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The key is communication. Many leaders don’t realize how much they have to communicate so I have 3 key skills which I teach. The art of asking powerful questions, the skill of curiosity and the skill of listening. You can talk to any co-active coach and learn about those more deeply but it’s learning how to listen a lot more than speaking and asking questions that really get to the heart of the matter so you can understand what is being said and what isn’t – often more important.
Leader Share Their Vision
Of course a leader needs to be able to share the vision and direction for the team. It floors me how often I coach a leader who makes the assumption their team knows what the direction is without ever having involved them or communicated the vision to them. Do this at your peril – you have to have the whole team going in the same direction and everyone needs to know what that direction is.
Leaders Pick the Right Team
Once you have a shared vision and your team knows what it is it is important to make sure you have the right people on the bus. That phrasing comes from Jim Collin’s book Good to Great. There’s an old adage that says hire slowly and fire fast and it’s really applicable in this leadership situation. Make sure you have the right people on the bus and take swift action to make that happen.
Leaders are Human
The best leaders I’ve seen have been incredibly human. They’ve built trust by being trustworthy, they’ve built respect by being respectful of their team, they have motivated by living their values and convictions, they’ve been heard because they listen so well. They think what’s in it for their team members rather than what’s in it for me. These points are key to being an amazing leader in the workplace.
When you are promoted into a management position there are some important considerations to set yourself up for success. The first is to promote yourself to manager. It may seem simple but it’s important to figure out what you were good at before and let that go.
The winning strategies that had you succeed before are not going to be the same to help you succeed as a manager. For example perhaps you were a great programmer and now you’re going to manage a team of programmers. You need a new skill set and you need to step into that role, so it require promoting yourself and mentally shifting gears.
Next get up to speed as fast as possible. Get your hands on reports, interview some key stakeholders and colleagues, go on some training for management, learn everything you can as fast as you can and at the same time asses the business situation.Are you walking into a start-up, a turn-around situation or is it business as usual – get in there and keep things flowing well. The sooner you know what you’re walking into the sooner you can match your approach to the business situation and start having an impact.
Discuss Expectations as Manager
Now paint a picture. What I mean here is sit down with your boss and get really clear about what success looks like. Come up with the expectations and how you are going to measure yourself against those expectations and how your boss will measure you. It would be a shame to find out 6 months later that your boss is not happy that you are not hitting the mark when you could have sat down at the very beginning and got really clear about what you are needing to create in a management role.
Once you’ve painted a picture of success it’s really important to get some early wins. Maybe you’re stepping into a role where you will deliver a project two years down the road. It’s really important to get your team to have a few wins in the first month or two with you as the manager. It will build trust, the trust the team has for you and it will build your confidence as a manager.
Managers Need Support
Finally the people I’ve coached that have most successfully transitioned into a management role have set themselves up with a community of support. They’ve hired a business coach, got a mentor, sometimes both. They have reached out to their colleagues to build a circle of support. They’ve asked family an friends to be kind during the transition and they’ve leaned on some routines like good sleeping habits, exercise, eating well and having a good time when they are not working to keep life integrated and balanced.
There are lots of resources out there. I find this book to be particularly helpful with my clients. The First 90 days by Michael Watkins. Thanks for watching.
To many professional service providers, the concept of finding new clients and winning work is intimidating. Even the very term “business development (BD)” strikes terror in the hearts of some professionals. Among my coaching clients, the fear often comes from a mistaken assumption that to succeed in BD one has to be an aggressive salesperson. This couldn’t be less true. So put away your fake smile and your clammy handshake. These tips will have you feeling comfortable and improving your BD results in no time:
It’s a marathon, not a sprint: It may take multiple meetings and interactions via phone/email before you’re ready to propose your services or ask for work. Simply focus on advancing your relationship a little each time you interact. This takes the pressure off feeling like you have to land a big contract over lunch.
Meaningful conversations: Sharing meals with prospective clients can help bring in good work. But the most effective business developers always make lunch more than a chit chat over chicken Caesar. Know what you want to achieve and plan some questions that will help you bring the conversation in that direction when the time is right. For example:
What are you working on?
What does success look like for you/your business?
What gets in the way of achieving this success?
What kind of help do you need?
Talk less, listen more: In 2012, it’s no longer about the aggressive pitch. Instead, build a relationship and find common interests so you both win. Have your prepared questions and also let curiosity be your guide. When in front of the prospect, ask yourself what you’re most curious about and pose your questions from there. Your lunch date will find it refreshing.
Let your prospect guide you when to ask for the work: It’s great to have lunches, drinks and conversations. It is also great to actually win work! Each time you interact with a prospect, check in with them. “What is the logical next step? Have I earned the right to propose on this work? Can we start on this small project so we can solve this problem with you?”
For more on effective BD, check out Get Clients Now by C.J. Hayden. Hayden provides an excellent 28 day plan that will get you into action and bring results. And remember: It doesn’t have to be hard. It could even be fun!
If you are like many of the professional services firm partners I coach, you are under ever increasing pressure to bring new clients to the firm, to deepen relations with existing clients and to increase firm revenue. You likely excel in your professional domain and struggle with business development (BD). And even if you are good at it, you often feel torn between logging billable hours and investing in BD.
A few years ago, I wrote a post on how I was defining my target market and my niche. To help me, I used
a concept from Michael Port’s Book Yourself Solid. Port recommends having a “red velvet rope policy” to help keep out unwanted clients and bring in only ideal clients. Defining your ideal client and your red velvet rope policy is a necessary step in laying a solid marketing foundation for your BD success. And it’s really quite easy (and arguably fun!):
Describe your ideal client (be as detailed as possible)
Who have you loved serving in the past? What kind of company? What kind of file? What kind of people were you dealing with? What did you like about the work?
If you were bringing in only ideal clients (for your practice area or the firm in general), what characteristics would they need to possess in order for you to do your best work for them? Be selfish! Assume you will only work with the best of the best.
Describe your dud clients (again be as detailed as possible):
What kind of past clients have turned you off/ shut you down/ had behaviours or issues you couldn’t tolerate? What kind of clients/ files should not be getting past your “red velvet rope”?
Once you have a clear picture of your duds and your ideals, look at your current roster of clients and categorize them as ideals, duds or neutrals. Port challenges you to fire the duds to open you up to working with only ideal clients. In theory, I really like the notion. In practice, I believe most of my coaching clients would rather phase out the duds and target their BD efforts on bringing in ideal
clients.
Well…your ideal clients are waiting. How about getting clear about who they are so you can find them?!
It’s happened before. It has been happening again lately. It goes a little like this:
I don’t post anything in my blog for a while (this time is was a long while as I had a baby in March);
I get inspired by all kinds of things that I could write about, but I don’t;
And time passes;
And more time passes. More inspiring ideas swirl around in my head and don’t get written up;
And then my INTIMIDATION GROWS: What do I have to say that someone else hasn’t already said?
And so does my SECOND GUESSING: Is blogging a good use of my time now that I have a baby and a business? Who is my target for these posts anyway?
So I find a nice COMFORT ZONE called “Sons of Anarchy” (I watched two seasons over the past few weeks after Lali was in bed, telling myself I deserved a rest)
And that feels great for a while but under the surface, I know I want to PLAY A BIGGER GAME.
The process it took to become a mother was my bigger game for a few years. Being the kind of mom I want to be will continue to be a “very big game” for me. I have never felt the kind of joy, love, responsibility, potential and vulnerability that I feel now as a mother.
And yet, I find myself looking for my next compelling pursuit, something that will compliment my role as a mom, a business owner and a coach. I want it to be something that inspires me, and will inspire my daughter and others. And I know that staying in my comfort zones too long is not the answer.
I have one idea that is only half baked. It is such a big GULP that it has me running for cover. It involves falling in love with a [smart and sexy] farmer/rancher (like Pioneer Woman) and together building an executive retreat centre where the world’s top executives come (with their families) for the best leadership training in the world, delicious meals and good old fashioned farm work (Yes, coaches, I know I am collapsing two big ideas together…the farmer AND the dell…it is just how I want to see it).
Penelope inspired me. Sadly, it would seem that life on her farm is not going well just now. A few years ago I volunteered on a wonderful organic farm for the better part of a month. I saw first-hand how much work is involved. So I know I am romanticizing life on a farm. Nonetheless, the vision keeps popping up.
The PIG at Les Jardins des Sophie (he became ham that fall).
The only piglet around me these days. She is much less suspicious than the farm pig was...with good reason.
My friend is going to bring Season 3 of Sons of Anarchy soon. It feels good to have taken this little step outside my comfort zone while I ponder whether I will succomb to another season of Sons.
Maybe you know the farmer I need to meet? Maybe you know the setting I need to visit? Or maybe I will marry an architect or contractor and flip houses instead? Or become Canada’s most sought after executive coach? Those are other ideas I have. It’s my bigger game after all.
P.S. And as for breaking through the blog block, I have done it. It took me all day between client meetings and baking pumpkin loaf but I am about to press publish and it feels great. Whether it is a worthy investment of my increasingly scarce time is a topic for another post, or not.
My coaching business has been in hibernation for one week. This is intentional as I am due to have a baby around March 4th (that’s in 5-6 days). I have been planning my “leave of absence” for a very long time. At times I have worried that creating a baby and a business at the same time were completely incompatible. At other times, I have felt strongly that they are complimentary projects.
It only occurred to me as I write this post to search for guidance on the net how to put a business on hold. Surprizingly, my search turned up only a few articles (a rarity these days!):
Given the paucity of information, I will share some questions I feel need to be answered in formulating a plan to put your business on hold:
How long will your business be “on hold”??Are you going on vacation? Extended travel? Are you sick? Are you having a baby? If the timeframe can be clearly defined and articulated, it is important to do so. If the timeframe is indefinite, you will need to decide what you are willing to communicate, to whom, and what the consequences might be.
What does “on hold” mean for your business? Will all operations cease for a period of time? Will you still be able to meet some orders or provide some services? What can your customers/ clients / prospects / employees expect while you are away from the business?
What boundaries do you need to set for yourself?What lines in the sand do you need to draw in order to execute the plan you intend? How will you walk away from your business if that is what is needed for whatever your reasons?
What do you need to communicate to others (to set boundaries and expectations for them)? What is your official line? Who needs to know about your plan ( i.e. your clients, colleagues, associates, employees, suppliers etc.)? When will you tell them? Where else will you share the news (i.e. on your website, in your blog, on your company voice mail, in an autoresponder in your email etc.)
Who will support you? Who will support you to stick to your plan? Who do the work if your business is still going to provide some products or services?
How will you manage your finances? What other sources of income will you have (i.e., private or government insurance, savings, line of credit, loans)? Will the business have ongoing expenses even while on hold? Are there new ways to generate income during the on hold period (i.e. referral fees)? Are there any tax filing requirements during the time you will be away from the business? Who will handle this?
What will your current clients and prospects tolerate? Do you have a loyal client base who will accept your leave and come back when your business is back in full tilt? Can they go without your product or service for the period your business will be on hiatus? Would it make more sense to refer them to another business you trust will provide them what they need? Will new prospects who want to work with you/ your business be patient enough to wait or will you lose them to the competition?
What can you maintain?Is there a middle ground that keeps you in the business just to the degree that you can handle (i.e. Can you still post to your business blog? Can you still respond to queries? Can you still attend some industry or networking events?). It is important to know what you still can do while still taking care of your other needs (i.e. looking after a baby or family member, getting treatment. convalescing, travelling etc.)
What is your “come back” plan? While you cannot necessarily expect to turn on the revenue tap the minute you come back to your business, you can plan how you will get things rolling again. Will you come back gradually or all at once? Whom will you contact to let them know you are back? What type of promotional offer could generate the right kind of business faster? Are you able to pre-book any business for when you are back before you leave the business? Might you consider partnering with another business for referrals? Will you need to do other work to generate income during the ramp up period?
