When it comes to identifying their own successor, CEOs of foreign companies in Japan whom I know often find themselves in exile in a land of no good options. Yet it does not have to be so.
A CEO is preparing to move on. Maybe he’s been recalled to head office. Maybe she’s found a compelling opportunity elsewhere. Maybe it’s simply time. And when that moment comes, they look around at their organization and realize: there is no one obviously ready to take over.