Steady as She Goes

"Steady as she goes" is an order for a helmsman to keep a ship on its current course. The same term could apply easily to a business that is navigating the dangerous waters of growth, diversification, or generational transition.

 

Before you plunge your business toward a period of expansion, fundamental change, or operational shift, did you take the time to map your route? Yesterday I had an amazing crew of people at a GrowthCLUB seminar, where we did exactly that. Plotted our course, measured the distance between points, and made sure the goals and steps of the trip were feasible, satisfying, and profitable. We ensured that the next 90 days would be a journey toward success.

Where are you going in the next 90 days?

Furthermore, did you consider how to keep your ship on course? No one can predict life's curveballs - there will inevitably be one or two or many thrown across your path. Personally or professionally, you can expect storms that have the strength to throw you off course. How will you maintain the road we just laid out? How will you keep your focus on the goals you want to achieve? How will you avoid sabotaging your own success?

A business coach is that voice - the one that says "Steady as she goes."

How will your team members buy in to your vision? When the storm comes, will they batten down the hatches or throw in the towel? No captain can man a ship on his own - your key players need to be standing by your side. How will you address their concerns and help them fair the journey?

It's called TeamRICH - a seminar all about communication, team-building, and cooperation.

How will you read your terms of navigation? Business financials and Key Performance Indicators will indicate red flags, rocky areas, failings or strengths. No captain journeys too far without checking his navigation devices; similarly, no business owner can realize success without watching its progress in the books.

That's FinancialMASTERY - a seminar all about business financials. Knowing what they are, what they  mean, what they're telling you, and how you should make decisions based on what they're telling you.

Finally, when you glimpse the lightkeeper's beacon and realize a key strategic goal in your business's success, I hope you will take the time to recognize the value of your hard work and self-discipline. I hope you will realize the valuable contribution of each team member as well as your own strength as a business owner. I hope you will realize the full extent of what you have achieved, how you got there, and why you got there. I hope you will be able to measure the results, quantify them, and know in solid terms where you are and where you have been. And hopefully, where you're going next.

 

Because your success is my success.

DAVID GREEN

ACTIONCOACH LETHBRIDGE

309 10 STREET S

LETHBRIDGE AB  T1J 2M7

1.888.891.3302

iambusinesscoaching.com

 

Making Tough Decisions

It's true that the only constant in life is change, and as we adapt and react to it we often have to make tough decisions. Sometimes the choices we make will adversely affect people we care about, slow the progress of causes we have a passion for, or stem the tide of personal financial increase. Making tough decisions requires unique strength, and the ability to weather the consequences of those decisions is a mark of true endurance and perseverance.

How do you face and make tough decisions? Business owners make tough decisions on a fairly regular basis. Some are more tough than others.

1. Separate yourself from the issue. In business, it is important to remind yourself to look at a situation objectively and work from the most unbiased standpoint possible. We can easily rationalize what we do when it will save us grief. But when we eliminate our personal emotional involvement, we may discover that the situation takes on a whole new light. Depending on the weight of the situation, I would also recommend removing yourself physically. Take a day or two away. Step out of the everyday, regain your perspective, and make a decision that makes sense whether you are in the trenches or not.

2. Make sure you're focussing on the important factors. This might sound redundant, but just because you've separated yourself from the issue doesn't mean you've appropriately prioritized what is truly important in this decision-making process. Try to nail it down to three utterly imperative factors that must be taken into account. And make sure those factors are really the ones that are most important. One way to do this is to match them against steps and processes essential to your business success. Are these factors the weighty ones that will help or hinder your company from achieving its goals? If not, it might be time right now to re-evaluate how much time you've spent already on this decision.

3. Evaluate possible repercussions. No one can effectively predict the future, but it's invaluable to look ahead and try to determine to the greatest extent possible how your decision will reverberate through your business. Consider both the positive and negative probabilities and possibilities. If you're leaning towards a choice with a number of negative consequences, now is a good time to consider how you will counter those effects and how much they may impact your productivity, business strategy, and ultimately, your success.

4. Take as much time as you need. Tough decisions shouldn't be made easily. Whether it takes you two hours, two days or two weeks to weigh in the factors that need to be considered, take the time to do it. You are the business owner - take as much time as you feel you need to make a good decision. But be careful - don't use the "I need more time" feeling as an excuse to procrastinate. You can only dedicate your time to one god - either Idleness or Productivity. Take the time you need, but take no more than what you need.

5. When the choice becomes clear, make the decision. It's that simple. When the door opens, walk through it. Don't hesitate, second-guess, or procrastinate. It will only cloud your judgment, tempt you to rationalize what shouldn't be rationalized, and draw out a situation that doesn't need time to become more complicated. When the way becomes clear, follow the path.

6. Make a plan. A plan for execution and fallout clean-up of this decision. Maybe it's simple and maybe it isn't. But after the consideration you've given this issue, be sure you consider how to effectively implement that decision and handle all the adjacent side effects. Write it down.

