Blog ~ Page 8 of 38 ~ Committed to Your Success Coaching & Consulting

June 2, 2023

A Blueprint for Continuous Improvement

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Kaizen is often used to describe the process of continuous improvement. That means making lots of small changes on a regular basis in order to ultimately improve the operation on a larger scale. It’s often applied to business and, particularly, to areas like manufacturing and engineering.

But it can also be applied to your own personal goals. If you take the approach of continuous improvement – of making lots of tiny little changes in your life on a regular basis – then over time you’ll be able to ‘upgrade’ every single aspect of your life and, in a few years, you can be in a whole different place.

Countless studies tell us that people resist extreme change.‘ We get so used to doing things the same, which gives comfort, anytime we move away from that state we may resist the new (even if it is something we want). So, if you think you can wake up one morning and become a highly disciplined individual, then you’re in for a big surprise.

In order for change to be successful it must be incremental and it must be holistic. By starting small, that new action won’t feel threatening so you engage in that task. To make changes in your life, and your lifestyle, you need to make lots of small, manageable changes; of course, it’s unrealistic to think you can make many changes at once.

This is what seems to set someone up for failure; we can look at the New Year’s goals, i.e. make or save more money, get a new job, lose weight …each of these is a big goal in itself but how many lump them all together.

Choosing one, and the being methodical in your efforts, will give more clarity and motivating to go after them until achieved. This is why Kaizen can do for you.

How to Use the Process of Kaizen

So how does Kaizen actually look once you start using it? How do you take this idea and turn it into a reliable blueprint that you can follow?

A good place to start would be at the beginning. So look for one small change you can make to your lifestyle that can help to serve you in some tiny way in achieving your goal.

Let’s say you need more time but, looking deeper, what you really need is more organization of what is involved in your time; a small change could include buying a planner, or wall calendar, and writing tasks out so you visually see them. Having a reminder, such as timer on your phone, will prompt to get tasks done. Checking them off will show accomplishment so you keep going. This is brain-prompting.

These are all a simple change you can make – but the result could be a half an hour of extra sleep or spending time with a hobby or your family. This can make a huge difference to your energy level and getting more done throughout the day.

What else do you need to achieve your goals? If you need a little more money then perhaps you could look for a way to save $1 a day. $1 a day is a tiny thing to have to change, so maybe it just means that you have a cup of tea in the morning instead of a coffee, or forego a Starbucks for a day. earlier.

Now you have 30 minutes of extra sleep and an additional $20 a week. Those are two tiny changes but they’ve just made it much easier for you to accomplish anything else you want to in your life because you have more energy and more money… What else might be possible?

If you want to increase your productivity and performance, schedule a call to learn more.

May 15, 2023

5 Questions That Lead to Strategic Thinking

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Are you feeling a bit confused by strategic thinking? You know it’s essential for your career and your business, but how do you actually do it?

Here are five questions to should ask yourself to really sharpen your strategic thinking.

What do you want?

The most important thing to work out is where you want to be. Everything—goals, strategies, steps, should all be pointing to your desired destination. Do you want to be CEO, or be running your own company?

What do you want to achieve this year, in five years, ten? What are your actual goals? What’s your vision? Having goals gives you direction of what to do each day, so get it all down on paper and think big!

Where are You Starting From?

Do a survey of exactly where you are right now. What skills, resources, and assets do you have? What are your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and risks in your current job or business?

Are you satisfied with life the way it is, or do you want something more? What connections do you have? Map out your network and what value you provide to them, and what they offer you. Write up your self-inventory.

What do You Have the Power to Change?

Think about what is in your control at the present moment. What can you streamline or eliminate? What do you need to add, enhance, or modify to reach your goals? This can include anything from training, networking opportunities, to investment advice or strategic career planning.

What do You Need to Move Ahead?

Take another look at your self-inventory. What skills, resources, knowledge, and connections do you need to get closer to success? If this is difficult or overwhelming, consider finding a mentor or executive coach who can help you to think differently and find your way.

How Can I Reach My Goals and Still Enjoy Life?

Really going for success shouldn’t make for a joyless life, totally focused on getting ahead. Make sure you take time to have fun and do the things that give you pleasure. Think of what Future Successful You enjoys doing. What makes your future worth striving for?

