The Five Dumbest Things on Wall Street This Week

2. Nothing Succeeds Like Succession

Cisco (CSCO Quote) CEO John Chambers just got what he always needed: a new title.

Two big decisions came out of the San Jose, Calif., networking giant's regular board meeting Wednesday. The company added $5 billion to its stock buyback plan and unveiled its board succession plan.

Wall Street likes buybacks, but it believes management planning is important too, particularly when a CEO is as visible as Chambers is. The consequences of failing to plan ahead were underlined this week by the unexpected death of L-3 Communications (LLL Quote) CEO Frank Lanza.

So what's Cisco's plan? Why, it's handing Chambers even more responsibility. He'll take the chairman's title from John Morgridge, who is retiring.

"We're building a management team for the 21st century that emphasizes collaborative leadership built on teamwork that drives innovation and speed of execution," Chambers said in a statement Thursday. "I couldn't be more proud of what Cisco has accomplished as a team."

With any luck, Cisco's team will never find itself in L-3's shoes. But Chambers will move on some day, presumably. So who might take his place?

"Cisco has a history of making smooth management transitions, and in every organization of the company, there are multiple executives that could be future leaders," a spokeswoman waffles in an email. "As part of ongoing leadership development at Cisco, we groom multiple candidates for all leadership positions. It's also important to note that John recently recommitted to the board a minimum of three to five years with Cisco."

Sorry, but that hardly sounds like a plan for surefire success.

Dumb-o-Meter score: 88. With apologies to Mark Twain, reports of Level 3 (LVLT Quote) CEO James Crowe's demise have been greatly exaggerated.