How will you course correct? In case you need to do this again in future or want to help a fellow entrepreneur go through this process, how can you keep track of what you’ve done well and your mistakes (your key learnings)? How can you make course adjustments even while you are on leave?
In my case, I am taking a six month leave from my business. I may coach on a very part-time basis after 3-4 months depending on how I feel and whether or not I have a baby that is easy to care for. For the first 3-4 months, I will not do any coaching and I have clearly communicated this to all my clients as well as IMPACT Consulting , a Toronto coaching company for whom I do corporate leadership and business development coaching. While it took me a long time to commit to walking away from my business to take a maternity leave, I am now fully on board and I don’t expect to have any difficulties focussing on motherhood. I started telling clients very early (i.e. last fall) that I was pregnant and would be going on leave. An interesting thing seemed to happen with many of them…they accelerated their own processes in order to be in a good place re: their coaching objectives by the end of February when I planned to wrap up.
For a while, I considered bringing in associates to work under the Chandler Coaches banner. In the end, I decided I would prefer to simply refer work to other coaches whom I trust so that clients would get great coaching and I would not be managing others/ doing invoicing etc while on leave. As my pregnancy has been planned for a long time, I have put in place a plan to manage my finances while on leave.
Some of my clients plan to come back to my coaching practice when I am back. Others have finished their work for now. I will need to continue business development efforts to generate new leads and follow up with existing prospects and former clients.
I am sharing my plan here on my blog and may adjust my work voice mail. In my case though, I am not going to be travelling or in hospital while on leave so I will be able to correspond in a timely way with anyone who contacts me for business.
Time will tell what I am able to maintain. For now, I would like to continue blogging and I may make it to a few coaching breakfasts etc. I am not setting high expectations for myself and at the same time, I want to leave the door open for some part-time coaching before the end of six months if I feel like I am up for it.
So that’s my plan. In truth, I would love to be so inspired by my new little baby that I follow in Pam Slim’s footsteps and have an extremely creative business period post baby.
For now, while I wait for labour to start, I have time to ask you: Have I forgotten anything for my own business hibernation? Does my 10 point list need anything else? Have you got any real life “business on hold” stories to share?I would love to hear from you. ———
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Photo from Cafe Johnsonia blog site at cafejohnsonia.blogspot.com
My friend James and I were talking about happiness yesterday over tea and delicious lemon cookies (I add the cookie detail because it’s hard not to be happy, at least for a short while, when one is consuming delectable cookies). James is not the kind of guy to laugh and smile all the time yet he is consistently a very peaceful and contented guy. I tend to agree with the happiness set point theory which essentially says that we all have a genetically determined mood level that the vagaries of life may nudge upward or downward, but only for a while until we return to our set point.
I have been appreciating how happy I feel lately as I expect my baby, am learning all kinds of new things, have just wrapped up some very meaningful coaching work with a number of clients and am surrounded by support. Perhaps I am enjoying how my life circumstances have nudged me upward for now. In honour of this, I want to share a few resources:
My close friend and fellow coach Tanya Geisler just launched The Joy Pages. She wrote The Joy Pages in honour of her mom who died several years ago. Her mom lived by the mantra “don’t postpone joy!” and Tanya has wanted to create these pages for a long time. You can download her interactive workbook for free by subscribing at her site; just look to the right hand side for the beautiful trees that are sprawling off the margins on purpose!
I am getting really sick of Oprah. I caught as bit of one of her shows while she was in Australia and thought to myself “Good God, this woman is really over the top with all her favourite things…”. Martha Beck, life coach, on the other hand, often writes worthwhile articles in O Magazine. Last month she wrote The 20 Questions That Could Change Your Life. In coaching, we are all about powerful questions and I believe Martha has hit on some that really measure up for those looking for meaningful/ happy lives.
Our March book club selection is The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. Keener that I am, I bought it and read it this week in the hopes that even though my baby will surely be born by our book club meeting, I might be able to attend with my babe. I really didn’t like this book and I cannot tell you exactly why. I think it is because Gretchen’s year long happiness project had too many foci, too many rules, too many projects and was too damn cerebral. I did, however, like her notion of creating her own splendid truths and some personal commandments. Read this book if you really want to make happiness a serious project.
Be an experiential epicure. A steady diet of simple pleasures will keep you above your set point. Find the small things that you know give you a little high — a good meal, working in the garden, time with friends — and sprinkle your life with them. In the long run, that will leave you happier than some grand achievement that gives you a big lift for a while.
A special homemade cake for Rowan's 4th birthday, January 2011.
I haven’t posted in more than a month and I cannot tell you how many times I have planned to post and how many ideas I have had about things I wanted to write about. I was fully intending on writing about what I am most proud of in 2010 like I did last year. And now it’s January 23rd and I haven’t done it. It’s truly ironic because there are so many things I feel so good about in 2010 (like finally succeeding to get pregnant, growing my coaching business substantially, spending some fantastic times with my family and friends, and making this kick ass cake for Rowan).
My close friend (and fellow coach) Tanya Geisler helped me break my writer’s block this past week through a simple reframe (she’s a very good coach):
What if your blog was just for you? What if you stopped writing what you think your readers want to hear and simply wrote about what you are learning?
Shear and simple brilliance! Shifting my focus to making my blog a journal of what I am learning (on any subject from leadership development to making complicated cakes) gives me a lot of freedom to simply write. I was telling Tanya that I enjoy recaping sections of business books I am reading as it helps me to solidfy my own understanding of the topic. Tanya again:
Great! Write to lock in your own learning. There are sure to be others who will appreciate that. But let their enjoyment be a by- product and drop the pressure to write for them.
Last Monday I attended a presentation by C.C. Chapman, author of Content Rules at 3rd Tuesday in Montreal (and yes 3rd Tues was on a Monday as Toronto got him on the Tues.). I didn’t get much from his talk other than “write about what you like and be yourself”. I have heard this message before. Combined with Tanya’s reframe though, it started to sink in.
And so it shall be. I will be writing about what I am learning and taking the pressure off writing specifically for small business owners or corporate leaders or woman going through transition. Maybe I wil change my mind in a while. Maybe my blog will start being all about mompreneurs as offered by my friend Deb Hinton (my baby is due in less than 6 weeks). From where I sit at the moment though, with a decent sized belly, some heartburn and no baby in my arms yet, I actually hope not… but I won’t make any promises. Life as I know it is about to change!
n this TED Talk , Chip Conley, owner of Joie de Vive hotels on the US west coast talks about gross national happiness (G.N.H), a concept started in Bhutan and now used by 40 countries. He encourages businesses (and countries) to place much more emphasis on measuring the intangibles.
Measuring the Tangibles in a Coaching Business
With a little discipline, it is rather easy to measure:
$ per coaching client or lifetime value of a coaching client;
length of time in months that a coaching client stays;
average hourly rate earned per client;
Revenue per month/ year etc.
Measuring the Intangibles in a Coaching Business
It is more challenging to think of intangible measures and more challenging still to figure out a way to count them (and as one person commented about the TED talk below…if you can measure does that make it tangible?):
how often my clients say the coaching is helping them (either during the session or after);
how many people are referred by satisifed clients;
how often I learn something really useful from a coaching client (I can tell you it’s often!);
how often I feel good after a coaching session.
Do these metrics make sense through the eyes of “gross business happiness”? Have a look at Chip Conley in his talk on TED and let me know your thoughts on how I can change my business metrics to focus also on happiness and other intangibles. I would love your ideas.
Back in June my friend Deborah Hinton sent me a link to a post entitled Life After Worry. At the time, I was busy so I filed it for future reading….like on a Friday night when I had planned to attend a Christmas party but feel too tired to go out in the cold again. Given some events of this week, I cannot get over the timeliness of reading this post.
Life Before Worry Ends
The whole notion of worry strikes a chord with me this week based on a couple of interactions I had with people I like very much. In the first case I was the recipient of the other person’s worry. When I told this person about my plans for a maternity leave (3 months completely off and maybe 6) , she emailed this:
I have to be honest. I am concerned about you. I have run my own business since 20xx. You cannot turn work on and off to fit your plans. You have no second income to fall back on. I am concerned that work will not be there exactly when you need it and you may be faced with very limited choices. I don’t want to see you in a difficult situation.
Hmm…sadly I didn’t sleep well that night.
I was the worrier in the other instance. I told a friend, in a heart to heart we had this week, that when she runs really low on money or isn’t sure of her job situation, I really worry about her.
What has been dawning on me since, is that my “concern” is no different than the concern expressed in the email above. Rather than showing my love, care and support, worrying about my friend undermines her ability to take care of herself and land on her feet.
Intention vs Impact
In both cases above, the intention is support. The impact, however, doesn’t feel like support at all. It feels instead like being thrown up upon with a projectile vomit of the fear! Ick!
Single Motherhood and Entrepreneurship
Certainly I have some fears about how single motherhood and entrepreneurship go together. Mostly I manage them well (except in the middle of the night after an email full of worry). I know I am resilient, resourceful, and hardworking. I know I have been financially independent for many years. I know I have always saved well and that having earned well as a sales director in my most recent career is what has given me the freedom to retrain and build my coaching business from the ground up.
Walking Away From Momentum
If most of the opportunities in my current pipeline land, January will be my highest revenue month to date since starting my business in June 2008. In some ways, it feels ironic to be wanting to/ needing to wind down my work by mid February when there is so much momentum, but as my friend Claire points out:
Your baby project and your business have always been parallel pursuits so it’s not ironic that they are both coming to fruition at the same time.
Life After Worry
As a book end to my worrying colleague and my worrying about another friend, this unsolicited comment came from a good friend when I wrote to her that I was proud this week of reaching my revenue targets for Q4.
Congratulations on hitting your targets!!! I certainly show you are able to do itt!!! Isn’t that comforting before you go off on maternity leave? You’ll make this all happen Lisa! I have no doubt in your ability and desire to live the life you want and this is only one milestone!
Even my mom, normally a consumate worrier, said this:
Congratulations on meeting your financial goals. That is awesome given your situation and the fact that you have been feeling so miserable. It is certainly not a matter of luck as you have put so much hard work into this…I know you will find a way.
Now those comments are refreshing. There is no sign of worry or doubt. Only confidence and genuine championing.
The Choice is Yours
So what will it be for you?
To worry about yourself and those around you and project concern all over the place? or,
To stop your worry hamster on his wheel and choose to trust in your own resilience and the strength of others around you?
What would you like to be telling me one year from now (on November 29, 2011) in the major areas of your life, career and business? Here”s what I would like to be telling you:
I am the mother of a healthy 9 month old baby and I love being a mother; I am working with amazing coaching clients and my business didn’t suffer because I took 6 months of maternity leave; I am back to my pre-pregnancy weight and have never felt better/ healthier; I have met a great guy and we really enjoy spending time together.
This past Friday, several business owners and professionals came together to “Finish Strong in 2010…and Play a Bigger Game in 2011″. Denise Desmeules and I facilitated the workshop and coached participants to create their own vision.
Since the process works so well, I want to share it here as my holiday offering to you. It’s a 6 step process to Finish Strong in 2010…and Play a Bigger Game in 2011. Granted, it’s easier to do with a coach in a concentrated focus session or workshop AND you can definitely do it on your own:
Acknowledge what you are proud of in 2010- I am proud of my tenacity in becoming pregnant and my courage in business. What are you proud of?
Take a snap shot of your current reality- there’s a great tool called the Wheel of Life (I have also made one called the Wheel of Business) to help you quickly rate your satisfaction with all the important areas. This simple exercise can be very telling. What’s calling your attention?
