Personal Accountability

Accepting accountability for your actions is a must for moving up the career ladder or growing your business. I realize that we all get busy and we let things distract us or get us off track for our goals. These can consist of simple things such as e-mails, phone calls, voice mails, memos, someone dropping by to ask a question, an assignment that doesn’t go as planned, or even newly added “to do” items on your list. These are all external factors that we have a lot of control over. I call them “walk-by’s.” We allow them to become distractions to our goals and our plans. How we handle the distractions and how we get back on track is what is important. Don’t think that these “walk-by’s” will go away, because they won’t.

Actually, they will probably get more frequent the higher you move up the corporate ladder or as your business grows. How to manage them is what you need to learn. It all comes down to evaluating your to-do’s and your distractions each day and comparing them to your goals. You should be constantly reviewing your goals each day and evaluating whether your distractions are pushing you off course. You can’t afford to review them weekly or monthly. What you will find out is that you have veered so far off course that it will take some extra effort to get back on track. You should also evaluate the distractions and determine if you should be the one handling them. Can someone else handle these issues and get the same results? If so, delegate them or refer the “walk-by” to someone else instead of taking it on personally.

Have you ever been backpacking? If so, have you ever used a compass and a trail map or perhaps a GPS? You have to stop several times during the day and check your compass direction and compare it to your trail map to verify that you are still on course. If you only checked it once or twice a day and you were veering off course, each hour that you traveled would make it more difficult to get back on course once you determined that you were off course. It’s easier to make small adjustments more frequently than one large modification late in the process. Frequent validations are so important in staying on course. It’s the same way in marine navigation as well. Personal goals and business goals aren’t any different. Develop a constant validation process to make sure you stay on track. Another aspect of personal accountability is that of responsibility. Personal responsibility is accepting all of your actions, regardless of whether they resulted in a success or an opportunity. We all step up to the plate to take credit for successes, but we have a tendency to come up with excuses or rationalizing why something didn’t go too well. It is very disappointing to see so many people not take responsibility for their decisions when something doesn’t go as planned. You commonly hear “My manager approved it,” or “It wasn’t my decision to do it.” Or better yet, no one even steps up to the plate to say anything, hoping that someone else will take responsibility for it. Excuses seem to become the distraction all of a sudden, instead of root-cause analysis and then a problem-solving plan of action. It’s easy to want to blame someone else for those actions but in reality, just acknowledge and accept what was a result of your actions, be willing to work on the solution, and move forward. Those of influence are looking for you to accept it, correct it, and advance. In most instances, they aren’t looking to fire someone over the event (although that has been known to happen when excuses start to fly). You have to take and accept responsibility for your actions if you want to be successful. You learn from your mistakes, and accepting accountability for them communicates to others that you take responsibility for your actions. As a result, you will actually make better decisions in the future. You have to start by admitting your mistakes and then follow-up by taking responsibility for them. Those who admit their mistakes and take responsibility for them are strongly viewed as keeping the best interest of the company in mind. This is a great attribute of a strong leader.

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.

Do You Know Your Unique Qualities?

Have you ever considered yourself having any unique qualities? What are they? What makes them unique? What about your business, is it unique?

Most people would say that they don’t have any unique qualities. But business owners should think twice. Most business owners are unique but they may not know it and certainly not know why they are unique.

There are 4 simple questions that will help you better understand how and why you are unique. These same questions will also help you grow your business. They are:

• Why do current clients/customers continue to do business with me?

• Why do new clients choose to do business with me?

• Why do referral sources refer clients to me?

• What would friends/loved ones say are my natural talents/gifts?

Asking you these questions is only the first step. The second step (and most important) is to ask your current clients and customers. Ask them to be very honest with you. Make it worth their while to answer these simple, but very essential questions for your business.

There are also several questions for you to answer yourself. They will not only help you as an individual but will also help the business as well. They are:

• What gives me the greatest results with the least amount of time and effort?

• What activities do I do effortlessly, that energizes me, and produces extraordinary results?

• What vital few things produce 80% of my results?

Taking the time to ask your clients and customers and yourself these simple questions will make a tremendous difference in how you approach your business.

If you don’t know the answers to these questions, then you are probably not operating your business at its greatest potential.

Is This The Type Of Results You Are Looking For?

As a business owner, is this the type of results you are looking for? Would you accept this from your team?

What does this graph indicate? Lower sales? Plummeting profits? No matter what it is, it looks scary, doesn’t it?

But without any type of indication of what is being measured and what the timeline is, it’s an assumption at this point that the results are awful. There just isn’t enough data to tell us much except whatever is being measured is sure heading south quickly.

