An interview in Monday’s Crain’s with Robert Paul, CEO and Joe Angileri, President & COO of Compuware makes mention of Peter Karmanos’ new role as Executive Chairman.  The interviewer asks if by adding the word “executive” to his title of chairman if it is sort of a warning…that he plans to have active involvement?”

 The answer from Compuware’s new top brass was, “he will be very involved with the company…he’s committed to having a lesser role in the organization…he fully expects big decisions will be done here and he’ll weigh in on them, especially when we ask for it.”

 My question is this:  What will happen when he isn’t asked to weigh in on big decisions?

Al Weatherhead, the author of The Power of Adversity and chairman of Weatherhead Industries, advises letting new leaders “realize their own great successes and small failures as they learn the practical business lessons that you once had to learn.”  But allowing failure forward has got to be a challenge for the guy who got things started.

So how does a founder of an incredibly successful corporation like Compuware leave his organization in the care of someone else?  Even if he trusts his successors, can he really ever let go?