The Hero's Farewell: What Happens When Ceos Retire

Good wisdom ages well. Sonnenfeld offers a unique and touching level of empathy for those at the top of their game facing inevitable transition. The alternative to well-planned succession is the kind of turmoil we too often see that serves no one well. Understanding how that drama can be avoided requires uncanny vision and selflessness that often runs counter to the traits of top leadership. This lessons of this book merge logic with passion, strategy with emotion, broad good with personal adjustment. It’s a masterful treatment of a delicate topic. It’s eye-opening and inspiring all at once.

While a bit dated, this book is one of the most important assessments of the ways strong leaders retire. The four-fold typology of retirees as monarchs, generals, ambassadors and governors is well anchored to credible research providing a helpful way for senior leaders to categorize their leadership style and anticipate the nature of their final departure. The identification of the three sets of tensions faced in the departure of the corporate hero (1) within the leader, (2) across generations of leaders and (3) between leaders and the wider community provide significant insight into the psychological and socio-cultural realities of retirement.