Transport yourself into your bigger future- I recommend actually moving to a new physical location (leave that current reality behind) and envision yourself one year (or two, or three..you decide) into the future. This phase has no limitations and a dreamy quality. Let yourself go! In each of the areas of your wheel, what do you want to be saying at x date in the future ? Write one sentence about each area in the wheel. Remember…present tense only! By now, one or two areas are likely really standing out as the areas you need to focus on. Pick one area for now and work through the rest of the steps. You can always come back and worth through steps 3-6 for other areas. Bonus step: You might want to draw your bigger future. This can be an image, a symbol, a metaphor or a bunch of powerful words on a piece of paper. The point is to let your creativity run and capture your dream in picture format rather than just words.
Get clear on the benefits and costs- this step is muy importante! List out what acheiving your bigger future will bring you. On the flip side, get good and clear what it will cost you not to realize your bigger future.
Reduce the tension through action planning- the first step here is to state a S.M.A.R.T. goal and then brainstorm possible actions before you narrow the field. From your brainstormed list, pick a few actions that resonate with you and will truly help move toward your bigger future. And for goodness sake, pick a timeline and tell someone who will help you stay accountable to yourself (again, coaching is great for this AND you can do it with a colleague, a friend, a partner…as long as it’s someone you trust).
Enter the land of commitment!- the final step is as important as every step before it. Simply stated: who do you need to BE in order to achieve your bigger future? Receptive? Tenacious? Open-minded? Free? Passionate? You get to decide what quality will serve you best. Again, I recommend actually drawing a metaphorical line in the floor and stepping over it. Once in the land of commitment, you have a much greater probability of creating your bigger future.
What are you proud of? What’s your current reality? What do you want? What will you have when you get it? What will it cost you if you don’t get it? What steps do you need to take to get where you want to go? And finally, who do you need to BE? Your future is waiting. How can I help?
_________
P.S. By doing steps 2 and 3, you create a gap between where you are now (your current reality) and where you want to be (your bigger future). This is good because nature seeks to resolve this tension according to Robert Fritz. Think of an elastic band stretched between your two hands. The tension reduces when your two hands come together. Same deal for your current reality and your bigger future. The closer they come together, the less tension there will be.
P.S.S. It bears mentioning that when I use “bigger future’ it doesn’t mean bigger = more. Your bigger future might mean less responsibility, fewer material goods etc.
More than 40 years ago, McLuhan said, “the medium is the message”. This couldn’t be truer for Couture Media. This budding Montreal-based company offers tailor-made radio for business. What does that mean? Essentially, Couture Media creates custom music compilations with or without verbal messaging that play in retail stores, hotels and other businesses that pride themselves on creating a total brand experience which goes far beyond designed visuals.
Couture Media was born in 2008, the brainchild of Kara Yamich, a former music director at Q92.5 and her colleague Leo Da Estrela, who still works as Assistant Program Director at the same station. These two partners have a depth of experience in terrestrial radio (I learned a bunch of cool radio jargon while interviewing them!) and challenged themselves to create a business from what they originally thought was a “silly” idea.
Their biggest competitor in North America, DMX, has been around for 20 years using satellite radio to offer channels. DMX offers a less custom brand experience but are a very strong and established competitor who is becoming increasingly customized. From the start, Kara and Leo eliminated the limitations of satellite by delivering their content directly via the internet with their data stored “in the cloud” (cloud computing means storing information in the web space instead of on expensive servers); by using the internet as a platform and cloud computing, they can change things very quickly and have the changes reflected at their client sites (i.e. retails stores around the world) about 8 seconds later. It also means they need next to no infrastructure to run their business.
What’s been easiest so far is achieving an international scope. Since the internet is their platform, they can create custom programming for clients anywhere in the world. One of their earliest contracts came from the Golden Tulip Farah in Casablanca, Morocco.
Kara’s already made the leap to full-time entrepreneurialism and Leo is making plans to join her full-time at Couture Media. What has been challenging so far is creating enough cash flow to pay salaries for both of them (who have families to help support).
That they have passion, dedication and a big vision, there is no doubt. They envision Couture Media will be:
The world leader in building brand loyalty through music and being the leader in brand marketing when it comes to music and online channels (eventually branching out into music licensing for commercial, TV and film, consultants in music marketing on multi-platforms and being able to operate the business from anywhere in the world).
What they don’t have is enough sales. While they could likely get some financing to support them for a while, I feel strongly that they need a solid business development strategy and a consultative sales system/ sales process to bring rigour to their pursuits. And they identified themselves that they need more contacts for marketing directors at major chain retailers.
When people who are technically very strong decide to go into business for themselves in search of freedom and making their own way, Michael Gerber in The e-Myth, calls it an “entrepreneurial seizure”. Those who succeed in business recognize that they need to work “on the business” as owners and managers at least as much as they work “in the business” delivering the technical work.
Kara and Leo have learned a ton since starting Couture Media and are working to set themselves up for success on all fronts. A hard focus on business development and cash flow (i.e. making sales) will ensure the future “sounds” great for Couture Media!
If a nutshell, if you are selling an idea, a product, or a service, you had better focus on what will take away pain.
The Heath brothers give some great examples in the article: a book for men explaining pregnancy and the changes their females partners experience= vitamin; What to Expect When You’re Expecting (for women) = Aspirin.
I made up these examples:
A coach selling “values clarification and vision”= vitamin; a coaching selling “be in your dream job by x” = Aspirin
A consultant selling ” team collaboration”= vitamin; a consultant selling “a 50 percent increase in sales”= Aspirin
Sometimes when you get to close to your product or service, you can fall into the trap of promoting vitamins. It might be time to ask some of your best clients* (or the prospects you would love to work closely with) some powerful questions to find out what they need most. Vitamins are nice but if they have pain and you aren’t taking care of it, someone else surely will.
_______________________
*If you work in a company and don’t see yourself as a salesperson, remember that we are all salespeople…we all have to “sell” ideas everyday in our jobs. The vitamin/ Aspirin comparison applies to you too! Ask your boss, your colleagues and other stakeholders powerful questions to ensure you know their felt needs…then come up with Aspirin to ease their pain.
Riddle:What has 7 words or less, usually starts with what (and less often with how, who, where or why), and has a great impact?
Wait, wait, wait! Before you answer, I will give you a bunch of examples:
What’s your dream?
What are you proud of?
What’s possible?
What’s true for you?
What do you want?
What stops you?
What are you making more important?
What are you tolerating?
What do you want more of?
How could things be different?
What’s next?
Okay. What’s your answer? ( If I could figure out how to do it, I would type the answer upside down and put it at the bottom of the page like they used to do in the Highlights magazines of my childhood).
The answer is POWERFUL QUESTIONS! Asking powerful questions is a fundamental coaching skill. I am convinced the world would be a better place if everyone learned the Art of Powerful Questions. This well written article includes a story about how some large German companies like Bayer place such a high value on powerful questions that they actually employe a Direktor Grundsatzfragen (a.k.a. the Director of Fundamental Questions). If I spoke German and wanted to work in Germany, I think this would be a such a great role. Plus, it is almost as much fun to say as Fahrvergnügen.
What’s possible if you awaken your inner Direktor Grundsatzfragen? (I know. That’s 9 words, or 10 without the contraction). Sometimes you have to break the mold to be really powerful!
If you’d like me to send you a PDF that is chalk full of powerful questions, comment here or email me at lisa@chandlercoaches.com
Bonus question: What skill goes hand in hand with powerful questions? Coaches are not eligible to answer
One principle of design: designing for emergence, struck a cord with me. Quoting designer Van Alstyne:
Each person’s individual life is emergent in the sense that it unfolds in ways that can be surprizing and sometimes quite wonderful. The nature of emergence is such that it cannot be fully controlled or designed. But you can encourage it; hence, you can design for emergence by providing the right conditions for growth, blossoming, enrichment, and evolution.
To design your life for emergence, you need to plan for possibilities and also allow for surprizes. Companies like Google, Facebook and Apple are excellent examples cited in Glimmer of companies who design for emergence. They create a platform that creates the conditions for growth and then marvel at the applications and uses that emerge.
Imagine if you designed your life and business in this way…to keep learning and adapting, focussing on conditions for growth and marvelling at the surprizes that come.
Design offers four principles:
Design your immediate surroundings (your ecosystem) in a manner that is self-sustaining and conducive to growth;
Some of my clients struggle with creating the life and business they want. They place too much pressure on themselves for a perfect design and get stalled when they cannot come up with it. There would be so much more available to them if they simply started anywhere, created a platform for emergence and and started living their design poised to notice and adapt to the marvels that emerge!
My coach colleague Denise Desmeules and I have designed a workshop called Finish Strong…and Play a Bigger Game in 2011. It’s for busy business owners and professionals who want to design their life and business for 2011. If you are in Montreal, we’d love to have you join us on November 26th from 1-4 (price includes a 1:1 coaching session too:).
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Fibonaci Spiral- image from Wikipedia
Why the sunflower image above? Van Alstyne talks about how sunflowers are designed for emergence (based on how their growth pattern follows the Fibonacci sequence…I am including this for the benefit of mathmaticians who might be reading…would a mathmatician really read this blog?). Essentially, sunflowers replicate the same growth over and over again and grow to insane sizes. He sees our human lives as having the same potential.
An overwhelming majority of people who have experienced professional coaching are satisfied with their experience and would recommend coaching to others, according to a new study by theInternational Coach Federation (ICF).
the article goes on to say
Satisfaction levels can most likely be attributed to high returns on investment as well. In previous research the ICF found that coaching is generating a very good return on investment — a median return of seven times the initial investment for businesses, and nearly 3.44 times for individuals who use coaching (Results representative of survey respondent sample).
The survey was conducted for the ICF by the independent consultancy Price Waterhouse Coopers.
How fortunate am I? My friend Claire reads horoscopes written by Rob Brezney and only sends me the ones she believes I will like. This is a very kind and loving gesture, don’t you think? Horoscopes á la Brezney are rich in imagery and his command of the English language is impressive. I am not into astrology but love his creative knack.
According to my latest horoscope, you can call me Ms. Velvet!
Don’t try harder, Cancerian; try easier. Don’t turn your focus into a white-hot beam of piercing intensity; relax your focus into a soft-eyed enjoyment of playing around with the possibilities. Don’t tense your sphincter, marshal your warrior ferocity, and stir up your righteous anger at how life refuses to conform to your specifications; rather, send waves of tenderness through your body, open your heart to the experiment of blending your energy with life’s unpredictable flow, and marvel at the surprising revelations and invitations that are constantly flowing your way. Halloween costume suggestions: Mr. Smooth, Ms. Velvet, Dr. Groovalicious, DJ Silky.
My last post was about me wanting to me more of a court jester in my daily life and in my coaching (in service of my clients, of course) so it’s fun to play around with a combo of court jester and Ms. Velvet!
Illustration Copyright @ University of Cinncinati Archives
This past weekend I assisted in Fundamentals. It’s the first coaching course I took a few years ago. The course is set up like an appetizer buffet, giving students a taste of all the juicy coaching tools and techniques they will learn as they take the entire curriculum.
One of the exercises in Fundamentals involves hearing what everyone sees in you…”you are courageous; you are sweet; you are not afraid to speak up…” In coaching lingo these are know as acknowledgements. We aren’t used to hearing acknowledgements in our day to day lives. It more common to hear “you did a great job” (if you get feedback at all). As one of the leaders pointed out on the weekend, we are “human beings’ and not “human doings”. This is the reason that acknowledging who someone is being can be so much more powerful.
Part two of the exercise has everyone calling out what they would like to see more of in you/ what you need to stretch into to expand your range. Having been through the exercise before, the course leaders helped the assistants come up with name tags before the course day started. Mine: Court Jester. I got this moniker because I shared with them that I needed to stretch into being more foolish and having more fun. I have let being 5 months pregnant (and a little sick and tired sometimes) as well as pressure to maximize revenues in 2010 zap me of my fun.
