Vol. 4, No. 35 - September 07

Thoughts From Your Strategic Thinking Coach

In This Issue:

Business Coaching:
How To Deal With Stress & Its Potential Damage To Your Business, According To Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach
      
Business Help:
How To Know You Are Ready For Business Coaching, According To Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach
      
Business Building:
Strategic Thinking For Business Owners For Successful Retirement,
According To Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach
      
      
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Glenn's Golden Grains To Grasp
Recommended  Reading: 
"Guerilla Negotiating, Unconventional Weapons and Tactics to Get What You Want”
By:  Jay Conrad Levinson, Mark S. A. Smith and Orvel Ray Wilson
ISBN - 0-471-33021-3
Available online at www.amazon.com

“Guerilla Negotiating, Unconventional Weapons and Tactics to Get What You Want,” authored by Jay Conrad Levinson, Mark S. A. Smith and Orvel Ray Wilson is another great book from the “The Guerilla Group.” This book could be your guide to negotiating the right way. This book presents yet one more facet of “The Guerilla” approach to business and life. The book offers practical and proven specifics on negotiating. This book is a "must read" for anyone who is involving in negotiating anything. If you want a strategic advantage in your next negotiation, then this is a book for you.

Words to the Wise for Work:
“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you
something else is the greatest accomplishment.”    
                                                   – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach’s Challenge to Commit:
I challenge you to commit to take a look at your circle of influence. Stop and look around you. Who do you see? Who is there? Who is in your circle of influence? Are they losers, whiners, blamers, lawbreakers, cheaters, low achievers, liars, etc? Or are they winners, trusted friends or colleagues, high achievers, honest & law-abiding people, etc.? Now is a great time to review your circle of influence and ask yourself if the people you see there are: helping or hindering you and your efforts; are building up or demolishing the image you desire; positively or negatively impacting the achievement of your business and personal visions; and providing positive support or bringing a negative attitude to you.

Please send me your responses to my challenge to commit.

Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach’s Recommended Resource
My recommended resource for this month is GoogleAlert. GoogleAlert is the web's leading solution for monitoring your professional interests online. Track the entire web for your topics and receive new results by daily email. I recommend that you visit www.googlealert.com to access this valuable resource.

If you would like to have some of your thoughts, comments or web sites included in the next issue, let us know by clicking here and entering your items in the comments section.

Business Coaching
How To Deal With Stress & Its Potential Damage To Your Business, According To Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach
By J. Glenn Ebersole, Jr., Founder & Chief Executive of J. G. Ebersole Associates and The Renaissance Group™

Stress is a fact of daily life and it is especially true in the daily life of small businesses. Small businesses experience a myriad of seemingly unending problems in dealing with employees, customers, suppliers, business partners, bankers, insurance companies and on and on and on. And what heightens the stress in these situations is the fact that many small business owners must face these challenges essentially alone or with some minimal support system for assistance. While some people will strive on stress and will use stress to improve their performance, there are many others who fold or breakdown under the strain of stress.

The workplace today exhibits stress and is a major issue in our society today. In 2006, CareerBuilder.com studied 2500 American workers and found that 77 % felt burned out at their jobs. The high stress work environment takes a heavy toll on worker morale. A recent Gallup Poll indicated that nearly 50% of the workers responding to the poll said they needed help in dealing with stress. And this all adds up to a heavy cost to businesses in the United States each year. The National Safety Council estimates that U.S. businesses lose between
$ 200 billion to $300 billion each year due to absenteeism, tardiness, decreased productivity, worker compensation claims, increased employee turnover and medical insurance costs that are a result of employee work-related stress. Yes, those dollars are in BILLIONS.

A possibly even scarier survey result comes from Caravan Opinion Research that conducted a 2000 study of more than 1300 workers. They found that 13% of the respondents claimed to have personally committed, or have observed co-workers commit an act of “desk rage” which can be characterized as an angry or destructive outburst in the office that was a result of stress at work. And the stress in business goes to the owners also and that stress can result in poor business decisions harmed or ruined personal relationships, and a deterioration of their physical and mental health.

