The end of Warren Buffett’s tenure shows that succession isn’t about what CEO candidates have done, but where they want to go. 

Earlier this month, Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett dropped some surprising (but not) news: At 94, he had decided to step down from a role he’s had since 1970. Replacing somebody who’s been in the corner office since Nixon’s first term is a tall order, especially when the company is already recognized as a model for sensible, steady growth. But there are lessons for any organization from how Buffett has planned for and handled the transition.

First and most obvious (but on the evidence often not), he had a succession plan. Greg Abel, who will take the reins at the end of the year, was named as Buffett’s successor in 2021, and has long been in charge of the company’s investments. More than just thinking about the particular expertise Abel would bring to the company, Buffett was also mindful of the vision Abel would bring—and aware that it wouldn’t necessarily be the same as Buffett’s.

At the company shareholders’ meeting where he made the announcement, Buffett said, “You really need someone that behaves well on top and is not playing games for their own benefit …. Greg does something about it and I’ve generally been lax in doing something about it.” By “it,” I take Buffett to mean something like “setting a long-term idea for the future of the company.” At least, that’s how he presented himself at the meeting: “Warren talks about the curiosity being important as you go through things, that would be my style, to have questions and comments around their business, their frameworks.”

Regardless of what the vision is–and whether you’re running Berkshire Hathaway or a five-FTE membership association—the board is charged with hiring a CEO who’s future-focused. At Harvard Business Review, consultant Anand Joshi lamented how boards “regularly appoint leaders to the CEO position after a selection process that focuses mostly on track records and past accomplishments.” An impressive resume won’t tell you enough “about how they make sense of and would tackle current or looming pressures.”

To address that problem, Joshi suggests that boards and CEO hiring committees ask all candidates for a growth plan for the organization. That process doesn’t just prompt candidates to explain how they intend to steer the ship, but also motivates boards to establish their own principles about the challenges they’re facing and the risks they’re willing to take to address them.

And boards shouldn’t have to wait until the current CEO departs before having that conversation about succession. Writing at Directors & Boards, business scholar David Niles emphasizes the importance of thinking well in advance. “The best boards approach CEO succession as a proactive process rather than a one-time event,” he writes. “This doesn’t mean an active search is underway years in advance, but rather that the board — often with the incumbent CEO — establishes a succession planning framework early. That framework includes identifying high-potential leaders, providing them with growth opportunities and regularly reassessing the company’s future leadership needs.”

An association is only as strong as the people leading it, and it acknowledges that the people in charge now won’t always be. A candid conversation about where the organization needs to go can provide some meaningful clarity, whether the CEO is leaving six years from now, or six decades.

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