Coaching a participant from this name tag “Court Jester” was both really challenging and brilliant fun. It’s so freeing to be foolish! We danced some tango and at one point I found some gum in her ear (inspiration from my friend Claire who likes to find candies in kids’ ears). the point wasn’t to coach well. It was to stretch into what a court jester would do. Of course, I realize we cannot play the fool all the time AND this weekend reminded me how great it is to laugh and let go.
And so my dear productive, kind, compassionate, strategic, _______ (fill in the blank) reader, what archetype would stretch you?
Warrior goddess? Bag Lady? Chip N Dale? Beach Bum?
By stretch, I mean, what persona would make your really uncomfortable? What would take you from middle C and have you play in the high notes and the low notes of your life? What would make you almost throw up? Good. That’s your stretch!!
________
P.S. The entire co-active coaching curriculum is being offered for the first time ever in Montreal thanks to the work of some dedicated CTI grads who are passionate about the program and about co-active coaching.
You and I do not just have a story, we are our stories. Our stories shape, limit, and define our way of being, the way we think, and the way we interact with others (Masterful Coaching by Hargrove).
Often times our stories keep us from reaching for our “impossible future”. Enter coaching! In coaching (well, when done masterfully), we help people surface, question and redefine their stories when their current story is called into question by others or breaks down in some way.
At the moment, I am reading Robert Hargrove’s book Masterful Coaching and I have to say I am really digging it. Now I don’t expect you non coaches to rush out and get a copy but I am going to share a little part of it here to see if there is anything you can relate to.
Image by Raiiya, Photobucket
Hargrove divides people’s stories into “rut stories” and “river stories”. River stories are stories of personal growth and transformation. Rut stories are the opposite.
They fit into five+ categories:
The “I Need Other People’s Approval” Story-people may not broadcast this story aloud but they often construct a whole series of pretenses and defences in order to look good or gain approval. The consequence: the intention to look good often displaces the intention to be good.
The “Artful Victim” Story-likely the most common…it involves people skillfully using defensive reasoning to create an open-and-shut case as to how other people or circumstances are doing them in. The consequence: they often get stuck in this story, forfeiting all their power to other people or the situation, and then being unable to create what they want.
The “I’m Affraid to Lose What I Have” Story- this one is told by people who put off their visions, dreams and aspirations in order to seek or keep their security. They complain about their lives not being satisfying but create lots of reasons for standing still. These people are generally non players in the workplace though they may look like they are playing along. The consequence: spending a whole lifetime getting reading for everything to fall into place until to realize that, like sour milk, they are past their expiration date.
The “Tranquilizing” Story- sometimes when people do not achieve a result, are incompetent at a task, or do something that gets them into trouble, they come up with reasons and excuses. The purpose is to tranquilize them and make them feel better about themselves. The consequence: people do not highlight their own incompetence (which limits their learning), errors are covered up (which can lead to more errors) and reality is distorted (which leads to individual and collective illusions).
The “Why Bother?” Story- People who tell this story say they cannot create what they want because their possibilities and choices are limited: “I don’t have time”, “I don’t have authority”, “It’s not in the budget”. Often times the story is a cover up for them wanting to stay in their comfort zone or for not wanting to take responsibility. There is often an underlying attitude of resignation. The consequence: people get stuck in this story and lose the ability to see the possibilities and options that they actually have.
Now, in case you think I am on my high horse here, I assure you that I have stories I tell myself (and others) in most, if not all, of the categories above. Those who know me well could say better but if I had to pick I would say my primary rut story is likely in the “I need other people’s approval ” story. Damn.
What’s your primary rut story? What are the consequences in your life? What would be possible if you turned it into a river story? How can a coach help you?
This image is a human embryo five days after a single egg was fertilized with a single sperm cell.
Ultrasound Scan of Fetus at 10 weeks Gestation
This is an ultrasound image of the same embyro at 10 weeks gestation. It already has a beating heart (and had one since 6 weeks gestation).
A view from the outside!
This image, much less clinical, shows the same fetus from the outside. In this image the fetus is 19 weeks old and is the size of a large mango!
And finally…
And if you hadn't guessed already...
Yep, if you hadn’t already guessed…this baby is growing in me. As of today, I am 19 weeks pregnant!
I gave a speech called “Creating a Meaningful Life” last night at my Toastmasters’ Club. I got quite emotional at one point while delivering it. You see, it’s a pretty big milestone for me to be almost halfway through my pregnancy. The road has been long and winding. One surgery, six cycles of increasingly invasive treatments, and 3 previous pregnancies all ending in very early stage miscarriages….this has been the road.
If you had asked me when I was 30 years old what I envisioned for my future family, my answer would have been far more traditional. Now I am embarking on single motherhood (for now). I feel confident the right guy will come along at some point AND I made the decision to proceed anyway because my biological clock was tick tocking really loudly (and yes, it really does become a lot more difficult for many women to conceive after their mid thirties).
Fear, anger, sadness, confusion, uncertainty and even jealousy–these were some of the emotions I cycled in and out of over the past few years. And the doubt. Oh my goodness the doubt! When things weren’t going well I would ask myself,
Is this a sign that I am not meant to be a mother?
Is it time to pursue adoption?
And the most difficult question of all (and one I came to hate because I really struggled with it)
Do I even want to be a mother anyway???
Fortunately for me, I had many cheerleaders along my winding road, most of them mothers themselves. They, in my darkest moments of doubt, affirmed that having a child would be my greatest joy and that I needed to continue on the road to create this in my life. I am so grateful to these women. They know who they are.
We recently read A Million Miles in a Thousand Years for our bookclub. The premise is essentially this: that we create meaning in our lives by the stories we live. Our lives, just like great movies, are more meaningful when the main character wants something and overcomes conflict to get it.
Well this story, my current story, still in progress, is creating great meaning in my life. And I needed to share it simply because I am looking at my life, my business, and my future though a different lens these days. I am still the same me. I still want to be a masterful coach helping high-aspiration business owners and professionals create their great story. I still want to be a loving daughter and sister and a true blue friend. And I still want to tango.
So don’t count me out. In fact, count me in more than ever. The plot is about to thicken. And so is my waistline!
Today I booked the entire day to make business development calls. It would be perfect,I thought. I had no coaching calls booked and no trips to the city to make.
Instead of perfect it was a perfect storm of getting nothing done. I could have predicted I wouldn’t spend the whole day on business development (BD). I know better. Whenever I clear the slate like this to make BD calls, it rarely happens. The truth is: I work better when I am busy and need to jam calls in around other meetings. How about you?
In my case, things didn’t go as planned in large part due to nature and technology. Here’s the rundown of the day:
5 a.m. – get woken by the woodpecker (try to sleep again with some success until about 6:30);
6:30- 8:30 a.m. – some combination of breakfast and watching an episode of The Wire. At this cottage, I have turned into one of those “strange” people who watches dramatic TV before the real day begins. I both blame and thank my friend Jen for encouraging me to get hooked on The Wire;
8:30 a.m. – at my desk (a.k.a. the dining room table at the cottage) fussing around deciding on whom to call first; on my first attempted call I find out my long distance plan is disabled; it was working last night…hmmm?
9:30-11:30 a.m – sending and receiving emails from my car at my “internet cafe” (a.k.a. a parking lot 2 km from my cottage where the rocket stick gets a signal); troubleshooting with Digitel via cell phone re: long distance issue (not solved);
Noon until 5ish- a combination of 2 more episodes of The Wire, watching Spain beat out Germany en route to the World Cup finals and helping the cottage owners assemble a new BBQ. Now the TV, bed and BBQ are all nicer than mine at home! Fortunately, the cottage owners were able to solve the long distance issue. At 7:30 p.m. my service is supposed to be restored. Then I can make all the BD calls I want;
5 p.m.- A much anticipated swim around the lake (even up here it’s super hot outside);
5:53 p.m. – blasting out this blog post in Word (as I am not connected to the net from here);
6:15 p.m. – leaving for the IGA to pick up groceries and use their internet cafe (i.e. their parking lot) to put this post online.
So once again my day didn’t unfold as planned. Certainly I”ll be better able to talk football with my weekend guests and I dare say I’ve gained insight into coaching a West Baltimore drug dealer or detective but I certainly didn’t add any $ to the bottom-line today. Well there is always tomorrow. And I already have a lot going for me: my long distance plan will be back in action and the next game isn’t until Saturday!
Sometimes the work day doesn’t unfold as planned either.
So far today, I have written 2 blog posts from Cafe Sportivo in the heart of Montreal’s Little Italy. The owner (I think she’s actually the owner’s daughter) is a spirited woman with a great sense of humour. I enjoyed an excellent expresso and biscotti for $3. When I said “It’s only $3?”, she said, “What, you wanna pay more???”. I have also kept my eye on World Cup action (Uraquay is up one vs. Mexico).
I did not intend to spend my time this way today.
Au contraire. Today I intended to meet 2 prospective clients and also a business owner to discuss how our businesses are complimentary. It was to be a productive day in the city, a stark contrast to my new country setting.
My first meeting was booked for 8:00 a.m. To make it on time, I came into the city yesterday, slept at a friend’s house, got up at 6:30 and drove 30 min in traffic to get from NDG to Little Italy on time. Before, I continue, I want to make it clear that I do not feel sorry for myself. I am simply detailing what it took to make it to the meeting. 8:05 came and went, then 8:10, and 8:20 with no sign of the duo I was to meet. It’s 11:00 a.m. and I haven’t heard from them. Meeting #1 remains a mystery(12:30 p.m. – Mystery solved…the person simply put it in the calendar for tomorrow rather than today. We will rebook. No hard feelings).
On to meeting #2. I was to meet a prospective client at 11 in another part of town. He had a family urgency come up so we are rebooking for later this week or early next. It happens.
Meeting #3. It is scheduled for 2 p.m. with another prospective client. As of now, the meeting is on. And with any luck, at the end of today,I will be saying 1 out of 3 ain’t bad. I would be lying if I said that I won’t be dissappointed if none of my scheduled meetings come off.
But for today, I am listening to Roger Ward Babson who said,
If things go wrong, don’t go with them.
What about you? How do you react when things don’t go according to plan?
Yesterday Seth wrote Goodbye to the office. His timing was good. I a have sublet my city place and tomorrow I am moving to a cottage in The Laurentians until mid September. My cottage will be my summer office (and playground too).
I will be packing:
A Rogers rocket stick for internet;
My laptop and printer;
A decent long distance plan for telephone coaching;
My hard files and office supplies
I am happily giving up:
My current routine;
Access to the Metro 5 min away (I will drive to the city weekly to see propects and clients…it is only an hour’s drive)
Full time city living, for now;
Because I am gaining:
A lake to swim and a dock to write from each morning;
Tall trees, flowers and country air;
A fun place to host friends for long weekends and colleagues for some collaborations;
When you need to have a meeting, have a meeting. When you need to collaborate, collaborate. The rest of the time, do the work, wherever you like.
My “wherever I like” is an office on a dock. It’s my place to do things differently for 3 months…to expand my village. If you want to reach me there, email me for details. I’ve packed my rocket stick.
Me coaching Marie-Claude Pelletier, President, Les Effrontés; photo by Phil Carpenter, The Gazette June 6, 2010
Hey, look who is featured today! What a pleasure to wake up and read the great coverage on business coaching (and my coaching!) as today’s feature on the front page of the business section of The Gazette: When to call the coach. Thank you Alison MacGregor for writing a balanced and comprehensive feature on business coaching.
Thank you, Marie-Claude Pelletier, my client and President of Les Effrontés for your openness to being interviewed for the article. Les Effrontés offers an amazing styling/ shopping service for busy business owners and professionals. Yes, I am biased AND I recommend them without hesitation.
Admiral Jim Stockdale was a prisoner of war (POW) in Vietnam. Jim Collins writes about him in Good to Great. Stockdale was imprisoned for 8 years from 1965 to 1973 and tortured over 20 times. As a prisoner he did everything in his power to create conditions that would increase the likelihood that he and his fellow prisoners would survive unbroken (i.e. he created rules to help people survive torture sessions, an elaborate internal communications system etc.). He was much loved by his fellow prisoners and went on to win the Congressional Medal of Honour in the US. When Collins interviewed Stockdale, he asked him “Who didn’t make it out?”
