What goal would you LOVE to hit for the remainder of the year?

We have 10-11 weeks before the end of December….is there a meaningful target you would like to hit in that time frame OR….get pretty close?

If so, how would hitting that goal impact your business?

What difference would it make to YOU?

How would it make next year different?

One of the toughest aspects of running your business is wearing the many hats it takes to run your company.

However, to get yourself out of the spin cycle of your days, investing in building a high-performing team can elevate not only the space you can gain in your business to focus on strategy and goals, but to elevate your company’s results.

Through my work with my clients who are successful business owners and founders, we’ve been able to elevate their impact and overall company performance by embracing three core steps in building high-level support in their businesses:

This is a quick one today…:

I know you have big goals.

Many of you share them with me.

Consider this — WHAT gets in the way of pursuing those big goals?

Whether your goals are for exercise and better personal health, working on your business, starting a second business, spending more time in your personal life or building your team….what are YOUR goals that you would love to be spending more time on - big or small?

I have 2 questions for you to answer…

Waking up each morning, one of the first things so many of us do is check our emails and messages.

What is the day shaping up to be?

What did I miss?

What am I going to be faced with when I get to work?

We look at our calendar and see the meetings, administration and other commitments that are required to run our business.

We have aspirations for greater sustainability and perhaps growth, but how does one achieve this amidst the running of the business?

…when so much of our energy and time is already wrapped up in what we do every day?

Our vision is to see more purpose-driven companies excel and sustain through generations, making a positive lasting impact on the world.

How does my company contribute to this?

We coach founders & owners to grow by adding transferrable value, create a succession platform and take a vacation.

Part of lasting through generations is capturing the brilliance, savvy and know-how of you, the founder and owner, to ensure you don’t leave a knowledge gap when you decide not to be directly involved in your business anymore.

Your knowledge is gold and is the foundation of how your company started and what contributes to its ongoing success.

Even if you are aren’t thinking about passing your business to another in the future, or at the point where this has even entered your mind; capturing and transferring knowledge is a skill that takes practice and planning. It’s possible and it doesn’t have to be perfect or complex. And, it can be a process that evolves.

Powerful =

“…having control and influence over people and events.” In this case, I’m referring to control and influence over ourselves and our own impact.

“…having a strong effect on people's feelings or thoughts.” In this case, being intentional with our own thoughts and feelings that support us in our efforts.

We all know the Wealthy Barber story where he saved and invested 10% of his income each month, and over time and the power of compound interest, he became a millionaire. It took time and small increments of his paycheque each and every month.

It’s the commitment, regular modest investment, and the compound effect over time that I’m drawn to in this story as a parallel to consistently making space for your own personal leadership practice.

Having a personal leadership practice allows us to show up powerfully each week.

Here’s a thought: If we don’t have a personal leadership practice, how can we expect our employees to show up powerfully too?

A personal leadership practice doesn’t have to be developed through grand gestures, but can be small, focussed and consistent. (A few minutes of regular planning will go a long way.)

First, what does personal leadership look like for us?

Is your business satisfying your ‘WHY’?

In order to fulfill your WHY for being in business, the company you created has to be able to make the impact you had intended it to make.

Whether that’s impacting families through therapeutic approaches, providing housing for seniors, providing financial security for families, or helping others build healthy businesses, without your own healthy business, it becomes harder to fulfill that mission.

That’s why I love these markers of business value. It’s not only your own business you’re building, but having a healthy business means that you can change the lives of your clients and customers.

That’s the real and compelling legacy here and a huge reason why I do what I do. One of my big WHYs is to help you to be successful in growing a strong, healthy, and sustainable business that impacts others.

I’m deeply motivated to improve the lives of others through economic growth and supporting businesses that make a difference in our communities so we all thrive.

One of the markers of a healthy business is how cash flows through it. (This is the fifth driver of business value.)

One of the most common pains I hear from business owners is that there’s not enough cash. Or it shows up as their desire to ‘do more marketing’ or '‘increase sales’.

Is your business a cash suck?

Or does it generate cash quite handily?

If cash is rarely on hand in your business when you need it, you may want to consider exploring these areas:

Happy New Year!

I hope you were able to enjoy your Holidays and they provided you with what you needed.

As we look to 2021 I feel optimistic and excited for what’s to come.

As I look around to the world I still see turbulence, uncertainty, and many challenges. And I also see beauty, kindness, and innovation - solving and addressing some of those challenges we face.

As I turn inward and think about the impact I want to have and the role I want to play, I think about things like:

If you look back on this year, how do you feel about your business?

Do you feel proud of your efforts weathering the uncertainty of this year? Do you feel frustrated or disappointed? Do you feel gratitude? Or perhaps a combination of all those things….

If you were to look ahead at how you would like to feel about your business in the coming year, what would come to mind? Accomplished, proud, successful, fulfilled……

Of all the things you could do in your business, often overlooked is how we want to be in relationship with the work we do and how the business can serve us and the people it depends on.

Particularly, if you’ve identified that HOW you show up in your business has a big impact on what gets accomplished and how the business does.

Let’s talk about WHY you started your business:

Was it to:

• Have flexibility and freedom

• Secure a financial future for your family

• Make a difference in the lives of others through your products & services

• Make a greater impact more broadly on the world

• Do what you love to do

Do any or all of these reasons ring true for you?

What kind of impact on the world are you aspiring to make through your business?

Companies who are moving towards their vision and accomplishing big things through their businesses are very thoughtful about WHO they need to communicate to (and with!) in order to get their message to the right people so they can fulfill their mission and purpose.

Having a big vision and achieving that is largely about getting your message to the people who need to hear it.

The question here is: HOW do you get your message to those that need to hear it?

Sometimes you just need a good book. And, if you love learning, a great book can go a long way in business.

If you’ve got a fellow business person or leader in your life and are looking for a gift that has the potential to make an impact for them, then this is the list for you.

Or maybe, in this season of giving, you’re looking to provide a gift to yourself.

Here are 4 business books that had a major impact on me and I know countless others.