Ryan was having a good day. In fact, the past 7 days had been exhilarating. A week ago, Ryan had been promoted to a first-line supervisor position. He had thought about different uses for some of his increase in pay.

As he neared the office, Ryan began to have different thoughts. Could he handle the job? How would he direct his subordinates? "Reality can be nasty, " Ryan mused, "but I can do this.

First, I had a management course in college. Second, the boss would not have recommended me for promotion if she thought I couldn't do the job. Still, this is scary." What advice would you offer to Ryan? How should he prepare for his new job?