“That’s easy”, said Stockdale, “The optimists….they were the ones who said, and ‘We’re going to be out by Christmas’. And Christmas would come. And Christmas would go. Then they would say ‘We’re going to be out by Easter’. And Easter would come. And Easter would go….they died of a broken heart.
Stockdale’s message: You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they may be.
Where in your life/ business do you believe you will prevail in the end?For me, I know I can build a successful and enduring coaching company. It is happening right now. Every day I see evidence of it. And the brutal reality is:
It takes effort every day to develop business and coaching is hard to explain and sell to those who haven’t tried it;
Professionals and business owners take a long time to make a decision that they need a coach and many might never make the investment;
Being an entrepreneur is lonely at times;
It takes a significant investment of time and money to train as a coach and build a business from zero; leaving a lucrative sales management job impacted my revenues;
A lot of coaches give up before they “make it” or make up the difference by training and consulting.
Today a business owner client of mine cried during our session and told me how thankful she was that I made the decision to train as a coach. She said that if I hadn’t become a coach and been connected to her, she wouldn’t be where she is today, living her life in such a profoundly different way.
I don’t hear affirmations like this every day but it sure helps me keep the faith that I will prevail, regardless of the difficulties. And I am willing to confront the brutal facts of my current reality.
Collins says that if you are able to operate from both sides of the paradox, never letting one overshadow the other,
You will dramatically increase the odds of making a series of good decisions and ultimately discovering a simple, yet deeply insightful concept for making the really big choices. And once you have that simple, unifying concept, you will be very close to making a sustained transition to breakthrough results.
So where will you prevail? What are the brutal facts you need to face? How will you live in the duality of the paradox?
While I may be a solo-preneur, I have involved family, friends (and some of their spouses!), mentors, advisors, coaches, consultants and even tango partners in my business. They are my village. I am even dedicating a page on my soon to be revamped web site called “About We”. (more…)
I have less than 30 minute to capture my thoughts in this post. This normally would not be enough time for me to write a post but I am inspired to go with good enough this time around. In fact, it is perfect as my topic today is about good enough.
This a.m. I got an email from my friend Bonnie Jean.
Email heading: Now are ya alive woman?
Email body: Just the one word answer is sufficient.
Bonnie Jean had left me a voice mail last week and I hadn’t yet returned it. The wonderful thing about our friendship (and my friendships in general), is that Bonnie Jean really did just want to sknow how I was. She wouldn’t be annoyed even if I didn’t call her back for several more weeks. She may have sent out an APB if I hadn’t managed to muster a one word email response though. We have that kind of friendship. Whatever we do for each other is always good enough.
And on the topic of good enough, Bonnie Jean has long supported the idea of living life in medium. She brought it up again today. I have heard it so many times over the years that I can’t remember today’s context. Her idea is that living your life in medium is the way to go. Her medium means even-keeled, balanced, or without drama or extremes. I think the concept first emerged years ago when I was lamenting over this relationship or that and was generally caught in some big drama to which she would say, “Medium, Lisa, think medium!”.
I am all for medium when I feel like medium. Of course, the whole concept flies in the face of coaching . I often work with my clients to help them expand their emotional range. It helps them find fulfillment in their lives and businesses.
Master Coach Deborah Coleman used the analogy of a piano keyboard in my very first coaching course and it has stuck with me ever since. Deborah helped me see that is only though being able to tickle the high notes and the low notes, that one can live fully. So living a life in medium, or let’s call it middle C, might not be all it’s cracked up to be (unless you have bi-polar disorder, in which case, medium would be a very desirable place to be).
In fairness, Bonnie Jean is the mother of 3 kids. From her perspective, medium is likely a delightful absence of vomit and middle of the night bed wetting.
Perspective aside, as much as I love Bonnie Jean and her truisms, I cannot support the theory of medium. What I can support is full keyboard living, purposely cooking up a distraction when you need to, and an ability to bring yourself to medium/ middle C whenever you need a rest.
P.S. I may write a future post on Bonnie Jean’s other main theme today: A woman cannot work, have kids, have a clean house, be sane AND be skinny.
I am just back from a weekend in Toronto with my dear friend and business partner Tanya (hereto forward known as Tanya with no preamble about how we are both best friends and business partners!). The working weekend was set up about a week ago when we recognized that some face time was our answer to busting through the Seth Godin style resistance our lizard brains had been mounting at various times over the past month about next steps for our beloved Coach Buffet.
After a couple of successful Coach Buffet events in the fall and some demand for more, we found ourselves royally stuck. A new approach was the answer, we decided, so we spent several meetings in January designing a new virtual approach. And then, lizard brain again. It seemed that something was keeping us from moving forward to ship it out and make it happen.
As part of our weekend plans, we decided it was important to include some fun. We recognize that while all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, it makes us grumpy and grumpier! As coaches, we also know that inspiration can be found in funny places. Tanya challenged me to come up with something we could do during our visit that would be so memorable that I would write about it in my 2010 recap of what I am most proud of. No pressure.
You guessed it. Once again. Stuck. Zut, alors. What could we do? I help my coaching clients get unstuck on a daily basis and there I was stuck again.
Luckily, when you have a business partner who is also a coach, you don’t have to stay stuck for long. Together we brainstormed a challenge for ourselves that very well could make the ranks of things I am most proud of in 2010.
Our challenge:
Make a meal together for Saturday night. Big deal, right? Hold on.
The rules:
Visit at least 3-4 foodie neighbourhoods in Toronto together
Spend exactly $50 each and not a penny more (Tanya’s husband Greg sprang for the wine)
Split up to make purchases
Make no menu plans in advance
Hide our purchases from each other for the entire day. In other words, NO discussion on what we were each buying independently for our joint meal
Make a full meal together that would include every single ingredient we bought.
Eat every dish.
Insist that Greg eat every dish
The results? A pinch of stuck, a sprinkling of anxiety, heaping scoops of laughter, and five surprizing courses. All this and some almost espionage too. You will have to read my next post for that.
It is confirmed. My reputation is Golden. Retriever, that is! Yep. Ruff ruff.
In early January, I embarked on a journey to get information on how I am perceived by my current and past clients, colleagues, friends and family (well all the friends and family are current!). My motivation was curiosity. My intention:
To gather information I could use in my marketing (i.e. where is the sweet spot between the small business owners’ needs and my character strengths, coaching skills, experience and offerings; and,
To provide information for me own self development work with my business coach (i.e., how can I play to my strengths and accept/ modulate my weaknesses).
Like any tool, the Reach 360 would give me pieces to inform me but not the whole picture.
And so, as I hinted above, the bread of dog that comes to mind when people think of me is Golden Retriever. It don’t think they meant it in the Fido sense (as in, Lisa looks like a Golden Retreiver) but perhaps some did.
The question was worded something along the lines of “when you think of Lisa’s qualities, what dog breed comes to mind?”. Of the 31 respondents who filled out the anonymous electronic reach 360 questionnaire, more than half of them said Golden Retriever. And they weren’t picking from a drop down list. This was an open-ended question.
So why am I focussing on the dog question when I could be sharing with you what people’s perceptions of my strengths and weaknesses are or I could be listing the “brand attribute” words that were most often used to describe me? I guess it is because I find the dog section fun, funny, and pretty damn accurate.
Wikipedia says,
The temperament of the Golden Retriever is a hallmark of the breed …”kindly, friendly and confident”. Check. Well, my confidence waxes and wanes but I am consistently kind and friendly.
A Golden should not be unduly timid or nervous. Check
The typical Golden Retriever is calm, naturally intelligent and biddable, with an exceptional eagerness to please. Check.
Golden Retrievers are also noted for their intelligence. Ahem. All I will say here is that curiosity and learning are top values of mine.
These dogs are also renowned for their patience. Ok. We might have reached the end of the “how Lisa is like a Golden Retreiver” exercise.
Lest you think I am all Golden, I also got shepard, collie, Alsatian, afghan hound and “Royal Puddle“. I decided that the later came from a francophone coach colleague who told me over coffee the other day that she thought I was most like a ”un caniche”.
If you, your employees, or your friends and family could benefit from knowing more about how they are perceived in the world by those who know them well, I do recommend the Reach 360 and the Via Strength finder (both are free).
Be prepared for some introspection as you read the information that comes in. If you know yourself well, there will be few suprizes and some great tidbits you can learn from. And remember, feedback is feedback. It is someone else’s opinion and it is golden as long as you take it in stride!
As a business coach, my niche is small business owners. Of course, all small business owners are not created equal so I continue to refine my focus. To help me do this, I find it very helpful to conduct 1:1 interviews. During these interviews I learn what keeps business owners up at night, what they typically do to address their “pain” and how they go about finding help.
I so appreciate the time these entrepreneurs give to me to help me build my business that I offer a complimentary “no strings attached and I mean it!” coaching session to them or another business owner they want to pass it on to. I also sometimes write blog posts (see sample) as a way to spread the word about their business and their story.
And so, what’s the point? Simply this: if you are a small business owner who fits this profile and you are willing to spend 20 min on the phone with me (or have coffee in person for those in Montreal), I would love to hear from you soon:
Criteria:
Have been in business for 3-5 years++
Have at least 5 employees or associates
Work in any industry (though I have a preference for food, marketing, fashion, professoinal services/ consulting etc.)
Feel free to forward this link to someone who fits this profile. I look forward to hearing from you or someone in your network. Email me at lisa@chandlercoaches.com Thanks!
Twice in the past month I was pointed to the online VIA Survey of Character (or VIA Inventory of Strengths, VIA-IS). I didn’t pay it much attention the first time (it was Christmas after all!) but the second time it crossed my radar, I checked it out as it was presented as the ”un-DSM-IV” which essentially means it is not about mental disorders! Well if that isn’t enough to send you to the site, what will it take?? What the VIA Strengths Survey is, in fact, is the world’s most scientifically validated tool for measuring character strengths.
At no charge, you can take the VIA Strengths survey (click to this page and scroll to the bottom to register). You will need about 20-30 minutes to answer all 240 short questions if you do the full survey. It is worth it. Immediately you will receive an ordered list of your results listing your character strengths from from 1 to 24. Incidentally, there are five strengths that are most closely linked to happiness. I am not going to tell you which ones though. Take the survey and if you are curious, leave a comment here or email me at lisa@chandlercoaches.com and I will reveal all.
So you confirm your strengths (you likely had a good sense of what they were anyway) and then what? Well conventional wisdom suggested you work on your weaknesses but newer thinking in positive psychology recommends playing to your strengths. Do you remember your school guidance counsellor telling you to get tutored in math to improve your long division because you were terrible at it. Well no more! Some folks at Harvard have created an exercise called Reflected Best Self to help you play to your strengths (You’ll have to pay $6.50 to order the whole article). A life/ business coach can help you leverage your strengths too.
In my case, on the heels of doing the VIA Strengths, I am also using the free online survey called 360 Reach to get external feedback too (the link I have here is for the free version that you can use for 15 days. It was hard to find on the site). I sent the 360 survey to colleagues, clients, employees I used to manage, friends and family. The beauty of the 360 Reach tool is threefold: at the basic service level it is free; it is turn key; and responses are anonymous making it more likely that respondents will be honest. And the bonus: you can review the feedback in real time at the site as anonymous responses roll in. Once you have a minimum of 10 respondents, you get some analysis of the data.
Based on the feedback so far, I have heard what people believe are my greatest strengths and weaknesses (oh, and the survey includes a couple of projective questions. So far, the type of dog people think of when they think of me is a golden retreiver–happy, dependable, loyal and attractive ; and the home appliance that most relates to me is a mix master).
