Be “Smart” About Your New Year’s Resolution

Tis the Season when many of us once again think of ways we will improve our businesses and ourselves; perhaps better known as the dreaded NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION! How many times have we set out at the beginning of a new year to do something really good for ourselves only to miss the mark, fail to accomplish our resolution and give up? Here at Action Coach of Akron Canton we like to think of the New Year’s resolution as a misunderstood goal setting process. We also believe it’s an opportunity to achieve more, in some cases, than you can even imagine. It just needs to done the right way!

Despite their obvious value, our experience with goals have shown that some of us are good at setting goals and sticking to them, achieving great results and others can’t keep a New Year’s resolution to stop smoking for two days in a row.

Goal setting is as important in personal life as it is in business. The most common denominator in all the self-help literature and books is the importance of goal setting. We’re told to set long-term goals, short-term goals, lifetime goals and personal goals.

The benefits of Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results orientated, Time-framed (S.M.A.R.T) goals have been written about in self-help books for years. So, it follows that goal setting is obviously a powerful process.

It is about, as Coach Dennis Kelley says “eating the elephant, one bite at a time” and of turning vision into achievable, actionable things. It’s the common denominator of successful individuals and businesses.

Failure to set goals can be seen as a fear of failure. That is, the blow to our integrity when we don’t reach our goals. When we make and keep commitments, such as setting and achieving goals, it reflects the amount of trust we have in ourselves. We increase our confidence in ourselves to make and keep commitments to others and ourselves. However, when we don’t achieve our goals we lose confidence in our ability to make and keep commitments and to trust ourselves.

There are many reasons why we don’t achieve our goals. Sometimes the goals we set are unrealistic. New Year’s resolutions are typical examples. Suddenly, we expect to change the way we eat, or the way we exercise just because the calendar changes. It’s like expecting a child that’s never ridden a bike to suddenly jump on and go, or to run a marathon without months of training. These goals are based on illusion with little regard to natural growth. You must be able to crawl before you walk.

So, how do we set and achieve goals? Stephen R. Covey says it best in his book “7 Habits of Highly Effective People”. “To begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination. It means to know where you’re going so that you better understand where you are now and so that the steps you take are always in the right direction.”

Here’s an example of a S.M.A.R.T. goal that you might choose for 2008:

WHAT
My goal is to maintain a healthy body.

WHY
So that:
I can be fit to do the things I enjoy.
I can be an example to my children in health management.
I can build my personal character strength

HOW
Good Nutrition: I will increase my intake of fresh fruits and vegetables and decrease my intake of sugar, fats, salt and red meat.
Physically: I will exercise aerobically 3 times a week for 30-minute periods.
Focus: I will be aware of my body and look out for any health problems.

Focusing on the smaller, short-term goals and achieving success will give you the confidence to set other goals. So, remember, set your goals based on the S.M.A.R.T. principle to have the best chance of achieving your goals.

Make 2008 your year of setting sensible, achievable goals…That’s good New Year’s resolution!

Creating a Sales System

Recently coach Ralph Berge posted information about creating systems in your business. One of the systems to look at in your business is the sales system and how sales are created in your company. When you ask many of the greatest salespeople in history what their secret is many would answer – personality. But when asked how to quantify and teach personality to others, these super salespeople are often stumped. Teaching great sales involves a major re-education and a focus on systems that make sales simple.

Sales scripts not only increase the sales of top performers but also produce amazing results for the entire team. One rule of thumb, which can be used in selling and in life, is that what you can measure you can manage and grow! The ultimate test of a superior salesperson is how consistent their results are and how consistent the results are for the entire team. Using a sales script achieves this consistency and makes the training of new team members simple and effective.

By introducing a sales system like a script, you can then measure conversion on a daily basis and your sales will automatically increase – guaranteed. So, exactly what does a sales script look like, how do you write one and how is it used? Let’s look at this now.

A sales script is a documented, methodical, learnable, effective system of selling your goods and services. It is a written process on paper designed to give the salesperson control of the call (while the customer ‘feels’ in control) and create a desired result – the sale! It is written by your number one salesperson, in answer to the question – Exactly what do you say to a prospect to get them to buy your product? You may even choose to reward your top salesperson for doing this by offering them a great incentive such as a percentage of extra sales.

Let us briefly outline key parts of the Action sales script. Obviously, there are differences between sales scripts used on incoming and outgoing calls; however, I will just detail some of the universally used key Action selling lines taken directly from our sales scripts!

The opening: “Could I just outline the reason for my call?”
Permission: “Would if be okay if we go through the call that way?”
Rapport Building: “What’s your biggest challenge right now in that area?”
Below Waterline: “What's most important to you in…”
Paraphrase: “Based on what you just told me, it sounds like…”
Temperature Check: “How does that fit with what you had in mind?”
Secure the Sale: “Would it be okay if I give you the steps in getting that process under way?”
Conclude the Encounter: “Congratulations and bye for now.”

A script can be read, learned and must be practiced, used, measured and improved (if needed) to increase conversion rate of prospects to customers of all the team. Imagine taking the guess-work out of selling once and for all by using a system which makes your sales results less people dependant and more system dependant!

What Happened to the Team?

Recently, Coach, Bob Roberts and I met with a group of business owners and quickly the conversation turned to their teams. Specifically they voiced concern of the team’s lack of initiative, energy and passion. One owner said she couldn’t find good people anymore. Another noted his frustration in the team’s inability to “care about the business as he did”. Apparently that team didn’t understand how the business ran and lacked the owner’s level of passion. The frustrated owner could only find time to blame them for their short-comings. But, clearly the issues are much deeper…what about things like vision, mission and culture of the business? What about the systems that run your business? One of the owners queried: “Systems should run your business?”

Systems are your way of empowering your team to do large parts of your job just as if you were doing it personally. They can reduce your hours and stress by getting average people to do a great job…sound far-fetched? Well, it is easy once you know a couple of tricks…

“Tricks of the Trade” for Creating Systems

1. Work until it becomes simple
If the system is complex, then keep working! When you really understand something, and present it well, it will become simple. For example, written procedures can often be clarified by presenting them as checklists or tables.

2. Only write systems that make money (or reduce a big risk)
We are not the government and not in the business of creating manuals, so only create a system if it simplifies a task, improves quality, or speeds up a service. This will keep you focused. Forget your big company or corporate experience of many volumes that mainly gather dust. Rather, the trick is to start small and let it grow with time.

3. Make sure your systems are being used
As you create systems, build into them monitoring systems, so that at a glance you can see if they are being used. Changing the culture of your company takes time and there will be failures. Even when the culture has changed, it needs to be maintained; your monitoring systems will do this for you.

4. Make sure your team members know the positions they play
Unfortunately, it is normal for most team members to disagree on what needs to be done while at the same time believing everyone knows their job roles. Clear written and agreed upon roles will remove the need for 75% of systems. So start here.

