With an introduction by Howard Shiebler, the new president and CEO of GE Commercial Distribution Finance (CDF), David Spader’s 2-hour session called  “Building Bench Strength – How Strong Is Yours?” was hosted by Boating Industry Canada magazine in partnership with GE CDF.

The seminar was held at the Toronto International Boat Show on Tuesday, January 17th. While the session dealt with succession planning broadly, it started by asking the question; what happens when you don’t have a strong bench?

The Indianapolis Colts just found out. Quarterback great Peyton Manning did not lead his team onto the field at the start of this season for the first time in 227 consecutive games. Apparently the coaches were caught off guard; nobody seems to have planned for that eventual likelihood. The Colts were left scrambling and had to bring 38-year-old Kerry Collins out of retirement, and were quickly onto another quarterback! The result? The Colts finished the season 2-14!

The concepts David Spader covered included:

The Most Common Management Succession Mistakes The 3 Fits of Future Leaders… and the Single Most Important and Most Often Missed How Long Should It Take?

How Can I Accurately Assess the Capabilities of Future Managers/Leaders?

Why You Should Make Them Earn It & What Happens if They Don’t?

In the upcoming issue of Boating Industry Canada, David Spader has offered to write a follow up to this very valuable session. Look for his story in the February 2012 Boating Industry Canada magazine or contact your GE CDF rep for more information on how to build bench strength in your business.

Photo: Andy Adams Editor of Boating Industry Canada (left) thanks David Spader of Spader Business Management for his excellent presentation.