Apple's board selected John Ternus, 51, to avoid a short-term CEO scenario like Disney's Iger-Chapek transition. His age ensures a potential 15-20 year tenure, prioritizing long-term stability over other executive candidates who were all over 60.

The high rate of CEO replacements, highlighted by Disney's succession plan, is driven by burnout from navigating years of intense disruption. Boards are now prioritizing a new generation of leaders with the resilience and energy required for an increasingly chaotic business environment.

Executive longevity, especially through leadership changes, depends less on past performance and more on a willingness to internalize and act on feedback. This "survival instinct" shows adaptability and a commitment to growth, which new leaders value highly.

Despite prior successes, Bob Iger's second tenure at Disney, marked by a flat stock price and succession chaos, serves as a cautionary tale. It demonstrates the importance of a graceful exit, as staying too long can diminish a leader's accomplishments and tarnish their overall legacy.

To avoid repeating its prior chaotic CEO succession, Disney orchestrated a highly public and well-managed 'bake-off' between internal candidates. This telegraphed process, overseen by an external chairman famed for succession planning, stabilized the company and provides a model for other large corporations.

Companies like John Deere (10 CEOs in 190 years) demonstrate that long CEO tenures can be a strength. This longevity, often coupled with internal promotions, fosters cultural continuity and deep institutional knowledge, which can outweigh the perceived benefits of frequent leadership changes from outsiders.

To avoid repeating the Bob Chapek succession "fiasco," Disney's board deliberately structured the process to retain the runner-up. By creating a new President and Chief Creative Officer role, they ensured the finalist had a strong partner and prevented a disruptive executive exit.

Challenging the belief that outsiders are needed for change, AT&T's CEO suggests a "disruptive insider" is often better. An insider intimately knows the organization's limits, can predict and counter internal resistance, and can discern which cultural elements to preserve versus discard, leading to a more surgical and less chaotic transformation.

Instead of leaving immediately after selling a majority stake, the founder stayed on for over a year. He used this time to learn from the seasoned corporate executives hired by the new owners, gaining invaluable knowledge on structure and process.