Helping Hand - Firm Push

 "Sometimes the best helping hand you can get is a good, firm push."

 - Jo Ann Thomas

 

Man is that true. I have worked now with well over 50 small business owners across the US and Canada and the power of this quote is echoed over and over.

This is the essence of Coaching. Whether it is in athletics, the arts, life in general or business, it all comes down to the fact that great coaches bring Accountability.

We all yearn to have a team of people who are accountable for their actions and more importantly their results.

Accountability starts at the top and the problem is that small business owners are usually not accountable to anyone but themselves. Oh yes your employees and family look to you for leadership and money, but that is responsibility not accountability.

A good coach brings accountability to the engagement and the money you invest (yes invest you will get an ROI on it) solidifies it.

Working Sessions and assignments ensure you block the time each week to work on making your business better. It is not working harder, it is the fact you are focusing on the right things, the things that will make you a better leader, your employees more productive and your company more profitable.

Will coaching work for you? It works for everyone that is committed to taking their dream and turning it into a project - committed to focusing 2-3 hours a week on making yourself and the business better and more profitable.

See what these business owners say about the power of coaching.  

All the best,

Rick Wallace 

Why Being a Meaner Boss Can Help Your Company

 "Whatever you are willing to put up with is exactly what you will have."

 - Anonymous

 

With all our focus on Core Culture, Values etc. sometimes we need to be reminded that there is a balance that needs to be created in your business. As a leader, you need to be strong, sometimes brutally honest, quick to make personnel decisions and provide day-to-day direction and correction. Employees usually want and seek structure in their company.  

This 3 minute read provides some insights from the latest study on leadership.

All the best,
Rick Wallace

When did you know IBM would become a colossus?

 "The first day, I had a very clear picture of what the company would look like when it was finally done. I realized that for IBM to become a great company it would have to act like a great company long before it ever became one."

   - Thomas Watson, Founder IBM

Vision is the starting point of any great business. We have discussed many times the key ingredients of The Leadership Matrix, a 9 step process that will result in a great company. Clarity is the First cell.

Jim Collins, Rockefeller, Gerber, Nightingale, Napoleon Hill, Emerson, Aristotle, all the great minds wrote about and practiced the habits of success.  

It takes Clarity, Focus (Actions)and Execution to succeed at anything in life and especially business.

Clarity is Vision, Goals and a Core Purpose.

The quote above it all about the power of Vision.

What is your Vision for your company? It must come from you, no one is going to set it for you!

Take a few minutes today and write down your Vision for your company in 2020. Make it detailed, what will your role be, how big, how many employees, management positions, locations or size of facilities, etc.

"If you don't know where you are going you might not get there"

- Yogi Berra - I forgot about the greatest mind of all (grin)

Communicate this every week to your team along with your Core Purpose, your Why.

Steven Covey and His Rocks

Steven Covey died last week at the age of 79 from a fall on his mountain bike.

We lost a great motivator and someone who understood the power and need to control the way we think and act. No victim thinking in his world, only ownership of your thoughts and actions.

His groundbreaking book "The 7 Habits of Successful People" laid out the way all the successful people he studied approached their life and business:

Habit 1: Be proactive

Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind

Habit 3: Put First Things First

Habit 4: Think Win-Win

Habit 5: See First to Understand, then to convince

Habit 6: Synergize

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw

The tool I use the most in my practice is this short video about Rocks and Pebbles - a classic on time management and how to increase your focus and productivity and really incorporate all of the above into habits that will last a lifetime. It's about 8 minutes that are more than worth the time.

Thanks Steven!

All the best,

Rick Wallace

Finishing Well

"The List of Choices - Remarkable Work is always not on the list, because if it was, it would be commonplace, not remarkable. "

 - Seth Godin

From Seth Godin:

"It's not enough to finish the checklist, to hurriedly do the last three steps and declare victory.

In fact, the last coat of polish and the unhurried delivery of worthwhile work is valued all out of proportion to the total amount of effort you put into the project.

It doesn't matter how many designers, supply chains, workers, materials and factories were involved--if the box is improperly sealed, that's how you will be judged."

'Nuff Said!

All the best,

Rick Wallace 

Referrals and Fresh, Sweet Blueberries

"84% of all purchases in the US are generated via word of mouth." 

 - Brian Tracy quoting Recent AMA Study

I normally don't do this but I have a good friend (Satnam Basra)  who has worked his butt off for the last 3 years to follow his WHY, his passion. He planted and grows 11 acres of blueberries in front of his beautiful house on Shimerville Rd. in Clarence between Roll and Clarence Center roads. He has 4 varieties which will ripen in stages all through the summer. He has drive-through service (already picked) or U Pick'em. I just stopped by and talked a little business with him. The bushes are loaded and of course we walked and sampled as we went. They are "great" and of course good for you.

Take a drive over and pick some up, or take the kids and have some fun picking. Blueberries are easy to pick in nicely mowed, grass lined rows and nothing creates memories like picking fruit with your kids.

After your visit - Satnam will ask for your email address. He will notify all his customers when the next variety is ready, provide TIPS and recipes every other week, and "offers'" that can be given to your friends. (Smart businessman, huh?).

As I was standing there I asked a lady who just picked and bought some berries if she would like to supply her email address. I  told her we would notify her when the next variety is ready and things like that. She said, "sure and it would be great to get recipes and how to freeze tips, etc. from you."  What a confirmation of the power of nurturing and serving customers via email.

All the best,

Rick Wallace 

The Most Expensive Thing A Person Can Own is A Closed Mind

"The wisest mind has something yet to learn." 

 - George Santayana, Philosopher

Two quotes for one this week.

I asked a client the other day what he had to overcome to make the call and retain a coach. It is not an easy call to make, I know that. I was curious about why he and others have made that call and why most business owners I know have not.

He said:

"Rick I used to have an ego that prevented me from asking for help in anything I did or tried to do. Exposing my "weaknesses" scared me. As a business owner you need to have an ego, but it should not prevent you from getting smarter and better. I have gotten to the point now that if it will make my business better and my life better I seek out help. I cannot know everything.

I hired a consultant several years back and paid him $20,000 to give me ideas and best practices that would improve my business. He left me with the plans and I did not get much out of it. I still have the books.

Coaching is different. You not only bring the ideas and best practices, but you bring the ongoing accountability and focus that every business owner needs. I have had to develop new habits and a renewed focus to really improve the business. I learned to set goals, prioritize actions, focus, follow through and execute. I did all the work - you showed me a better way to do it.

That takes a coach, not a business consultant. Sales are up, profits are up, the team is more accountable and I'm enjoying it all more.

Setting aside the ego was easy. Once you realize you are still in charge and that your issues and weaknesses are not unique, the fear of exposing them disappears."

"Every act of conscious learning requires the willingness to suffer an injury to one's self-esteem.

That is why young children, before they are aware of their own self-importance, learn so easily."

-- Dr. Thomas Szasz

I couldn't help it 3 quotes in one.

All the best,
Rick Wallace