Read This For Three Minutes—Your Glass Shop Will Be Better Off

Three Minutes. Set the timer on your Mickey Mouse watch. Your glass shop will be better off. Is there one problem that every single glass shop in the U.S. and Canada have that can be solved now in just three minutes? Sure thing. Just one little problem. Are you ready? And don’t tell me you don’t have this problem. Every glass shop has this problem.

Huh? You are saying to yourself, “How the heck does Bieber, sitting on his butt in New Hampshire, know the single biggest problem I have in my shop in New Mexico? Does he have that much hot air? He has never even been in the state of New Mexico.”

Right, I have not been there, but I know the biggest problem you have. Ready? Set? Your biggest problem is: SUCCESSION IN YOUR COMPANY. We all have day-to-day problems in a hundred areas. The one we all share, no questions asked, is “Who is going to take over running my company when I want to take a vacation? Who will grow into a supervisor? Who will run this place when I think about retiring?”

Two and a half minutes to go. The next person you hire, make sure it is someone who can grow. You are going to pay more than your area average now and in the future. Can this person become a foreman in two years? Can they run the office? Can they become a shift leader?

Most importantly, does my company have a training program to teach and mold our future leaders?

If you don’t plan for the future, it will give you a real big bite just where you sit down. Something will come up in the future that will require you to have a leader in your ranks. Maybe you get an opportunity to buy a competitor who wants to retire. Maybe your goal is to sell your company, but if you don’t have a good manager in place, it is tougher to sell a company.

Who is going to train your new employees? Who can you trust to run your day-to-day business while you attend a glass show, or may the heavens permit, an actual two-week vacation with your family?

OK, you get the hint. Identify one or two folks working with you now who can grow, and start giving them more responsibilities. If you don’t feel any current folks can be leaders, make that the most important characteristic of your next hire. You will pay more upfront. Consider that as an investment in your succession.