on March 29, 2017
ONE (IMPORTANT!) KEY TO ACHIEVING SUCCESS IN BUSINESS
In college, I majored in journalism and political science. One of the required classes was a statistical analysis class, where we were required to hunker down in front of a computer, fire up the software we were learning, and pour through data sets, define variables, and attempt to answer specific questions about social issues.
I thought it was the dumbest class ever.
Not because it’s terrible to learn new software, or that it’s a waste of time to be exposed to theories of data analysis, or to understand the impact data has on policy-making.
What I kept getting hung up on were the questions the professor insisted we answer. Things like “How many people live in three-bedroom apartments who have advanced degrees and love dogs?”
I simply didn’t have the patience to deep-dive into software to find the answer because, the way I saw it, there was probably some housing-education-animal expert out there who already knew the answer to this question. Wouldn’t it be easier to find that expert and ask?
I didn’t do super great in that class.
Jump ahead (seemingly) a hundred years. I run a growing business, I have a fantastic team taking care of our clients, and I’m constantly reviewing data to make decisions.
But, whenever I’m up against something I’m not sure how to figure out (which, truthfully, is most of the time), I think back to that data analysis class.
There is no longer a professor rolling his eyes at me when I propose a much easier way to get the answers I need. So, I feel pretty smug when I finally get to do what I would’ve liked to do back then.
I find an expert and ask.
I’ve worked with business coaches and executive advisors since the launch of our firm, and I can say without hesitation, it’s been the best investment I’ve made in business. Period.
Without the expert guidance of a business coach, I never would have hired the amazing team we have. I would still be struggling to teach myself effective finance-based decision making. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t know how to set – and achieve – meaningful stretch goals. I wouldn’t understand how to pull myself out of the day-to-day operations when our long-term strategy needs some attention.
One thing we’re constantly saying to our own clients is “…just because you can, doesn’t mean you should…” It’s the same premise working with a business or executive coach. Nobody doubts that you can teach yourself how to reach the next level of success. But, if someone has already “been there, done that” and has the training and expertise to teach others, wouldn’t it be more efficient and cost-effective to just ask them?
Finding a coach or advisor is easy. Finding the right coach takes some effort. You need to know what you don’t know, you need to be open to feedback and guidance, and you need to have the self-awareness to understand where the gaps are in your learning.
Do you need tactical guidance in a very specific area? Do you need to evolve your role to match your succession plans? Do you need a sounding board and someone to challenge you to think bigger and ask better questions? Do you need help evaluating growth strategies that balance growing customer demand without diluting service? Do you need someone who can expertly advise both you AND your leadership team?
I’ve gotten to know a ton of truly brilliant coaches over the years – either they’ve been clients of ours, or we’ve been a client of theirs. We’ve seen first-hand how it’s an investment that can pay back exponentially in time, resources, revenue, and most importantly, knowledge. It’s difficult to go wrong in partnering with a business coach to push your organization to the next level.