Make 2014 The Year You Achieve True Business Transformation
During my weekly radio program this morning “Chazin The Dream” on the UR Business Network, I discussed the importance of taking risks, trying new things, and tossing away old habits in 2014 as a means toward achieving your personal, career, professional and entrepreneurial start-up goals. Make 2014 the year you achieve true business transformation.
For starters, make 2014 the year you finally embrace chaos and the fact that change is a true constant. to do so effectively, we must be willing to make critical decisions with less than complete information. While I don’t always suggest that my coaching clients take a READY-FIRE-AIM approach, I do tell them that you won’t always have complete information and a clear picture when you are forced to act decisively.
Therefore, make 2014 the year you embrace the mindset that opportunities will present themselves to you only if you are willing to make a gut decision to take advantage of unforeseen opportunities.
You take advantage of the unforeseen by making 214 the year you use strategic planning to maximum effect. Write a business plan, complete with many different scenarios. Ask yourself “IF” such and such happens, then “WHAT” do I do. For every given scenario, you need contingencies (options) so you list your Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, etc. actions you would take.
It is absolutely CRITICAL that you write it all down in your business plan! A plan that is NOT written down is a dream. You need a written plan to serve as your roadmap to follow, your blue print for success. By considering different scenarios to act when unexpected surprises pop up, you are doing contingency planningand risk mitigation to remove some of the threats from your business.
Toss away all the old habits. If something works for you, keep doing it. If it doesn’t…well Dr. Phil would ask “How’s that working for you!?” Said differently, Albert Einstein called the act of repeating the same act and expecting a different outcome the true measure of insanity.
Take glorious risks! If you are going to fail, then by setting wildly aggressive goals for yourself, even if you fall short of the stars you will still reach the moon. Make no safe or conservative goals. All your goals should be “STRECTH” goals that force you to act in new, different, and bold ways just to come close to achieving those goals.
Take a perasonality /assessment/skills inventory test, whether it is a DISC tool, Myers-Briggs, Birkman or another assessment. Let me know if you would like me to send you the personality survey I developed for my entrepreneur, start-up and small business clients. By knowing yourself, your values, strengths, core competencies and your willingness to embrace change and risk-taking, you will know when you need to hire outside expertise. You will also get a keener understanding of the types of people you an forge the strongest partnerships as business partners, clients, vedors, and your suppliers.
Learn a new language. Take up a new musical instrument. Pursue a new hobbie or follow your interests. Take out that gym membership. Make 2014 you achieve true business transformation by achieving a greater WORK-LIFE balance to maximize your sense of self-worth and derive pleasure outside of your business by doing more things that you enjoy.
Find a new attitude for achieving true business transformation. Researchers have found that 65% of everything that evey person says TO THEMSELVES about themselves is NEGATIVE. To avoid this pitfall, make 2014 the year we change our mindset from “CAN’T” to CAN! Make 2014 the year we say with much enthusiasm “I WILL” so we don’t experience the let-down and regret of having to say frequently I SHOULD HAVE, I COULD HAVE, or I WOULD HAVE, but…
Why not begin blogging to build your subject matter expertise as a means of achieving business transformation? Serve on a panel discussion. Try to get published in your local town newspaper.
Join new business organizations. Go to one new MeetUp group every THREE months. Embrace the unknown. Try out new marketing tools, make at least 2 new friends every month.
Fear of failure can be a debilitating force. Make 2014 the year to say: “I WILL fail so why not fail GREATLY! good is the enemy of GREAT, so it no longer helps to be good enough.
Make 2014 the year you finally decide to go after your DREAM job! Fight all those negative thoughts about why you can’t, won’t, or shouldn’t embrace the unknown and start your own business! If you are not ready to plan and launch a new business on your own, then find a partner or partners. Not sure if you can create a business from scratch? Take on side business to do out of the comfort and security of your home. You can always explore franchising as a viable option to dip your toe in the shallow end of the pool of entrepreneurship. Consider these steps baby steps on the path to entrepreneurship.
Make 2014 the year you finally achieve true and lasting business transformation.
Here’s to your success in taking new approaches to realize an entirely NEW YOU in 2014!
Ethan Chazin, The Compassionate Executive Coach, Management Consultant, Business Coach
> Plan > Launch > Grow Your Business.