By now you truly understand the best systems look very unimpressive… the genius is getting them to look that way.

The Action COACH of Akron Canton Official “Cheat-Sheet” of Popular Systems…
We don’t think of this as cheating, but market research. Please use it the best way you can. If you have questions on how to best implement systems or when to use them call us (330.877.9780)…
· Checklist - tear off pad
· Checklist - laminated cards
· Checklists –numbered in sequence
· Checklists – memorize with acronym
· Quick Contact lists
· Job or Quote Pads
· Position Contracts
· Standard letters
· Team ‘Code of Honor’
· Performance Standards
· Meeting minutes
· Procedure manual using photographs
· Procedure manual using videos
· Weekly or Job Budgets
· Wall Signs & Instruction labels
· Test & Measure Sheets
· Survey your competitors for ideas…

When you are running your business working a three-day week and your team is creating systems for you… you have created an efficient business that has real value and can run without you – Congratulations you have arrived!

You Are What You Think

One of the cornerstones of coaching here at ActionCOACH of Akron/Canton is the principle that the results we realize are a function of how we think coupled with what we do with that thinking - otherwise known as BE DO HAVE.

I was reading a post in Guy Kawasaki's blog about entrepreneurs and the struggle we have dealing with all of the negative comments and feedback about our business, our skills and so on.

In his post, Kawasaki linked to an article published in Scientific American by Carol Dweck concerning kids and their ability to learn. In essence she states that our ability to learn new things and grow past barriers in front of us is not a function of a fixed intelligence quotient. Instead our positive effort and mindset govern our ability to learn and grow.

In other words...You are what you think.

Let me know what you think by posting a comment below.

Business Dinosaurs...

The times they are a-changin'...

Entrepreneur Magazine has an online article called 10 Businesses Facing Extinction in 10 Years that brought back some real memories for me. It also got me to thinking about the challenge facing all business leaders - how to keep an eye on the changing, long term business environment while concurrently working on the business today.

A number of years ago I worked at Camelot Music, one of the pre-eminent music retailers in the country. We developed an incredibly successful business that operated at the pinnacle of the music industry; our operations, financial performance and - most importantly - people were considered the best in the business. As I look back on the company now I realize that our very success shielded us from the coming tidal wave of change that could be summed up in one word: Internet. We didn't believe that a brick and mortar company could be supplanted by a tool used primarily by university researchers (and evidently invented by Al Gore...) To use a cliche, we couldn't see the internet forest for the trees. The article I link to mentions another prominent music retailer whose fate was determined by the success of the online retailers and digitization of music and movies.

Think about some other businesses that have made significant changes due to a changing market and yet are still a leader in their industry. Companies like IBM come to mind (seriously, what is a "business machine"?) who have transitioned the bulk of their offering to consulting services rather than products. Or how about Apple? Instead of a computer manufacturer they are now more known for the iPod and the new iPhone.

As a business leader schedule time each week to reflect on the changing industry, the advancements in technology and the financial implications of staying where you are. The most successful businesses are those that know where they are going and seek to get there first.

Add a comment by clicking on the link below, or if you have something you'd like me to respond to directly, send me an email and I'll get right back to you.

Do You Plan to Succeed?

As I was discussing next year's goals with clients today the thought struck me that our usually-dormant "planning gene" reawakens this time of year and we suddenly hurry to put down on paper what we wish to accomplish in the new year.

For whatever reason many business owners suddenly feel very prophetic in December and know exactly what they will do for the next 12 months and commit their entire year's Plan to memory - or at least it seems that way since they never actually review their plan after about the 2nd week of January...

The problem with the scenario above is that the fit of inspiration you feel in December doesn't help you succeed in June - or July - or October. It makes you feel better in December but that's about it. You've created a Plan to fail when you only commit to the planning process once a year.

Instead, create an annual Plan in December but review it every 90 days and make course corrections as necessary. Certainly your competitors are going to make adjustments throughout the year, your customers' needs and wants are going to shift and your suppliers are going to change their products and services.

So smooth out your "Success Planning" by creating an Action Plan in December to provide you guidance for the year, and then review and adjust at the end of each quarter to account for conditions that have changed. You'll find that you are much more likely to score touchdowns with a consistent gameplan focused on getting first downs than if throw a "Hail Mary" whenever you need more points.

So, what do you want to accomplish in the first quarter of 2008...?

Ways to Work Through a Business Slowdown

Tis the season when your business is either swamped and you are running at full speed or you are coming into the winter season and your business goes through its natural slowdown. Maybe it's due to the weather or maybe because people are focused on the holidays, year end planning or maybe even because your market segment in the economy is in a slow down. What ever the reason, when running any kind of business it's inevitable that sometimes business will slow down.

As a small business owner you have a choice about how you react to it. It can be a time of high stress, worry and fear or you can view it as an opportunity. Many times our reaction is to stop a lot of things we have been doing and hunker down waiting for the business to come back. Instead let me offer 6 strategies you can use to work through a business slowdown.

1. Market more concertedly. This is a good time to get creative and launch another or a new marketing initiative. It is important to continue to promote your business and take advantage of the opportunities that exist. Just think, if your competitors are taking the 'hunker down' approach this could be your chance to pick up new customers and market share.

2. Invest in training or learning. Take a class, bring in a training program for your team or research the industry and trends. Become more valuable to your customers by improving your and your teams knowledge, skills or adding new products or services.

3. Follow up with existing customers. This is a perfect time to re-connect with your good customers and continue to build your relationship with them and their loyalty to you. Remind them you are there to help and get feedback on what they want/need. Maybe a special offer or discount during this time will build business and loyalty to your brand.

4. Plan for your business success. Take time and review your progress to date against your goals. Revise and update them as necessary and determine what changes you need to make to accomplish them. How will you deal with new projects or trends in the industry. Should you expand your business or add new offerings. Take time to do a complete analysis and talk to others in the company, industry or community.

5. Network. Use some of this time to get out and meet people. Start developing new relationships. Ask the question, "who do you know who _______." Fill in the blank with what you need for your business. Help them connect with resources you know that could use their services and you will be building strong relationships you can rely on into the future.

6. Chill out. It's important to take a little time and re-energize yourself physically and mentally. Don't let the worries of the slow down stress you to the point that you are unable to relax and then when the business picks up again you find yourself exhausted and not ready for it. Keep a positive belief that this is temporary and if you do the right things during this time the business is going to grow and you will succeed. Keeping the right mental attitude and beliefs is a powerful tool to get you through. Stay focused on promoting your business, improving your skills and developing relationships and you will emerge the winner.

These are a few ideas. Please post a comment and let me know of others you use and have worked for you. I'd love to add to the list. If you want some more ideas or suggestions send me an email at denniskelley@actioncoach.com and I'll be happy to share some more with you.