Write down all the fun things you will do, whether it’s staying in 5-star hotels or being able to work for only half the year. Imagine driving your dream car. See yourself in your future executive suite.

See what elements of your future life you can start to incorporate in the present and build on those; a vision board is great for this. Before you know it, you will be toasting your success.

If you feel stuck on finding your way and creating the life you desire, we can help. Reach out to learn more – you don’t have to do this alone!

May 11, 2023

Are You Your Own Worst Enemy? How Coaching Can Help you Become Friends with Yourself to Achieve your Desires

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Obstacles. Hurdles. Barriers. Roadblocks. These are all common sights along the road to achievement.

If you have ever worked towards a goal that most people would label as “unrealistic”, then you have undoubtedly faced one challenge after another. In fact, when you reach the point where you feel like giving up, that is usually when things get even tougher.

Believe it or not, these external obstacles are actually the easy part. They are obvious. We can examine them and devise a plan to work through them or around them. For example, if you want to start a business but lack the funding, there are a variety of tangible action steps you can take to resolve your funding issues.

The real barriers to success are the internal roadblocks. This is where it gets difficult. This is where you battle your own self- doubts, worries and feelings of unworthiness.

You may have the best work ethic in the world. You may have the strictest discipline and self-control. But if your mind is listing all of the reasons why you shouldn’t have what you truly want, you are fighting a losing battle.

For many of us, these negative tapes have been playing the same disempowering messages in our minds for years.

If you are tired of the struggles and want to move forward, then coaching can be the answer:

Coaching is:

“Partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential (International Coach Federation)

A Coach:

Works in a partnership between a client(s) to provide structure, guidance and support for clients to:

Become more self-aware regarding their perceptions, emotions, motivations and responses/behaviors
Set realistic and relevant goals to work towards
Take actions that will lead to goal-achievement
Reflect on actions taken and elicit/use feedback to go toward their desired goal
Holds the client accountable for actions they set
Gives a listening ear, inspires and motivates to achieve set goals

Coaching isn’t therapy, as the coach is not there to tell you what to do; but they will listen openly and actively. You have the answers you seek – the coach is there to help you bring them forward.

Coaching is the gift that keeps on giving to yourself; it can be a great investment you make that can last a lifetime. Aren’t you worth it?

“Coaching is unlocking a person’s potential to maximize their own performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them. Clients say coaching brings out their best by helping them focus, break down tasks and clarify their values.” – Fortune Magazine

If you’re tired of the struggle, reach out today to learn more and get started living your best life.

May 8, 2023

3 Practical Steps to Take When You Have Too Many Goals

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A new month usually brings new goals you’d like for you, and the team, to achieve. Meeting organizational goals is the focus for every leader. However, goals can become overwhelming, especially if there are too many given.

It can often feel as if you’re spinning in circles with too many goals, or those that seem conflicting. If a leader feels overwhelmed, then goals won’t get conveyed in the way they are intended or can get overlooked. The good news is, you’re not the only one who feels that way. It’s very common, and you can help solve this problem.

Here are some things you can do if you’re overwhelmed with having too many goals:

Look for overlaps. Sometimes there is a natural and logical relationship between goals. Suppose you want to get healthier and to have more leisure time to cope with workplace stressors. Making time out for active leisure, such as tennis or running, will accomplish both goals at once.

But, sometimes, two goals seem to be in direct opposition to each other, such as wanting to spend more time with your employees but having to attend meetings during the day. In this case, write out both goals and, next to each, write out why you want to do each of them and want to accomplish.

You might find that what you want is to improve and increase your communication skills. In this case, your real goal is to plan and schedule activities that meet the needs of each goal. You might discover that you can satisfy your desire to communicate more by scheduling employee time in between meetings, send one of your staff in lieu of you in a meeting, or eat lunch with them. Get to the essence of the goal, and they’ll work themselves out.

Make the time. We tell ourselves there are “only so many hours in a day,” and that we’re “too busy” to take on anything else right now. Your time is precisely that – yours.

Instead of saying “I don’t have time to meet with an employee,” try saying, “I’m not making time to meet” – We find the time for the things that matter.

