I speak, counsel and write consistently about the critical need for an organization's leaders to institutionalize the process of identifying, developing and retaining talent. In a recent workshop, less than 20% of the organizations represented indicated that they had any form of succession planning or early talent identification programs in place. The numbers got worse when we talked about development activities for established associates. While I suppose that I should be grateful for how miserably organizations perform in the area of talent development—after all, it means a large market for workshops, programs and books, it frankly pains me more than it pleases me. This isn't that hard or expensive people. What are you waiting for?