Business Coaching & The Change Process

Losing weight should be easy...right? After all, one simply needs to eat less calories and exercise more. What is complicated about that basic information? Nothing! Then it should be fairly easy and straightforward to get lean and stay that way. Wrong! Nearly all of us, out of first-hand experience, know that it's not that easy to lose weight and then maintain our ideal weight. After all, estimates show that over 70% of Americans are overweight. Why?

Weight challenges can't be due mainly to a lack of information...most everyone knows and accepts they should eat less calories and exercise more. The problem is not that we don't know what to do, the problem is that we don't do what we know we should. Knowing something and doing something are worlds apart. Very often, we interfere with our own wishes. There are usually internal issues (sabotaging beliefs, self image, stress, habits, routines, boredom, personal problems, emotional wounds, etc.) that cause us to overeat or abuse food. Until we deal with these internal issues (causes), it is extremely difficult to get our weight under control (effects).

The same thing can be said for most business owners. We know what we should be doing to have more successful businesses, we just don't get around to doing it. Our ineffective mindsets, habits, fears, time wasters, and sabotaging behaviors get in our way. Our internal world sabotages our external desires. We interfere with our own success. Like folks wanting to lose weight, most business owners lack a structured, disciplined and on-going process for positive and sustained change. We have the desire for change, but not a proven change process. We remain stuck and in a rut. That's where The Growth Coach can help.

Like weight loss, running a business doesn't have to be overly complicated...we owners just seem to enjoy making it so. To have a successful business, we simply need to serve customers well and produce greater revenue than our expenses. While that sounds easy, we know it's not. Like weight loss, running a successful business is less about knowledge and more about applied knowledge...doing what we know we should do. The difference between an intention and real action is the difference between failure and success. Thinking about changing something in your business or life is useless without actually doing something about it. You need a proven change process to help you get the results you want. The Growth Coach provides that proven and guaranteed process.

Millions of individuals get help with their weight loss each year...they need an on-going coaching and accountability system to make internal changes (causes) necessary to achieve their desired external changes (effects). They leverage a proven change process. Furthermore, the on-going accountability helps keep them honest and on track to achieve the positive change they seek. There is no shame in getting help with weight loss.

The same thing is true about getting business coaching help for your business. There should be no shame. Very few owners have the required self-honesty, discipline and structure to go about improving themselves, their businesses, and their lives. They lack a proven change process. The Growth Coach provides that! As such, every business owner needs and deserves a business coach to help make change happen. A proven coaching process to help them face reality, develop clarity of direction, create a focused action plan, and receive on-going accountability to make sure things get implemented. Again, there should be no shame in getting help. In fact, asking for help is a sign of strength and self confidence. After all, without a structured and on-going process for positive and sustained change, very little will ever change. Why settle for so much less?

You say you can make the internal changes (mindsets, habits, beliefs, etc.) on your own. Maybe...but doubtful. If you could have made positive changes on your own, odds are you would have done so already. Stop deceiving yourself. Most owners are too close to their own situation to see the truth. They have blind spots. They are trapped by old strategies and practices. They play denial. They bank on a strategy of hope. Please understand, you need professional coaching to help you close the gap between where you are now and where you want to be. A business coach is an objective catalyst to help you face reality and determine what is and what is not working in your business and life. Then a business coach helps hold your feet to the fire with an accountability process to ensure you make the changes you want.

Do you want positive changes in your life and business? Then let go of your ego. Instead of insisting that you have all the answers (no business owner ever does), be open to the possibility that you may have some ineffective mindsets, beliefs, habits, knowledge, and assumptions holding back your success.

There is no shame in getting a business coach...the most successful entrepreneurs do. As well, most successful athletes have a coach. Why wouldn't you?

Start with a Goal

Have you made your New Year’s resolution's yet? Lose weight, spend more time with the kids, quit smoking, or get organized? Most of use have made some type of resolution either this year or in the past. What were your results? Did you achieve what you wanted? Making a New Year’s resolution is nothing more than establishing a personal goal. It more commonly involves stopping something that we are doing or includes starting something that we aren’t.

In the business world, we commonly utilize the S.M.A.R.T. method for establishing goals. S.M.A.R.T. stands for:

Specific — stated in clear, objective terms

Measurable — the results of the objective can be measured

Achievable — the goal is in your realm of responsibility and control

Results-Oriented — the goal should define the specific results to be achieved

Time-Bound — specific time-frame information or target deadlines are included

You should establish personal goals in your career as well. In fact, both your personal goals and career goals should be supportive of each other. Establishing and achieving both personal and career goals can generate a synergistic effect. Achieving one of your goals should get you closer to achieving another one. For example, stating that you want to get more organized at work and work fewer hours should support your personal goal of spending more time with your family and friends.

Similar to the S.M.A.R.T. method above, before you establish personal goals, you must be sure of a few things. It’s important to evaluate your goals before you commit. There are several questions that you should ask first:

Can I actually control it?

Do I really want it?

How much time will it take?

How will it impact others?

How will I measure my success?

The answers to these questions are critical if you intend to be successful with your goals. These questions are your foundation to helping you become victorious. Make sure you understand why these questions are so important.