Learning is a team sport.
January 28, 2012, 11:27 am
I am drowning in information! I vowed to break my info addiction in 2012 by using a strict quality filter. Guess what? I have a stack of books and articles that looks daunting and my eagerness to devour these gems is shortening my sleep pattern. Oh well. At least I have wiped out virtually all of those email newsletters that walk the line between information and sales pitch narrowly. If you are a ‘solopreneur’ you probably understand how necessary it is to keep learning. It can be a lonely journey. It is really of little use to consume all this great information if you cannot apply it in your business and life. The best learning takes place when you can ‘churn’ the information in conversation with others. I have two suggestions- If you are a sole operator you need to get an education partner. This person can be another business owner, trusted advisor, coach or mentor. You meet this person at least twice a month and you ‘churn’ your learning. You discuss ideas and topics you have read or experienced and look for ways to apply this information in your business. For example, as a coach I have a few clients for whom I am the education partner. While reading the Steve Jobs biography we also reviewed Multipliers by Liz Wiseman. We churned through behavioural
[ CONTINUE READING ]Meaning, passion and competence
January 16, 2012, 2:14 pm
Are you damn excited about the next twelve months? Are you ready to execute all the great plans you have created to achieve your goals? Is there still something missing that makes you bit less than enthusiastic to jump right in and start working? Do you think this might be caused by a lack of passion? Or meaning? Or competence? If you think the answer may be a lack of passion, do you have any ideas why this is so? I find that many times passion is influenced by physical health. If your energy is low you will find it very hard to tap into your wellspring of passion. A foggy mind will kill passion as well. If you lack a sense of meaning in your work, what kinds of thoughts do you have about this? Are you looking for meaning in your work or in your life in general? Is work the right source of meaning for you and will it deliver the type of meaning you are after? I have clients who asked me to help with this issue and the resolutions have come as a bit of a surprise to me. In every case the person felt a lack of meaning as well as a sense of general lack of progress. My clients ended too many days without a sense of having
[ CONTINUE READING ]Are You Coaching? If not, why not?
November 4, 2011, 6:57 am
I suppose there is a need to clarify what I mean by coaching. When we engage in a coaching relationship with another person we are committed to improving that person’s performance. Coaching can be used in any business discipline including sales. The most common used method to improve sales is to provide some form of sales training. Sales training is done online or in workshops with either a single sales team or a group comprising persons from different organisations and industries. Sales training may be effective if it is implemented within a scaffold of useful ‘on the job‘ tools, follow up, and refresher learning opportunities. My experience shows that in most cases sales training is an event with limited ongoing impact on performance. Sales coaching is much different. Effective sales coaching is one on one. The sales coach engages with the coachee in a focused process to improve performance. There are many tools available to delivery effective coaching. In sales coaching it is essential that the coach ‘shadows’ the coachee on the job. Just as a sports coach analyses technique so the sales coach analyses technique and behaviours as well as providing the tools and guidance to create change. Other tools are available and an effective coach will use at least a few if not all of these. Shadowing (as mentioned above). 360 feedback
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