7. Don't look back. When you walk through that door, don't forget to close it behind you. You gave that decision all it required - adequate perspective, weighing in of the important factors and consequences, and time to make sure you'd considered everything appropriately. You made the decision to the best of your ability. Now man up, move forward, and take whatever the fallout is in stride. You made a good decision.

Our economic climate is demanding more and more people to make tough decisions. Are you prepared to face those decisions? As business owners we are concerned with success - both our success and the success of our families and communities. There's no lack of wealth in our system, but the distribution and redistribution systems of that wealth are changing. The value of commodities is shifting and worth is being determined by altering standards. In this kind of uncertain environment, people withdraw into personal circles of security. Loyalties diminish as each individual struggles to find their niche, meet obligations, or simply survive. Trust becomes more scarce as each person seeks to find a way for themselves amidst these fluctuations. As a business owner, you are going to need to make some tough decisions. Take time now to prepare to handle them.

Planning for Success

Planning saves time and money. Planning points us in the right direction, gives us a roadmap, and puts goals and dreams into a tangible framework of steps. Planning gives us an overall perspective of where we are, where we've been, and where we're going.

December is a great season for planning. Not only is it a time of celebration and reflection, but it is also the season for planning and preparing for the future. In January we turn over the calendar to a new year that stretches in front of us full of promise and potential. In all the busy parties and receptions, fundraisers and family dinners, gift-buying and gift-receiving, and the travails of winter storms, make time to sit down and re-evaluate. This year is drawing to a close - what will next year bring for you?

I extend a personal invitation to all of you to join me for our GrowthCLUB session on December 11. It's a unique session geared towards taking some time to evaluate the state of the union in your business. What is the current financial state of affairs? What will your goals be for next year? By this time next year, what would you like your business to look like? What changes would you like to make to your marketing campaigns and systems? How would you like to build your team toward better collaboration and communication? How would you like to improve your sales and bottom line? Join us for an opportunity to sit down with other business owners and discuss ideas, opportunities, and proven tactics that can change your business for the better.

"If I have an idea and give the idea away it is not gone, but I still have it! This experience does not conform to the arithmetic of things.
Let us examine this experience from the point of view of exchange. If I have an apple and you have an apple and we exchange apples -- then you have an apple and I have an apple. But if I have the idea that the apple is red and you have the idea that the apple is small and we exchange ideas, then you have two ideas and I have two ideas. It is quite obvious, therefore, that the laws governing thoughts or ideas are different from the laws governing things. If I have an idea and give it away, I still have it to give again, and if I give the idea away again and again, I still have the idea left."

--Nicolas T., 19 May 2011

Start at the End

Always know the end of a business venture before you begin. Plan for it and don't lose sight of it. While it may seem paradoxical, the end will one day come and you need to know your exit strategy before you step through the door.

Are you planning to build a business that will give you a good living until retirement? Are you planning to build an international enterprise that will not only support your lifestyle, but effectively financially position your children's children? Are you intending to build the business to a certain point, sell it, and move on? How does your venture contribute to your vision of life in ten years, and when will the time come for you to part ways? What will be the key indicators that will signal that the end is near? Knowing how the story ends is key to determining how it will begin and how decisions will be made as the business grows.

If you're thinking about starting a new venture, or diversifying your corporation in new directions, or buying a new enterprise to complement the holdings you already have, take a long look at how you picture the end of the road. I recommend reading Start With Why by Simon Sinek, or Business Stripped Bare: Adventures of a Global Entrepreneur by Richard Branson. Make sure you know where you're going, why you're going there, and how you will know when you have arrived. And when the time comes, execute the exit strategy you have always planned.

To Be or Not To Be

Take the pains required to become what you want to become, or you might end up becoming something you’d rather not be. --Donald Trump

Look around you. Is this where you imagined yourself ten years ago? Is this the house, the family, the car, the lifestyle you had in mind? If so, congratulations! If not, why not? Where did you turn aside from the things that mattered to you and made concessions that have led you to where you are today? Because contrary to a popular belief that life just happens and we ride the waves as they come, where you are today is largely a product of your own choices. Perhaps your priorities changed; maybe an unanticipated life-altering event occurred that was completely beyond your control; perhaps you simply decided that what you originally wanted isn't what you really wanted. The reasons aren't essential at this point. What is essential is that you take a pitstop on the road of life to decide if where you're headed is where you want to go.  Let's take a lesson from an old childhood classic - Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland:

"Cheshire-Puss," she began, rather timidly, as she did not at all know whether it would like the name: however, it only grinned a little wider.

"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"

"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat.

"I don't much care where---" said Alice.

"Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat.

"---So long as I get somewhere," Alice added as an explanation.

"Oh you're sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough."

We can all keep on walking, but someday we may discover ourselves in a place we never intended to be. It's time to discover the power of goal-setting. At ActionCOACH we believe in setting a course, evaluating progress, and ensuring we are moving in a positive direction. Where you are right now is your starting point. Where you want to be is your end point. It's time to plot the course that will get you there. Start building your dreams. Start reaching for those goals. This life is the only life you've got - the only chance at success. Learn why planning is so important, and then put that knowledge into action. It's time to live that dream and be that person. If you don't do it now, when will you do it?