Many companies still have no idea who will replace their CEO. Often the top job is replaced in a last minute panic, which is bad news for staff and shareholders.

Joseph Daniel McCool says it’s as big an issue today as it was 10 years ago. So why has there been so little progress? In his book “Deciding Who Leads: How Executive Recruiters Drive, Direct & Disrupt the Global Search for Leadership Talent” he describes the dysfunctional relationship between recruiters and executive search firms, the latter having a vested interest in ensuring that candidates come from outside the organisation.

Is this what’s happening at your place? Should you be taking succession planning more seriously? Joseph says you should also look at how tightly you are defining the job description. Perhaps you are excluding strong talent on the basis of your search criteria.

First published on CBS News