Another Perspective Post...

In an earlier post Dennis commented on "perspective" and how the view we take makes a dramatic difference in the decisions we make about our business, our life, our daily activities.

Here is some information you may have heard via the media recently:

- Unemployment grew to 4.7%.

- The economy's growth was downgraded 2.1% in the fourth quarter due to the credit crunch.

- The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the week at 13, 371, a drop from its quarterly high of over 14, 000.

Here's that same information presented in a different way. I think you will get my drift about how our perspective changes our view when we look at the same data differently. Here we go...

- Employment figures for the U.S. changed slightly last month: Currently 95.3% of eligible workers are gainfully employed.

- The forecast for the national economy indicates that it will continue to grow at a 1.9% rate in the fourth quarter of 2007 with expectations that growth will continue at about a 2.3% rate in 2008.

- The stock market last week maintained its 8.5% annual growth for 2007 , with the Dow Jones average ending the week at 13, 371.

What is your perspective? Are you planning, preparing, seeking success or "waiting for the shoe to drop"?

Think about your perspective today - and change it if it is directed toward the negative.

Do You Love What You Do?

Recently I have had the opportunity to speak with different groups about the concept of finding your true passion in business. The idea that what you do is what you love to do. Knowing yourself, finding your true purpose in life, is the essence of true and real. You have to be, before you do, to have lasting inner peace. In other words, making a living is not the same as making a life. Find what makes your heart sing and create your own music.

Many people work all their lives and dislike what they do for a living. In fact, I was astounded to see a recent USA Today survey that said 53 percent of people in the American workplace are unhappy with their jobs. Loving what you do is one of the most important keys to living a “true and real” life.

You can’t fake passion. It is the fuel that drives any dream and makes you happy to be alive. However, the first step to loving what you do is to self-analyze, to simply know what you love. We all have unique talents and interests, and one of life’s greatest challenges is to match these talents with career opportunities that bring out the best in us. It’s not easy – and sometimes we can only find it through trial and error – but it’s worth the effort.

Ray Kroc, for example, found his passion when he founded McDonald’s at the age of 52. He never “worked” another day of his life.

John James Audubon was unsuccessful for most of his life. He was a terrible businessman. No matter how many times he changed locations, changed partners, or changed businesses, he still failed miserably. Not until he understood that he must change himself did he have any shot at success.

And what changes did Audubon make? He followed his passion. He had always loved the outdoors and was an excellent hunter. In addition, he was a good artist and, as a hobby, would draw local birds.

Once he stopped trying to be a businessman and started doing what he loved to do, his life turned around. He traveled the country observing and drawing birds, and his art ultimately was collected in a book titled Audubon’s Birds of America. The book earned him a place in history as the greatest wildlife artist ever. But more importantly, the work made him happy and provided the peace of mind he’d been seeking all his life.

Can you say the same about what you are doing today? Do you get out of bed every day looking forward to your job or to running your business? You may love the work you do but maybe struggle with some of the challenges you are presented with. Don't give up on what you love...find a way to get the support you need to find your sense of fulfillment. Of course, if you're not doing what you love then it is time for some self reflection and maybe a change.

Tis the Season...

It's hard to imagine but we are about to begin the final month of the year. If you are like me, you wonder where the year has gone. It seems that each year comes and goes even quicker than the one before. How was your 2007? Did you accomplish all you hoped for? How did you do against your plan? Now is a great time to take a look at how you are doing and what final adjustments you need to make during the next month to make this the best year possible. Taking time for self-reflection and adjusting your activities to get you to your goals is a great practice to get in to. Take some time this week to check how you are doing and decide what you can do to make this year as successful as possible.

Gratitude and Attitude

The Holidays are here - and depending upon your current work load or stress level - this time of year is either one you greatly enjoy or a time of additional stress. And yet like everything else in life our viewpoint is a matter of choice.

I had an interesting visit with a couple from Australia last weekend who were here visiting our family during a 'pre-Thanksgiving' gathering. They had never been to the States before so of course this was their first American Thanksgiving and they were very intrigued and wanted to learn more about why we reserve a day for 'giving thanks...'

The most interesting part of our conversation was how our Aussie friends were so taken by the fact that we choose to set aside a day to give Thanks for all we have and enjoy it with the people most important to us. They were aware of Thanksgiving in the States but presumed that it was simply a national holiday that was created to give people time off work or an excuse to go shopping (which is sadly too often the case these days...) And yet they picked up from the conversation through the afternoon and evening that we really do make it a point to express our gratitude for what we have. Their wonderment at our Thanksgiving tradition makes it even more special for me this year.

Certainly there are years when it is difficult to be thankful and filled with gratitude when things in our lives don't go the way we desired or planned. Yet even in those times we can look around and see others who are much less fortunate than ourselves.

Will you choose to be Thankful this Thanksgiving? Will you express it to your family, your co-workers, your friends?

Make it a Thankful day!

The Price of Leadership

Speaking with a business owner the other day reminded me of an article I saw a while back about the challenges of leadership...


So often leaders are envied for the fact that they are leaders and the perceived perks that come with the role - and yet leadership comes with a price. It isn't all accolades and "atta boys;" being a leader - or a business owner - can be downright difficult. And yet I believe there is real truth in the saying "To whom much is given much is expected." As a leader you may be given many rewards yet you must be prepared for significant effort and challenges. Read the information below and let me know if it doesn't strike a chord with you. (By the way, check out the date this was first published at the bottom...)

In every field of endeavor, he that is first must perpetually live in the white light of publicity. Whether the leadership be visited in a man or in a manufactured product, emulation and envy are ever at war – in art, in literature, in music, in industry - the reward and punishment are always the same. The reward is widespread recognition; the punishment, fierce denial and detraction.

When a man’s work becomes a standard for the whole world, it also becomes a target for the shafts of the envious few. If the work is merely mediocre, he will be left entirely alone. If he achieves a masterpiece, it will set a million tongues a-wagging. Jealousy does not protrude its forked tongue at the artist who produces a commonplace painting. Whatsoever you write or paint or play or sing or build, no one will strive to surpass or slander you unless your work be stamped with the seal of genius.

Long, long after a great work or good work has been done, those who are disappointed or envious continue to cry out that it cannot be done. Spiteful voices in the domain of art were raised against our own Whistler as a Mountebank - long after the big world had acclaimed him a genius.

Multitudes flocked to Bayreuth to worship at the musical shrine of Wagner while the little group of those whom he had dethroned and displaced argued angrily that he was no musician at all. The little world continued to protest that Fulton could never build a steamboat while the big world flocked to the riverbanks to see his boat steam by.

The leader is assailed because he is a leader, and the effort to equal him is merely added proof of that leadership. Failing to equal to excel, the follower seeks to depreciate and to destroy, but only confirms once more the superiority of that which he strives to supplant.

