What if we were to apply the practice of corporate succession planning to our political leadership system?  Every Fortune 500 company in the U.S. has a documented succession plan that frequently covers everyone from the CEO down to Director-level positions.  So, why would we leave what are some of the potentially most powerful jobs on the planet to chance?

If we applied succession planning to our political electoral system in the same manner as companies apply it to their leadership positions, then we would look for our next generation of President / Vice President candidates to come from Governor positions in the 5 – 10 states with the biggest economies or populations.  The reason is that Governor positions are the jobs that most closely match the responsibilities of the President and VP.  From there, we could make a logical chain of other job experiences that would prepare someone for higher positions.  Each political party would look to "groom" an identified line of successors to take on the next level position, helping the potential successor gain the experiences needed to be successful at the next higher level.

While we're at it, I would also suggest that the "debates" not only cover the hypothetical "what would you do" questions to ascertain the candidate's position on a topic, but also ask them for examples of when they have had to deal with similar problems in their past.  This would apply the concepts of behavioral interviewing to candidate vetting.

Of course, I'm not suggesting that our system be altered legally to prevent anyone from running for any position; that's the beauty of our democracy.  However, I am advocating that our major political parties think about how they can best prepare their top candidates for the top jobs in our country.  So, how about it Tim Kaine and Michael Steele?  Call us when you're ready; we're happy to help!