My GM and I are having a furious debate. Help!

Dear Aunty B,

Please step in!

I am having a furious debate with my GM about my sales director. We have a new product that has huge potential and I want to put our two best sales people on it, giving it a big push. It has been in the marketplace for six months and is struggling. The problem is my GM does not want to sales guys taken off the main products. What do you think?

Jim,
Brisbane

Dear Jim,

He’s right and you are wrong. Remember Jim Collins in the Good to Great tome? Good to great companies always put their best people on their best opportunities not their biggest problems.

Now you might be tempted to think this new product is your biggest opportunity. But your biggest opportunities are where the bulk of your revenue is coming from and will come from. Only if your new product has the potential to quickly eclipse current opportunities would you consider such a move.

Entrepreneurs often fall in love with the next big opportunity. And your best safeguard against this is your staff, whom you have trained to focus on the business. It is good you are having a vigorous discussion but if I were you I would go back to the team and talk Plan B. How could you incentivise the sales team to focus on the new opportunity without losing a key focus on the main opportunities?

Good luck!
Your Aunty B

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