Derrick and I met for coffee one morning. He and I were members of a leads generating networking group and an important part of being successful in the group is meeting with members to understand their business and get to know them. One of the questions I always ask during these meeting is “If you could pass on a lesson or two to someone what would it be?”

“The first two years, all I did was focus on surviving. Cash was king and getting the first few orders meant everything,” said Derrick.  “I had all these grand plans on how I was going to make life different for my customers.”  I read all the books on how to start a business, had a great business plan and enough money to take care of the first year.” “I was a successful executive doing much the same thing as I do now for a large company.  But none of that prepared me for what I dealt with and continue to deal with.”

“What’s that?” I asked curiously.

Derrick looked at me with a puzzled looked. “Ten years in business and it all boils down to executing the plan, being ruthless in your hiring and managing people”. Now half my time is on details of the business the other half is on my people. I make sure every manager and employee understands what we’re about and how we serve our customers.”

I often speak on the three critical areas for a business. When we start a coaching session we cover these areas extensively.

Values – Who are you and what kinds of people do you want to work with?

  1. Opportunity – what do you sell and why do people buy from you?
  2. People – Do you have A players in your most critical positions?
  3. Processes – Do you have enough structure to reliably predict how your business operates and your customers’ experience?
  4. Talent – What are your strengths and weaknesses?

Knowing the answers to these questions gives you clarity on what’s your end game. The answers form the basis for your roadmap for success. Without these answers, it’s hard to get capital, acquire and retain customers and get the right employees who’ll help your business thrive.

In the end, successful business owners have a plan on how they will work through the three stages of growth. Once the plan is completed, focus on creating the discipline to execute. So the next time you’re working feverishly, stop and ask yourself, “Am I working on the plan I designed or working on whatever seems right?”

Coach HR specializes in helping executives and their teams achieve peak performance.  Achieve Top Level Performance; Bottom Line Results. Denise Cooper is President/CEO of Coach HRLLC. She is a professional speaker and coach ready to help you and your team achieve peak performance.  www.coachhr.com