Personal business coaching

Burnout is becoming far too common. A leader’s life need not be a terminal condition.

Safe work Australia released a report in 2013 indicating that burnout costs Australian business over $10Bn a year.

It has been estimated that the cost to business in the US due to stress is $300Bn

Coined by German-American psychologist Herbert Freudenberger in 1974, burnout is broadly defined as “physical or mental collapse caused by overwork or stress.” It’s a universal condition, but different countries around the world have seen burnout manifest itself in different ways — from worker suicides in China and France to European employees taking sick days or even retiring early due to stress. (Source)

This doesn't have to be your state of being

This doesn’t have to be your state of being

It’s knocking on your door

As an entrepreneur, business leader, manager or leading citizen you are numbered among naturally inspired individuals. You instinctively know how to start a venture, launch an invention, create a market, make a difference and take charge. You are a natural go-getter.

But you are also an endangered species because after you get going, your kind are either killed and eaten by the living thing you have created or you can’t find the handle to let it out of its cage to run free.

You’ve probably seen it happen to friends or business associates. I have, and I don’t want it to happen to you.

You’re special, but …

Over 25 years of working with entrepreneurial business owners it has become clear that like many entrepreneurs you are most likely to be

  • achieving far more than most people,
  • expecting too much of others, your family especially,
  • working long hours,
  • guilty about your poor quality of life,
  • worried about competition and the economy,
  • burdened with too many details and roles,
  • frequently lonely and misunderstood,
  • reluctant to trust your employees.

Coaching is for leaders who want all the happiness they can get and who are willing to take time to get it.

How do you know you need a coach?

Two kinds of people hire a coach: People who are really capable but not doing so well; and people who are living well but who haven’t finished what they came to do.

Neither group can quite put their finger on their next move. They know it’s there but it’s like waking from a dream you can’t remember. You know it is in your mind but you can’t quite dislodge it. A coach helps you get out what’s in there and then gets you acting on what you discover.

I’ve coached salespeople, franchisees, franchisors, business owners, entrepreneurs, marketers, product developers.
Helping speakers is my specialty.

As a leader you don’t have to be overburdened, get sick, break up your family or die before your time. You can have more time off than other people, you can suffer from LESS stress and you can increase your income honestly.

Don’t get me wrong! After coaching you will still be making decisions, checking the P&L, inspiring staff and doing your thing. You’ll just be doing it DIFFERENTLY!

The tragedy is that until recently no-one has shown you how.

Like most of my business friends you got into business to have more control, more self expression and more time for fun; and more money to spend on the fun. In most cases that doesn’t happen. But coaching can get it happening for you. We have a system that gets you out of the office, out of the paper wars, separates you from personnel dramas and frees you from the mess that typifies so many entrepreneurs’ lives.

How does this sound?

Imagine this! It’s you, focusing on the things that matter: in business, in family relationships and in the wider world.

A coached man is a happy man

Care free but responsible living

  • shaking off all the time wasting mess and clutter that bogs you down,
  • stripping down your daily grind of ‘to do’ lists, meetings, interruptions and frustrations,
  • seeing more of your family: and when you do, you will not only be able to put up with them but they will be able to put up with you!

At this point you probably think this is all too far fetched and never likely to happen.
You might even be tempted to close this site right now.
Go ahead. You’re not ready for a coach.

Who doesn’t need a coach?

    • You don’t need a coach if you are in emotional disarray. You need a counsellor.
    • You don’t need a coach if your mental health is wobbly. You need a counsellor or a psychologist or a psychiatrist.
    • You don’t need a coach if your family is broken or breaking up. You need a marriage counsellor or family counsellor.
When you don't need a coach

You might need a counsellor, not a coach.

  • You don’t need a coach if you are having money problems. You need a counsellor or an accountant.
  • You don’t need a coach if you are having legal problems. You need a lawyer and possibly a counsellor.
  • You don’t need a coach if you know everything already. You need a martial arts instructor to slap you upside the head.
  • You don’t need a coach if you need fixing. You need a vet.

