How ‘Looking Back’ Helps You See Ahead
Take the time to reflect on the road you have travelled to get where you are today. Consider all the bumps and turns that have taken you off course and what you’ve done to regain your direction – if indeed you have. Consider that journey and ask yourself: Is this really where you want to be? Or does your true destiny lie somewhere different?
Am I giving my business everything it needs, or have I outgrown it, or has it surpassed me? Who am I and where do I want to be?
In the business of coaching, we can be blinded by our own passion and resistant to other ideas and thoughts. Taking time to honestly reflect on our situation can open a host of new ideas and ways to do things. So spend some time slowing down and reflecting on the following questions. The answers to these few simple questions may just reveal your future direction.
- What haven’t I tried yet?
- Have I embraced my foibles or am I still acting out of fear?
- What are some new skills and abilities that I’m learning?
- In which areas am I thinking – “If it didn’t work before, maybe it’ll work now”?
- What is my purpose for doing this?
- What am I doing and where am I going?
Three Elements to Your Business Plan
“If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.” But what if you did know where you were going – if you had a clear vision and knew the steps to take on that journey?
Your road map for your coaching business does not need to be ‘cast in stone’ like a big corporate business with strategic plans. It just needs to have three basic elements – Simple, achievable, and effective.
- Simple – clearly articulated
- Achievable – seeking things that matter and can be done
- Effective – taking your business from one place to another.
The first thing to do is to remove all distractions and allow yourself time and space to really think about what you want to achieve in the next 1-2 years. Chunk up those specific achievements to two or three things. Use some ‘old tech’ like a whiteboard – write them down and then challenge yourself. Are these really the things I want to achieve? If not, do it again and again, until you believe in those goals. If need be, lay on the floor, close your eyes, and envision your future. What are you hearing, feeling, and reaching for?
Making It All Happen
Now that you know where you’re going, you can take the roads that will get you there. Pick out each goal in isolation and break it down into small chunks. Determine what needs to happen to make these a reality. Create your own little action plan by making it SMART.
- Specific (simple, sensible, significant).
- Measurable (meaningful, motivating).
- Achievable (agreed, attainable).
- Relevant (reasonable, realistic, and resourced, results-based).
- Time-bound (time-based, time-limited, time/cost limited, timely, time-sensitive)
Use these key elements to set your own actions and plug these into your new technology to keep them in front of you. Check-in regularly and ensure you do not become overwhelmed with too many actions or goals.
The Real Gold in Growing Your Business
Accountability to your dreams, goals, actions, and outcomes WILL give you results. I have developed a program of Strategic Assurance that guarantees you WILL achieve your dreams – and you can do it too.
Holding yourself accountable is a challenge as the brain seeks pleasure over pain. Therefore, transitioning your goals and actions into pleasurable outcomes either through intrinsic or extrinsic rewards is valuable. However, having an external person or technical device is even better.
Placing your dreams in plain sight, having a visual stimulant that floods the unconscious mind with your goals is also very powerful in achieving results. Using vision boards is very common, along with posters and word art. The key is to drive every sensory perception towards your achievement.
Getting It Right
What gets you results in business – knowing where you are going and for what reason. If you don’t know this, how do you expect your clients, customers, and family to know this? How will they understand what you have on offer and for what reason? When you are leading – people want to follow – you will gain confidence and be able to respond to small setbacks when they come – take them in your stride because they will not push you off your path. Best of all, you will create a level of consumer ‘magnetism’. People will respond to your increased energy levels and want to be around you. But remember the key is the discipline of self-accountability. Check-in regularly or engaging an accountability coach to monitor your performance – to work with you to keep you focused.
Chris Scott
Chris is an extraordinarily successful and popular individual who specializes in organisational governance, leadership, and business development. With an outstanding career in the not-for-profit and commercial business world he is extremely keen to pass-on through his coaching and mentoring a wealth of knowledge and experience to help individuals and businesses grow and prosper.
http://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-scott-turnerscott-consulting
Chris Scott
Chris is an extraordinarily successful and popular individual who specializes in organisational governance, leadership, and business development. With an outstanding career in the not-for-profit and commercial business world he is extremely keen to pass-on through his coaching and mentoring a wealth of knowledge and experience to help individuals and businesses grow and prosper.
http://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-scott-turnerscott-consulting
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