If you're looking for a quick, easy, and fun guide to constantlycultivating from within your organization the talent to move up andfill positions left behind by others, don't look here. Written by ahuman resources expert who teaches at Penn State, EffectiveSuccession Planning must surely be one of the driest books everwritten on this topic, from its aggressively unsexy title and jacketto its college-textbook format and arsenal of supplementarychecklists, flowcharts, and exercises. Having said that, it's alsoprobably one of the most thorough books on the topic (and a finecomplement to The Leadership Pipeline), incorporating methodical andmeticulous guidelines to preparing for and quickly filling crucialvacancies at all levels of the organization, from top management tosales, administrative, technical, and production positions. Not onlydoes it lay out a plan for instituting a long-term successionplanning program that includes everything from early action steps toongoing evaluation and revision, it also shows how to develop,monitor, and evaluate talent and skills in individual employees inorder to promote effectively from within (although it acknowledgesthat sometimes the best choices come from outside, and offers keysteps for optimizing the outside-search process as well). Everythingis covered here, from the legal implications of hiring and firing andonline and high-tech resources to major trends that will affectsuccession planning in the years ahead. And, thank god, the authorhas incorporated some case studies — both fictional/composite andthose of several large real-life companies — to add some names andfaces to a volume that's about as dry as the Sahara, and (forhuman-resource professionals, at least) potentially as welcome as afresh supply of water if you happened to be stuck in such a place.