The human drive to be better usually has us looking at weaknesses and improving on them; it’s a wonderful uniqueness we possess and we always need to be improving on past efforts through refining our faults.

In Business though, there’s a pace we need to maintain that can be interrupted by the desire to ‘get it right’ before we go again.  The rule I’ve found handy here is, ‘80% out the door is better than 100% in the drawer’

In any campaign, there is always a successful element; the things that we know were absolutely correct.  Whether it’s hiring new team members, Marketing your products and services, Sales focus or Operational efficiency there are always areas where we have done well.  These successes are the things we need to systemise immediately and continue to use while we work on improvements

Successful author John C Maxwell said once that ‘he’s only good at a few things, really’.  Rather than improving on his weaknesses, he got good at hiring to them and just stuck with the stuff he knew he was great at; his team fills in the gaps.

We’re all winners in some way and it’s in focusing on our success first that allows us to grow in confidence and walk with purpose.  Take time to spot the great things in yourself and your Business and find out why it’s working, then duplicate it through your team.

Success breeds success.  Learn from your best efforts first and grow.

‘When do I ever get time to educate myself as the owner in my business’ you say?

This is a simple one really ……… not easy, but real simple

RESERVE THE TIME!!!

Default Diary is a subject I’ll cover in more detail some other time; suffice to say, it’s the diary we’d have when we create an ideal week for ourselves.  If we are going to grow as a leader, that diary MUST include time invested into our own development and education

Lets be clear - We cannot MAKE or FIND time.  We can waste it, spend it, kill it and invest it but we cannot create it.  That’s our lot.  The Billionaire and the beggar get the same 24 hours in a day and it’s what we DO with our time that get’s us the results we have.

A rounded life is one that embraces continual learning.  Invest some time today into creating a diary that caters for every important part of your life:  The Personal, Professional, Physical Mental and Spiritual in whatever way expresses your being.  When you do it, note the areas that need the most development and reserve some time to learn how you can improve that area.

To make learning a regular and common thing in your day is simple - just choose it.

Have a sensational week!

One challenging area for Business Owners today is having the knowledge to make great decisions for their Business in any situation.

What’s the secret to Learning?

A successful Executive I knew early in my career always made the best decisions, even when he was under intense pressure.  To make a long story short, the secret he gave for this ‘knack’ was consistent, quality Learning.

We all have a challenge in some area of learning.  How much, what type, where do I get time to use it all?  They’re all valid concerns.

Here are Six Key Areas of Learning that work in Business AND life:

#1 Make time to Learn – We’ll always HAVE time if we MAKE time.

#2 Learn Success First – Stick with what’s worked before.

#3 ‘Actioned’ Learning – Use knowledge, ie actually apply it!

#4 Learn Gradually – Let one idea ‘take hold’ before acting on the next

#5 Measured Learning – Track applied learning accurately for results

#6 Correct Learning – Review and adjust implementation for improvement

Over the next six weeks, we’ll cover these tips in more detail.

Have a great Week in Business!

We commonly hear the complaining question from people around us, (sometimes from within us), asking ‘Why do these things always happen to me?  Other times, we seem to just stroll through a ‘Purple Patch’ and everything we touch turns to gold.

This dynamic has been called a lot through history; luck, chance, serendipity.  At ActionCOACH, we call it ‘The Mirror’ and when we understand more about it, we can find it’s more predictable and controllable in our life than we’d think.

The story is told of a father and son walking through the mountains.  The boy falls, hurts himself and screams in pain.  As his echoed scream returns, the boy is surprised and yells out to the voice to identify himself.  ‘Who are you?’ ….. and the reply comes back, ‘Who are you?’.  ‘You’re a coward!’ he screams; with the predictable reply.

Seeing his sons confusion, the father asks him to stop his anger and pay attention.  The boy’s face softens and smiles as he hears his father’s voice return from the valley: ‘I admire you’, ‘You’re wonderful’, ‘You’re amazing!’.

Seeing he’s still unclear as to what’s happening, his father sits down to explain the phenomenon and the message behind it.  ‘It’s called an echo’, he says, ‘and just like this echo, life will always give you back what you give out’

Like it or loathe it, Life is a mirror of our actions.  If I want more love, I need to give more out.  If I want more respect from the world, I need to give more respect to those around me.  Money, friends, in fact everything around us is a direct reflection of our message to the world.

When first considering this idea, it’s a little confronting.  When we accept it’s legitimacy, though and take action accordingly, it’s easily one of life’s most powerful principles.

So, how’s your mirror?

It occurred to me at our ActionCOACH Regional Conference last week, that sometimes we complicate the Coaching process too much.

We can analyse and prophesy all we like about a particular area of our life or business and ‘over think’ the whole thing without ever taking some positive action and addressing it.

While we concentrate on the habit or phobia it’s never going to disappear.  The very energy and focus we put on it is what perpetuates it’s existence.

Sometimes this means choosing better rituals in our life rather than trying to break ‘bad habits’.

Bob Newhart has a better way of illustrating what I mean in this classic sketch from MAD TV.

Enjoy the fastest Coaching Session ever!

Speed Coaching Session

I’ve noticed this week, there is still a lot of faith in the SME sector in Sydney!

Clients are reporting best ever months, best ever qtrs, increases of 50% in conversion rate and rapport with customers they have never experienced before.  So, why are these people getting results when the wider Business Community is faltering?

It’s simple …….. better knowledge

The Economic Climate and the news associated with it can only be countered by better, cleaner information that a business owner commits themselves to collect each day, week and month.

Our clients have tools to collect valuable data and they commit to a time each week to analyse and plan what they’ll do with it.  When the news comes along to tell them how ‘bad’ the economy is, they have data that shows THEIR business is in great shape.  They can relax an concentrate on the real challenge of growing their business.

Get better knowledge in your business and ‘warm up’ your economic climate.  Get a Coach to talk about it with you TODAY!

Craig Brewster - Master Coach