There is nothing new in this. It is as old as the world and as old as the human passions - envy, fear, greed, ambition, and the desire to surpass. And, it all avails to nothing. If the leader truly leads, he remains the leader.

Master poet, master painter, master worker - each in his turn is assailed, and each holds his laurels through the ages. That which is good or great makes itself known, no matter how loud the clamor of denial.

That which deserves to live - lives.

- Cadillac Motor Car Division, advertising in The Saturday Evening Post, January 1926.

By the way, join us at Firestone Country Club on November 15 and 16 for BusinessRICH, a two-day workshop for business owners and executives. More details here:

Time - the Great Equalizer

It seems that every day I keep getting reminded that time is our most valuable commodity. It is imperative to our success that we use the time we are given wisely. All of us have an equal amount of time to achieve success and that becomes the great equalizer in life. The simple rules of health demand that we spend 7 - 8 hours a day in sleep. Many of us spend another 8 - 12 hours a day in the pursuit of earning at least enough to live on. That doesn't leave a lot of time for all the other things that are important to us and that we desire to achieve.

This "free" time is probably the most significant to us as it will determine whether we achieve our life's goal or not. How much time do you spend investing in yourself? When was the last time you set aside enough time to learn something new or to evaluate where you are in life and develop a plan for success? Most of us don't take the time to do this because we are so consumed with everything else going on in our life.

What are you turning a deaf ear to in your life right now? When you look at your business or your career do you see the success you expected and are you content with the results you are getting? How about when you look at your personal life? Are your relationships as strong as you want and are you spending enough time with the people you love? Are you able to pursue the leisure activities you enjoy? Take some time today to self-reflect and examine how you are using your time and are you "spending" your time or "investing" your time? Make a commitment to yourself to change those things you are not getting a positive return on. Set a goal to invest in yourself. Decide what you want from life and what you need to do in order to attain it, then go do it. Attend a workshop, take a course, find a book on the subject and read it, or find a mentor to help you. Determine what you need to do and make a commitment to yourself not to quit until you have achieved success.

If you are a business owner or executive looking for ways to improve the quality of your life send me an email at denniskelley@actioncoach.com and let me know what you are struggling with and what you need to improve. Our mission at ActionCOACH is to help others achieve success in life and we offer many programs to help. If we can't help then I'll point you in the right direction. Have a wonderful day and make sure to invest some time in YOU today!

Are You Grateful for your Team?

I had an interesting experience over the weekend...

I was visiting a very busy restaurant with the family when my daughter noticed how the managers made it a point to thank the team behind the counter for their hard work and gave them encouragement in what was certainly a stressful situation (the food smelled REALLY good and the patrons were all hungry - a recipe for stress!)


Lauren poked me in the ribs and said, "Did you hear those managers? They're really encouraging the employees - just like you talk about all the time..."

First of all I'm thrilled that she notices the stuff I talk about relating to businesses and what I do when I work with business owners. Beyond that I thought about how as leaders in our companies it is too easy to see all the things that go wrong and therefore focus on the negative. But how much better do we all feel when our efforts are recognized and we are given encouragement during the difficult times in our workday? Without that encouragement our Team will begin to feel unappreciated and assume (rightfully) that we aren't grateful for their efforts. Of course not every day is going to go perfectly and there are going to be mistakes. Yet by focusing on LEARNING from mistakes rather than finding mistakes our Team gains confidence, they know we are supporting them and they sense our appreciation for their efforts AND the results.

Do customers and clients of your business see and hear the appreciation you have for your Team? Could one of your customers hear your grateful comments as my daughter did at the restaurant? Remember, your Team takes on your persona so if you are not grateful for your team will your Team be grateful for your customers...?

Hmmmmmmm......

P.S. Lauren was so taken by the managers' work with the Team that she introduced herself to the restaurant manager, was asked to fill out an application - and then was interviewed, given orientation and hired that afternoon!

Slow Down to Speed Up...

While watching the Indians/Red Sox series I heard Eric Wedge, the Indians' manager, speak about how the great performers in baseball "slow down the game." Now I'm not a professional baseball player but I think I know what Wedge was talking about.

So many times in sports and in business we get so caught up in the stress and angst of our activities that the game - or the business - starts to get away from us. Wedge advises his players to focus on each pitch, each at-bat, each ball that comes their way and not worry about what happened in the past or what might happen in the future. He tells the players to go into each game with a plan and then focus on executing that plan. And that's true in business as well.

Business owners should take care of business by focusing first on creating a plan for success and then execute the plan - 'planning the work and working the plan.' When we do that the game of business slows down and yet the results come faster; in other words, we "slow down to speed up."

Slow your game down; create a plan for your success and then follow the plan in order to achieve the results you want - only faster.

Unfortunately the sign held up by the fan won't happen for the Tribe in 2007...

You Are What People Think You Are (Perception Is Reality)

Here's one that's been on my mind for a few weeks. See if this rings true for you. Have you ever had a customer, job applicant or even a friend commit to something and then not follow through? Doesn't it really frustrate you?

So, now look at it from the perspective of the person who didn't follow through. Let's say you get a call from someone and they ask you to come to an event. It could be a seminar, a party or maybe a business celebration. You say yes, I'll be there. Then, fifty-million things come up, and you don't show. What do you do now?

There are several ways to respond. One is to call the person and give your regrets. If this is your response, just a word of caution - nobody wants to hear excuses, because that's below the line. If "by way of explanation" you need to explain, or you feel your host would like an explanation, just be sure to stay above the line. Remember, when we are above the line, we take ownership, accountability and responsibility, when we are below the line, we make excuses, we blame others/circumstances, or we simply deny any responsibility.To simply say, the next time you happen to see the person, "oh yeah, I couldn't make it because something came up," does not help.

You see, whether it's a personal or business event, you will be judged on all levels based on your response. How you respond, even if it's a personal event, will reflect on you and your business. People don't separate these - you are what people think you are. Their perception of you is their reality. You may be thinking, it was just a personal commitment or a simple business function. To the person who invited you, it reflects on you and your business.

People will transfer lack of commitment to your business and think "wonder if that's the way they run their business too?"So, next time you make a commitment, follow through. It'll do wonders for both your personal life and your business.

Learning the Fundamentals

In sports as in business it is important to learn the fundamentals and become great at them. I was reminded of this recently while reading an article on the most successful athletes and their training habits. The article talked about how top performing athletes and the teams they compete on, work routinely on the fundamentals of their game. Whether it is baseball, basketball, football, soccer, a golfer, or any other sport there are basics that have to be mastered. The most successful are those who understand that and make it a habit to focus on perfecting the basic fundamentals of their game.

