Something I have been passionate about for some time now is empowering the 2nd string…or checking your bench. Your 1st string players will really (for the most part) take care of themselves–they have risen to the occasion and are on a strong path and a positive trajectory. But what about the second string… who is your next 1st string player?
If you look at the roster of any successful team, you will see that the starters are always outnumbered by the other players on the team. In the NFL, twenty-two people start on offense and defense, but the teams are allowed to have fifty-three players on a team. (heck college teams often have more than 100).
You find similar situations in every field. In the entertainment industry, the actors get the air-time, but the hundreds of crew members it takes to make a movie stay in the background. For any politician, corporate executive, or military commander that you know of, hundreds of people are working quietly in the background to make their work possible…nobody can neglect the majority of the team–or the second string and hope to be a true success.
What are WE going to do to bring those folks into the spotlight and empower them beyond the scope of their current jobs and responsibilities?
Mastermind Century Group 
Bill:
Your post couldn’t come at a better time.
Companies can only make money in two ways: increase profits and control costs. In a recession, it’s very hard to increase profits. So companies must cut costs.
Among the largest costs are those related to personnel. Companies must have the fewest number on board as possible. And those (benchers) have to be very good at what they do. They will also be the cadre that will guide the firm back to profitability when the economy recovers, as it surely will.
Companies should consider Bill’s words. Those firms must keep their best players by treating them well. If they don’t, it’s more than a loss when margins are thin. Those best benchers will go to the competitors. . .with all their previous companies’ proprietary information.
Don: thank you so much for the comment–it seems to me, leaders can get so caught up in the here and now, leader development, mentoring, coaching, call it what you will–falls by the way-side and it is always to the detriment of the organization and the leadership…. tough to keep your eye on the ball sometimes (and I speak from both sides of the ball, where I have failed to check the bench–and where we have brought some amazing players onto the field for BIG wins)
-Thanks again Don