Business Coach : The Plan To Follow
-But they’re all just step by step.
-Yeah.
-That’s how you achieve them.
-That’s huge. But let’s say that you and I decided we wanted to form– well, we wanted to cure cancer.
-OK.
-OK. Let’s take something we don’t know how to get to yet.
-Right. Right.
-OK. All right. If you want to cure cancer, what’s the first thing you need? One of the first things you need.
CALEB TAYLOR:: What is it?
-I would say, know what cancer is.
CALEB TAYLOR:: OK. True.
-OK. Find out who knows what cancer it. And you’ll find, probably, that there’s great disagreement among those who think they know what cancer is. Because there’s not a cancer, like there’s a Saint Bernard dog. You know, not all dogs fit that. A Saint Bernard dog, is a Saint Bernard dog, is a Saint Bernard dog, period. Put a keg under its chin, and loose it in the Alps. Right? OK. So, if we say we want to cure cancer, first thing we’ve got to do is start finding out, what do people think cancer is? A business coach will advise to find out what it is first.
-So then you’re breaking it down into those individual little steps.
-And what do people know cancer is? So where is there total agreement, and where is there disagreement? And consider any of those disagreements might be right. And none of them might be right. So there might be still something huge missing. But what can we agree on? Ah-ha! Now I know where to get to work.
-That’s the first step.
-OK, how do I empower a whole lot of this and then experiment with that so that we can get to whatever it is that’s the answer right there?
-That’s huge.
-Right?
-Yeah, that’s huge.
-Yeah.
-I love it. That’s very helpful. So, again, we’re breaking it down so that you understand how to set the big goals. You’ve got to write it down. You’ve got to have the outcomes. It’s got to be specific. And then you got to start taking those little steps. A business coach can help you take a look at the big picture and break it down into smaller steps.
JIM CATHCART: Same thing’s true for losing weight.
-That’s true. And then number three here, the third one, is set a deadline to complete those action steps, the small action steps. You have to have deadlines for each of those, you’d say? A business coach can help hold you accountable to your deadlines.
JIM CATHCART: Yeah.
-Why is that so important?
-My colleague Don Hutson, a very close friend of mine. A speaker and author who wrote a book called “Selling Value,” among others. Don says, a goal is a dream with a deadline.
CALEB TAYLOR:: A goal is a dream with a deadline.
-And I love that. Because if it doesn’t have a deadline, it’s just a wish. And a wish has no responsibility to it. You didn’t achieve your wish. Eh, it was a wish. Right? Don’t hire a business coach for a wish… hire a business coach for a goal.
CALEB TAYLOR:: Right.
-You didn’t achieve your goal. Whoops. This– yeah, you feel accountable. You feel like, gee, I had a responsibility. You know, it’s interesting. I was talking with a new friend the other day, and I told them I have two careers. I’ve got a career that pays the bills, and I’ve got a career that makes me feel good. And I love them both.
But he said, what are your careers? I said, well I’m a professional speaker and author. I consult with people, and coach them, and that. And that’s my pay the bills career. But I love that. He said, what’s your other one? I said, playing the guitar, and singing in clubs. He said, the difference– and this is something that hadn’t occurred to me. He said, the difference in the two is when you’re playing and singing in clubs, you’re not accountable for anything except that performance, of course. But you’re not in charge of anything. You’re not responsible for anything. You’re just there to provide a service, and go away.
Interesting observation, because in my other career, I’m totally engaged in, and accountable for providing value, and making a difference. You know, not just making people feel good.
-Right. That’s interesting.
-Yeah.
-I love it.
-So when you get specific with these things, you start recognizing there’s some responsibility here.
-Yeah. Without the deadline it’s just a wish.
-That’s right. Well, back with our cure cancer analogy. If we were to put that as our goal, a deadline would hasten everything else along the way. If there is no deadline, it’s like a government program. Until someday it might pay off. How much money is that going to cost? I don’t know. However much we can get, as long as we can stay in business forever.
Nah, you know. They talk about the difference between private enterprise and government organizations. There was a great illustration that was told in a speech years ago by Rich DeVos, one of the co-founders of Amway Corporation, with Jay Van Andel. He was giving a speech. And he said, in Russia the farms are owned by the country. The government owns the farms, because it’s communism. And they said, they did an experiment with a certain region of Russia, where they allowed some of the farmers to own their farms.
CALEB TAYLOR:: Really?
-Yeah. They didn’t have complete outright ownership, but they got to benefit in the fruits of their labor directly, like a business owner would. And they said, the productivity on the small farms that were owned was hugely greater than the government farms. And they thought, well, what’s that about? Same equipment, same ground, basically. Because it was in the same area. Same crops. What’s the difference? Well, the government farms, the farmers, at the end of the day, would park the tractor, and go to the house, and retire for the day. The owners put lights on their tractors and kept working.
-I love it. I love it. That’s huge.
-Accountability.
-Yeah. And when you’re setting these goals, you’ve got to have that motivation, that ownership.
-That’s right.
-And a deadline is–
-Is ownership.
– –one of the ways that– yeah.
-It is. Yeah, it’s a form of ownership.
-I love it.