What does contribute to stress in the workplace? There are many factors, but in the CareerBuilder.com study, workers most often cited excessively heavy workloads; tight deadlines; last minute projects; an interfering or overbearing boss; and working with a difficult co-worker. Dealing with stress is an important strategic goal for you and your business. Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach has researched some ideas on how to deal with stress in your business before it becomes a costly and damaging problem for you and your business. Here are ten (10) strategic steps to take to deal with stress in your business.

1. Develop a strategic plan and a strategic action plan to guide your business. Prepare well-defined, realistic and measurable goals.

2. Commit to developing a strategic time management attitude and mindset throughout the workplace.

3. Consider engaging the professional services of a business coach or other professionals to assist in developing a plan to deal with specifically identified stresses in your business.

4. Address issues when they arise and resolve them in a timely manner. Deal with problem employees at once and dismiss them if warranted.

5. Create an atmosphere of openness where employees can feel safe and not fear retribution when discussing problems they are facing.

6. Provide your employees with the needed equipment and training to do their jobs. And develop well-documented systems and processes for the employees to follow.

7. Create an office atmosphere that reduces the distractions that cause constant interruptions and diverts the worker’s attention and focus and increases stress. Manage the use of cell phones and emails in a strategic manner, which means that every cell phone call and every email does not warrant instant answers.

8. Have clearly defined job descriptions and a clear understanding of expectations with your employees. And empower them to do their jobs.

9. Encourage a commitment to good health that would include getting sufficient sleep, eating properly, getting enough exercise, etc., which will help, reduce stress.

10. Provide adequate breaks for employees and encourage them to take time away from their workstation each day. And encourage the employees to commit to setting aside some time outside of work each day that is their “personal time” to get away fro the pressing concerns of business.

Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach encourages you to fully realize the benefits of business coaching to strategically and effectively identify and deal with stress and a myriad of other business issues. If you would like to learn more about how a strategic thinking business coach can facilitate and guide you in that endeavor, please contact Glenn Ebersole today through his website at www.businesscoach4u.com or by email Glenn.

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Business Help
How To Know You Are Ready For Business Coaching, According To Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach
By J. Glenn Ebersole, Jr., Founder & Chief Executive of J. G. Ebersole Associates and The Renaissance Group™

Business coaching has become more and more prevalent in today’s business world. So, what is business coaching? One of the definitions I like is that business coaching is a collaborative, professional relationship that assists and guides individuals, entrepreneurs, professionals, executives, and small business owners to manage and grow their business in an organized manner. The business coach can be a confidant, a strategic advisor, sounding board, creativity partner, an accountability source and a guide. A business coaching alliance is a strategic and proactive business tool that will add value and will build help build your personal and business success.

Now, how does a person know that he or she is ready or is in need of a business coach? Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach offers the following list of situations that indicate you could be ready to benefit from business coaching:
+ your business has no clearly defined vision and mission
+ your business is growing so rapidly you need help staying in control
+ you are working in your business, but not on your business
+ you are showing signs of stress and getting burned out
+ you are having difficulty with a business partner or key employee
+ you are experiencing financial difficulties
+ your business is going through a transition
+ you are losing clients and customers
+ you are feeling lonely and isolated and do not know where to turn
+ you have no succession plan or exit strategy
+ you have no strategic business plan or marketing plan
+ you want to manage and grow their business in a strategic manner
+ you recognize the value of outside advice
+ you simply feel overwhelmed