I could say lots more but I am going to wait until I have a statisically significant number of responses in. Are you curious yet about your strengths?
My business partner (and dear friend) Tanya Geisler recently pulled off Coach Buffet Toronto on her own (I was feeling under the weather and couldn’t travel). As if that is not enough, she also managed to get Coach Buffet featured on the front page of the Life Section in today’s Globe and Mail! Check out Speed-interviewing: On your marks, get set – hire! by Globe writer Zosia Bielski.
So today we are celebrating being on the front page of the Life section, perhaps the most popular section of our national newspaper. Not bad, Tanya! Coach Buffet is on its way to becoming a household name!
The Globe article speaks of an increasing trend to speed hire (i.e. employees, babysitters, doulas and coaches!). Our inspiration for Coach Buffet came in part from the notion that putting participants and coaches in a room for a high energy evening of coaching would be efficient à la ”speed hiring” AND it was much bigger than that too.
You see, as coaches ourselves, Tanya and I know the power of coaching, even in short 15 min segments. We set out to create Coach Buffet as a way to help coaches offer real coaching to show how they help clients create incredible possibilities in their lives and businesses.
Equally important to us is that Coach Buffet participants (prospective coaching clients) receive real value on the spot, perhaps by getting unstuck in an issue they have been grappling with or by finding a way to look at the situation through a new lens. While we would prefer that participants leave the Coach Buffet event wanting to hire one of the coaches from the buffet, we also see it as a great positive when participants leave feeling inspired and with their eyes opened about the potential of coaching.
Come see firsthand what I am talking about. Our next Coach Buffet Toronto is on Jan 26th and Coach Buffet Montreal is Jan 28th. There is no better time than January to get off to a great start and I feel extremely confident that Coach Buffet can help.
Most of us go on hero’s journeys in our lives and businesses. The idea of the hero’s journey or monomyth originally came from Joseph Campbell and had 17 steps. I learned about a 7 step version on a group coaching call this week and raced to draw it for you (I still love that grade 6 feeling of using markers and Bristol board).
So dawn your metaphorical cape and tights. As you read through these stages, think about your current business and life journeys. Plot where you are right now. I would love to tell you where I think I am in my life and business journeys, but I would rather keep you guessing.
The promised 7 steps of the hero’s journey:
1) Innocence-your life or business is ticking along. It might be dull but it’s safe and things are working.
2) Call to Adventure- you start to hear a calling to make a big change and it gets louder and louder (i.e. quite your job, buy the competition, climb Aconcagua…this is a plug for Coach Ian Renaud and his Project R.I.R.E…it is in French only)
3) Threshold Guardians- as soon as you decide to heed the call, guardians or protectors are sure to emerge. Their goal is to send you back to innocence (i.e. your wife who doesn’t want you to resign, your mortgage, your own sabotaging voices that tell you that you are crazy and you will surely fail)
Many people return to innocence at this stage, too scared to go on. Or as my mentor coach says, “they buy a big screen TV” and forget about the call altogether (although life becomes shades of grey even if the TV is in HD).
4) Road to Adventure- you made it past those powerful threshold guardians. Congratulations. You are on a journey of challenges, excitement, intrigue, and learning (i.e. you are building your business, traveling the world). Times are good. You feel free and full of hope.
5) Principal Ordeal- and then…seemingly out of the blue, you start feeling confused and trapped. You have come too far to go back to safety and yet you don’t know how to go on. This stage is not called the Principal Ordeal for nothing. It will really test your metal. You don’t know how long you will be stuck here and how you will go on, but go on you must (Hint: you need to get really quiet when you are here…the answers are inside you somewhere).
6) Flight/ Return- Yippee! Somehow you got silent. You found your way out of the fog. Your purpose is clear again and you know what you have to do to get the proverbial treasure back home (i.e. redefining your business offering, moving to a new city). Whatever the ordeal is for you, you found a way out of it and now you are on your flight to freedom again having “slayed the dragon”.
7) Celebration and Service- You made it. Perhaps you are hometown hero. Perhaps it is just a quiet victory. Whatever the case, you get to celebrate your success and share your treasures/ learnings. Revel in the victory and innocence of this time of celebration. Serve others. And keep your eyes and ears open. If you are true hero, your next call to adventure won’t be far away!
Where are you in the hero’s journey of your life or business? Tell us by commenting.
Rivers Corbett is a force. His entrepreneurial story is epic. He’s a charismatic, experienced business leader and his passion for helping entrepreneurs is contagious. Read on to find out why the interview with Rivers was special for me.
We will pick up the story around the time when Rivers borrowed $1M as a young man to buy out his father’s hodge podge of businesses (an old marina, convenience stores, a nursing home and a wholesale meat operation). The loan enabled him to return to New Brunswick, the province he loves, as an entrepreneur with an income right off the bat. In hindsight it was a good decision although it was not without its pain including a hostile takeover by the board of directors of the nursing home.
All those original businesses have since been spun off or closed. Rivers’ main business is now The Chef Group which just celebrated its 10 year anniversary.
The Chef Group is like the Ford modelling agency but for chefs in the Atlantic provinces. We create culinary adventures and push the envelope on food delivery and food education.
Even the Chef Group story is epic as Rivers lived through embezzlement by his now ex business partner which was uncovered just last year. Fortunately, The Chef Group (now with 15 full-time employees) has come out strong and this year’s focus is on maximizing efficiencies to increase profits.
For an entrepreneur like Rivers who likes to chase shiny lights, buckling down to focus on efficiencies to increase ROI takes discipline. Fortunately, Rivers knows how to keep focus on his main business and indulge his passion for new business by helping other entrepreneurs through coaching and mentoring.
Named as Entrepreneur of the Year in 2005 by the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce, Rivers is a life- long advocate for entrepreneurs as he believes they are the backbone of our economy. Beyond the award, his most proud moments came when he reached a million in revenue for the first time and successfully battled depression twice.
What’s come more easily than he ever imagined is his willingness to expand his risk. He’s had colossal successes and failures in business and each time his confidence has grown through his learning.
I can now say with confidence that I will never have to be employed by someone else again. The money for my kids’ education is in the bank. I could never have gotten to this place without taking the risks I did. Each time I had to manage my fears in order to move forward. Now it gets easier and easier to take smart risks because the rewards are so great and I know I will survive.
Rivers has three themes that have served him well as an entrepreneur:
1) Attitude-he works a lot on personal development and surrounds himself with positive people including a business coach
2) Cash- he is always looking for access to cash (i.e. credit) for a day when he needs to put it into play
3) Team- he creates a team not only among his staff and suppliers but also among his family, friends and business supporters like his coach
I have booked Rivers for 39 minutes to share his top 8 things you have to do to survive and thrive in business beyond year five. Join us for this complimentary teleseminar on December 9th at 8 p.m. EST. Click here to register for 39 Minutes with Rivers Corbett.
Rivers and I have also teamed up to offer a mentor coaching program for start up entrepreneurs called The Business Success Train. I couldn’t think of an entrepreneur I would rather partner with for his depth of experience and passion are so compelling. It doesn’t hurt that we share maritime roots. We are both so very excited to help start-up entrepreneurs (from year 0-5 in business) through our Business Succcess Train program……join us on the train to your success!
Rivers Corbett is a force. His entrepreneurial story is epic. He’s a charismatic, experienced business leader and his passion for helping entrepreneurs is contagious. Read on to find out why the interview with Rivers was special for me.
We will pick up the story around the time when Rivers borrowed $1M as a young man to buy out his father’s hodge podge of businesses (an old marina, convenience stores, a nursing home and a wholesale meat operation). The loan enabled him to return to New Brunswick, the province he loves, as an entrepreneur with an income right off the bat. In hindsight it was a good decision although it was not without its pain including a hostile takeover by the board of directors of the nursing home.
All those original businesses have since been spun off or closed. Rivers’ main business is now The Chef Group which just celebrated its 10 year anniversary.
The Chef Group is like the Ford modelling agency but for chefs in the Atlantic provinces. We create culinary adventures and push the envelope on food delivery and food education.
Even the Chef Group story is epic as Rivers lived through embezzlement by his now ex business partner which was uncovered just last year. Fortunately, The Chef Group (now with 15 full-time employees) has come out strong and this year’s focus is on maximizing efficiencies to increase profits.
For an entrepreneur like Rivers who likes to chase shiny lights, buckling down to focus on efficiencies to increase ROI takes discipline. Fortunately, Rivers knows how to keep focus on his main business and indulge his passion for new business by helping other entrepreneurs through coaching and mentoring.
Named as Entrepreneur of the Year in 2005 by the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce, Rivers is a life- long advocate for entrepreneurs as he believes they are the backbone of our economy. Beyond the award, his most proud moments came when he reached a million in revenue for the first time and successfully battled depression twice.
What’s come more easily than he ever imagined is his willingness to expand his risk. He’s had colossal successes and failures in business and each time his confidence has grown through his learning.
I can now say with confidence that I will never have to be employed by someone else again. The money for my kids’ education is in the bank. I could never have gotten to this place without taking the risks I did. Each time I had to manage my fears in order to move forward. Now it gets easier and easier to take smart risks because the rewards are so great and I know I will survive.
Rivers has three themes that have served him well as an entrepreneur:
1) Attitude-he works a lot on personal development and surrounds himself with positive people including a business coach
2) Cash- he is always looking for access to cash (i.e. credit) for a day when he needs to put it into play
3) Team- he creates a team not only among his staff and suppliers but also among his family, friends and business supporters like his coach
I have booked Rivers for 39 minutes to share his top 8 things you have to do to survive and thrive in business beyond year five. Join us for this complimentary teleseminar on December 9th at 8 p.m. EST. Click here to register for 39 Minutes with Rivers Corbett.
Rivers and I have also teamed up to offer a mentor coaching program for start up entrepreneurs called The Business Success Train. I couldn’t think of an entrepreneur I would rather partner with for his depth of experience and passion are so compelling. It doesn’t hurt that we share maritime roots. We are both so very excited to help start-up entrepreneurs (from year 0-5 in business) through our Business Succcess Train program……join us on the train to your success!
I am writing this by way of reprimanding myself!! Just 5 minutes ago I sent out a reminder link on Facebook that I have 5 coaching spots left for my one time ”Business Success in 2 Hours” year end coaching sessions. The minute after I sent out the link, I clicked on a video posted by Start Up Coach Alain Theriault entitled “Top Five Things You Should know About Social Media”. Ouch. I know this stuff. Sometimes it just becomes irresistable not to spread the word via Facebook about things I am offering in my coaching practice. Sometimes, it is entirely justified. Other times it is simply a way to have a feeling of accomplishment at the end of a busy day!
There, I posted my year end coaching offering on Facebook. That’s good. I am sure some people will read and some might forward it on and perhaps someone will call…or will they?
NOT GOOD ENOUGH according to Mikal E. Bellcone, author of Social Media Advisor and contributor to Entrepreneur Magazine. Watch the video for yourself….it’s worth your three minutes.!
I have a background in marketing and sales so you could say I know better. But to err is human. And to be an entrepreneur is to take on the world and fall into the occasional trap of trying to be expert marketer, expert business owner and excellent coach all at the same time.
So back to the Top 5 Things You Should Know about Social Media. I have summarized the key points for you here:
It’s called social media, not social selling
Don’t forget what you already know about marketing
Choose the right niche
You have to engage
You have to have goals
The #1 mistake: Selling in social media…first be part of the conversation and opportunities to sell will arise.
The #1 tip: Be goal oriented; develop a strategy and know your ROI on every marketing expenditure. Set objectives ahead of time and measure!
I would add that taking the medium to longer term view in terms of building your brand through social media is also a good perspective to hold.
Last night I was invited to Challenge Your World as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week (thank you Martin Lessard!). Guy Kawasaki was spectacular as the keynote speaker. For the most part, Guy’s top 10 tips for entrepreneurs make a ton of sense. There are only a couple I dispute. My comments are in italics.