Take golf as an example. There are basic things that must occur in the swing of a golfer to make sure they will have solid contact with the ball and are able to control its flight. The way the golfer addresses the ball, rotates the arms, shoulders and hips and then follows through on the swing. Golfers spend hours upon hours practicing these moves. They hire coaches who can't swing the club nearly as well as they can but know the fundamentals and can point them out and correct them. The golfer can't see everything going into the swing because they are too busy executing the swing so the coach observes, teaches and corrects. The athlete is never finished working on the basics and even as they get to be the best in their field they still need to use the basic moves to be successful.

The same is true in your business. You have to learn the fundamentals of running a successful business and then use them consistently. It's not enough to be an expert on the production and delivery of the product or service you sell. You need to understand how to make a business work effectively. Coaches can do the same thing for you as they can for a professional athlete. As coaches, we are trained to teach you the fundamentals of running a business and helping you become masters of it. Everyone needs a good coach to guide them, train them and help them see things in their "swing" they can't see themselves. When you are ready to take your business to the next level send me a note. We'll get started on building the business you want to support the life you deserve.

Sometimes the Underdog Wins

I've been a Cleveland Browns fan for as long as I knew what a football was. The last several years (ok many years) its been difficult to be a Browns fan. The team has under performed each year and the fans just keep getting more restless all the time. I have to admit that includes me. I find myself expecting the Browns to lose before a game even starts. The start of this season certainly didn't give me much hope things were going to change. They lost the first game in a bad way and they had just made a big quarterback change after the first game of the season. More changes were sure to follow.

Yesterday, the Browns played the in-state rival Cincinnati Bengals. Before the game I told my wife I wasn't even sure I should watch as I EXPECTED the Browns would lose and lose badly. But, as any true fan does, I turned on the game and settled in to watch. It was an offensive battle the whole game and the two teams racked up a total of 95 points - one of the highest scoring games in recent NFL history. Much to my surprise the Browns won the game - 51 to 44. Going in they were the underdogs that very few people expected would win.

After the game it hit me that sometimes the underdog does win, in football and in life. If you ever get to the point were you feel your business is the underdog and you have been struggling to get ahead lately, don't give up hope. Maybe you are the underdog today, but if you are open to making some changes in the business and focus on a positive outcome you too can come out the victor. There's no reason you can't have a winning streak that takes you to new levels of success if you believe you can, are open to change and stay focused.

Who knows maybe even the Browns are going to start a winning streak for all us fans! Hey, a guy can dream can't he? Stay focused, stay positive and work on a plan of change and good things will happen.

Any Benefits of 9-11?

This morning as I was driving to the office there were a number of tributes to the memory of those who lost their lives on 9-11-01 - and who continue to fight against terrorism today. Frankly it was difficult to listen to a lot of the audio sound bites from New York City, the flight controllers who were attempting to contact the pilots of the ill-fated planes, and relatives remembering their loved ones. And I got to thinking...Have there been any benefits to the events of 9-11?

There has certainly been a lot of negative fallout from that day, especially the loss of life in Iraq (both our military and the Iraqi civilians) and in Afghanistan, to say nothing of the political division in the U.S. And yet I believe that there have been positives as well...

For one, we can say with certainty that the American economic system is the most robust, dynamic and healthy in the world. Our ability to say - individually and as a country - that there is nothing that will stop us from doing what we are fully capable of doing. How many business owners wondered if their company would survive in the immediate aftermath of that horrible day? How many of us were tempted to simply crawl into a hole (as Saddam did...) and hide from the world hoping this would all just go away?

And yet, not only did most businesses impacted by the attacks survive - they thrived. Instead of crawling into holes we reached out and helped the victims in New York, Washington and in our neighborhoods. We gave MORE to charities rather than keeping it for ourselves. We learned that we are a UNITED country with incredible talents and intestinal fortitude. We chose to continue to live and thrive and prove to our detractors that even though we were attacked successfully in the short term, through the long term we will win in the end.

Are you living that way today? Do you feel as though you are under attack? If so, remember the famous quote from Henry Ford:

"Whether you think you can or you think you can't...

Either way is right."

Build on Your Strengths

I read an article recently that really made me think. The article dealt with how most people tend to spend more time working on their weaknesses than they do trying to build upon their strengths. I remember the story of Lance Armstrong and how he began his career as a tri-athlete. Lance started out in sports spreading his energies between running, swimming and cycling. He was a strong swimmer and a speedy runner but he really excelled at and enjoyed cycling. Once he recognized that cycling is where his real strength was he decided to devote his efforts to it and the rest is history. Lance Armstrong went on to become the most successful and recognized cyclist in the world.

We can all learn a lot from Lance. Instead of focusing so much on our weaknesses maybe we should spend more time understanding and building on those things we really excel at and enjoy. Then we can leverage through other people to get support or help on those things that are not our strongest point. Doing this will help us to achieve more and feel less stress.

Take some time and identify what your strengths are and how you can put them to work for you. Talk to your coach and get him to help you through the process and come up with a strategy to leverage yourself and others to achieve more while stressing less.

Teachers Who Impacted You the Most...

The other day I had the opportunity to see how one of my kids has been positively impacted by a teacher - and I began to think about teachers and mentors who have impacted my life...



As I thought about teachers and coaches I had all the way through school - including college - I realized that the number of teachers who made a significant impact on my life was small but the effect they've had on me has been huge. In most cases the subject they taught in no way related to the lessons I learned; the impact was more about beliefs about who I am and the potential for doing great things if I truly committed to making myself better.

Take some time to think about the teachers you've had - whether in school, business or friends who push you to be better. Where would you be without them? What kind of person would you have become if you didn't have their influence in your life? Do you need a new a new teacher, mentor or coach to take you to the next level?

Food for thought...

Your Attitude

"I feel I have 0% control over getting cancer, but 100% control over how I will respond..."

-- Kay Yow, North Carolina State University women's basketball coach

Kay Yow made made an incredibly inspiring presentation when she received an award on the recent ESPY Awards show.

What inspired me so much about her acceptance speech and her story is the way in which Coach Yow has approached this bout with cancer - her third go-around with the awful disease. After three battles with cancer and all of the treatment that goes along with the disease I'm sure you'd agree that it would be natural for anyone to wallow in pity and have a "why me?" attitude. And yet she views this latest round as an opportunity to teach and coach her players and assistant coaches about the value of attitude - whether a positive or negative attitude.

(Click here and then click on the "256" link just above her picture to view the presentation.)

Are you facing a significant challenge right now in business, career or life? Are you focused on what you CAN do about the challenge or on what has HAPPENED to you? I believe it is quite natural for us to focus on the challenge and the results of the challenge - but people like Coach Yow show us that we can only make the turn for the better when we focus on what we can actually control and not allow "head space" to be consumed with stuff that is out of our control or in the past.

As with Coach Yow, the impact of facing challenges head-on with the right attitude not only affects you - it has quite the impact on those who are watching you.

