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Coaching the Uncoachable!
posted: Saturday, August 7, 2010
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The other night I had the pleasure of having dinner with a fellow speaker trainer, and friend by the name of Bryan Dodge. Bryan and I were both speaking at a trade association show. Prior to Bryan's seminar he and I were talking and he was asking me a lot of questions about the participants, the group, and the industry. Bryan speaks to a wide variety of industries and types of businesses.
Later on at dinner, he mentioned to me that one of the biggest issues with independent businesses is that the owners are uncoachable. And that you cannot coach the uncoachable. His words didn't immediately sink in; as a matter of fact, it was a couple of days before I really got it. Once I got it, I got it. At this particular show they had tables set up where the participants could go and get free advice from nine industry experts. All the participants had to do was either make an appointment or just show up. At a show where there were some 650 store owners in attendance, less than 5% of them actually came to the industry experts to talk, seek advice, or try to learn something to give them an extra edge. Let me say that again - less than 5% took advantage of this free service. Kind of speaks to not only the state of the industry, but the state of the country as well.
Amazingly, most of the people that came to talk were the people that are already the most successful in the group. One young man that came to talk to me has grown his store from under a million dollars in volume to over three million dollars in volume in the last few years. He said to me that once he decided to implement the systems we had installed several years ago, the company grew at an incredible pace, in a down economy, due to the systems and other circumstances. He now wanted to know what he needed to know to reach his next milestone of five million in sales. This same type of scenario was repeated several more times during the show and that's when I got it.
This young man is coachable and wanted to be coached. If you are not coachable, or don't seek the knowledge to know what you don't know, how can you possibly coach your people? You can't! The most successful people are those that seek knowledge and education at every level. The people that are the movers and shakers are the people that are always looking to industry experts and professionals to reach the next level. They have a line on their expense report devoted to personal growth and development, and invest in themselves and their people. They know that their people are their most valuable asset. Just as the two people that I wrote about in my last Sales Insight, they commit themselves to training, coaching, and instilling an environment of personal growth and development within their business.
At dinner with Bryan we were talking about business owners and wondering "why" they aren't coachable. I believe there are numerous reasons, which include arrogance, ignorance, complacency, ego, time, thinking they already know everything they need to know, money, they have gotten comfortable, fear, and the list goes on and on.
We had a great time talking and sharing stories and near the end of the meal Bryan asked what he could do for me. I didn't have an answer. Then as I said, a couple days later, I got it. As I mentioned, prior to Bryan's seminar he was asking me a lot of questions. I now know why: to be coached on this particular group and the industry. As successful as he is, he still wants and needs to be coached. I got it! So Bryan here is my answer: Any coaching you can give me will be welcomed, appreciated, and implemented.
In order to grow your business, to reach the next level, to survive tough times, maximize your opportunities, reach your goals, and lead the good life, seek knowledge. Be humble and realize that you don't know what you don't know and there is nothing wrong with admitting that you need help. In fact, it is admirable. It is also exactly what the most successful people are constantly doing. To quote Bryan and mention the name of his book - The Good Life Rules! www.bryandodge.com
FINAO - Failure is not an option!
Brad Huisken
Click here to order our (your) new training program to help your people, or register for one of our Train The Trainer Courses. Don't fall into the sea of mediocrity or arrogance.
The other night I had the pleasure of having dinner with a fellow speaker trainer, and friend by the name of Bryan Dodge. Bryan and I were both speaking at a trade association show. Prior to Bryan's seminar he and I were talking and he was asking me a lot of questions about the participants, the group, and the industry. Bryan speaks to a wide variety of industries and types of businesses.
Later on at dinner, he mentioned to me that one of the biggest issues with independent businesses is that the owners are uncoachable. And that you cannot coach the uncoachable. His words didn't immediately sink in; as a matter of fact, it was a couple of days before I really got it. Once I got it, I got it. At this particular show they had tables set up where the participants could go and get free advice from nine industry experts. All the participants had to do was either make an appointment or just show up. At a show where there were some 650 store owners in attendance, less than 5% of them actually came to the industry experts to talk, seek advice, or try to learn something to give them an extra edge. Let me say that again - less than 5% took advantage of this free service. Kind of speaks to not only the state of the industry, but the state of the country as well.
Amazingly, most of the people that came to talk were the people that are already the most successful in the group. One young man that came to talk to me has grown his store from under a million dollars in volume to over three million dollars in volume in the last few years. He said to me that once he decided to implement the systems we had installed several years ago, the company grew at an incredible pace, in a down economy, due to the systems and other circumstances. He now wanted to know what he needed to know to reach his next milestone of five million in sales. This same type of scenario was repeated several more times during the show and that's when I got it.
This young man is coachable and wanted to be coached. If you are not coachable, or don't seek the knowledge to know what you don't know, how can you possibly coach your people? You can't! The most successful people are those that seek knowledge and education at every level. The people that are the movers and shakers are the people that are always looking to industry experts and professionals to reach the next level. They have a line on their expense report devoted to personal growth and development, and invest in themselves and their people. They know that their people are their most valuable asset. Just as the two people that I wrote about in my last Sales Insight, they commit themselves to training, coaching, and instilling an environment of personal growth and development within their business.
At dinner with Bryan we were talking about business owners and wondering "why" they aren't coachable. I believe there are numerous reasons, which include arrogance, ignorance, complacency, ego, time, thinking they already know everything they need to know, money, they have gotten comfortable, fear, and the list goes on and on.
We had a great time talking and sharing stories and near the end of the meal Bryan asked what he could do for me. I didn't have an answer. Then as I said, a couple days later, I got it. As I mentioned, prior to Bryan's seminar he was asking me a lot of questions. I now know why: to be coached on this particular group and the industry. As successful as he is, he still wants and needs to be coached. I got it! So Bryan here is my answer: Any coaching you can give me will be welcomed, appreciated, and implemented.
In order to grow your business, to reach the next level, to survive tough times, maximize your opportunities, reach your goals, and lead the good life, seek knowledge. Be humble and realize that you don't know what you don't know and there is nothing wrong with admitting that you need help. In fact, it is admirable. It is also exactly what the most successful people are constantly doing. To quote Bryan and mention the name of his book - The Good Life Rules! www.bryandodge.com
FINAO - Failure is not an option!
Brad Huisken
Click here to order our (your) new training program to help your people, or register for one of our Train The Trainer Courses. Don't fall into the sea of mediocrity or arrogance.
