Practicing what I preach

Last few days I haven’t had the time to write my blog posts. I keep talking to you about getting coaching to sharpen your saw. So I recently decided to take one more coaching which will last a few weeks where there will be some teaching and then we are supposed to practice. So its not that I just tell you to get coaching in the areas where you can improve, I also find ways to constantly improve myself.

If you choose the right coach, you can shorten your learning curve dramatically.

So I was busy testing out how I could utilise what I had learnt for Linkedin. As I have mentioned earlier also, each medium has its nuances. If you want to become proficient with any medium, you need to become aware of the nuances, the psychology of the customer using the medium.

As an example if you are doing an on-prem seminar. This seminar is where everyone is together and you are talking or addressing a lot of people together from a stage. On the other hand if you are using email as your medium, then it is a one-on-one medium. No one reads their email aloud to everyone. They read it privately.

LinkedIn also as a medium has its nuances. Its a place where things are less formal since people are in your direct connect or in your network of connects.

So my agenda is to improve my prospecting skills on LinkedIn given that we work in the B2B environment. Similarly I am looking at how I can utilise LinkedIn to get better candidates for our jobs as well as advertise for our offerings.

Will keep you posted on what I learn and how it helped me improve my capabilities further.

Till next time then.

Carpe Diem!!!

How Coaching helps change your trajectory

coaching, Frameworks, problem solving

I have written multiple posts on the advantage of having a coach in different areas of your life, whether they are virtual or physical.

In my opinion having a coach has 3 key advantages

Sounding board
Been there done that
Variety of experiences

Sometimes you just need someone to listen to you and showcase the fallacy of your arguments, without you getting defensive. In your official positions, you may have colleagues or bosses whom you could sound your ideas. But more often that not, you end up getting defensive if they point too many flaws. But since you have taken a coach, chances are you will take her feedback more constructively.

If the coach you have chosen actually has worked in your industry and has shown success, then you can be sure that the problem you are facing has been solved by the coach somewhere else, earlier. The coach would have some frameworks based on which they solve problems.

Which brings me to the last point, in terms of the variety of experiences. Since the coach could be dealing with multiple people from different environments, he can cross pollinate ideas from different industries and come out with a solution to a problem which is not being addressed at the moment in your industry.

But the biggest advantage, I think that a coach has is the Accountability or Compliance that the coach brings. You are supposed to take action on the discussions which happen and come back with the results, based on which the next step is decided.

On our own, most of us humans , me included, are lazy and keep postponing things, even when we know our success is dependent on it.

So. look out and get a coach.

Till next time then.

Carpe Diem!!!

Coaching – for changing the growth trajectory

coaching, problem solving

While I talk about a lot of things related to marketing, I also get stumped quite often on some problems. It’s good to know, what you don’t know or where you need assistance. A lot of times our ego does not allow us to confess that we also have limitations.

I learnt this lesson in college when I was doing my engineering studies. I did not understand the subject of Engineering Drawing and I failed badly. I was about to give up, but my elder brother insisted that I undertake coaching. With the coaching I liked the subject so much and took to the subject like fish to water.

Multiple times I have seen that a coach can change the speed and trajectory of your growth by solving the challenges, much quicker than if you had to solve them yourselves. This is not to say that I have not been headstrong in trying to solve problems myself and wasted a lot of time on it.

In addition sometimes the environment that you live or work in limits your thinking patterns. Sometimes you need to break through those patterns. A coach can help you achieve that because she is seeing things from “outside-in” for the things which you are seeing “inside-out”.

That’s where from time to time, I take coaching and / or also keenly follow the blogs/podcasts/videos of people like Jay Abraham, Joe Polish and Dean Jackson. Each coach has a different style of functioning and you need to see with whose thinking you resonate. This is important because if you try to follow or take coaching from too many people, you will end up completely confused.

While all coaches may be good, you need to find the one who is “Good for You”. Here I am mean both commercially and at your brain level. I need a coach who can explain to me in simple terms what are the possibilities. So someone who may be conceptually strong in solving problems, but can’t explain to me, doesn’t work for me.

Till next time then ….. climb higher with the help of a coach.

Carpe Diem!!!

Time is money – well…may not always be true

coaching, Leverage, relationships

Since childhood we are taught this phrase. As a matter of fact I also use it frequently to tell my folks to keep them focussed on not wasting time. But within this phrase is a fundamental flaw of a linear relationship. If you will spend so much time …….you will get so much money.

But there is a very large leverage that is available to us which can multiply the value of time and make its value with money non-linear. The fractal nature of 80:20 can make, some “time” worth more in money than others.

This typically happens with mentors, coaches and customers who are willing to help you. To some ,like coaches, you can pay to learn something, to others you first give and then get.

I distinctly remember that when I was in my first year engineering in university, I was just not able to pick up a subject called Engineering Drawing. Maybe the professor’s wavelength and mine didn’t match and I flunked badly. Then my brother identified another professor and I took coaching from him and he taught me so well that not only did I excel in engineering drawing, for years after and till now I can explain the the structure of a mechanical system so clearly.

The amount of time that I spent in coaching was much less than the time I spent in taking the classes in college. But the impact was far more dramatic.

In our company, while we have a team which does scouting for accounts, our fastest and more profitable business happens because of referrals that we get because of our relationships. This is true for any company. If you manage relationships well, you can get massive dividends. The time spent on managing the relationships can give you returns far far higher than what you would spend in scouting for business linearly.

But to build relationships, you need to always be willing to give first, to help people first rather than go wit an entitlement attitude. Not all people you help will reciprocate, but those who do will more than compensate for the others. So go out and build relationships.

Till next time then.

Carpe Diem!!!