What Can Employers Learn From The Jay Leno - Conan O'Brien Fiasco?

There is an interesting article in today's Wallstreet Journal suggesting that NBC's handling of the Jay Leno-Conan O'Brien succession provides lessons for employers and management in how not to handle promotion and succession issues. According to the article, management consultants feel that NBC made two critical missteps six years ago when the network signed Mr. O'Brien to replace Mr. Leno in 2009. It's a bad idea to promise someone a promotion in order to retain him, they say, and so is naming a successor too far in advance. [See www.wallstreetjournal.com]