure our own personal succession plans dependent on several factors.

1) Create the vision- It’s impossible to arrive at the right destination if we have no idea what it looks like. We must come up with the goal, then determine the relevant skills we need to one day get there.

2) Trade offs- The opportunity cost of manifesting a vision is often high. But short-term sacrifice can result in long-term gain if we’re willing to pay a hefty initial price. We must determine what we’re willing to give up to arrive at the coveted landing spot.

3) Why us?- What makes us so special that an organization must have us instead of someone else? The expectation is that the person in the desired position can take the team to a place it’s never been. But why are we really the right person for this?

4) Excel in the current job we have- In essence, be where our feet are. It’s great to have dreams of what we’d do at the top, but if we can’t successfully perform day-to-day operations currently, we can't be promoted tomorrow. The most important job is the one we have now, as excruciating as it may be. We must still take pride in it and do it to the best of our ability.

5) Every day is an exam- It’s imperative to be cognizant of the fact we’re being judged every day. This isn’t to say we can never make mistakes, but putting half-hearted effort into what we perceive as minutiae can prove costly long term. Be professional and don’t dismiss the small stuff, as tempting as that can be.

6) Self-promotion- So often, we sell ourselves to get the job, but stop doing so once we finally have it. Then we blame a boss for not noticing how good we are. We must make sure that we humbly promote our work in a manner that makes people recognize us but doesn’t turn them off.

As much as we like to believe hard work and skill will be distinguishing factors, there’s tremendous competition out there. It’s incumbent that we do the kind of work people can’t ignore, while also finding a person or two willing to go out of their way to vouch for us.

Regardless of whether we hope to one day occupy the corner office or merely rise to a position of greater influence, we control more of our future than we'd like to admit.

Be diligent, be strategic, be persistent. But don't surrender your future to the hands of someone else.