Reflect on Coach Yow's quote above. Are you controlling how you respond to your challenges - or are you letting the challenge control you...?

The Key to Sales Success...Relationships

I'm sure you have all heard about the terrible real estate market that exist all around the country these days. The meida has been touting how bad the real estate market is and the huge impact it has had on the stock market and the mortgage lending market. There are a lot of pessimists out there these days.

I've seen this kind of market before and having come from the banking industry we went through these cycles every once in a while where houses just weren't selling and people weren't borrowing money to buy or refinance a home.

What has always held true and is true in the current market is that there are still some realtor's and loan originators out there doing pretty well. But why are they doing OK and a lot of other realtor's and loan originators have thrown in the towel and gotten out of the business? The answer is simple.

Those that are making a living today have developed relationships with the right people and know how to maintain those relationships. I've seen loan originators and realtor's that just sit behind their desk staring at the phone wondering why it isn't ringing. Or, when the phone stopped ringing they eventually figured out they needed to go out and sell but didn't have any relationships developed so they were trying to do it too late.

I have talked to a few successful realtor's and originators recently who all say the same thing. They developed relationships during the good times and maintained them so that when the market took a down turn they had people that knew them and trusted them and kept the referrals coming. This same principle is true in any type of business, not just real estate.

What are you doing to develop relationships in your business? Have you identified those people that are important to your success and what are you doing to build and maintain those relationships? It could be key customers, vendors, suppliers, referral networks or other sources that are key to keeping your business and income from taking a tumble when a down cycle hits. Remember, there will almost always be a market for your product, but if the market gets tight or shrinks, like the current real estate market, then strong relationships will get you through every time.

Post a comment and let me know how building strong relationships have helped you succeed.

What is Community?

I was reading through the Akron Young Professional blog over the weekend and was struck at the emphasis on Community from this YP group.

The Young Professionals organization is built around creating a sense of community and networking focused on professionals under 40. But why is community so important?

In the 21st Century it is increasingly difficult to maintain - let alone grow - a business or career without communicating, integrating and associating with people who are able to provide you a different perspective and knowledge base than what you can develop on your own. With the continued fragmenting of the corporate environment and the ability to "telecommute" thanks to home offices we are becoming more and more isolated from others.

Yes, there is a real sense of freedom that comes from working from home or a remote location. But we are social creatures who gain real motivation and energy from other people. That's why I admire the YP group for their emphasis on helping others connect. So much of what we do in our office is also geared toward creating business owner groups that help owners realize that they're not alone - and that by connecting with others they will learn far more that they could on their own.

Who is in your "community?" Are you connected or are you isolating yourself? Is it time to reach out?

Avoiding Failure Delays Success...

Failure - it's a scary word for most people. When we think of failure we normally tense and want to run from it. The typical way we think about failure is to put ourselve in the middle with success on one side and failure on the other. Something like this:

Failure> You > Success

We work toward success every day and run away from failure. We do whatever we can to avoid the embarrassement of failing and the challenges that it will bring. The interesting thing is we really should rework this equation to look more like this:

You > Failure > Success

You see, almost all really successful people have had many failures along the way. What I see in my coaching business are people that want to get as close to perfect as they can before taking action in the business because they fear doing it wrong. It's much better to take some calculated risk and learn from it, adjust where needed and move forward than to delay action and not make the progress you should.

I'm not suggesting to me reckless or irresponsible with what you do. Just don't let the need to be perfect or not make a mistake keep you from acting. You will move incredibly faster is you make a decision and implement change in your business or life and learn along the way. Who knows, maybe you have it right after all and you will see great results. But if you did miscalculate you will find that in most cases you can adjust or redirect and get an even better result.

Next time you hold back from taking action because you're not sure it is quite perfect yet, take a chance and move forward with it. You will learn a ton and make more progress than you imagine.

Give me your thoughts. Click on the comment line below and let me know what you think.

Why Do We Work?

This week I read an article about the declining number of vacation days Americans take year after year and the quotes from a couple of people in the article really got to me...

The essence of my concern is centered around the title of this post: Why do we work?

When I ask the question I'm not being flippant or trying to get you to come up with some standard, pat answer. Really ask yourself the question.

Do you work to feel important? Is your work at the core of your personal value statement - in other words, if you aren't working do you or others in your immediate circle consider you 'valueless'?

We are all given skills, talents and abilities that we are to use to make our lives and the lives around us better - but for what purpose? I think often about author Rick Warren's book "The Purpose Driven Life" and the biting questions he asks and then contrast his theme with the comments from the folks in the article I referenced above.

I don't have answers for you - just a few questions that I hope get you thinking...

What is a Slump?

I was reading the sports page this morning and ran across an article about Travis Hafner (right), the designated hitter for the Cleveland Indians, concerning how he has emerged from his season-long hitting slump.

The point of the article was that Hafner hasn't produced his usual results this year so fans and the media proclaimed that he was slumping. Yet there are a lot of major league baseball players who would love to have Hafner's numbers from the first half of the year. And it appears that Hafner has worked through his hitting issues over the past few weeks.

So, what is a slump? Is it a period of time when we don't get the results we're used to and we're disappointed? Is a slump a result of never actually gaining the results we should or that we expected? How do we deal with slumps - by fighting through it or trying to change our approach and use different tactics to change the results?

Slumps in business are a lot like slumps in sports. They're very frustrating and can get us focused on the wrong things - like "what am I doing wrong" - rather than "what is my ultimate goal and where am I going"... And much like in sports, business slumps are the result of many different things that are slightly incorrect rather than one big, massive error that - if corrected - will change everything.

A famous golf coach, the late Harvey Penick, had a wonderful perspective on slumps in golf, sports, life and business. Harvey said:

"It takes as long to play your way out of a slump as it did to play your way into a slump..."

If you're in a slump in business, life - or your golf game - work on the fundamentals first. There are no silver bullets - just good, solid, proven principles that have worked for thousands of people in your position.

Now here's hoping Hafner doesn't go 0-for-4 tonight against Chicago...

The Baggage We All Carry...

We were having a conversation in the office yesterday about the challenges we all face when it comes to making changes in our businesses and our lives.

So we started thinking about what prevents change, why we stop just short of real breakthroughs, and why we avoid facing the root cause of problems. The one word answer?

Fear.

The problem with that one word answer is that we arrive at our fears through the environment we are raised in, the environment we currently live in and the people with whom we choose to associate. In other words, our fears are a result and culmination of our baggage; our baggage makes up the many layers upon which the fear is built.

My good friend Jerry told a group of us on Sunday about a Veggie Tales video he and his son were watching in which one of the characters learns about how others impact his self-esteem and how those negative thoughts load up his 'backpack' - what we call our suitcase or baggage. We all have baggage and we will never get rid of all of the bad stuff. We're human, we're fallible and imperfect. But that doesn't mean that we can't work to get rid of some of the things in our suitcase that create our fears. If we're really going to make good and lasting change we must first decide to determine what makes us fearful.

