It took Steve Jackson a day to become CEO again.
It took him nearly 17 months to stop.
Jackson founded Steve Jackson Games in 1980 and handed over the CEO job more than a decade ago.
Then, in April 2025, his CEO resigned. He wrote on the company blog: "This was not anticipated; when I get a plan, I'll share…. I had my first cataract procedure yesterday, and survived,"
And: "For right now, everyone who was reporting to her will be reporting to me."
Not an ideal scenario.
And it took until September 2026 to appoint a new CEO.
It's a pattern I see a lot in owner-led businesses. The owner steps back and the dependency moves to one other person. When that person goes, everything rolls back uphill.
A handover only counts if it survives the person you handed to.
So ask yourself:
If your MD resigned tomorrow, who would their team report to on Monday?
And if the answer is you - how far back have you really stepped?
