#013 - The Succession Not Planned, the Team Nobody Built, and the Career Nobody Mapped

In 1963, Katharine Graham took over the Washington Post at 46 with no plan, no mentor, and no experience running a business. She was not in her father's plan. She was not in her husband's plan. She probably was not in her own plan either. In the 28 years that followed, she redefined American journalism, became the first female CEO of a Fortune 500 company, and built an entire generation of leaders who would last for decades after her.This episode starts with her story — and ends with a question that is about you.What you will find in this episode:Why Apple spent 25 years building its next CEO — and what that reveals about every company that cut the management layers that would have built the next generation of leadersWhy four generations working together for the first time in history is not an HR problem — and what the Watergate team can teach us about multigenerational teamsWhy the career model most people follow was designed for shorter lives — and what changes when you accept that you may still be working 30 years from nowThe data behind this episode:Apple Newsroom / SEC Form 8-K (Apr 20, 2026): Tim Cook announces John Ternus as next CEO after 25 years of internal development — approved unanimously by the boardWork Foundation / Lancaster University: 61% of leaders report significant generational differences on their teams; only 18% of D&I policies include age as a categoryWorld Economic Forum and OECD: by 2031, 25% of the US workforce will be 55 or older; workers above 65 have an average tenure of 10.3 years — versus 3.2 years for workers aged 25 to 34Sources:Apple Newsroom: https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/04/tim-cook-to-become-apple-executive-chairman-john-ternus-to-become-apple-ceo/Work Foundation / Lancaster University: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/work-foundation/news/new-research-finds-organisations-benefit-from-multigenerational-workforce-but-reveals-employer-say-do-gap-in-how-they-support-workersIMD — Longevity and work: https://www.imd.org/ibyimd/talent/longevity-three-trends-that-redefine-how-we-live-and-work/Longevity Nation (May 2026): https://www.porchlightbooks.com/blogs/excerpts/longevity-nation