"Claim: In any field—business, politics, education, government—those in power should step down after five years.

Reason: The surest path to success for any enterprise is revitalization through new leadership."

Power is corrupting. This is the basis of modern democratic government. Alongside the division of the government’s powers, term limits stop any individual from holding power for too long. It also allows for a change of leadership and direction. Every politician or CEO has a goal for when they take power. There is a reason for their drive towards the top. Often, it is to bring about fundamental change, either in terms of focusing on a neglected issue, or completely changing a policy instituted by the previous office holder. Unfortunately, this can be a double-edged sword. Those who believe that term limits should be a part of every institution and that it is the surest path to success fail to realize the potential adverse consequences. Term limits can make a good leader be replaced by a bad one and is not always the best for business as it is for politics.
There are many cases, both historically and in the present day, of horrible dictators staying in powers for decades. Their policies can bring strife and ruin for generations. These examples, in and of themselves, are enough of an argument for term limits. However, there were also great leaders. Augustus, the first Roman Emperor, brought about an age of peace and prosperity. It was not perfect, true, but it was a striking difference from the chaos of previous years. President Franklin Roosevelt successfully led the United States through the Depression and World War II. For every bad leader, there is a good one. Term limits may make it easier to get rid of a bad leader, but it also deprives the population of a good leaders continued influence.
Term limits may also not be the best for every institution. Entities that have a lot of competition, like technology companies, will need people to always think ahead and not become set in their ideas. A policy that worked five years ago may not work today. With government and other sectors of the economy, this may not be the case. In government, a policy that worked 5 years ago has a very good chance of working later on. Some companies face much lighter competition and with new advances measured in years instead of months. It all depends on what the needs of the company or government is.
To be clear, this is not to say that term limits are bad, only that they are not always the surest path to success. Limited and unlimited term limits each have their advantages and disadvantages. One must keep these in mind when deciding if such limits should be implemented.