I was recently asked to comment on the importance of business coaching and why so many business owners are reluctant to get and pay for coaching. This is a snapshot of what I said.
Hello, I'm Mister Ed
Business has to view coaching/mentoring as another staff member. They must put a value on that resource like they would any other employee.
The problem you will find is that most business owners do not view non-fee earning activities as valuable. It’s sad but true that most business owners do not value what coaches provide. Why? Because they cannot measure it. And also because it takes a long time to translate into increased income and profits.
Most business owners think short-term. Consequently they drift along in the realms of mediocrity. For me they are no different to people who never stop to ask for directions, or builders who commence construction on a project without detailed specifications. They make costly mistakes. Implement the wrong strategies. Lose time and miss opportunities. Worst of all they get lost in the detail of business and lose the enthusiasm and the passion they once had for their craft.
A lot of business owners I come across make the mistake of thinking that having a coach is like admitting defeat. Or worse they think they know more about their business than a coach. They miss the point that a coach is not there to tell them what they don’t already know. Rather a coach is there to take their business and their personal life to the next level. The level where champions compete.
You see, business is no different to sport. The best entrepreneurs and sports people work with coaches. They recognise that to compete with the best you have to be coached to peak performance. A good coach can help you achieve this.
Here are a list of benefits of working with a coach:
You lift your energy and enthusiasm.
You It takes the pressure off staying touch with latest concepts.
You stay focused on the big picture.
You improve your personal life.
Your staff will start love and respect you even more than before.
Your customers will notice the difference.
Your family will notice the difference.
I believe that having a business coach is essential – especially in our digital age where information and strategy is evolving so rapidly.
The question is not whether your business can afford a coach. The real question is, can you afford NOT to have a coach.
Happy Easter festivities to all. A time for family and eating lots of good food!
So how do you work slower throughout the day? Try adopting some of the following strategies:
Don’t schedule in more than two meetings per day. And meetings should not last more than an hour.
Don’t schedule any meetings after 3pm. It is the most unproductive time of day and also the time of day where most misunderstandings and therefore conflicts occur.
Don’t pick up your second line (or call waiting) when you are already on a phone call.
Don’t rush your meetings or phone calls. Take your time and ensure that you understand the objectives and outcome of a discussion.
Listen more and absorb what the other person is saying.
Don’t take on too much work. Learn to say ‘no’.
Don’t rush your individual tasks. Enjoy doing them to the best of your ability knowing and reminding yourself that the service you give affects the customer. Visualise them praising you for the good work you will do.
Don’t accept any last minute deadlines imposed on you. Last-minute deadlines usually arise from somebody else’s inefficiency. It is somebody else problem. Don’t make it yours unless it is truly an exception requiring you to go beyond the call of duty.
Take a walk at lunch – preferably where there is a park or trees. Go alone.
Take at least 45 minutes for lunch.
Take a packed lunch to work for at least three days in the week. You will get more nutrition and you will save money.
Keep a photo on your desk and look at it throughout the day. It could be a photo of your partner, your children or a picture of your next holiday destination.
SLOOOOW DOOOOWN
These are just some of many strategies that we can each adopt. For those of you who are self-employed you will find that when you work slower then you can choose to work whenever and wherever you are without compromising your quality of life. Because working slower reduces stress. Stress management is a major challenge in our working lives. But people don’t realize that the problem is not the work we do but the speed in which we do it. For example when we are faced with a problem (or challenge) at work that same problem can generate different levels of stress depending on your frame of mind. If you tackle the problem in a slower frame of mind the problem shrinks in stature and the solution comes clearly and simply. The opposite applies when you are hurried. Problems are magnified unnecessarily and viewed as potential disasters. That is why most fast-paced and stressed people are caught in a cycle of worrying about things that never materialise. They blow things out of proportion.
Therefore working slower can solve your stress problem a lot cheaper and a lot more effectively than gym memberships, counseling sessions and pub drinking sessions.
The next burning question that I am sure you are about to ask is: Does slowing down at work reduce productivity and the business profitability? The answer is “definitely not”. Think tortoise and the hare. The fact is you are more effective when you slow down. You are more focused, more methodical, more thorough, more alert, more relaxed, and more creative. And all this facilitates better customer service and better management of yourself and others that work with you.
We have to also acknowledge that most of the time pressure we put ourselves under is self-inflicted because we tend to waste time here and there throughout the day. By managing your time more effectively you will find that there is never a need for speed at work. Time management is simply adhering to the cliché that “there is a time to work, a time to rest and a time to play.” To do this, simply apply what I call the “Triple 8 Rule”. We have 24 hours in the day:
8 hours for sleep
8 hours for work, and
8 hours for socializing and relaxing
Too much sleep makes you sluggish. Not enough sleep makes you tired and irritable. Too much work makes you stressed but not enough work makes you feel dissatisfied and bored (not to mention poor). Too much social time makes you directionless but not enough makes you boring and stressed. A fine balance between these three is the key. There are many books written on time management and I do not intend to bore you with the obvious; suffice it to say that you will find that it is a lot easier to slow down if you manage your time effectively. In addition to energy it is your most valuable resource. So slow down and smell the roses. Shed your cynicism. Sit and reflect and grow rich in mind. Listen to music you love. Savour the flavour of food and wine. Take the time to really listen to people. Take a slow stroll in the park. Daydream about your next holiday. Look into your children’s eyes and see the wonder and excitement for life.
