I was listening to sports talk radio this morning and one of the hosts (a former NFL player) observed that professional sports is one of the few businesses where incumbents are expected to help train the individuals selected to become their potential successors.  The typical scenario is that when new players are drafted or otherwise acquired by a team, the veterans will share advice and help them to get up to speed with the hopes of their eventually becoming contributing members of the organization. However, it is likely that if a rookie does well, he will take the job of one of the people who helped train him.

Certainly there are business contexts where incumbents will help groom their successors. However, this is usually a planned process where there is some degree of acquiescence on the part of the incumbent. In sports, however, it is rare for a player to leave an organization voluntarily.  Rather, the standard situation is that someone comes along whom the team believes can do a better job and the incumbent is either relegated to the bench or simply released from the team.  An interesting bit of food for thought…

Reid Klion