There is everything right about hiring a coach

Everyone who is successful and happy is surrounded by wise counsel and good advice. You don’t have to try to work everything out yourself.

Champions have coaches and become the best. Hackers go it alone, hope for the best and get the worst, or at best, mediocrity.

All the best sports people and musicians, have a coach. Tiger Woods had Butch Harmon. Adam Scott has Brad Malone. Novak Djokovic has Boris Becker. Sarena Williams has Patrick Mouratoglou.
I’ll bet the only one you’ve heard of is Boris Becker (Former World No.1 ranked tennis player). But do you know who his coach was? One of them was Mike Depalmer Jr., but like you, I’ve never heard of him either. It doesn’t matter. The coach’s job is to make the player stand out.
High achievers have coaches who bring out the best in them, who help them extend themselves, who lift the bar for them, who clear their sights for them. That’s what I do.

So there’s nothing strange, soft or weak about having a coach.

What is strange is living by the four silliest words in the English language: ‘I’ll work it out’.

So check again

How do you know if you are ready for a coach?

    • Are you at the top of your game and want to make sure you can stay there? (The Novak Djokovic model)
    • Are you NEAR the top of your game and want to grab the top spot?
    • Are you temporarily blocked on a project and need to brain storm with an independent party?
    • Are you temporarily blocked in business life generally?
    • Is there a skill you want to master but can’t seem to get a handle on it?
    • Are you frustrated but can’t quite put your finger on where or why?

Checklist

  • Have you just been de-hired and are not sure how to take advantage of the opportunities ahead?
  • Are you a self-made person and can handle life really well but just now need someone to bounce around ideas and possibilities.
  • Are you considering a change in career?
  • Do you need to clarify your immediate path?
  • Do you need to clarify your long term path?
  • Do you feel like a lost cause or a waste of space?
  • Are there difficult people in your life and/or business who use up too much of your ‘worry quota’?

If you answered yes to any of the above, you’re ready. But, check a few things first.

Start with an enquiry

I am foresworn to confidentiality and have a modest supply of empathy so email me and say you want to talk to me about coaching, including your full email signature (full name, mobile, email, location, company) giving three times when you will be available for a phone call. I will respond in a 5 -7 minute phone call (no charge) determining whether the coaching relationship is right for both parties. There will strictly be no advice in that session. It’s where I ask the questions and see if you really are ready, and to determine if we are a good fit.

How much does it cost to hire me as a coach?

This is the tough love paragraph. I’ve worked with too many people over the years that need biological re-engineering from the DNA level up, not coaching, so I am really fussy about who I let into my close circle.

I’ll tell you your fee when you call. I charge like a brain surgeon but not like a movie star. You pay the lot up front, four weeks at a time.

General terms

    You should know that the fee is not negotiable, not refundable, not chargeable to a health fund or an insurance claim.

We meet face to face (if you are in Adelaide or want to fly in) or on Skype (visually) for at least four sessions. It’s usually a fortnightly arrangement, but can be monthly. If you are desperate and promise to do the homework in the intervening six days, we can operate weekly.

Rescheduling can take place by either of us provided it’s more than 48 hours from the diarised appointment.

There’s homework. Usually responses to questions or simple actions to chase up. If you do it, you’ll have invested your money well. If you don’t, well what can I say? Nothing works if you don’t.

I prefer to work with self-funded individuals but if you are a boss and you want to me to coach a ‘hopeful’ of yours, call me and I’ll tell you if it’s going to work. It could be both of you – or just you – who ends up getting coached. Remember. I don’t resurrect the dead. If you hired unwisely, I can’t wind back the clock. Your candidate has to be aware of the principles on this page. If the person comes to the first session without agreeing to what’s upon this page, I will keep your money and send him/her away.

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