(Time to read this Blog is about 3 minutes)

Before we get to the main topic, here are a few things to get you thinking or smiling:

1. My Quote of the week:
   “Problems on the front lines are always a symptom of problems and ineffectiveness at the top.  But it’s easier to point ‘down’ than to look in the mirror.”   
   …Donald Cooper.

2. What happens to Wimbledon’s ‘old’ tennis balls?
   Wimbledon organisers donate used balls to the UK Wildlife Trust to be used as homes for harvest mice. Only in the UK folks!  Some balls are also recycled for their rubber interior, which is used to make new flooring for indoor tennis and sports training facilities.

3. Quick Biz Tip:  10 things effective Coaches do…how do you rate?
   Being a great player and being a great coach are two very different things.  In sports, we’ve all seen great coaches who were unremarkable as players and great players who were ineffective as coaches. They’re completely different skill sets.

Click here  to download my 2-minute Biz Tool #A-9 to rate your effectiveness as a coach and leader.

4. What are you doing to ‘sweeten’ the customer experience in your business?
   Research shows that within 3 minutes of exposure to ‘bee sounds’, flowers increase the concentration of sugar in their nectar by 20 per cent.  The higher the sugar content in the nectar, the more valuable it is to the bees.  Flowers rely on bees for pollination, so they increase their value to those ‘target customers’ when they’re buzzing around the area.
    
   What do your target customers value most and what are you doing to create a ‘sweeter’ experience to attract more or them?  If a flower can do it, what’s holding you back?

5. Is Tourism important to your business and community? If you’re in the Tourism & Hospitality biz in any way, we’d love to chat with you about 2 transformational possibilities:

1. 1. My ‘step-by-step’ ‘Tourism Development Idea Generator for Businesses & Communities’.
   2. My ‘straight talk’ Keynote or Workshop on ‘The Business Side of Tourism…Partnering For Prosperity! for your community.
      To set up a chat, contact me at donald@donaldcooper.com. 

Now, to this week’s important topic:

40% of newly promoted 1st-time managers fail within the 1^st  18 months: 

A recent survey shows that 40% of newly promoted first-time managers fail within the first 18 months.  My guess is that this number is low.

‘Doing’ is fundamentally different from managing.  But in business, we often take our best ‘doer’ and make him or her a manager, without giving any thought as to whether they’re emotionally and intellectually ‘wired’ to be managers and without the extensive coaching and training required to successfully manage things and lead people.  Then, later, when it all falls apart, we wonder why it didn’t work out.  You set them up to fail.

If you don’t have the time, resources or ability to do the proper training, don’t make the move.  Either they’ll muddle along creating problems, inefficiency and frustration for all concerned…or they’ll leave, defeated and depressed.  Either way, you’ll end up losing a great ‘doer’ and still be down a great manager.  In the process, you may have severely damaged someone’s life.

The solution – Part #1:  Look for signs (behaviour) that some of your great ‘doers’ are, indeed  ‘wired’ to make the transition to manager.  Do they quietly mentor and encourage others on their team?  Are they smart, kind, analytical and energized?   Do they ask good questions and are they good listeners?  Do they make suggestions to improve the business?  Do they proudly honour and support the values and culture of our business?  Do they frequently ask for more responsibility?  Do they walk quickly and purposely when going from one place to another, or do they just shuffle along?

The solution – Part #2:  Then, develop an effective training and development program for potential managers before you promote them and for new managers after you’ve promoted them…or send them to manager development courses available in the outside world.  

At some point ask them if they’re enjoying the management stuff they’re learning.  Does it ‘turn their crank’?  If not, nurture and cherish them as great ‘doers’ and don’t promote them to be failures. 

That’s it for this week…

Stay safe…live brilliantly!       

Donald Cooper 

Donald Cooper speaks and coaches internationally on management, marketing, and profitability.  He can be reached by email at donald@donaldcooper.com in Toronto, Canada.