You probably know one – maybe you are one: The irreplaceable person. The key man. The woman we can’t afford to lose.
They’re the keeper of all wisdom, the one who can fix a problem faster than most people can describe it. They’ve been around forever, they know every client by heart, and their phone never stops buzzing.
They’re the rock of the business – right up until the day they’re not there.
It’s something we don’t talk about enough in our industry, even though we all see it. The promo world runs on personality. It’s what makes it fun. We’ve built careers around relationships, storytelling and service. But when a company’s success depends on a handful of people who “just know how things work,” it becomes fragile.
The longer we delay succession planning – from leadership all the way through the front lines – the more we set ourselves up for chaos when those people finally move on.
A Plan For When, Not If
Succession planning sounds like a problem for retirement-age executives, but that’s a myth. It’s not a someday exercise; it’s an everyday strategy. You don’t do it because someone’s leaving – you do it because people eventually will.
Think of it as building depth. The best organizations don’t just have a few stars; they have a bench. They have systems that don’t grind to a halt when one person takes a vacation or a new opportunity. They have people who can slide into new roles, take ownership and keep things moving forward.
The companies that get this right share a few habits:
- Create visibility. Emerging leaders need to see behind the curtain. It’s not enough to talk about goals – show how decisions are made. Share context, not just results. When people understand why, they start thinking like owners.
- Cross-train. Too many roles in this industry are siloed. A customer service rep who never sees a sales call, or a salesperson who’s never watched production, is missing half the picture. Let people shadow, rotate and try new things. It builds empathy and adaptability – the raw materials of leadership.
- Mentor with purpose. Mentorship doesn’t have to be a program with a logo and a kickoff meeting. It can start with a simple question: Who’s learning from you this month? Good leaders build time into their schedules for teaching. Great ones make sure someone else can do what they do.
Eliminating The Key Person
Every business has a version of the linchpin. They’re valuable, but they also represent risk. If you can’t imagine how your company would function without someone, that’s not loyalty – that’s vulnerability.
Michele Schwartz, CAS
Director of Sales, PPAI
The goal isn’t to make anyone replaceable; it’s to make the business sustainable. When processes and relationships live only in one person’s head, they’re one bad flu away from disappearing.
Start small. Document how key tasks are done. Share client information more widely. Train two people for every mission-critical role. Encourage transparency instead of gatekeeping. The culture of “only I can handle this” might feel heroic, but it’s also the opposite of leadership.
Some promo companies panic when a top salesperson leaves, while others barely flinch because they’ve built teams, not fiefdoms. Guess which ones last longer?
Preparing To Let Go
Here’s the other side of the equation: If you’ve been that indispensable person, you have to get comfortable with letting go. That’s hard. It’s personal. We all take pride in being needed. But being needed forever isn’t leadership; it’s bottlenecking.
Delegating doesn’t mean disappearing. It means teaching, trusting and stepping back enough for others to grow. You don’t lose value by sharing what you know – you multiply it. The best leaders aren’t defined by what they do; they’re remembered for who they develop.
And for owners or executives nearing retirement, succession isn’t just about who takes over your chair. It’s about ensuring your culture and purpose live on after you. The handoff works best when you’ve been preparing people for it all along, not when you’re ready to hand them the keys and hope they can drive.
The Next Generation Is Ready – If You Are
Look at this year’s PPAI Rising Stars. They’re smart, creative and ambitious. But they’re not waiting 20 years for permission to lead. They want responsibility now, and they’re not afraid to ask for it. That’s not entitlement – that’s energy. And if we’re serious about the future of this industry, we need to channel it, not stifle it.
The next generation isn’t asking for the old model of leadership. They want clarity, autonomy and purpose. They don’t need corner offices; they need opportunities. If you want to keep them, show them the path forward.
Succession For Independent Operators
Even if you’re a one-person business, you still need a plan for succession. What happens if you get sick, take a long trip or simply want a week off?
Consider options for hiring a virtual assistant through the PPAI Solutions Center’s Outsourcing category. You just need someone to keep things moving if you must be away. Here are three steps to make them successful:
- Share context, not just tasks. Don’t hand off work blindly. Explain why things are done a certain way, what matters most to your clients and how success is measured.
- Create templates and guardrails. Give them clear written responses, pricing sheets and if/then rules. Structure builds confidence and prevents guesswork.
- Empower, then trust. Give them permission to act on small decisions and own routine communication. The goal isn’t control – it’s consistency.
Schwartz, CAS, is director of sales at PPAI.
