The hottest Succession Substack posts right now

The first "desert" (Funds I–III) is about survival: raising initial funds, proving your right to win, and juggling operations, investments, and LP relationships to stay alive.
After you clear that phase you enter a second "desert" where the challenges shift to long-term firm questions like longevity, succession, and whether you’re truly established.
The mid-stage can feel lonely and ambiguous: early peers and mentors thin out, fundraising dynamics change, and you need new advisors and skills to navigate this uncertain transition.

Leaders in African countries face structural limits to their power and struggle to transform societies due to economic and social realities.
Museveni's long tenure as Uganda's president has led to a decay in institutions, reliance on authoritarianism, and a failure to build a strong nation or economy.
The succession dilemma in Uganda involves the options of a successor from outside the west, potential elite defections, or passing power to Museveni's son, each carrying different risks and implications.

The president’s speech, behavior, and physical signs increasingly point to cognitive and neurological decline — fragmented, repetitive, and disorganized language, memory lapses, and gait/affect changes that deviate from his earlier baseline.
Prestige media, Congress, and the White House are largely avoiding direct, clinical discussion or independent testing, trading precise reporting for euphemism and allowing a vacuum that fuels misinformation and secrecy.
If serious decline is confirmed, the 25th Amendment may be the only constitutional fix, but invoking it would immediately make J.D. Vance president and trigger intense political upheaval, while failing to act risks national-security disasters in a crisis.

Francis Galton advocated for eugenic breeding based on historical geniuses, but his methodology was flawed due to privilege and biases
Tromp's rise in the naval ranks was largely due to his father's influence, showcasing how privilege can overshadow actual ability
Galton's ideas on hereditary genius and scientific racism highlight the dangers of attributing success solely to genetics, legitimizing historical injustices and fostering bigotry

You need a clear way to check if your team is ready to lead when you're gone. It’s not enough to guess; you want to feel confident in their abilities.
Taking sabbaticals is a smart move for leaders. It lets your team show what they can do without you, which helps you plan for the future.
When planning a sabbatical, set up tasks for both your team and yourself. Preparing them well will help you see how ready they are when you step away.

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Hypotheses suggest Prigozhin's protector could be Sergey Kiriyenko, Putin himself, or Russian intelligence services, among others
Debate surrounds potential successors to Putin, including technocrats in the Russian bureaucracy and figures like Sergey Kiriyenko and Aleksey Dyumin
Moscow's military reorganization plan has sparked speculation about the country's stability, with concerns of possible disintegration or regional collapse

The current Succession Act can create confusion during a crisis, as it lacks clear definitions for who can act as president and under what circumstances.
Removing legislative officials from the line of succession and allowing the president to decide the order of cabinet succession would help stabilize the process.
It's important to make these changes proactively rather than reactively because waiting for a crisis can lead to serious issues in government continuity.