Recently, we had prospective franchise owners visit The Growth Coach headquarters on one of our Discovery Days to meet the executives, confirm their understanding of our business coaching model, and take the final step to join our ever-growing business coaching franchise system. As the owner and founder of The Growth Coach, I meet with every prospective business coach for an hour or so to make sure they fully understand our business, the industry, our competitive strengths, and also fully appreciate where The Growth Coach has come from and where we're headed. Then they spend the rest of the day with our Franchise Development and Operations professionals to go over our coaching process, our marketing systems, training, on-going support, national accounts network, technology, and review the breadth and depth of our intellectual property. It's quite an exciting day and I love meeting our future franchise owners who will make a difference in the lives of countless entrepreneurs.
On a recent Discovery Day, I found myself giving a high-level discussion on our proven and guaranteed business coaching and accountability process called The Strategic Mindset. In short, I explained to our future franchise owners that they will possess and share a powerful coaching process to help business owners close the gap between their current performance and their desired performance. After all, business coaching, in a nutshell, is about helping entrepreneurs overcome limiting beliefs and mindsets in order to close that performance and expectation gap so they can get more out of their business and life.
I thought it would be beneficial for this business coaching blog to recreate parts of my talk on The Gap and the 5-step process to close that gap.
As an owner, do you have a performance and satisfaction gap between where your business is today and where you want it to be? Sure you do. We all do. The gap is the difference between where your business is now (current reality) and where you want it to be (an ideal future). How big is that difference, that gap? The more you are dissatisfied with your current reality, the larger the gap. And the larger the gap between your current realities and desires, the more you need business coaching services to help you bridge those differences. You already know in your gut that you could benefit dramatically from business coaching...nearly every entrepreneur can. Could you do it on your own? Perhaps...but highly doubtful. Most owners are too busy to slow down and think, too close to their own situation to be objective, and lack the discipline, process, and on-going accountability to make the transformation happen.
For example, why does Tiger Woods, on pace to be the greatest golfer of all time, have a coach? Because it works! He plays at a consistently higher level because of professional coaching. Besides, Tiger can't do it on his own. No matter what, Tiger can never objectively see his own swing. He needs an objective coach to help him face reality (what's working and what's not), establish ideal benchmarks, and continually close the gap in his performance. Just like Tiger, you too need and deserve a coach. You can not see the reality of your own situation.
As your virtual business coach, know that your performance and expectation gap is merely a current condition that can be changed. You do not have to remain stuck. You can absolutely close that gap and achieve greater success and fulfillment in your business and life. However, for conditions to change, you must be willing to change. Here are 5 business coaching steps you must take, preferably with some professional coaching help:
1. Face reality about where your business is right now (good, bad and ugly) and take 100% responsibility for those current conditions and results. Greater success tomorrow starts with taking full responsibility today. Blame no one else, make no excuses, and allow for no justifications.
2. Establish clarity about where you want your business to be and how you want your business to look and perform (ideal business). Establish a vivid mental picture. A proven coaching process can help you establish real clarity and a strategic and effective direction.
3. Acknowledge and accept the gap between #1 (your current reality) and #2 (your ideal business) and know with certainty that you can close that gap with focused action. Odds are, you will be disappointed with the size of your gap. That's perfectly normal. Simply channel those emotions into constructive actions.
4. Put a focused plan of action together for the next 90 days to move you and your organization toward your ideal future. Review and update your strategic planner every 90 days without exception and without end. Get feedback and make adjustments.
5. Allow yourself to be held accountable for executing on that focused plan of action. This is the final and most critical step. Here is where most business owners fall short. Hire an objective business coach to help hold your feet to the fire...to drive implementation. Accountability and repetition will allow you to change your mindset and behavior and get the results you desire. Without accountability, your gap will remain wide and you will remain unsatisfied.
To begin your journey of closing the gap, click on this link to download a free copy of our business coaching book called, "Becoming a Strategic Business Owner."
Daniel M. Murphy
President, Founder & Business Coach
The Growth Coach
Business Coaching Franchise System