The Secret of My Succession

All good things must come to an end

General George Washington Resigning His Commission by John Trumbull, Architect of the Capitol, 1817 (public domain - Wikpedia)

We all have a finite amount of time on this earth. And an even more limited time in our jobs, despite a possible desire to remain on longer.

At times, the ego can get in the way—even in the best leaders. But more so from those who might not be quite as competent. Notice I didn’t say charismatic; there are far too many instances where charisma makes up for talent deficit disorder in leaders.

The Roman Empire lasted nearly 1,000 years, but it had its fair share of leadership issues, particularly in the latter half. Consider:

• The year 69 A.D. was called The Year of the Four Emperors (I won’t name them all, because it’ll get really tedious as we move on)

• In 193 A.D., the Empire experienced The Year of the Five Emperors

• And they only had to wait another 45 years for The Year of the Six Emperors in 238 A.D.

What was causing all of this upheaval and a revolving door on Cap…