Last night, the Dallas Mavericks beat Miami in a crucial NBA Finals game.  Great, thanks Doug, we read the paper, saw that online or watched Sportscenter, how does that relate to my assisted living community or home care business???

The Mavericks are lead by Dirk Nowitski, he is their best player by far and has carried them through the playoffs.  Unfortunately, Dirk woke up with a fever yesterday and was nowhere near 100% for the game.  As the game went on, Dirk, tiring, was missing shots he normally made with ease and had to spend more time on the bench, downing extra water and covering his head with a towel.  He was a shell of his normal self.  The Mavs were falling behind, about to lose their chance in this game.  But, as hope was fading the rest of the team stepped up, combining with their depleted leader to launch a comeback and win the game in the last few seconds.

Could your company do the same?  Have you built a strong team, throughout your organization or are you just relying on one superstar salesperson to carry your sales force.  Some leaders take on too much and don’t delegate or give their team the training or empowerment to step up when needed.  Is that you?  Might be time to take inventory of your team and see if they are capable of filling in for you if needed.  Being a leader means training people that could replace you.  Would definitely make vacation more relaxing.

When you get a chance, examine your organization.  Is it balanced with people that all contribute to its success or are a couple of superstars carrying the load?  If one or two of those superstars leave can your retirement community staff survive or will there be gaping holes. 

Always make sure you are reviewing your team, building a strong, deep pool of talent that is capable of being successful when you or your superstars come down with the flu.  This philosophy has given the Mavericks a shot at the NBA Championship!