A crisis in executive talent is on the horizon as retirement looms for a large percentage of leaders. In our increasingly knowledge-driven economy, organizations are right to fear this "brain drain," suspecting that when executives leave the firm, business may follow. Yet high-potential candidates account for less than 8 percent to 10 percent of the talent pool. Identifying, developing, and retaining these emerging leaders is a mission-critical challenge for CEOs, senior executives, managers, and HR directors.Powerful Succession Planning provides an overview of how to develop a succession planning and management program. Leadership expert John Mattone covers all the "nuts and bolts" of an effective program and provides readers with a Succession Planning Map™ to guide them through the process. Readers will learn how to measure and calibrate performance, potential, and readiness using nine key assessments. Last but not least, a succession management diagnostic tool enables any organization to quickly gauge the health of its succession planning process.