Are You In The Know?

Coming out of the dark ages, we lived in the Agrarian Age where wealth was created from the land and, therefore, a few landholders had the power and wealth of the nation.  Battles were fought over land and the differing resources that the geography possessed, giving title deeds to the victor.

The Industrial Revolution changed this order. The era of capitalism was born with the creation of factories engaging workers through Adam Smith’s division of labour principles and the production of mass market goods, provided ever more cheaply through ever greater size of operations and the economies of scale employed.  This era started in the seventeenth century and culminated with massive industrial complexes such as Henry Ford’s car plants in Detroit.   

In the Industrial Age, the ability to attain capital, own and run factories by organising workers and machinery led to wealth for the individual.  There was a fundamental shift in financial power from the land to capital.   On a global scale this became the age where America industrial might showed itself and then latterly German engineering prowess and Japanese production efficiency rose to the fore.  Within all this there was the creation of industrial magnates, tycoons and a new rich.  It was also the birth of the middle classes.

In the latter half of the twentieth century we witnessed the birth of the Information Age which has allowed rapid global communications and networking to shape modern society.  Communications around the globe are now instantaneous through a multitude of channels with access to information on any subject only one click of a button away.

The providers of these channels and sources have prospered on an unprecedented scale benefitting from a global marketplace with seemingly no financial boundaries or constraints.

The Knowledge Age is now upon us and it has profound effects for business.  Once you have access to all the information you may need on any subject, instantaneously available at no cost, then what next?  Where’s the competitive advantage?

It lies, now, not in the information itself but how you know how to assimilate it, using one’s experiences, intellect and understanding to create added value to customers – and on a constant basis.  The Knowledge Era upon us is where ideas are paramount.  In this era, knowing how to use the relevant information in a digestible, implementable form and take it to market quickly is the key to success.  It has never been truer that it’s not what you know it’s what you do with what you know.   A good depth of knowledge, enables asking the right questions, to get the right decisions, to take the right actions and then – get the desired results.

In summary in the Knowledge Age a business owner needs to apply constant learning to their own development and seek out the best advice and ideas from knowledge rich sources of business.   In a competitive market those that choose to know more about their ever-changing marketplace and take Action will win.  

GrowthCLUB - Does Your Business Have a Plan?

DOES YOUR BUSINESS HAVE A PLAN?

Only 2% of business owners have a 

written plan ... and even fewer stick to it ...

Imagine where your business could be in 90 days’ time if you ...

• Had strategies to build your profits immediately Could get more done in less time.
• Had renewed energy, vision and focus.
• Increased your confidence, leadership & decision making skills.
• Had a step by step plan for all areas of your business.

How much could you grow your business? How much more profit could you be making? How much more free time could you have? How much better would your team perform?

After attending GrowthCLUB, you’ll have complete focus on your goals and how to achieve them.  You’ll get back in touch with why you are in business and be able to review your progress to date.  It’s the ideal chance to get re-motivated, share fresh ideas with a group of business owners who are determined to move their businesses forward too. You’ll have a step by step plan for the next 90 days and an outline plan for the rest of the year. You’ll know exactly where your business will be and the strategies to get there.

What can you expect from a high action day working ON your business.....Heres what the vibe was at the previous first and second quarter planning days for 2014...

2014 First Quarter:

2014 Second Quarter:



So if your seriously want to get some focus in your Business then you really need to make the investment and come along for this dynamic Business Building day. Click on the eventbrite for more details on costings for the day and register.

Joining ActionCOACH for this practical and dynamic business-building day is the fast track to your next quarter to success ….

Plan your next quarter at the level of detail you need.

Work with a highly professional and focused coach and map out a winning plan for the next year.  Plus, with practical and expert training, you and your team will get back to your    business with clear direction and new tools to achieve your goals faster.

Get more done in less time  ….

By the end of this high energy day, you’ll have a clear picture of where your business will be at the end of the third quarter of 2014, and a step-by-step GrowthCLUB plan to get you there.  Your plan will encompass sales, marketing, finance, time efficiencies, customer service, systemisation and team building.  You’ll be able to focus on your goals and share your  challenges with other like-minded business owners.

Work ON your business, not IN it …

You will systematically work through business basics,   using your own business as a model, guided every step of the way.  This is a very interactive workshop; you will learn by ‘doing’ ensuring you come away with a model specific to your business to take you where you want to be. 

Head into the next 90 days with momentum …

We guarantee you will leave the day with renewed energy, a sharper focus and bubbling   enthusiasm.  It won’t be long before you see the direct benefits that this will have on your business.  You’ll walk away with:

· Energy, vision and clarity about the direction you’re driving your business in

· Strategies to build your profits right away

· A detailed plan for the third quarter of 2014 you can implement as soon as you get back to your business

· An outline plan to enter into the remaining of FY 2014/15.

· Ideas from growth-minded business owners

· The skills and tools to get more done in less time so you stay ahead of the competition

· Proven tactics to recession proof your business

As Winston Said, 'Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail'

In my adult career prior to Business Coaching, I have only known the experience of having a plan and in a paradoxical twist understood fully that no plan survives contact with the enemy. In today's business context that certainly relates to the customer; 'no plan survives contact with the customer'.  That said without  plan you'll be running blind, reactive and unsure where you're going. With a plan and more importantly an 'end state' or 'intent' you achieve focused drive with knowledge of what you are doing and why. Planning focuses the mind and helps maintain discipline.

