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Howard and Costello on Leadership Succession – two different views – same poor result !
Mr Costello in his 2008 memoir, refrained from personal criticism of Mr Howard, he did, however, hold him responsible for losing in 2007: “Leadership is not only about winning: It is also about departing. Unlike Menzies, Howard never managed a transition.”
Mr Howard on the other hand blamed Australia’s longest-serving treasurer for mishandling a planned leadership transition. According to Mr Howard, he was planning to hand the leadership to his deputy with the intention of prolonging Coalition rule. But he abandoned this plan, he said, because Mr Costello overplayed the revelation in 2006 that they had a longstanding handover agreement. Under public pressure from Mr Costello, Mr Howard decided to dig in and remained leader until he lost government, and his seat of Bennelong, in 2007.
Either way the succession was bungled / mismanaged / ignored – the result was ultimately the loss of government.
Craig West
Managing Director | Succession Plus
Craig West is a strategic accountant who has over 20 years’ experience advising business owners. His background as a CPA in public practice, provided invaluable experience in the key issues of concern to business owners. Following 6 years of study to gain two masters degrees, Craig focused on Capital Gains Tax (CGT) for business sales advising on strategic management of tax issues. This experience formed a very strong view that business owners (and often their advisers) were unprepared and unaware of the steps required to prepare a business for exit.
Craig now acts as a strategic mentor for mid-market business owners and has written four critically acclaimed books on employee incentives, succession planning, asset protection and exit strategies. Craig has conducted numerous seminars and keynote presentations throughout Australia & internationally, including adviser education programs for the Institute of Chartered Accountants and CPA Australia.