Have you ever made a New Year’s resolution? Lose weight, spend more time with the kids, quit smoking, or get organized? I’m sure we all have at some point in time. 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.

OK, the chart above is actually one of my goals from the first of the year. I set out to lose weight and get back in shape this year. This graph shows my progress. I lost over 40 pounds from January 1st to June 30th. I feel tremendous and I have so much more energy. I am running 3.5 miles three times per week now and love every minute of it.

It just goes to show you, if you want something bad enough and you make it a goal, it can happen.  This is definitely the results I was looking for!

Create a Do-Not-Do List

Do you find yourself struggling to get everything on your to-do list completed every day? Do you have a difficult time maintaining focus on one issue at a time until it is completed? Do you consistently carry several of your to-do’s over to the next day? Don’t fill badly, you are not alone. Many individuals find themselves struggling to get everything done each day. It’s almost become accepted that you can’t get it all done in a day. And for some reason that you do, you feel guilty because you are all caught up.

The problem isn’t what’s on your to-do list; the problem is everything else around you going on at the same time. It’s the e-mails, phone calls, voice mails, drop in questions, meetings, etc. It’s all the distractions that are keeping you from completing your tasks. It is those not planned for issues that keep you distracted enough to keep you from getting your items done.

So, how do you fix this issue? It’s simple. You need to start looking at each and everything that you do in a day and recognize those things that little or no value for you and your business. You should ask yourself three questions: (1) As a business owner, should I be doing this task? (2) Can I delegate this task to someone else? (3) Should this task be done at all? Once you have determined that you shouldn’t be doing these certain tasks, write them down on your do-not-do list. Make sure you remind yourself that as a business owner, this isn’t something that I should be doing

Just as you have created a to-do list, you must also create a do-not-do list. This list should contain all of the tasks and situations that are distracting you from your projects at hand. Every time you complete a to-do list also complete a similar not-to-do list. If you just add one new item to your to-do list, then add one new item to your not-to-do list that could keep you from completing the task in a timely manner. Keep these lists side by side. Keep them visible to you. Every time you look at one list, look at the other. They should become parallel with each other.

I’m not saying you should never read your e-mail, take phone calls, listen to voicemail or return calls to clients. I’m just stating that while you are on a mission to get this particular task at hand completed, focus on the task, not the million other things going on around you. It’s just as important to unlearn bad habits as it is to acquire new ones. It will be difficult at first but as you begin to see you are actually completing your tasks much quicker, you will gain momentum. It is amazing to me what we can actually accomplish when we really want to. Keeping all the distractions at a distance, or better yet, handing them off to someone else, is the key to completion.

So, go ahead and give it a try. Start your do-not-do list today and let’s see how successful you become with completing your tasks.

Now That The "Big Game" has Come and Gone, What's Next?

Today marks the 60th day since Super Bowl XLV came and vanished in North Texas. It was a very interesting week. Thousands of visitors crept into our area at the same time we experienced some of the worst winter weather we have seen in years. Two winter storms, back to back, all but crippled the entire area during Super Bowl week. But still, after all of that, six major cities involved with the big game boasted an increase from sales tax revenues for the month of February. Fort Worth, which played host to the Pittsburgh Steelers during that week, collected $6.9 million in sales tax revenue, a 4 percent increase over the same month last year. Many small business also have reported that they experienced a much larger than normal increase in sales during the same time period. Considering all that occurred during the “super week” turned out to be a very positive experience for many.

For many business owners in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the events leading up to and surrounding the 2011 Super Bowl created an influx of sales and revenue during the fourth quarter of 2010 and the first quarter of 2011. But for these owners, just as it was for the Packers and Steelers, it takes four quarters to come out on top.

Now that the Big Game has come and gone, business owners must begin to develop a strategy for the remainder of 2011. A strong first quarter can get a business moving in the right direction, but without a strategic business plan, owners can start to lose focus, miss opportunities, adopt bad habits, get in comfort zones and make excuses. All of which will negatively impact the owner’s business.

The Growth Coach of Fort Worth is developing a game plan for business owners to succeed and grow their businesses for the full four quarters by focusing on:

• Leveraging marketing
• Keep customers and attracting new ones
• Increasing the average transaction size
• Increasing the frequency of purchase
• Saying ‘no’ to bad business prospects

Increased sales and revenue in the first quarter look great on paper, but like the Super Bowl, businesses are judged by the culmination of four quarters.

If you would be interested in learning more how a “coach” can help you improve your game plan, give The Growth Coach of Fort Worth a call.