So here's your challenge today: Think about your fears - not just things like fear of heights, fear of spiders, and so on. But those Fears with a capital "F" that keep you up at night, that make your heart race, that - when you are face-to-face with them - make you jump into "avoidance" mode and get really busy with something that will take your mind off the Fear and enable you to avoid dealing with it.

Be honest with yourself and be ready to deal with some interesting issues. The benefit? You'll realize that your thinking has been shaped by a lifetime during which - like the Veggie Tales character - you have been carrying around some rotten stuff in your backpack. And that old way of thinking prevents you from looking at business - and life - in a new and refreshing way.

Or, as Jerry tells me all the time, we begin to understand the true meaning of "cause and effect."

Will you make this a "fear-less" day?

Oh No! The Air Conditioner Broke!

That's right. It's 90+ degrees out and the air conditioner in our office building broke yesterday and it's still broke today! It's about 85 degrees in my office right now and there is no air movement at all. It got me thinking about customer service and how we treat customers when something unexpected happens. You see, we are customer's of the landlord for the building and the service we have contracted for is not currently being offered. Now it's not their fault the air conditioning broke. But the question is, what is the response to the customer when something goes wrong.

In this case, the response is we just have to suffer until the repairman can work us into the schedule. I'm wondering how much trouble it would be to bring some fans downstairs and offer to set a few of them up to move some air around and maybe cool things at least a few degrees. Or, how about coming around with an update and a cooler of ice cold drinks or maybe even set up an ice cream sundae bar and make all the tenants an ice cream sundae, get everyone laughing about it a little and creating a sense of community? All these seem like pretty easy and low cost things to do and would buy a lot of goodwill.

Think about that for your own business. How do you react when something doesn't go right for your customers. Do you take a look at the situation and find a way to build goodwill with your customers? It's amazing what impact just a small effort can have on our customer satisfaction and retention. Whenever something goes wrong in your service delivery you obviously need to fix it as quickly as possible, but also look for ways to build satisfaction with your customers by letting them know you care and adding a few unexpected surprises along the way. I'd be interested in hearing what you do when something like this happens. Let me know.

Are You Ready to Accept Success?

I find it interesting when a business owner finds it difficult to accept their success. Over the past few months I've had a few situations where a business owner has achieved more success in the business than they are used to, but yet they seem reluctant to accept the success. It almost seems as if there is a fear of success.

I think part of it stems from our basic instinct to reflect doubt when we first see good news or something goes better that expected. I find that many owners have spent so much time preparing for and accepting mediocre results that when great results come along they're not sure how to handle it.

My advice...expect success and prepare for it by telling yourself everyday that you are successful. Expect nothing less and as the results improve it will be easy to say, "I expected that!" Believe that you deserve success as much as anyone else and will do what it takes to make success a reality. If you need help, get it. Increase your knowledge about business, hire a coach, take classes, or do whatever you need to in order to get the help you need. But above all, expect to succeed and you won't be surprised when you do!

A Summer of Excuses...

Kind of a negative headline above, eh?

I didn't mean it to be - it's just that I was struck by the creativity we all use to come up with some great excuses in order to avoid doing what we know we need to do...

We recently held an event in which business owners had an opportunity to join us for a couple of intense days of education and coaching during which they would learn how to move their businesses in a positive direction and get the results they desire. Leading up to the event we invited many business owners and others of influence in the business community to join us; unfortunately for most we spoke with they declined and missed out on some fantastic information.

What struck me and the team here in our office was the range of excuses people used to describe why they couldn't come. Believe me, I understand that we get incredibly busy in our world today. On the other hand - who's fault is that? We wake up every day armed with an unlimited supply of choices; the question is, what choices will I make?

Over the next week take some time to analyze the choices you make and how busy those choices make you and then ask yourself, "Are these choices just making me come up with creative excuses that enable me to justify how I can avoid doing the important things?"

Think about what is truly IMPORTANT in your life so that you can avoid "creative excuses" next week.

Lesson for the day...

Congruency is an interesting thing in business. As a leader or business owner we are always asking our employees to do things a certain way and expect them to do it. It may be that we want them to track their results and report them, or maybe there is a certain system you have set up in your department or business that you want them to follow.

The interesting thing is...how often do we as owners not follow that prescribed process. It is so easy to tell others what we want done but why is it so much harder for us to apply it to our own job or business?

I had a situation today on a conference call today where that message came through loud and clear. It was a great reminder that what is good for our employees to do is also good for us to do in order to make sure the business runs the way we want it to. I wonder how many times we catch ourselves not doing things the way they should be and let it go. Having the discipline to correct ourselves as well as our employees is really essential to becoming a great leader and building a great company!

A great book by Michael Jordan on excellence

I recently read a great book written by Michael Jordan titled, I Can't Accept Not Trying, Michael Jordan on the Pursuit of Excellence. If you have a chance, pick up a copy of this book and give it a read. It is only 36 short pages long but is packed full of insights from arguably the best basketball player ever to play the sport.

I had the opportunity to see Jordan play several times when I lived in Chicago and it was a treat every time. He just had a way of making everyone else on the floor look like they were a step behind. He understood what excellence was all about and pursued it with an absolute passion.

In his book he tells how his experience of getting cut from the varsity team as a sophomore in high school taught him a lesson about setting goals and creating a vision and then getting after it. He set a goal of becoming a starter the next year on the varsity team and then focused on it as he practiced all summer long. When he hit that goal he set another one and just kept going.

Jordan tells how he visualized where he wanted to be and what kind of player he wanted to become. He says, "I guess I approached it with the end in mind. I knew exactly where I wanted to go, and I focused on getting there. As I reached those goals, they built on one another. I gained a little confidence every time I came through." What a lesson there is in that for all of us.

We can say that Jordan was born with the ability to play basketball and who knows, maybe he was. But the reality is Jordan knew what he wanted and went after it. Think what we could all accomplish in our life and our business if we approached every day the same way he did! I think it's a great life lesson for all of us and one we can all learn a lot from.

There are a lot of great lessons in this book and it will only take you about 20 minutes to read. Pick up a copy and learn a little from Michael. He can teach all of us a lot about how to lead the life we want.

Let me know what you think about it when you're done!

Posted by Coach Dennis Kelley

The Value of Focusing on Solutions

Too often we focus on the problems we face and lose sight of the fact that most of us are paid to identify solutions (too bad our politicians don't understand that.)

A mentor of mine told me early on what I'm sure you've heard plenty of times: "Don't come to me with problems, come to me with solutions." It wasn't that he couldn't solve the problem himself; he was a very smart man. However, I learned that he trusted me to come up with the solution because I was the one closest to it to begin with and he believed in his own ability to put the right people in place.

