Are you familiar with a unicycle? As a child, I remember the first time I rode one. There was only one wheel and one rider on the cycle. There were no handlebars to support them. It required strong legs and good balance to navigate. It was exhilarating to keep my balance, and I also remember the feeling of humility when I realized that I was not responsible for my fall.
Many think of business ownership as walking tight lines or riding a unicycle. One business owner said, “It’s lonely up there.” Yes, it is difficult to balance managing, hiring, firing, and tracking and leading, organizing, managing, leading, managing, and managing. However, being alone is not a rule of business leadership. Being on top of the latest trends, educated, and involved is important. Not a fault; getting help is admirable.
Business is a unique game. Imagine you are deciding to enter sports without any knowledge.
As in tennis.
If you need to learn more about the sport, the court is where you can pay for tickets. You used to use a racquet to wake up in the morning to play with the children. You can also say, “Love all” That’s a 60s-era phrase.
There are coaches for sports teams. Coaches are business owners. Why? Why? While the playing field may differ from a football field, tennis court, or baseball diamond, certain things are common in business and sports. These are:
* Rules. The rules in sports are the guidelines that must be followed. These are policies, systems, or regulations you have put in place to ensure your business stays within the rules.
* Connection. It will help if you hit the ball to get home. Connecting is key to success in business. You can have the best product or service in the world, but you won’t be able to get it to your customers.
* Systems. Imagine orchestrating the same play after play. There are arguments for consistency, but there are also arguments for changing things up. If one space fails, you can try another. While some systems are established, there are also options to increase efficiency. These options are known as strategies.
* Team. Things will collapse if your team doesn’t agree with you. It’s no different in business. You can think of more parallels. The point is that business owners would not consider a sport without these “spokes” but often don’t associate the same importance with running their business.
The rules are very simple. What are the acceptable and unacceptable practices in your business? What should you be able to communicate to your employees to let them know what is fair? Do not assume that good behavior is due to common sense. It’s amazing how many employees do not share the same values. These are the people you should be looking for.
All of it is part of the business cycle. The business owner supports the team. The team supports the customer. The customer supports the company. The business owner endorses the business, and so it goes.
Sports systems are well-planned and implemented plans of action. Techniques are used in business to manage each department and each project.
These are the areas you should systemize:
* Training/education and people
* Delivery and distribution
* Testing and measuring
* Technology and processes
What’s better? To train, retrain and then retrain employees? Or to create effective training manuals so that training can be systemized?
What’s better? It’s better to avoid reinventing the wheel whenever you need something delivered or distributed.
What’s better? Or to guess at numbers and hope traffic converts.
What’s better? What is more efficient? To keep old equipment and obsolete processes in place to update software and technology to stay current with new forms of communication, or both?
Although the answers might seem obvious, it’s surprising how many business owners still need employee manuals or handbooks in place. They don’t have a delivery system and measurement system, they don’t know how to test and measure things, and they don’t even know how to navigate a computer. They burn out quickly, which is why businesses fail in the first place.
The daily grind of business can make you feel isolated, but it’s not true.
Business coaches are entrepreneurs themselves. They are business owners who know how to run and keep up with technology. Isn’t that what a coach does? To help, teach, train, encourage, and hold you responsible for achieving the goals.
Okay! Are you ready for the triple play? Do you remember the business cycle? Let’s add another key spoke. This is the new cycle.
The coach provides support to the business owner. The business owner supports the team. The team supports the customer. The customer supports the company. The business owner supports the business. The coach helps the business owner, and it continues as such.
Business is not a unicycle. It is not a tightrope. Although it may feel like this, it’s not a juggling act. It’s business.