Need a Strategy and a Coach

Periodically my wife and I hold planning sessions with our coach where we take the opportunity to take a step back and revisit our goals and the strategy we have been pursuing to achieve those goals. We believe it is very important to do this on a fairly regular basis because:

It is very easy to get caught up in the daily rush of activities and lose sight of what you are trying to achieve. As a result there is a danger that you start working on the wrong activities and start to drift from your goals.

Your goals can change. You may decide for many reasons that you no longer want, for example, to retire at 55 but instead want to retire at 50 (I would imagine that we could all agree with that change). To achieve this you would need to re-address your strategy to either perform different activities or speed up the ones you currently have defined.

What is a strategy?

A strategy will mean different things to many people. The dictionary definition of strategy is:

'a plan, method, or series of manoeuvres or stratagems for obtaining a specific goal or result: a strategy for getting ahead in the world.'

So essentially it is a high level planning session where you reaffirm your goals and identify the activities you need to perform to achieve those goals. There are numerous templates and methodologies for running a strategy session. One of my favourites is Draw - See - Think - Plan.

Draw - what is the ideal image, dream or the desired end state?

See - what is today's situation? What is the gap from where you want to be and why?

Think - what specific actions must be taken to close the gap between today's situation and the future state?

Plan - what resources are required to execute the activities?

As you may conclude, the process itself is relatively simple. My experience of these types of sessions is that they follow a common format:

slow to start as people struggle to remember / refocus their dreams and goals. In a larger group it takes time for people to feel comfortable in the environment and ready to participate fully

followed by an almost frenzied phase as you reconnect with the dream and start to understand the gaps between where you are today and where you want to be

a lull as you realise the extent of the gaps and start to translate those gaps into activities and create the necessary plans

a feeling of excitement as you finish and you hold in your hands the key to your success

Preparation for the Session

There are some simple but keys steps you need to take to ensure the session delivers as much as possible.

Get out of the office - Whether you conduct your strategy sessions at some far-away resort or just down the street, be sure to get away from the office. You'll want to avoid interruptions, certainly. Also, getting out of the office helps change the environment to stimulate creative thinking. For it removes the planners from their day-to-day, operational setting.

Materials - Ensure you have flip charts, projectors, paper, post-its and pens available.

Reference Materials - You don't want detailed operational manuals as this is too low a level of detail for this type of meeting. However, you should have access to annual reports or other key items that may need to be reviewed as part of the gap analysis.

Refreshments - Plan these in advance. Ensure there are plenty of water, tea and coffee available. Plan lunch breaks. These can be tiring sessions so you need to keep people as fresh as possible.

Engage a coach or facilitator - Last but by no means least. You will need some external help to ensure the session runs smoothly and achieves the objectives.

The Role of the Coach

Your coach, mentor or facilitator is an important person both during the planning session and afterwards. You want the confidence that the person has the relevant qualifications but also that you have a connection with the person such that you believe they want the best for you and your business. Some of the key attributes you should be looking for are:

- Helps you look at the big picture for your business.

- Guides you in enhancing your business skills.

- Provides honest and candid feedback to you about your strengths and weaknesses.

- Helps you identify business opportunities.

- Links you with professionals and organizations that can assist you in solving problems.

- Helps you through the transitional periods in starting and growing a small enterprise.

- Assists you balancing your personal with your business life.

- Listens to the problems you are facing, helps you set goals and develop a plan, and requires you to carry out and implement your plans.

- Encourages and motivates you, building your sense of self-worth and confidence.

We really look forward to our sessions. It is exciting to reconnect with your dreams, take a status check of where you are on your journey and to refocus on the right activities to keep you moving forward. We're also really fortunate to have more than one excellent coach who keeps us focused. I would encourage you to have at least one coach. It doesn't need to be very expensive and you do have to ask yourself... can you do this on your own?