Poor talent alignment and unnecessary recruitment costs have cost India a record Rs 22.3 billion*. While these are just indicative figures, the need to have a strong talent pipeline is being felt more than ever with organizations witnessing top level upheavals amid fast-paced business competition. However, organizations are still playing catch-up when it comes to having a strong and reliable succession plan in place. Even organizations that have a talent pipeline lack focus and strategy on who will be the next successor for varied reasons. The absence of a leader or continuously changing leadership in an organization could cause havoc in terms of morale erosion, consequent attrition or business deviations. Take, for example, software major Infosys. Last June, founder N. R. Narayana Murthy returned to the company amidst clamour for his presence as the company’s profits slumped over many quarters. As soon as he came on board, many senior and top-level executives started leaving t...