Be flexible. It’s a good thing to put a timeline together and have definite dates and time-sensitive goals. But remember that life happens, and often it even gets in the way. There is an ancient Greek saying that goes: “If you want to make the gods laugh, tell them your plans.” Having milestones and plotting points along the timeline is good, but don’t hold yourself to it so rigidly that you cannot adapt to the occasional curveball. This applies to your staff, as well.

If it feels to you like you have too many goals, or if the ones you do have are fighting each other, then find the essence of each one. This will help you determine what’s most important right now. Then, work on one goal at a time.

By concentrating on which ones mean the most each day, you’ll put those goals into perspective, and you won’t feel so overwhelmed, which will affect your stress level and productivity.

Leaders need to steer the boat, so to speak; but, if you are taking in more water with too many goals, then you won’t know the direction to take and can get off-course. Your clarity impacts the clarity for your employees; be clear in the direction for smooth sailing.

If you’re struggling with setting or achieving goals, having a coach can help. Contact us today to learn more.

April 25, 2023

What Goals Are and What They Are Not

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What Goals Are and What They Are Not

Here we are, winding down another month, ready to leap into a new one. This means it’s time to set new goals for yourself, in all areas, i.e. personal, professional ,career, financial, etc. But why do some people struggle with setting them, despite having the intent?

Perhaps it’s due to the label of goal and what this truly means. Perhaps the following can help give you more clarity so you can go about setting goals, that are meaningful, achievable, and motivate you to reach them.

So, what is a goal and why do we need them? A goal is an end result or objective you want or need to accomplish. Goals, which can be both long- and short-term, provide direction and motivation to help you achieve a desired outcome. To help you understand this concept more, let’s go over what goals are and what they are not.

Goals Are the Things You Want To and/or Need To Achieve

Goals are specific, measurable, and time-sensitive objectives designed to help you measure progress and stay on track toward achieving your desired outcome.

For example, a goal like this:

“I will lose 10 pounds in three months by exercising five days per week and cutting back on sweets, sodas, and processed foods…”

…is a well-thought-out goal.

It describes what the goal is: Lose 10 lbs. It explains how you will go about it and has a realistic time frame. You can use that information to design your action plan.

Goals Are the Results You Want to Achieve

As mentioned above, a well-crafted goal describes the end result or outcome you are working towards.

Here is another example: “I will start a ghostwriting business for people who want to make money selling clean romance novels on Amazon Kindle.”

You will create smaller goals from this first goal, such as building a website where potential customers will learn more about your services and find contact information.

From there, you will need a goal for creating content that highlights your talents and outlines the benefits of collaborating with you.

Then, the next goal will be setting up marketing campaigns to reach out to romance authors needing assistance with their writing projects.

All these steps lead to one end goal: establishing a successful ghostwriting business.

Goals Are Time-Sensitive

A goal requires time sensitivity because that time limit creates a sense of urgency and motivates you to complete it. When setting a goal, it’s vital to have an end date that gives you a realistic timeline for completing the task.

Being realistic here is critical as it helps keep you focused and on track regarding reaching your objectives without frustration. Plus, a time limit gives you greater insight into how much effort is needed to reach your goal within the set timeline.

Goals Help Measure Progress

Goals provide a clear target to work towards and to track progress toward achieving them. They measure progress because they provide a tangible tracking mechanism, so you know how close you are to achieving the desired end result.

You use goals to set shorter-term milestones that allow you to monitor your progress and help you stay motivated and focused on the bigger picture. Concrete goals will enable you to evaluate yourself objectively and make adjustments when necessary.

Goals Need to Be Both Large and Small

Goals range from long-term objectives, such as purchasing a house or starting a business, to short-term goals, like saving for a vacation or learning a new skill.

Setting big and small goals is beneficial because it helps create a sense of balance. Big goals provide the long-term motivation and direction you need, while small goals give you short-term objectives to reach along the way.

What Goals Are Not

Goals are not the steps, processes, or actions you take to achieve the goal.

These steps are the means to an end and are separate from the goal itself. Goals are the desired end result of a particular activity or endeavor. They set the benchmark for success and provide guidance and motivation to reach that end.

Remember, goals are not the actions you take to achieve them. Setting clear and measurable goals helps you focus your efforts and progress toward achieving your desired outcome.
Focus on the end-result to drive your goal further; vision it daily to achieve it.

If you’re struggling with setting and reaching goals, reach out to learn how we can help You don’t have to do it alone.