So, what can business coaching do to address those situations? Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach suggests the following improvements you can make when you work in a business coaching relationship.
+ reduced stress and probability of burning out.
+ a clearly defined focused vision for your business
+ start working “on” your business, instead of just working “in” your business
+ a well defined strategic action plan with clear goals and objectives
+ a strategic marketing plan to retain and gain clients & customers
+ a confidential and trusted business mentor and adviser
+ a commitment to continuous improvement
+ strategic time management
+ eliminating your daily “firefighter” duties and look more to the long term
+ ensuring accountability
+ managed business growth with improved revenue and profit levels
+ developing and documenting systems and processes
+ addressing issues in a timely manner
+ a succession plan and exit strategy
+ improving the financial health of the business
+ a commitment to being a lifelong learner
+ addressing personnel issues in a proactive & timely manner

Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach encourages you to fully realize the benefits of business coaching to strategically and effectively manage and grow your business. If you would like to learn more about how a strategic thinking business coach can facilitate and guide you in that endeavor, please contact Glenn Ebersole today through his website at www.businesscoach4u.com or email Glenn.

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Business Building
Strategic Thinking For Business Owners For Successful Retirement, According To Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach
By J. Glenn Ebersole, Jr., Founder & Chief Executive of J. G. Ebersole Associates and The Renaissance Group™

Small business owners know that running a small business requires constant attention. And small business owners, especially entrepreneurs, tend to work “in their business” rather than work “on their business.” And that is one reason why it should be no surprise that too many entrepreneurs and small business owners put their own financial planning squarely at the bottom of their “TO DO” lists. In fact, a survey conducted by Harris Interactive for ShareBuilder indicated that 47% of small business owners are not confident that they are prepared for retirement.

Using a strategic thinking approach to the subject of financial planning and retirement, there is a recognition and confirmation that small business owners and entrepreneurs have tremendous opportunities to remedy the lack of preparation for retirement, which incorporates the role of an exit strategy and succession plan. The small business owner has the opportunity to use strategic thinking in developing a well thought out retirement plan that includes strategies related to a company employee retirement plan; investments beyond re-investing in the business; diversified investments; an exit strategy and a succession plan.
There are far too many business owners that are not considering the future of his or her business. Another fact from the survey by ShareBuilder shows that 60% of the business owners surveyed have NO PLANS to sell their business to help fund their retirement – but for other owners, such a sale can be a crucial part of a successful retirement plan.

Business owners need to develop a strategic plan for their retirement, especially when they make the commitment to count on selling their business to help fund their retirement. This means preparing a well-thought out exit strategy and succession plan. An article entitled, “Strategic Actions For A Strategically Structured Succession Planning For Company Leadership” can be found by clicking here.

Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach has developed a list of actions to consider when developing your strategic retirement plan as a business owner.

1. Commit to making your retirement planning for you and your business a priority with a specific timeline.

2. Develop and define a clear and focused vision for you and your business in your retirement.

3. Develop a list of retirement goals that fit into your defined retirement vision.

4. Gather the necessary financial information for your business and any existing retirement plan information for your business.

5. Recruit and engage the professional services of a certified, experienced, respected and trusted financial adviser and planner.

6. Seek advice from other key advisers as part of your team for the development of your plan. This would include legal counsel, accounting and business coaching.

7. Develop the specifics of the retirement plan(s) for the company employees and for yourself. Review the draft plans with your team of advisers. Adopt the plans when you are satisfied they will meet your vision and goals and then present the plan(s) as appropriate (excluding the personal and confidential parts for yourself) to the company employees.

8. Implement the plan(s).

9. Monitor the plan(s) and make adjustments as required.

10. Continue working “on your business” and building more value.

Small business owners and entrepreneurs have some extraordinary opportunities
to plan their retirement. And I would suggest that those great attributes of creativity, strategic thinking and planning and discipline that helped the owner build their business will help them create a strategic retirement plan that will get them to their vision.

Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach encourages you to fully realize the benefits of business coaching to strategically and effectively grown and mange your business. If you would like to learn more about how a strategic thinking business coach can facilitate and guide you in that endeavor, please contact Glenn Ebersole today through his website at www.businesscoach4u.com or email Glenn.

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