This month’s column is going to be a bit different than usual — a lesson learned recently from personal experience.
You see, I’m a business owner and I coach other business owners. I’m expected to be congruent with what I teach. I work hard to help others get the life they enjoy by having a business that supports what they want to achieve.
Sometimes that means saying something that pushes them past where they stop on their own. This past year my business growth was flat. So my coach says to me, “Your skills and knowledge have gotten you to this point. If you want your businesses to grow then you’re going to have to wake up and do something about your skills and your knowledge.”
Hmmm. Guess who is working on ramping up his skills and knowledge?
Let me ask you, who do you have in your life that will tell it to you straight? Who has the courage and cares for you enough, to sift through all of the political correctness and tell you what you NEED to hear?
Whether it is in your personal life or your business, it is an absolute must that you have someone who will be honest with you — realizing they are doing it for your own good, not theirs.
I have a coach who told it to me straight — concise, direct and exactly what I needed to hear.
OK, so you find someone who cares about you enough to tell it to you straight. Now what?
Are you going to take the advice and do something about it?
Or are you going to smile and listen and then keep doing what you are doing? The choice is yours. But your decision makes all the difference.
Now it doesn’t make any difference whether it is your family, your business or your friends. Having someone willing to tell it to you straight means you have a great relationship with the person.
And life is all about relationships. With your family, your team, your community, etc. The most important thing in your life is not what tangible items you have, but rather what relationships you have.
So, let’s assume you want someone to be honest with you and tell it to you straight. What do you need to build the relationships that will lead to that? Here are three things to consider:
1. Invest time in building relationships
2. Ask people to tell it to you straight. Give them permission
3. Take action on their advice —listen and then do something.
Action Tip of the Day: The Language of Business
Warren Buffet is a smart guy. That’s how he got to be the second richest man in the US.
He has a quote I love. “Accounting is the language of business.” In other words, the numbers are crucial to understand so that you know the score.
Think of playing a game as a kid. If you didn’t keep score, the game ended quickly because you couldn’t monitor progress. In business, if you don’t know your numbers then you don’t know the score.
If you don’t know the score, you can’t tell whether you are winning or losing. As a business owner, you need to be winning.
Some key numbers you need to understand: Break even, cash flow (statement of cash flows), fixed vs. variable costs, margins and client acquisition cost. Get out there and learn these numbers. Knowing them will help you make the right decisions.
Take Action on this today and then go run a lap. Business is Fun.