Hopefully we in the service industry will gain momentum on this issue and start a Slow Service Movement that will improve our quality of service and more importantly our quality of life. We owe it to our customers, to our family and most importantly to ourselves.
Tomorrow I am off overseas on a relaxing break with my family. Its a time for slow living and really connecting with the family. Its also a time when most of my creative ideas come flowing.
I was inspired to write this article whilst on-board a Virgin Blue jet to Fiji. I was trapped on a five-hour flight and had forgotten to bring a good book to occupy me. Even worse I was full of energy so I could not even pretend to nap in front of the energetic young crew So what was I to do? It was then that it struck me. My mind was racing as fast as the jet and I could not just sit and be still without some form of distraction. (I guess that self-awareness increases, as you get older). I realized that many of my colleagues suffer from the same affliction. So the question was: why do so many of us who work in the corporate world feel so rushed and feel the need to be doing something all the time and faster still? This culture is rampant in our society. It’s as if our whole society has caught a disease. A disease called ‘speed’. Some of us thrive on it. We are addicted to it. But has anyone stopped to question why we are doing everything faster in the name of customer service and increased profitability? Is that what the customer wants? And has speed translated into increased profits?
Speed Kills Your Business and Your life
The fact is that there is no real need for speed. Customers definitely do not want speedy service. They want good service. Most advertising wrongly convinces customers that speed of service is the performance criteria by which they should choose a service provider. And so the expectation is set. And that has a domino effect, which accelerates through the business process highway and forces a culture of speed on the stakeholders in that process. But the question has to be asked: does it really matter to the customer whether speed of service is important to them? Is that more important to them than the right product or a thorough attendance? I have asked a number of business leaders this same question and they all have answered a resounding “definitely not”.
So why the need to rush? How did this culture of speed creep into our strategic thinking?
Some may argue that ‘speed’ is the key to capture greater market share and therefore greater profits. But has that really happened in your business? And more poignantly, has speed translated into better staff performance and hence better customer service? The truth is that if speed is the main thing that’s driving your profits then it will come at the expense of staff morale and ultimately good customer service. A profit strategy that is not sustainable because when staff become burnt-out they will give poor service. And when that happens you will lose repeat business.
There is also the philosophical argument as to whether the ‘profit objective’ is worth it if it compromises your health, your relationships and your happiness. That is, the ‘how much money is enough’ argument. The truth is that we are never motivated to focus on those meaningful aspects in life unless and until we have suffered a loss or encountered a major problem; such as poor health, broken marriage, or loss of friendships. The very things that gives meaning to our existence.
So how is the speed culture affecting your business? More importantly, how is speed affecting you personally? More on this in my next three journal entries.
A dear friend of mine from New Zealand had his home burgled on the weekend. He took his family away for a great weekend to Lake Taupo for what he said “was the best break ever,” only to return home and find the front door open and belongings stolen. The most significant thing that was stolen however was his daughter’s innocence. For the first time she had to process the fact that there are ‘bad people’ in this world.
So how does one deal with such an event? Any parent will tell you that the best way to raise children is to continually distract them with more positive matters. (Children are easily distracted not because they are naive but because they live in the present.) The idea here is not to dwell on the event. Sometimes people spend too much time analyzing what went wrong and how it affected them emotionally. The issue grows in proportion to the amount of time they spend thinking about it.
It is no different in business. Ideas are stolen or ‘borrowed’ all the time. But I see so many entrepreneurs waste a lot of their focus and energy dwelling on it rather than getting on with it. They focus on the review mirror instead of the road ahead.
So whether you have been burgled in life or in business, the best way to deal with it is to learn from it, get over it and distract yourself with more positive matters. Focus on your mission and your goals. Wake up every morning and take action. Continue to eat well, exercise, love, laugh, create, innovate, communicate and build solid relationships with family, friends and associates. Very soon you will forget about the event.
What you choose to do in your future can never be burgled.
The answer is no. In fact curiosity is a great teacher and a great asset to have. In business it is essential. Sure, we must temper curiosity with responsibility but we should not cripple our curiosity with fear of failure.
As children we are fearless. As we grow older fear gets in the way of our curiosity. We are taught that curiosity may get us into trouble. What a loss that is. In business and in life, nothing further can be from the truth.
Many great entrepreneurs and innovators (think Einstein) have a child-like curiosity for the world around them. They see opportunities. They poke, they prod, they make that phone call, they attend that seminar, and they connect with other like-minded people. Curiosity leads them to innovation. They try new things and question the status quo. They may fail at times but the beautiful thing about curiosity is that you even learn from such failures.
I was curious enough to recently attend a seminar by Dale Beaumont. I learned so much and met so many people, that it will change the course of my business forever. Curiosity led me to that.
So ask yourself this. Are you letting curiosity weave its magic into your life and business or are you living in the realms of fear, disguised as responsibility?
