This past month, I attended a Deloitte conference hosted by its Center for Corporate Governance, including 1,000 directors across 30 locations, live from New York City. One of the most important topics and issues discussed is the board's approach to succession planning.

The departure of your CEO is the most important and challenging board responsibility. Most boards don't provide sufficient time to this critical task. A Korn Ferry survey indicates that although 90% of board members think it's important, only 30% are prepared for their CEO's departure. This increases risk and costs to the organization and results in lost investor confidence.

Several best practice scenarios need to be in place for the immediate, as well as two to three years and longer. The ugly truth is that most CEOs would like to stay forever. So how do you go about planning for this transition? The process of succession planning is a direct reflection of the culture of the board and the decisions made around this often strenuous process can be challenging.