In 2 Action - Newsletter

HAPPY NOVEMBER!

Hello ActionCOACH community!

There’s so much going on this month... elections, COVID-19, and less than 60 days until 2021. What more could we want???

I’ve heard more than one person say they cannot wait to turn the page on 2020. I would imagine most of us feel that way. At the same time, I wouldn’t be doing my job as a coach if I didn’t mention that November is the IDEAL time for forward-thinking business owners to begin thinking about the year ahead. 

Since it IS NOVEMBER, that makes it a GREAT time for Business Owners to ask:

• What does next year’s sales goal need to be? 
• What’s the lead generation and selling plan to achieve that goal?
• Do I have the highly trained and committed TEAM I need?
• Do I have the tools, systems, and processes in place to handle the growth I want?
• And do you have the cash I need, as well as an action plan, in case we go into another partial lock-down this winter?

Sobering thoughts. But good questions. 

If your answer to any of the questions above includes at least a moderate level of uncertainty, then take that as a sign that it’s time to really dig into your plan, identify potential obstacles, actionable solutions, and get “buy-in” from your team. I know I am biased in this regard, but make sure you get other people involved in your analysis and planning: team members, experienced and successful business peers, your CPA, or even your friendly, neighborhood business coach. I hope you have a great month!

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UPCOMING EVENTS

GrowthCLUB - Build Your 2021 Business Action Plan

December 8th, 2020 - 8:15am to 12:30pm

• Do you have an actionable marketing plan that is ready to implement in the event of another wave of shutdowns? And do you have a financial plan to support it?
• What about your team? Do you have the people you need to excel in the COVID era? Would you like to learn a NEW way to recruit?
• Are you prepared to take advantage of new and emerging market opportunities in 2021?
• Have you created a written plan, with some basic priorities and action steps?

GrowthCLUB is a Quarterly Workshop where business owners are guided through a systematic review of their business to identify their greatest opportunities for improvement and build a strong 90-day Business Action Plan. This is our MOST POPULAR event. 

Shoot a note to mikecooper@actioncoach.com to receive a $50 discount for this high value workshop.

Learn more at: coachmikecooper.eventbrite.com 

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COACHING TOPIC OF THE MONTH: LEADERSHIP

 14 ACTIONABLE TIPS ON LEADERSHIP:

Every week I get the opportunity to help business owners become even better leaders.

There are plenty great books that have been written about leadership. I have read a number of them. In my opinion, most leadership books greatly over-complicate what leadership needs to look like in a small business.

Below are a few truths that I've learned leading teams of up to 800 and working with business owners in over 30 industries. Obviously, this isn’t EVERYTHING required to be a successful leader, but many of these items are highly “tactical” in matters of planning and discipline (which makes them doable). If you have questions on any of these, reach out to me. I'd love to discuss them with you!

• Know what you want and have a clear plan in writing, and vet it with a trusted advisor or peer, before sharing it. Next, share it with a small group of people in your company for input. What you want should ALSO be what is best for the company. That’s why we “vet” ideas through other people.
• Leadership is a personal “contact sport”.  Emails and company newsletters are beneficial forms of communication. But there's no substitute for direct, personalized communication with your direct reports and spending time with people on the front line. It demonstrates humility and caring.
• Write down the 5 results that each position needs to generate, that will contribute MOST to the vision, mission, and shorter-term goals of the company. It is likely that these are also the highest value activities (HVA's) for that position. Make sure that you explain to every new hire how their position impacts the company.
• Clearly define your expectations in terms of measurable activities, frequencies, outcomes, and reporting requirements for every position in your company. For positions that don't report to you directly, make sure that your supervisors follow the same methodology that you do in defining requirements for all positions. I have some good news here. You only have to do this for positions in your company where you actually expect some type of result (in other words EVERY position). But take it slow. Start at the top with YOU. 
• Your top 5 written expectations for each position should also be the first five things addressed in daily or weekly meetings - as well as quarterly or annual evaluations. You should also hire based on these five things.
• Verify that each employee understands expectations in terms of activities, frequencies, outcomes and reporting requirements by having a face to face discussion with them and encouraging them to ask questions. Also, let them know the best way for them to give feedback or recommend changes in their job description.
• Verify that the employee has the training, tools, competency, and an adequate amount of time and focus to complete the most valuable components of their role (HVA's) consistently.
• Create a “REPORT UP” culture where people can report their own results and show how they are killin’ it.
• Treat people with dignity and respect and expect everyone in the business to act that way.
• Make sure you communicate WIIFM (what’s in it for me). This means making sure employees see how they win when the company wins.
• Rapidly (but respectfully) remove toxic people.
• Cultivate and demonstrate honesty and authenticity. Say what you will do and do what you say.
• Make sure that your team sees that you genuinely care about them.
• Learn the secrets of recruiting in 2020. I have an ABSOLUTE game-changer approach that I am happy to share, but it is too long to describe. 

If you'd like to have a follow up conversation on any of these items, just shoot a note to me at mikecooper@actioncoach.com or schedule a conversation at calendly.com/mikecooper-1.

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Your #1 responsibility as a leader is to figure out (with input) what the company MOST needs to do in order to accomplish the most important goals for the next 12 months – and then determine the FEW tactical priorities that will need to be executed to ensure great progress is made over the next 90 days.

• It is best NOT to create this plan on your own. You will miss something important or over-estimate what can be done in a quarter. 
• And instead of agreeing on 10 priorities for a quarter. Start with 1 to 3… One a month may be all your organization can handle at a time. And ONE completed is better than THREE that are behind schedule.
• If you’d like to begin building your 2021 plan in a group setting, with other Business Owners, scroll back to the top and take a second look at GrowthCLUB - Build Your 2021 Business Action Plan.

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Congratulation to our local clients… your hard work and ACTIONS in 2020, have enabled me to be ranked in the top 9 of ActionCOACH coaches in the US (over 500) for Client Advocacy. 100% of our local clients agreed that ActionCOACH has improved their profits and had a positive impact on their life and business. Thank you for your hard work! 

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Quote of the Month:

James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, shares this tip:

A 5-step process for nearly anything:

• Explore widely. Find out what is possible.
• Test cheaply. Run small, quick experiments. Sample things.
• Edit ruthlessly. Focus on the best. Cut everything else.
• Repeat what works. Don't quit on a good idea.
• Return to 1.

At ActionCOACH, we call this TEST and MEASURE….

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Having a hard time doing what you know you NEED to do, consistently? Check out these resources:

ActionCLUB “University” for Business Owners is a 7-Workshop Series that equips business owners with advanced skills to build a great company. Learn more here at bit.ly/ActionCLUB-U-forOwners /. This program started in October, but you can still catch November and December. Just shoot a note to me if you’d like to ‘visit” one of our upcoming sessions at no charge.

Mel Robbins – How to Execute

• Watch this 20-minute video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSn-L9IXbOY. This is one of the easiest, most practical approaches I have seen.

Tiny Habits – How to Execute on Priorities

• https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-258-how-tiny-habits-create-extraordinary-change/id1191482456?i=1000489661981

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Have a GREAT month and BE as good as you ARE!