Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Ensuring your company's future

Do you ever wish a wonderful new creative would just show up and join your firm and bring a whole lot of her own clients? Well, you can wish on as many stars as you like, but it doesn't often happen! Your best bet is to effectively train your apprentices and grow the future talent within your company.

Now, it's one thing to tell your assistants and apprentices that they are being groomed for stardom and then leave them alone to figure it out for themselves - it's a much smarter thing to plan for their success and to make sure it happens.

Hire them carefully, perhaps more thoughtfully than you are used to. Set a time goal for their training: a year, two years, whatever makes sense. Train them not only in their craft, but in client skills and the business of business. When they are ready - after the training period is up, actively endorse them to clients, you know you have their back if anything goes wrong.

They should be good, after all they learned from the best! What you have to do is to promote them and support them and believe in them. In the end, this is the most dependable way to ensure another generation of success for your company. If that "lucky strike" person comes along with a stable of clients you'll still figure out a way to take them in, but at least you know you won't be depending on it.

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