Also important to the continuing, long-term viability of companies is planning for the day when Baby Boomers - who hit age 60 en masse this year - begin to retire or move to a reduced work schedule. "From a company standpoint, they are looking to build bench strength. They want the next generation of people ready for when the Boomers do leave or change their status or go part-time," says Rex Davenport, editor in chief of Training + Development magazine. "A lot of companies are looking at developing the next generation of leaders."

Of course, grooming a new group of leaders means ensuring that those same people don't bolt; and to keep Generations X and Y around often requires becoming an active partner in their career planning. That fact was driven home for Susan Johnson at Pitney Bowes last summer when the company put on a discussion with two panels, one consisting of executives near retirement and the other of younger, promising employees. The more senior executives, Johnson recalls, talked about the corporate hierarchy and how they had to rise methodically in the company, going step by accepted­ step. "Contrast that with the voices of the future panel," she recalls. "They said, 'If Pitney Bowes doesn't give me what I want, I'm ready, willing, and able to go someplace else, because it's all about me managing my career.' "

To meet that expectation, Pitney Bowes has a formal initiative that focuses a lot of attention on what Johnson calls "emerging strategic leaders." It boils down to her staff and senior executives spending time and effort cultivating promising employees. "We see what development planning and mentoring and assessment we can put in place for them to help them realize their potential and show them we care about them enough to help them manage their careers within PB," she says.