Author: The Strategic Coach Team
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Quotable Coach: There’s Only One Thing You Don’t Delegate
Most entrepreneurs are inspired to go into business for themselves by the promise of freedom. That freedom comes in two forms: freedom from and freedom to. Delegation taps into both of these: Every time you give away a task that you don’t like doing and don’t do well, you open up an opportunity to do…
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Tip Of The Week: Overwhelmed By Messes? Try This Simple Solution.
As you look ahead at the next 90 days, is there a task or conversation you’ve been avoiding that you could finally get off your mind? Is there something you’d like not having to do anymore? On the other hand, is there something you’d like to get better at? Our brains tend to go into…
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Quotable Coach: Do You Need To Justify A New Hire?
Hiring for talent and experience might seem like a big expense, but that reasoning overlooks the returns this person will bring to you and your organization. How much more value can you create, or freedom can you experience, with this person on board? Their contribution may or may not be financially measurable, but you’ll often…
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Tip Of The Week: When A Team Member Is Not A Right Fit
Some people interview well, then turn out to be a problem. Or maybe you just like them, but they’re not actually right for the activities you need covered. You’re more likely to catch these things and be able to weed people out if you slow down during the hiring process and really get to know…
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Quotable Coach: Are You Getting Paid For Your Time Or Your Results?
Most of us began our careers in the Time-and-Effort Economy, where we punched a clock and were rewarded for the hours we put in. Some entrepreneurs are stuck in this thinking mode, even though they’ve made the leap to working for themselves. Long workdays and personal sacrifices somehow get tangled up with notions of virtue. You gain incredible freedom, however,…
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Tip Of The Week: Add Capability Without Hiring More People
In the 21st century, you can add capability to your team without having to create a permanent position. If you’d like to free yourself up or expand into a new area but don’t want to increase the size of your company, could you get that function handled on an as-needed basis?
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Quotable Coach: Decision Making Made Easy
Decisions are difficult when you have no context for making them. But with a purpose—a vision of the future you want to see—it’s suddenly much easier to evaluate and choose in a meaningful way. Dan and Babs created Strategic Coach with a set of “prime directives” to guide the company’s direction: Everything we do has…
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4 Questions To Improve Your Communication With Anyone
Communication can be a tricky thing. But there’s actually a way to feel much more confident in this minefield of possible misunderstanding and irritation. We’ve zeroed in on four aspects of the communication process that are totally idiosyncratic, yet—and here lies the rub—we tend to assume that the other person is exactly like us in this…
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Tip Of The Week: The Raw Material For Innovative Solutions
When things are going well, we resist change—“If it ain’t broke,” and all that—but a breakdown in the existing order is an opportunity to create something simpler, better, and more relevant to the new reality. As Dan says, “Other people’s bad news is your good news”: When someone’s overwhelmed, upset, or confused by change, you…
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Quotable Coach: How To Attract The Right Team Members
At Strategic Coach, we define leadership as “providing direction.” You do this every time you set out a vision of a desirable future for others. With your team members, you don’t even have to know how they’re going to work toward that goal—in fact, that “wiggle room” allows them to supply their own creativity and…