This past week of business coaching was definitely an interesting and unique one. For starters, I got married! That’s right, someone finally made an honest man out of me. I was very excited to enjoy my big day as well as the few days outside of work where I could focus on my bride and experience a small amount of free time. However, as I know all too well everything comes with a trade-off. If I wanted to make the most of the days off I would need to make sure all of my business coaching clients were met before their set meeting times, or find a way to schedule double meetings in the future. I had never taken time off of work before, so at first I was a little worried that my clients would start to believe I was developing cognitive dissonance. I mean after all, wouldn’t you be confused if the same crazy guy that you meet with every week who pushes you to get as much done as you can every hour of every day turns around and tells you he’s going to be off the grid for a few days? Luckily for me, not only were my clients okay with the small schedule changes, they were actually excited for my big day as well. I made myself as clear as possible. I let them all know exactly why I was going to be gone and also what we needed to accomplish before then so that they still got something out of that week. I found that each and every one of my business coaching clients found my openness and honesty refreshing. Because I had given them the truth rather than just saying, “Hey boss, I need to jack up your schedule this week but I can’t tell you why.” they were able to better understand my intentions. Each client I met with last week that needed to be rescheduled mentioned to me how they appreciated the fact that not only was I honest with them but that I also took additional time to rearrange my own schedule in order to get them in. They were used to most meetings being rescheduled outside of what worked for them and then having to deal with the ramifications. Hearing this feedback from each client made me come to the realization that my personal accountability affects more than just my own actions or schedule.
“If you’re going to be there, be there. Stop texting.”
After all of the pre-wedding meetings were complete it was time for me to focus on my big weekend with the wife (That’s still so much fun to say). The ceremony and reception went over without a hitch and was without a doubt the best day of my life. I left the next morning with my wife to enjoy a few days out of town. While on the road I made a bit of a fumble… I mistakenly broke my focus on our trip to reach out to a coworker regarding an item I needed. That’s right… I tried to get work done on my honeymoon. As I sat and waited for a response, I received a text from my boss (Jonathan Kelly) instead. It simply read, “If you’re going to be there, be there. Stop texting.” The coworker I had been talking to just so happened to be in my bosses vicinity and he did not take too kindly to me deviating from my vacation. His message back actually put a smile on my face and I realized nobody should be more intentional than me when it comes to goals that I’ve set. So I shut my phone off for the next few days and simply enjoyed myself. If I hadn’t done that, I would have let work envelope my honeymoon and I wouldn’t have been fully present to achieve the personal goals I had set for myself and my partner that weekend.
When I got back to Tulsa I remembered his words. I worked that phrase into each and every one of my business coaching client meetings. If you’re going to be there, be there. I didn’t allow any push notifications, got-a-minute meetings, or glaring life issues stand between me and my clients. The fact that I was fully engaged started to spill over into their personal work ethic. My drive started to become their drive and we were able to work at a much faster pace than ever before. I learned that the more my clients see that I hold myself accountable to my needs as well as theirs, the more they are willing to hold themselves accountable. Accountability is, in fact, infectious and people are more likely to mirror those that they admire and those that are the example of the entrepreneur that they want to be. A good example of that is the effect I get from working with Clay and Jonathan. I watch them daily hold themselves and their team accountable. They show up at the crack of dawn every day without missing a beat. They practice what they preach. Because of their drive, I now show up to work every single day much earlier than I previously had at other jobs. I hold myself to a higher standard now. Why? It’s because their ability to be accountable gives me something to aspire to.