I ran across this great example of the value - in terms of real dollars and time - of focusing on solutions. I hope you like it too...

When NASA began the launch of astronauts into space, they found out that the pens wouldn't work at zero gravity (ink won't flow down to the writing surface). To solve this problem, it took them one decade and $12 million. They developed a pen that worked at zero gravity, upside down, underwater, in practically any surface including crystal and in a temperature range from below freezing to over 300 degrees C.

And what did the Russians do...??

They used a pencil.

It's all about Perspective

Check out this interesting poem that was sent to me by a friend in Australia, hence some of the "mis-spellings." ;-)

Have you ever been in a position like this?

The Cookie Thief

--Valerie Cox

A woman was waiting at an airport one night,
With several long hours before her next flight,

She hunted for a book in the airport shop,
Bought a bag of cookies, and found a place to drop.

She was engrossed in her book, but happened to see,
That the man beside her, as bold as could be,

Grabbed a cookie or two, from the bag in between,
Which she tried to ignore, to avoid a scene.

She munched cookies, and watched the clock,
As this gutsy cookie thief, diminished her stock.

She was getting more irritated, as the minutes ticked by,
Thinking, if I wasn’t so nice, I’d blacken his eye.

With each cookie she took, he took one too,
When only one was left, she wondered what he’d do.

And with a smile on his face, and a nervous laugh,
He took the last cookie, and broke it in half.

He offered her half, as he ate the other,
She snatched it from him, and thought, Oh brother.

This guy has some nerve, and he’s also so rude,
Why he didn’t even show any gratitude.

She had never known when she’d been so galled,
And sighed with relief when her flight was called.

She gathered her belongings and headed to the gate,
Refusing to look back at the thieving in-grate.

She boarded the plane and sank in her seat,
Then sought her book, which was almost complete,

As she reached in her baggage, she gasped in surprise,
There was her bag of cookies, in front of her eyes.

If mine are here, she moaned with despair,
Then the others were his, and he tried to share.

Too late to apologise, she realized with grief,
"I was the rude one, the in-grate, the thief."

Why Have a Coach?

I was contemplating a conversation I had the other day with a person who asked, "Why would a business owner need or want a coach? After all, they're the expert in their business..." An excellent question and one that I hear frequently.

The reality is that we have all had coaches around us through most of our lives - we just used different names. For instance, teacher, personal trainer, pastor, professor, mentor. We're just used to having coaches in certain settings but not in others - like having a sports coach or guitar teacher or university professor but not a business coach.

But there's more to it than just not being used to having a business coach. Many owners we talk to question why a successful business owner would need a coach - but guess what? Successful business owners are doing well because they have a coach! The successful owners are those who realize that in order to get better they need someone outside their normal circle of influence to make them better.

The reality of this phenomena struck me yesterday. Being a recovering golf addict I had to get more insight into the U.S. Open golf tournament that starts tomorrow (Thursday) at Oakmont near Pittsburgh. So I checked out some articles on ESPN's Golf page to get my fix.

I was intrigued by an article about two golf coaches - Butch Harmon and Hank Haney - who work with the best golfers in the world and who will leave a significant imprint on this Championship. Midway through the article the author questioned why Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson would need a coach. He wrote:

"It may seem odd that the top two players in the world would need the help of someone else. Then again, their pursuit of greatness might very well be tied to their ability to seek answers and keep improving."

Isn't that interesting? Seems the author answered his own question...

For another take on coaching in a business setting, check out this article on coaching for financial planners.

I've said it before and I'm saying it again: If the best golfers, musicians and CEO's have a coach - then why don't you...?

Some thoughts on the Cavs and Team...

Tonight is Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the Cavs and San Antonio - and I would say that this is a "must win" game for Cleveland. They're already down 2 games to none so another loss would seem to make victory in the series to be insurmountable.

This series has been frustrating to me - not from the perspective of the game on the court - but from the point of view of all the experts who have said that Cleveland is the worst team to ever make it to the NBA Finals. They may not be the Celtics of Larry Bird & Co. but they did beat the team that all those experts said they couldn't beat (Detroit) so they've certainly earned their way into the Finals.

But the Cavs won't be successful unless they truly work as a team. They have the best player on the planet in LeBron James but obviously he can't do it alone. He is arguably the most team-oriented superstar in the NBA and at times tries to force his teammates to participate with him in games. But that hasn't worked; LeBron's teammates need to trust themselves, the coaches and LeBron and get out of their own way so that they can perform at the level they're capable of.

So how do our business teams react to new, possibly stressful "championship" series? Do they stand around and let the 'superstar' do everything? Has the Coach (the business owner) given them the gameplan they need to be successful? Are they trained well enough to get out of their own way and let their talents produce the results called for in the gameplan?

There is a lot we can learn from sports teams and then apply it to our businesses. Learn from what the Cavs are doing right now and do the same with your business. Your challenge is to continually update and revise the gameplan to beat the competition and raise your team's perfomance to championship level.

Let's hope that the Cavs' coaches create a great gameplan and the players trust the plan and themselves enough to turn this series around.

Welcome!

Well it's been a while since we first thought about getting our blog going, but thanks to Ron McDaniel of Buzzoodle Marketing - who spoke for a recent 90 Day Planning Event for business owners - we've taken the initiative and gotten started. So thanks for stopping by!

Up there at the top is the description of what ActionCOACH of Akron/Canton is all about - but to save you the trip up there I'll fill you in down here...

ActionCOACH of Akron/Canton is a business coaching firm owned by me (Bob Roberts) and my partner Dennis Kelley. We have more years of business experience than I guess either one of us care to admit - but that's not what makes us different. The difference is twofold:

1) We are business COACHES. That means that we don't simply consult with you and leave you when our engagement is finished; instead we work side-by-side with you as your coach, teacher, mentor, drill sergeant, marketing director and team builder to gain back your time, build a great team and understand your money situation so that you can build a great business;

2) We care deeply about the role of business in shaping, growing and developing our society, especially when business is approached as the vehicle that supports life and not the other way around. Too often business becomes the purpose for our lives when in fact the business should be there to support our lives.

It's not that the business isn't important; it is critical. But with the implementation of universal business principles that work in the real world the business owners we work with realize the goals of a successful business that enables them to pursue other interests, support important causes and charities and develop great relationships with their families. Business is serious business -but it had better be enjoyable and provide a great return on investment or you'd better go find another line of work.

Enough with the heavy stuff - let's have some fun and learn a little bit while we're at it...

Drop in frequently and let us know what's on your mind about whatever is running around in your brain at the time - business, entertainment, sports, interesting people. The one thing to know before you get started: we WILL be diligent about language, personal attacks and other shady posts so let's make sure that we are staying above board and work to build each other up instead of knocking somebody else down.

Have an awesome day!

Bob