Here's my top tips on why planning forms a crucial element to getting started in business and remaining on course throughout.

1. The 'higher commander's intent'. When you first experienced that entrepreneurial drive to break away from a job and become your own boss; the business owner, you had a vision. That vision was the embryonic view of the future of your business. Knowing where you wanted to go the next question how you were going to get there, and communicating that journey to your team, bank manager or customers. Articulating the vision and forming the plan gives the focus and impetus to follow a course of action towards the success. The intent or the bosses intent is a written plan which tunes all parties into activities and action with a focus on achieving the intent.
2. By virtue of having a written plan you will have a series of milestones leading to the intent, to the vision. Essentially being able to chip away every day at the milestones will really highlight the progress step by step. A record of the journey and progress.
3. Focus on purpose. The actual process of writing and articulating your business plan will ensure you remain focused on the fundamentals, the lifeblood of the business. 

• The financial targets.
• Identify and focus on the target market with clear market research.
• Remain clear on the service or product for the customers. Details on the various aspects of customer engagement, managing their expectations.
• What is the marketing strategy, just how you are going to create the customer base.
• What the competition are doing.
4.  What if? A detailed business plan will enable strategies to be formulated taking into account various outcomes based on cause and effect. Having identified various potential outcomes will offer a series of solution and planning decisions to be made on the most probable course of action and have contingency in place. This increases the likelihood of achieving certain results and what actions need to be taken. 
5. The business plan forms the narrative for the cashflow forecast (finances in general), telling the story in numbers and supporting in words, it is afterall all about the numbers. A plan will also highlight the probability of success, show potentially when the return on investment will occur and what your targets are.  

Here's the important paradox in having any plan, they change. Having gone through the planning process will give you a great resilience and active response to the plan changing. Essentially you'll have a course of action in mind, likely to have worked through the potential of change and have contingency, being prepared. Arguably having the intent, the medium and long term vision in mind will allow you, the team and those who are invested in the business plan the dexterity to apply themselves in a manner to keep the end in sight.

Starting and running a business requires vision, a purpose and belief that you can succeed. Having a written plan with the vision in mind will increase the likelihood of success. See also my previous bloggs on why planning is so important. 

Carrot, Egg or Coffee Bean

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her.  She didn't know how she was going to make it and how she wanted to give up.  She was tired of fighting and struggling.  It seemed that as one problem was resolved, a new one arose.  Her mother took her to the kitchen.  She filled three pots with water.  In the first, she dropped a handful of carrots, in the second she a few eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil without saying a word.  In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners.  She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl.  She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl.  Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.  Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me, what do you see?"

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," the daughter replied.  The mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots.  The daughter did and noted that they got soft.  Mother then asked her to take an egg and break it.

After pulling off the shell, daughter observed the hard-boiled egg.  Finally, Mother asked her to sip the coffee.  The daughter smiled, as she tasted its rich aroma.  The daughter then asked.  "What's the point, mother?"

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity…the boiling water…but each reacted differently.  The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting.  However after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.  The egg had been fragile.  Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior.  But, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.  The ground coffee beans were unique, however.  After they were in the boiling water they had changed the water.  "Which are you?" she asked her daughter.  "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond?  Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?"  Think of this: Which am I?  Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity, do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?  Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat?  Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a break-up, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff?  Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart? Or am I like the coffee bean?  The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain.  When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor.  If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.  When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate to another level?  How do you handle adversity?

So, which are you…a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?

Some people make the future; most wait for the future to make them.

And that's worth thinking about…

Why is Planning So Important

In his book, "What They Don't Teach You at Harvard Business School," Mark McCormak made an interesting discovery about the 1979 graduating MBA class. Within the group, 3% had written goals, 13% had thought of some goals and the balance were just thrilled to be out of school (I am sure you remember those feelings).

The interesting part was what happened ten years later. Here are the results of their success after a decade:

The group that had non-written goals were making TWICE in the field compared to the 84% of those who had no goals leaving Harvard.

The group with written goals was making TEN TIMES what the other 97% were making on average.

I think you would agree that the folks at Harvard have a long history of knowing what they are doing. So if the top 3% were able to make TEN TIMES the money as everyone else by simply writing out their goals, why aren't you doing it?

We are already through the hardest part of the 'recession' and yet people and businesses are still worried that our economic situation is dire. Resolutions made back at the beginning of the year, to get in better shape, to be a better golfer, to give more to charity, to be the best parent or spouse or partner that you could be may be starting to fade if they haven't already. But who says making and keeping resolutions is just for the beginning of a year. Why wait?

Make sure that one of the resolutions you set and keep right now is to make a strong plan for yourself and your business; ones with enough detail that you can actually make progress against them on a consistent basis.

Write down ALL your goals you have for the next year. Then, find someone to share them with and have them check up on you monthly (quarterly at a minimum) to see if you are making progress. Have them hold you accountable with winnings and loosing for completion.

ActionTIP: Make milestones and chip away at each goal a little everyday so the overall picture doesn't seem so overwhelming.

If you do this, then it won't be long before you are making TEN TIMES more than your competition.