Dave Ciambella

Bench Strength: How Deep is Yours?
January 18, 2008

While watching the NCAA football national championship game between Ohio State and LSU, I was very impressed with the bench strength, particularly the depth of their defensive backfield. Early in the game LSU’s starting safety was injured and had to leave the game. For those of you who did not see the game, Ohio State jumped out to an early 10-0 lead, had momentum and exuded confidence. Most teams would be concerned if the anchor of their defensive backfield was injured and not likely to return to the game. But not LSU! Their depth chart was deep with quality players who were well prepared for action.

If your star manager or employee went down as a result of an injury, mental incapacitation or premature death, what would happen to your business or that particular department? What would happen if a key manager quit? For many these are scary questions to think about! However, burying your head in the sand is no way to deal with such a situation. The value of your business could be significantly affected. For LSU a national championship could have been lost if they did not have capable replacements for their strong safety.

So what are you going to do about it? Here are a few thoughts to get you started:

1. Create a depth chart for each position
2. Assess the skill sets and capability of each person
3. Provide training/cross training and mentoring to strengthen your bench

 Are your second and third string employees ready?

Posted by Dave Ciambella on January 18, 2008 | Comments (0)