Build what YOU want to use- in other words, skip the market research, make the product or service and get going (see #8 too); build your product/ service with a partner for the lowest cost possible and ensure your partner has talents and skills different than your own.
Pay $0 for tools- WordPress for blogging is a prime example. I was given this sage advice when I started Chandler Coaches and it has served me well to date.
Pay $0 for marketing- there is no longer a need to hire a PR company pre launch or spend $$ on advertising. Agreed and I think you do need to spend a bit of money on a talented graphic artist who can create your company/ product identity…something people will recognize on your website/ blog, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter etc.
Suck down or across (not up!)-the person who will make your product a success is a “nobody” who will tell other “nobodies” how much he loves your product/ service. Because you don’t know who the nobodies are, you have to reach a lot of people. Forget about sucking up to stars and other influencers. This makes a ton of sense AND if you can find a way to get the Oprah Effect too, that won’t hurt!
Use Twitter and Tweetmeme- there is no better way to reach the masses. It is brilliant and it is free.
Pay $0 for people-get help from people who are willing to do internships or work for free. Sure, this might be fine when you are truly a start up with $0 cash flow. After that, once you are making $, it is not ok, in my opinion, to make $ on someone else’s back. Share and you will be rewarded. And what about hiring a start up coach like Alain Theriault (who is top of mind as I saw him last night) to help a bit on the front end? And then hire me when you are more established and I will help you grow in the direction you want.
Put everything in “the cloud”-this was for techies re storing data on servers
Ship, then test! Create a product or service that is good enough and get going. Don’t aim for perfection or anything close. “Cash saves all”. My partner Tanya Geisler and I recently did this with our new Coach Buffet concept and we got great feedback on our first two events. We couldn’t know what we know today if we had held off to refine the process.
Avoid venture capital (VC)-bootstrap your company for the first few years instead of looking for investors. When you have a proven product/ service and want to scale up, VC can be an alternative.
Niche thyself- be the unique/ high value player. And if you are the marketer, ask how you can convince the world you are the unique/ high value player.
Guy’s Bonus: Don’t let the bozos grind you down. In Guy’s world, the dangerous bozos are the rich, famous people whose opinions are given more weight than they should be. Resist the naysayers, especially if they are where they are in business/ life because of luck/circumstances and not intelligence.
Last night I was invited to Challenge Your World as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week (thank you Martin Lessard!). Guy Kawasaki was spectacular as the keynote speaker. For the most part, Guy’s top 10 tips for entrepreneurs make a ton of sense. There are only a couple I dispute. My comments are in italics.
Build what YOU want to use- in other words, skip the market research, make the product or service and get going (see #8 too); build your product/ service with a partner for the lowest cost possible and ensure your partner has talents and skills different than your own.
Pay $0 for tools- WordPress for blogging is a prime example. I was given this sage advice when I started Chandler Coaches and it has served me well to date.
Pay $0 for marketing- there is no longer a need to hire a PR company pre launch or spend $$ on advertising. Agreed and I think you do need to spend a bit of money on a talented graphic artist who can create your company/ product identity…something people will recognize on your website/ blog, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter etc.
Suck down or across (not up!)-the person who will make your product a success is a “nobody” who will tell other “nobodies” how much he loves your product/ service. Because you don’t know who the nobodies are, you have to reach a lot of people. Forget about sucking up to stars and other influencers. This makes a ton of sense AND if you can find a way to get the Oprah Effect too, that won’t hurt!
Use Twitter and Tweetmeme- there is no better way to reach the masses. It is brilliant and it is free.
Pay $0 for people-get help from people who are willing to do internships or work for free. Sure, this might be fine when you are truly a start up with $0 cash flow. After that, once you are making $, it is not ok, in my opinion, to make $ on someone else’s back. Share and you will be rewarded. And what about hiring a start up coach like Alain Theriault (who is top of mind as I saw him last night) to help a bit on the front end? And then hire me when you are more established and I will help you grow in the direction you want.
Put everything in “the cloud”-this was for techies re storing data on servers
Ship, then test! Create a product or service that is good enough and get going. Don’t aim for perfection or anything close. “Cash saves all”. My partner Tanya Geisler and I recently did this with our new Coach Buffet concept and we got great feedback on our first two events. We couldn’t know what we know today if we had held off to refine the process.
Avoid venture capital (VC)-bootstrap your company for the first few years instead of looking for investors. When you have a proven product/ service and want to scale up, VC can be an alternative.
Niche thyself- be the unique/ high value player. And if you are the marketer, ask how you can convince the world you are the unique/ high value player.
Guy’s Bonus: Don’t let the bozos grind you down. In Guy’s world, the dangerous bozos are the rich, famous people whose opinions are given more weight than they should be. Resist the naysayers, especially if they are where they are in business/ life because of luck/circumstances and not intelligence.
I am hitting on a theme lately: woman entrepreneurs who have given birth to new businesses around the same time as starting their families. I just interviewed Alysia Melnychuk, owner of Savon Populaire, a Montreal based organic cosmetics (soap etc.) company. Like Kim Fuller of IDG Communications, Alysia started her business just before the birth of her eldest child more than six years ago. And like many entrepreneurial moms, she used her maternity leave time to further develop her ideas so that when she returned to work she was rearing to go.
And she has been going strong ever since. Even the birth of her second child almost 5 months ago hasn’t stopped her. Though this time, she wishes she could pull back more. Her biggest challenge has been finding a way to replace herself. Her solution, by necessity, has been to farm out various aspects of her role to four different people on a part-time or project basis. Not surprisingly, no one person had her entire skill set. Parcelling out her roles and caring for a small baby has necessitated that this entrepreneur truly assume her company management role, leaving technician type soap production issues to others. As it is, she is putting in 20-25 hours a week still (often at night when her children go to bed).
It is hard for me to let go because I pride myself on creativity in our soap making and on quality. This is forcing me to do it and it’s good practice.
Her current situation also made her question her ability to continue with the current company set up. And selling is not an option as Alysia is too excited to walk away as the company is poised for a growth spurt. After very careful consideration, her answer is to create a co-operative.
Over the coming months, Savon Populaire will become a co-op with 3 partners who have an equal voice. There will be a lot more “letting go” to come for Alysia. Fortunately, her passion for creating body friendly, environmentally friendly products and her love of working in collaboration with people instead of in a boss/ subordinate role will continue to drive her. Savon Populaire will be all the better for it as one of the new partners is a herbalist who brings many innovative ideas and know how. Happily, the third partner is a current employee who is being groomed to step into a partner role.
The biggest risk Alysia ever took in business was to start the company in the first place. She did it with no capital and no cash flow. There were some very lean years at the beginning where Alysia’s resourcefulness is all that kept her company going. She told me of how she retrofitted a clothing iron to be her product sealer in order to save $300. It seems there have been many ingenious moves like this. She’s most proud that she has created something that now has worth in terms of brand equity and company assets that she could sell.
Alysia’s biggest failure (and greatest learning) came from realizing that remaining foggy on details where money is concerned is a recipe for big problems. Her initial naïveté didn’t serve her well and she’s now very careful to stipulate clear terms when money is involved.
Soon Savon Populaire will move from their Montreal Parc Extension workshop and manufacturing shop to new larger retail location (TBD) with local shopping traffic and launch a whole new product line. With two new partners, a new retail location, a new product line and a great deal of enthusiasm for what is possible, we can expect to see great things coming from Savon Populaire in 2010.
I am hitting on a theme lately: woman entrepreneurs who have given birth to new businesses around the same time as starting their families. I just interviewed Alysia Melnychuk, owner of Savon Populaire, a Montreal based organic cosmetics (soap etc.) company. Like Kim Fuller of IDG Communications, Alysia started her business just before the birth of her eldest child more than six years ago. And like many entrepreneurial moms, she used her maternity leave time to further develop her ideas so that when she returned to work she was rearing to go.
And she has been going strong ever since. Even the birth of her second child almost 5 months ago hasn’t stopped her. Though this time, she wishes she could pull back more. Her biggest challenge has been finding a way to replace herself. Her solution, by necessity, has been to farm out various aspects of her role to four different people on a part-time or project basis. Not surprisingly, no one person had her entire skill set. Parcelling out her roles and caring for a small baby has necessitated that this entrepreneur truly assume her company management role, leaving technician type soap production issues to others. As it is, she is putting in 20-25 hours a week still (often at night when her children go to bed).
It is hard for me to let go because I pride myself on creativity in our soap making and on quality. This is forcing me to do it and it’s good practice.
Her current situation also made her question her ability to continue with the current company set up. And selling is not an option as Alysia is too excited to walk away as the company is poised for a growth spurt. After very careful consideration, her answer is to create a co-operative.
Over the coming months, Savon Populaire will become a co-op with 3 partners who have an equal voice. There will be a lot more “letting go” to come for Alysia. Fortunately, her passion for creating body friendly, environmentally friendly products and her love of working in collaboration with people instead of in a boss/ subordinate role will continue to drive her. Savon Populaire will be all the better for it as one of the new partners is a herbalist who brings many innovative ideas and know how. Happily, the third partner is a current employee who is being groomed to step into a partner role.
The biggest risk Alysia ever took in business was to start the company in the first place. She did it with no capital and no cash flow. There were some very lean years at the beginning where Alysia’s resourcefulness is all that kept her company going. She told me of how she retrofitted a clothing iron to be her product sealer in order to save $300. It seems there have been many ingenious moves like this. She’s most proud that she has created something that now has worth in terms of brand equity and company assets that she could sell.
Alysia’s biggest failure (and greatest learning) came from realizing that remaining foggy on details where money is concerned is a recipe for big problems. Her initial naïveté didn’t serve her well and she’s now very careful to stipulate clear terms when money is involved.
Soon Savon Populaire will move from their Montreal Parc Extension workshop and manufacturing shop to new larger retail location (TBD) with local shopping traffic and launch a whole new product line. With two new partners, a new retail location, a new product line and a great deal of enthusiasm for what is possible, we can expect to see great things coming from Savon Populaire in 2010.
Kim Fuller is the mother of three. Her oldest is a corporate communications company called IDG Communications. After giving birth to IDG ten years ago, she went on to have two sons, aged 9 and 6. It was Kim who said her business is like a child that she “raised” from conception to maturity. She makes parallels to the dedication required, the thousands of hours spent, the messiness, the nurturing and the tough decision making along the way.
Having two real children while building her communications company was the biggest risk she has ever taken. Interesting, she links her biggest risk to what she is most proud of: controlled and steady growth. Kim says that the attention her children demanded required her to be steady and cautious about how she grew her business. And the controlled growth is what created a rock solid foundation that she and her team are building upon ten years later.
And rock solid it is. Now the clients are more prestigious. And they come with bigger budgets, wider scopes of work and bigger expectations. Meanwhile, IDG Communications stays quiet about their successes. You won’t see them self promoting at awards shows. They are too busy serving their clients and creating deep business relationships that ensure that the marketing work they create truly works for their clients. Some of their most rewarding work is done through Phil Communications, a division of IDG Communications focussed on the not-for-profit sector.
If up until now you are thinking that Kim is a quiet, risk averse mom, make no mistake. She’s a driver! She told me about wanting to reach a place of stability in business and then quickly self-corrected when she realized how the entrepreneur part of her would actually find stability quite uncomfortable.
Her biggest lesson came in year two when a major account ended and necessitated that she let go most of her staff to stay afloat. She not only learned to diversify, she also learned to stand up for herself and the company. The big account was keeping the company busy but was too demanding to be profitable. In asserting her company’s needs, she lost the account but opened up many new opportunities to do things differently.
Finance has been a challenge for Kim who has a degree in Fine Arts and not Accounting! To respond to this gap, she surrounded herself with smart people and a management accountant who is integral to her business success. Ten years later, she may still be a creative at heart and she knows her ways around her books too.
