Believe it or not, we didn’t write this post, but we like it. And, we have a few special twists that we put on our coaching relationships. Here are smartblog’s reasons:
1. Less managing, more leading. There’s always a tendency to get bogged down in just managing day to day affairs….personnel, customers, those nasty things. But, if you have a business coach, he or she should read this problem and get you back to leading, usually by saying, ok, what have you done to lead your company this_____(week, month, quarter)?
2. Accountability. This is a biggie…a good coach should work with you on setting revenue and profit goals, and make sure that you’re hitting them and, if not, why not. Most of you don’t have boards, but we do recommend joining a peer group (Vistage, EO, Solutions Forum), because you get a lot more accountability from a group than from a single coach. We all want to be well-thought of in our social groups, but if you’re in trouble, don’t let that prevent you from joining (you’d be surprised how often that’s a reason).
3. Letting your guard down. When we’re running companies, we usually have a guard up….I’m the boss. Who’s your father confessor? It should be your coach, unless your wife or significant other is part of your business. Look for empathetic qualities in a coach, but he/she shouldn’t be so empathetic that they’re not effective.
4. Calling BS on your thinking. The old Dan Kennedy trick on marketing and sales, applied to any decisions. A good coach should be able to tell you when you’re being non-sensical, get behind the reason, and fix your thinking. Groups are especially good at this.
5. Sounding board. A good coach should be a good sounding board to test your thinking on anything, from personnel decisions to marketing and sales to financing, etc. Most of your ideas can be improved with the help of a good kibitzer.
6. Asset insurance. This is an interesting one, because a good coach or group is really your insurance policy against your business dying and, in fact, it should be your competitive weapon in your industry, not just defensive. Interestingly, most owners view coaches as a cost, rather than a profit center…..we make money for our clients, which is a rather unusual way to approach it.
If you throw in our School (www.theasoe.com), it’s a lot less expensive than a coach or even a group. The courses are designed to give you additional perspective.
So, there you have it. Go out and hire a coach. You can even call us (1-800-716-9626) if you want our coaching on the coach.