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As many of you know that receive our “News from Yarmouth County” newsletter I’ve been having some health problem. First I hurt my back and then developed an ear infection! Fun, Fun!
You also know that in our last “News from Yarmouth County” newsletter I spoke about how it was making me think about who would carry on with YarmouthCounty.com if something serious would happen to me!
At least one of you wrote in to say, that although he hoped I wouldn’t to worry about that any time soon, he did think I had made a valid point. We all need to be thinking about what we’ll leave behind and who will take care of things when we’re not here.
Now, one would think that this is something that business owners would look after, and individuals would postpone. Well, I encourage both groups to make preparations for such a time as this. Live for today, plan for tomorrow, so to speak.
Then I discovered a survey that says succession plans are definitely lacking. According to a recent survey, nearly 40% of advertising and marketing executives surveyed feel uncertain that someone in their company could fill their shoes if they had to suddenly leave their positions.
The poll was conducted by an independent research firm and developed by The Creative Group, a staffing service providing marketing, advertising, creative and web professionals on a project basis.
Advertising and marketing executives were asked, “If you had to step down from your position tomorrow, how confident are you that someone in your agency/firm would be prepared to assume your responsibilities?” Their responses:
Very confident: 22%
Somewhat confident: 38%
Not very confident: 25%
Not at all confident: 14%
Don’t know: 1%
We hear a lot about disaster planning, yet although people know they should do it, they often put it off till it’s to late. Whether the head of a large private firm, or a family of one or two, we should all be ready for theinevitable. Although disaster may be avoided, I know of only one who overcame death, and He left a whole discipleship behind to carry on His work!
Creating a succession plan for our future, or for point when we’re no longer here, — whether public, private, or personal — has benefits that provide leadership for businesses, employees, andfamilies, to grow professionally and leads to increased loyalty, productivity, and peace of mind.
When developing our plan it is best to start early, taking time to prepare and train our replacement. Even if we doubt we’ll need a replacement anytime soon, preparing someone to assume our duties creates a safety net should we have to leave our post.
By not overlook anyone, we stand a greater chance of identifying the ability and skills necessary, and determine more easily who may show the greatest potential for acquiring them. By sharing our vision with others around us we may better find and develop leadership skills. Not to mention the feedback we’llreceive that may lead to broader vision and revision of our goals.
Then, once we’ve found those who may carry on in our place, we need to provide regular communication and open dialogue so together we can continue to develop and expand our shared vision. Offering ongoing incentives, developing a shared vision, and delegating moreresponsibility , will help keep everyone engaged and committed to the shared vision. I feel that allowing ourselves to open up to a shared vision is crucial to our own development and to that of our successors.
It may be a good idea to have trial runs during our vacation and other times away from our usual posts. Having potential successors assume responsibilities during these time will allow our successors to gain experience while we learn how prepared the person is to take on a greater role.
This is also the reason I’ve been seeking people interested in Learning New Computer Skills For Free. In exchange for working on YarmouthCounty.com, and helping us to promote Yarmouth County and surrounding areas, I’ll help these individuals not only learn computer skills, but to truly learn what it has taken me over ten years to learn and develop. Everything from Computer Skills, to Online Applications, to Sales, Marketing, and Customer Skills.
Some people have questioned if I’m giving away to much? I figure if these people stay with YarmouthCounty.com for the short or long term, or go on their own to promote Yarmouth County, or another project of their own, we all win and I’ve done my part to help continue my work in promoting Yarmouth County and to make the online world a better place in the process.
This has been reworked for our purposes based on information from a Nova Scotia Business Journal article and related information from the The Creative Group Succession Survey.
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So, for YarmouthCounty.com, this has been Brian Hurlburt, and I invite you to Make it a great day!
Sincerely,
Brian Hurlburt
customerservice@yarmouthcounty.com
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Helpful Links
Nova Scotia Business Journal
The Creative Group
