Without exception, every business owner will eventually get a shocking wake-up call that will shake them to their very core, get them to question their current beliefs and behaviors, and make them more receptive and open to changing their ways, whether at the office, home with the family, or both. Sadly, most of these jolting wake-up calls could be prevented, softened or dramatically delayed through on-going participation in a business coaching and accountability process that gets an owner to regularly face the truth about their business and life and make continual adjustments. Otherwise, over time, busyness and denial will cause major wake-up calls and grief for you and your business... and there is no snooze button.
Throughout my business coaching years, most of the wake-up calls to business owners tended to be: health scares or illnesses; marital problems or divorces; behavioral problems with children; business owner burnout; loss of key managers or employees; loss of critical customers/clients or vendor/suppliers; economic downturns; constant stress or even bouts of depression; addiction to alcohol, drugs, gambling, etc.; major industry shakeups; massive government regulation; a seriously ill parent, spouse or child; or even the death of a loved one.
As a small business coach for over 16 years, I have seen all kinds of wake-up calls hit owners, primarily owners who are overworked, overwhelmed, and prisoners to their business. In time, they hit "the wall" of reality and consequences. Most owners receiving wake-up calls are quite successful but are simply not spending enough time with their kids and spouse, on their own health, with friends, or on hobbies or with their passions that could help them re-charge their batteries. Many are "workaholics" that have not yet been awakened to the impact and consequences of their selfish and destructive mindsets and behavior. They do not know any better until the wake-up call serves them gut-wrenchiing reality.
Most wake-up calls viciously blind-side you. Case in point. My friend and fellow entrepreneur had two life-changing wake-up calls within the last week and served as the source of this blog. One, his father underwent sudden and quadruple by-pass heart surgery. Two, my friend was driving home from visiting his dad at the hospital and he was violently rear-ended. His van was hit so hard and fast that it was sent through a small tree and small telephone pole. While neither of these wake-up calls could have been controlled or prevented by my friend, he did learn from them and started a long-overdue exercise regimen. Unlike these, most wake-up calls are self-inflicted, self-sabotaging and can be prevented.
As a business coach, part of my mission has been to help small business owners achieve greater success in their businesses and balance in their lives. In order to do that, I developed the Strategic Mindset Coaching Process to get owners to awaken to their situation and face and accept reality on a regular basis (good, bad and ugly) ... way before one of the big wake-up calls come knocking. In fact, we want our clients to have gentle wake-up calls with us from day one so massive wake-up calls and emotional grief can be prevented, delayed or softened. Again, not all wake-up calls can be avoided, but most of them are self-inflicted and can be prevented or cushioned with proper business coaching ... on-going self-reflection, facing the truth, accountability, and creating new directions.
If you do have a wake-up call, do not panic. Treat it as a gift. There is probably a good reason you are getting a strong message to change direction in your business or life. We teach our business coaching clients to look at any bad situation, wake-up call or setback and ask a few empowering questions: "What can I learn from this? What is the message for me? What are the positives I can take away from this experience? What do I need to do differently? How can this make me or my business better?"
Instead of waiting reactively for a big wake-up call to knock you down, take a proactive stance and click on our business coaching on-line assessment tool. Or, read the introduction of our business coaching book for a valuable wake-up call. You will be grateful you confronted reality on your terms instead of being rear-ended by a speeding and massive wake-up call.
Daniel M. Murphy
The Growth Coach
Business Coaching Franchise System