All Favre, All the Time

It's a Brett Favre world. The for-now-former quarterback's cold feet about retiring and ensuing tampering allegations against a competitor dominated the news -- not just the sports pages -- this week.

The attendant analysis has ranged from silly suggestions that l'affaire Favre is the result of a video game cover jinx to navel gazing stories by writers who claim to be tired of the story, thus perpetuating the story they're oh so tired of.

All of this over what amounts to a management spat in northeast Wisconsin. In fact, let's look at this from a management perspective for a minute. Really what we have is a strategy disconnect. At HarvardBusiness.org, John Baldoni rightly points out that the Packers had executed on a leadership succession strategy by revamping their offense and drafting players to replace the legend. When Favre decided he didn't want to walk away (leaders often have a hard time leaving leadership), it gummed up the organization's transition strategy.

Right now, public sentiment, even in Wisconsin is leaning toward management. Favre's finding out the hard way that even great leaders aren't bigger than their organizations.

Quite by accident, I'm certain, leadership coach Marshall Goldsmith offers a related story. In Three Traps to Avoid When Choosing a Successor, the smart and practical Goldsmith looks at reasons objective leaders turn subjective when thinking about who will fill their shoes.

Meanwhile, B V Krishnamurthy addresses a more pressing dilemma: high levels of executive attrition. "On the one hand," Krishnamurthy reasons, "we lay so much emphasis on the value of human capital. On the other, we do not seem to be doing enough to nurture and retain talent." Krishnamurthy offers a couple of theories for the rising rate of attrition and welcomes others from the audience. Predictably one community member reduces the problem to money, writing, "You pay bananas, you get monkeys."

Finally, I urge everyone to read Tammy Erickson's excellent and provocative post on the Post-Gen Y Generation. The idea is so new that she doesn't even have a name for this generation yet, but she provides a powerful case for her bold thesis: "The next major generation is taking shape this year."

Enjoy the weekend and don't retire unless you really, really mean it.

By Scott Berinato  |  July 18, 2008; 1:00 PM ET
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