????上周，微軟（Microsoft）任命薩提亞?納德拉為首席執(zhí)行官。這讓我想起了不久前在西雅圖對(duì)一批高管說(shuō)過(guò)的一番話，內(nèi)容是企業(yè)應(yīng)當(dāng)如何從內(nèi)部選拔負(fù)責(zé)人，而不是在外部搜尋。

????當(dāng)時(shí)，繼任是個(gè)重大話題——微軟董事長(zhǎng)比爾?蓋茨和即將離職的CEO史蒂夫?鮑爾默正忙著從日常事務(wù)中脫身。聽(tīng)眾中間有位女士舉手發(fā)言，她說(shuō)許多員工都很關(guān)心誰(shuí)將成為新一任CEO，以及這個(gè)人可能給他們的公司文化帶來(lái)怎樣的改變。她還說(shuō)，員工們都希望這個(gè)人能讓微軟實(shí)現(xiàn)文化轉(zhuǎn)型，以便和競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手，比如谷歌（Google）、蘋(píng)果公司（Apple）以及移動(dòng)領(lǐng)域的企業(yè)，爭(zhēng)奪人才。原因是，微軟對(duì)收購(gòu)諾基亞（Nokia）的資本化已經(jīng)開(kāi)始。

????我講這番話的時(shí)間是2013年11月14日。當(dāng)時(shí)微軟員工還不知道情況如何，因?yàn)樨?fù)責(zé)遴選新CEO的董事約翰?湯普森一直保持著沉默。那時(shí)，湯普森透露的信息只是他在博客里列出的約100名候選人。當(dāng)時(shí)，這樣的一團(tuán)迷霧讓我接觸到的員工受到了不利影響。他們當(dāng)中，大多數(shù)人都承認(rèn)自己感到焦慮，而且都在靜觀事態(tài)發(fā)展的同時(shí)準(zhǔn)備好了自己的簡(jiǎn)歷。

????我對(duì)他們說(shuō)，如今太多的公司董事會(huì)都犯了和微軟一樣的錯(cuò)誤，那就是他們認(rèn)為繼任就是尋找候選人。但實(shí)際上，考慮繼任問(wèn)題需要從公司的角度出發(fā)，而不僅僅是著眼于具體的某一個(gè)人。

????簡(jiǎn)單地聘請(qǐng)一家研究咨詢(xún)公司來(lái)尋找和發(fā)現(xiàn)他們認(rèn)為合適的人選，或者由董事會(huì)挑選幾名候選人已經(jīng)不夠了。首先要借助公司的集體智慧和社區(qū)股東來(lái)找到公司今后發(fā)展的最佳思路，同時(shí)確定能帶領(lǐng)公司前進(jìn)的人要有哪些特質(zhì)。搜尋仍很重要，但要把它放在公司確定了策略指標(biāo)和未來(lái)的方向之后。

????我在新書(shū)《管理階層的崩塌：聯(lián)絡(luò)、合作、影響和領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的新途徑》（Fall of the Alphas: The New Beta Way to Connect, Collaborate, Influence -- and Lead）談到了這些話題。和董事會(huì)掌控一切的傳統(tǒng)方式不同，這種新途徑牽涉到一批職位高、有影響力的員工和社區(qū)成員，我把他們稱(chēng)為“部落議會(huì)”。這個(gè)機(jī)構(gòu)幫助董事會(huì)選擇適合公司目標(biāo)和文化傳統(tǒng)的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者。它不僅可以幫助董事會(huì)弄清楚需要做哪些工作，還能發(fā)揮領(lǐng)導(dǎo)作用，幫助新的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者融入公司文化，同時(shí)確保這項(xiàng)任務(wù)的圓滿(mǎn)成功。

????微軟本可以用另一種方法來(lái)任命新CEO，包括幾點(diǎn)：首先，挑選候選人的工作不應(yīng)只由董事會(huì)承擔(dān)。只有傳統(tǒng)方式才會(huì)這樣做；此外，微軟董事會(huì)等待的時(shí)間過(guò)長(zhǎng)，他們本該在CEO職位空出來(lái)之前早早地和內(nèi)外部候選人進(jìn)行更好的溝通。長(zhǎng)期等待造成他們不得不在全世界目光的注視之下開(kāi)始尋找新任CEO。

????Last week's hire of Microsoft's new CEO, Satya Nadella, reminded me of a talk I recently gave to a group of senior executives in Seattle about how companies should do more to groom leaders from within, as opposed to looking outside for their next star.

????At the time, succession was a big topic; Microsoft chairman Bill Gates and outgoing CEO Steve Ballmer were actively planning exits from their everyday roles. In the audience, a woman raised her hand and said that many employees were concerned about who will be brought in and what kind of cultural changes they could expect. Employees, she added, wanted someone capable of transforming the culture of the company so it could compete for talent against competitors, such as Google (GOOG), Apple (AAPL), as well as others in the mobile world as it begins to capitalize on its acquisition of Nokia.

????Back in Nov. 14, 2013 when I gave my talk, Microsoft's (MSFT) employees weren't sure what was going on since they had heard little from John W. Thompson, the board member heading up the search. The most information he had shared to date was a list of some 100 candidates that he included in a blog post. All that mystery was having a negative impact on the current employees I spoke with, most of whom admitted to feeling anxious and of spending time dusting off their résumé as they waited to see what would happen.

????As I explained to the audience, the mistake so many boards make these days, as in the case of Microsoft, is that they think succession is all about identifying candidates. But it's really about organizational thinking, not just about one person.

????It's no longer enough to simply hire a search consultant who goes and finds candidates they think will fit or a board of directors coming up with a short list. It's about first tapping the collective wisdom of the organization, the shareholders of the community, to mine for the best ideas for the future evolution of the company and the characteristics of someone who could lead it forward. Search is still important but only after the organization has done its pre-thinking on the parameters of strategy and the future.

????These themes are covered in my new book, Fall of the Alphas: The New Beta Way to Connect, Collaborate, Influence -- and Lead. Unlike the Alpha way, where the board owns the entire process, the Beta approach involves a group of highly-placed, influential employees and community members -- what I call, a "tribal council." The council helps the board select the right leader who fits with the organization's goals and cultural traditions. It would not only help the board gain clarity on what needs to be done, but it would also take a leadership role in helping integrate and guarantee the success of the new executive into the company culture.

????In many ways, Microsoft could have selected its new CEO differently: First, it should not have just been the sole job of the board of directors to identify candidates. That's such an Alpha way to go about it. They also waited too long; the board should have better communicated with internal and external candidates long before the CEO job was open. That forced them to conduct a search under duress with the world watching.