She’s most amazed at the trust her staff place in her decision making ability. I reminded her it is not by accident that she garners trust. She has proven herself time and time again and her people know they can count on her. She calls her current team a “dream team” which says to me it is time to systematize business processes to ensure that if key people leave, the business is not vulnerable.
These days, Kim is more business development (BD) and less art direction and creative. BD is the hat that is needed and she’s more than capable of wearing this hat.
2010 will see IDG launch a new offering that helps their clients through the marketing process. Her team likens it to a microbrewery who carefully crafts their brew with careful attention to every step. I won’t reveal more. You can check out their offering early in 2010.
Kim Fuller is the mother of three. Her oldest is a corporate communications company called IDG Communications. After giving birth to IDG ten years ago, she went on to have two sons, aged 9 and 6. It was Kim who said her business is like a child that she “raised” from conception to maturity. She makes parallels to the dedication required, the thousands of hours spent, the messiness, the nurturing and the tough decision making along the way.
Having two real children while building her communications company was the biggest risk she has ever taken. Interesting, she links her biggest risk to what she is most proud of: controlled and steady growth. Kim says that the attention her children demanded required her to be steady and cautious about how she grew her business. And the controlled growth is what created a rock solid foundation that she and her team are building upon ten years later.
And rock solid it is. Now the clients are more prestigious. And they come with bigger budgets, wider scopes of work and bigger expectations. Meanwhile, IDG Communications stays quiet about their successes. You won’t see them self promoting at awards shows. They are too busy serving their clients and creating deep business relationships that ensure that the marketing work they create truly works for their clients. Some of their most rewarding work is done through Phil Communications, a division of IDG Communications focussed on the not-for-profit sector.
If up until now you are thinking that Kim is a quiet, risk averse mom, make no mistake. She’s a driver! She told me about wanting to reach a place of stability in business and then quickly self-corrected when she realized how the entrepreneur part of her would actually find stability quite uncomfortable.
Her biggest lesson came in year two when a major account ended and necessitated that she let go most of her staff to stay afloat. She not only learned to diversify, she also learned to stand up for herself and the company. The big account was keeping the company busy but was too demanding to be profitable. In asserting her company’s needs, she lost the account but opened up many new opportunities to do things differently.
Finance has been a challenge for Kim who has a degree in Fine Arts and not Accounting! To respond to this gap, she surrounded herself with smart people and a management accountant who is integral to her business success. Ten years later, she may still be a creative at heart and she knows her ways around her books too.
She’s most amazed at the trust her staff place in her decision making ability. I reminded her it is not by accident that she garners trust. She has proven herself time and time again and her people know they can count on her. She calls her current team a “dream team” which says to me it is time to systematize business processes to ensure that if key people leave, the business is not vulnerable.
These days, Kim is more business development (BD) and less art direction and creative. BD is the hat that is needed and she’s more than capable of wearing this hat.
2010 will see IDG launch a new offering that helps their clients through the marketing process. Her team likens it to a microbrewery who carefully crafts their brew with careful attention to every step. I won’t reveal more. You can check out their offering early in 2010.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Tungle CEO Marc Gingras a few months back. Tungle is a free calendar accelerator… that helps you schedule meetings online and publish your free/ busy calendar (so your clients and colleagues can see when you have free appointment slots, for example, without having to call or email you). This short video on Tungle’s capabilities will impress you:
While Tungle is a great fit for any business professional, I see a fantastic opportunity for coaches and therapists who run a busy practice and want to make client appointment scheduling much easier by having clients book their own appointments online.
For Marc, Tungle is his way to positively change the world. His goal is to have all business people using Tungle to schedule their meetings. His biggest obstacle is the status quo. Changing people’s entrenched behaviours is challenging so his team works to make Tungle easier and easier to adopt.
The key to running a successful business, according to Marc, comes back to people almost everytime: having the right people in the right positions, creating a “get it done” attitude at Tungle, and aligning all the people (management, employees, the board and investors) toward the same objectives.
Getting the right people is not about technology, marketing or the competition; we need people with the right attitude and we have to put them in the right spot so they can shine.
Sometimes the people who are great at the start up phase are not the people who can build a successful mature company, Marc has learned.
Letting go of one of my initial start up people was the hardest thing. The reward is that the company turned around 100 percent so my decision was the right one and it was confirmed right away.
He’s proud of the team he has built and how he has transformed Tungle from a successful start up to a successful company.
Marc started his web career in 1998. During the time the tech bubble burst, he was managing a team of 30 at another company. While he feels that he let them down as he didn’t see it coming, he knows he won’t get caught like this again. He’s rounded out his finance and R&D expertise with sales and marketing know-how, surrounded himself by amazing people and now pays close attention to financing and budgets. Business lessons are painful AND effective!
And now what would Marc like most? Having more money to enable things to move faster and having more people using Tungle to reach a tipping point toward Tungle’s objective of having all business professionals scheduling their meetings through Tungle.
Be a part of this tipping point. Save yourself time every time you schedule a meeting . Avoid the time jungle. Tungle.
Bonus: Marc’s book recommendation for CEO’s on the move: From Good To Great by Jim Collins
Soup is your metaphor for the week, Cancerian. Symbolically speaking, it’s the key to your personal power and a model for the approach you should take in everything you do. On the most basic level, you might want to eat some soup every day. That will make potent suggestions to your subconscious mind about how to mix lots of ingredients together so that their value and beauty as a totality are more than the sum of their parts. Not just in the kitchen, but in every area of your life, blend little miscellaneous things into one big interesting thing.
You might think it flaky for a business coach to start a post with her kooky horoscope. Not so in my books. Metaphors like this are rich and are not to be overlooked.
In my case, the biggest soup I have been cooking lately is Coach Buffet. My co-chef is Tanya Geisler. We hosted our first ever Coach Buffet in Montreal last night. And late late, after everything was wrapped up, with our mouths yawning and our eyes half closing, we read evaluation after evaluation. The verdict: Coach Buffet #1 was a resounding success.
The recipe:
Creativity to dream a vision the guts and drive to make it happen
A business partnership and coaching every step of the way
Participants (professional and business owners) who, as early adopters, showed up fully…hungry for coaching and possibility
Friends and family who supported us through our first event (i.e. for registration, time keeping, photography/ design, spreading the word, access to venue and encouragement)
Openness to the miscellaneous things that will make this “soup” better and better and better
Back to the horoscope. I haven’t been eating soup daily. Frankly because I like making it for others far more than I enjoy eating it myself. Coach Buffet was this for me. We made the metaphorical soup and while others feasted, we were nourished.
Now, metaphors aside. We are building a scalable business franchise model. You will hear more about Coach Buffet.
Coach Buffet Toronto takes place on Tuesday, November 17th. Register online.
They are Chinese and Indian many other ethnicities. You often find them in hotels and on cruise ships. They are often overflowing with plenty, and some would say they are wasteful. Many people overeat at them. What are THEY?
Buffets, of course. They sound like a great idea when you are really hungry and you often regret it very quickly after when you have eaten too much and realize the food all tasted the same.
Why, you might ask, am I discussing the merits of a buffet in a blog focussed on coaching for small business owners and professionals? Some of you know the answer because I have been talking about it incessantly for a number of months now! Yep. Coach Buffet. It’s a new kind of buffet. Coaching is on the menu and we are serving possibility.
My partner Tanya Geisler and I are launching Coach Buffet as a new format for coaching (and a new business venture for us) to show professionals and business owners the power of coaching and to help prospective clients and coaches find a great coaching match in a very short time.
So if you will be in the Montreal area on Thursday evening (Oct 15th) and want to deal with a real life or business issue in a fun and meaningful evening out, join us at the buffet! Our line up of Montreal coaches—whose flavours range from start up business coaching to intuitive life coaching–will leave you feeling full of possibility and no regrets.
Coach Buffet hits Toronto on Tuesday, November 17th, 2009.
Over lunch I read three disperate things and somehow decided they were all connected (or that if they weren’t, I was going to find a way to connect them!). Aim…Aim is the common theme I see. And the three things I read are:
1) Chapter 12 of Michael’s Gerber’s The E Myth Revisited (E stand for entrepreneur) outlining the importance of “your primary aim”
Gerber insists that before considering building a business, we must ask ourselves these questions: What do I value most? What kind of life do I want? What do I want my life to feel like? Who do I wish to be there? Great people have a vision for their lives and they work “on” it each and every day. Like Gerber, I am a firm believer that one’s “primary aim” is the vision necessary to bring a business to life and one’s life to the business. I guide my coaching clients to develop their primary aim/vision. I have one too. I call it into question often. It frustrates me to no end sometimes when I don’t know how to live it. Nonetheless, I am happy to have it be my guide.
While I doubt Lynn’s books follow the same tack as Gerber’s given the different focus, I am betting that the leaders she interviewed had unfailingly articulated their aims to become women leaders long before they became women leaders. I am betting their aims were clear about what leadership would look like, taste like and feel like to lead long before they were in the actual positions they now hold.
Perhaps this one is a bit of an outlier. The way I see it though, it is precisely in the doing of business ownership/ leadership and in being a business owner/ leader that one is faced with huge spiritual challenges that send us reeling from time to time. Many of the challenges are practical. Some are existential. The true leader will go to the hard places to find answers. The true leader will frequently sharpen his/ her aim.
Carlos Castenada (as quoted by Gerber) said this,
The difference between a warrior and an ordinary man [woman] is that a warrior sees everything as a challenge, while an ordinary man sees everything as either a blessing or a curse.
I have been dropping hints all summer about a new coaching concept my friend and colleague Tanya Geisler and I have been developing. So it is with great joy and anticipation that I let the proverbial cat out of the bag. The “cat” is a concept called Coach Buffet and it’s coming soon to a city near you…well, if you live in Montreal or Toronto, Canada, that is.
On October 15th, we will host Coach Buffet in Montreal followed by Coach Buffet Toronto on November 17th. I could leave you to research it it on your own but I am far too enthused to let you go so quickly.
The bottom-line version is that Coach Buffet is an innovative event that is designed to bring a dozen powerful life and business coaches together with participants for meaningful one-on-one coaching conversations in a social evening format.
Coach Buffet is ideal for professionals and business owners who feel stuck in some aspect of business, career or life in general and who are looking for possibilities.
For Montreal, our line up of coaches is extraordinary (by mid September, you can read all their bios on the site) and our venue is exquisite. I can assure you that powerful coaching will take place and strong relationships will form. As we say at Coach Buffet:
I have been dropping hints all summer about a new coaching concept my friend and colleague Tanya Geisler and I have been developing. So it is with great joy and anticipation that I let the proverbial cat out of the bag. The “cat” is a concept called Coach Buffet and it’s coming soon to a city near you…well, if you live in Montreal or Toronto, Canada, that is.
On October 15th, we will host Coach Buffet in Montreal followed by Coach Buffet Toronto on November 17th. I could leave you to research it it on your own but I am far too enthused to let you go so quickly.
The bottom-line version is that Coach Buffet is an innovative event that is designed to bring a dozen powerful life and business coaches together with participants for meaningful one-on-one coaching conversations in a social evening format.
Coach Buffet is ideal for professionals and business owners who feel stuck in some aspect of business, career or life in general and who are looking for possibilities.
For Montreal, our line up of coaches is extraordinary (by mid September, you can read all their bios on the site) and our venue is exquisite. I can assure you that powerful coaching will take place and strong relationships will form. As we say at Coach Buffet:
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My business partner (and dear friend) 
Kim Fuller is the mother of three. Her oldest is a corporate communications company called 
Buffets, of course. They sound like a great idea when you are really hungry and you often regret it very quickly after when you have eaten too much and realize the food all tasted the same.
My partner 
The bottom-line version is that Coach Buffet is an innovative event that is designed to bring a dozen powerful life and business coaches together with participants for meaningful one-on-one coaching conversations in a social evening format.
