I often look at this scenario in the first or second session of an executive coaching encounter, so I thought I would share the thought process.If you identify parts of your business life in this scenario, take heart - you will always gain from another fresh perspective!
Think about it.You have been running your business for several years now, have hired a number of staff, have made a good amount in sales, your customers appear happy, and, it appears you are on your way to accomplishing your dream!You may have even hired an executive coach to share your dream with.
Wait a minute, that dream - where did you put it inside your cranium, in the left or the right lobe?Hmm, was it something your coach asked that you couldn't answer?
As a matter of fact, you may have noticed that your staff has been grumbling a bit lately about unhappy customers, late deliveries, poor quality product, and not being paid enough for what they are worth.When was the last time you looked at the product quality, the delivery schedule, when did your staff last get a wage adjustment?
Is this your business?Let's hope not, but, if it is, are you willing to try a few basic exercises? If so, here are some executive coaching tips.
First, would you write down your 5 top business goals for the year?Consider a revenue goal - increase sales to $ 1 million, a profit goal - achieve a 5% net profit after taxes, a personnel goal - provide my employees 40 hours training in customer service, a process improvement goal - decrease unit product time and cost by 10%, and a customer goal - increase customer satisfaction rates by 25%.
Second, identify why you have these goals.As an executive coach I often ask my clients these questions: Why are they important to your business and its success?How are they related to you achieving your dream?Oh yes, have you written your dream down yet?
Third, let's ask how you are going to accomplish these goals?Will you need much more input from your employees, will you need to survey your customers to identify their current level of satisfaction, and will you talk with your accountant and business advisor about industry benchmarks for sales, profitability, and production time/costs?
As the owner, will you be doing what you do best, and liking the results - all in one year?I hope you will answer yes and achieve great satisfaction in the year ahead.
About
Warren J. Rutherford President of Rutherford Advisors Inc. is an Accredited Associate, IIB, a CMT Accredited Master Mentor with certifications as a Behavioral Coach, an Analyst in Axiology, a One Page Business Plan Consultant, and is a BNI Assistant Director in the SE Mass/RI Region. He provides executive coaching and business advisory and consulting services to small and medium-sized business. He can be reached at http://www.RutherfordBusinessAdvisor.com Copyright 2009, Rutherford Advisors, Inc. All rights reserved
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