It’s Not Enough To Think Big

November 24, 2015 / Clint Best / Personal Development

I’m a very innovative person by nature, and thinking big has rarely been an issue for me. Believing in my own bigness has posed a few challenges though.

When I was training to be a business coach, we used to play games to help us leverage our thinking. The particular game I’m thinking of was called “add a zero”. We were to take our annual sales goal and add a zero to it – then brainstorm on what strategies would get us there. The exercise forced us to think bigger than we were thinking, which was really helpful because after a couple of hours of thinking at that level, my original number seemed small in comparison.

After years of struggling to hit my annual targets, I learned the other half of the equation – to believe deeply in my own worthiness to succeed. I know what you’re thinking…that seems so obvious, and it is – but I was so close to it, I couldn’t see it for myself, and it wasn’t until I worked on my own personal development that I finally made the breakthrough’s I needed to break from my old beliefs that were holding me back.

What might be getting in your way of becoming who you need to be, in order to do what you need to do, to have what you want to have in your life?

Clint Best is a business coach and the founder of Kaizen Business Coaching in Kelowna, BC. Clint has been guiding forward thinking business owners through change and growth since 2002.

Pushing Back on the Push Back

November 17, 2015 / Clint Best / Success Strategies

pushing back on pushback

If you are experiencing a little push back on the changes you want to make in your business, I want to encourage you not to let that or other incidents dampen your enthusiasm or slow your momentum. There will be plenty of obstacles along the way to success – so the bigger your why is the smaller they will appear. Just lean in and lead through them.

At the same time as we want to be open to receive good feedback, if you are making a change that you believe is positive and necessary to reach your goals – you owe it to yourself and your team to follow through. Here are some tips on how to make it work:

Always lead with a strong why that is aligned with your values, goals, and current strategy.
Listen to understand and acknowledge feedback and concerns.
Consider where the feedback is coming from – if its fear based, it’s probably not very credible (refer to your core operating values)
Treat changes as a test and measure – agree to try it out (get their assurance that they will give it a fair chance).
Invite those who push back to come up with a better idea to get to the same outcome. In short – lead, follow, or get out of the way
If necessary speak with team members privately one on one, to ensure they are feeling heard.

A large percentage of employees – prefer “the devil they know to the devil they don’t” and are naturally resistant to change. They are also pre disposed to quietly “digging in their heels and staying the way they are”, so be mindful of that behavior if it shows up. Keep leading with good values and by example and trust that they will follow.

Clint Best is a business coach and the founder of Kaizen Business Coaching in Kelowna, BC. Clint has been guiding forward thinking business owners through change and growth since 2002.

Why Some People Almost Always Hire the Right Person

September 17, 2015 / Clint Best / Team

clint best kaizen business coach michelangelo david analogy There is a humorous tale about the brilliant Renaissance artist Michelangelo. He was asked about the difficulties that he must have encountered in sculpting his masterpiece David. But he replied with an unassuming and comical description of his creative process:

“It is easy. You just chip away the stone that doesn’t look like David.”

I’ve hired a fair number of people over the years, some worked out and a lot of them didn’t until I learned what to uncover in my hiring process. Now I teach this simple framework to my high end coaching clients.

Integrity – Who is this person and are they a good fit with my organization? Do we share the same values? Will they do what they say they can do?

Intent – What is their motive? Why do they want to be a part of my team?

Capability – Do they have the right stuff? Do they come with it already and if not, do they have the attitude and ability to pick it up quickly?

Results – Can they put it into action? What does their track record tell me?

Obviously we go a lot deeper with it, designing questions and techniques to chip away at what isn’t our ideal hire, revealing the real person we are interviewing, to determine if they can help us on our mission.

Is your process getting you the right people?

Clint Best is a business coach and the founder of Kaizen Business Coaching in Kelowna, BC. Clint has been guiding forward thinking business owners through change and growth since 2002.

Ramping Up For September

September 5, 2015 / Clint Best / Personal Development

clint best summer window What do you want your fall season to look like and what are you willing to do differently to get it?

This summer I cut my energy bills down by a good 60% by turning off my air conditioning and opening the windows. Frankly, it was a huge “eye opener”. When it came to air conditioning, I was running on “auto pilot” with my blinders on. What I learned was that my house doesn’t get uncomfortably hot nearly as often as I thought it did, and by opening the windows, I could actually hear the sounds of nature and enjoy the cool summer breeze drifting through the house in the evenings.

Can you relate? It’s added such a new dimension to my summer. Because our home backs onto a mountain it’s reminded me of living in our summer cottage when I was a child. This is a feeling I’ve longed for, for a number of years and there it was, well within my grasp. Summers will never be the same I’ll tell you!

Awakenings are like that, and they can happen in all kinds of areas in your life and business. So what does “auto pilot” look like for you? What could you change this fall season that will bring you closer to the business and life you really want?

Clint Best is a business coach and the founder of Kaizen Business Coaching in Kelowna, BC. Clint has been guiding forward thinking business owners through change and growth since 2002.

How To Leave Work Behind For The Holidays

August 25, 2015 / Clint Best / Best Practises

clint best vacation working Ever wondered what makes you stay connected to work while you’re on holidays?

In my experience there are two big reasons for this. One is called my belief system, and the other is tied to the conditions of my business.

When I stay connected to my business while my intention is to disconnect and rest, I find myself in values conflict, which can be very draining. I want to rest, relax, connect with my family and have fun, but, I also want to be responsible, and support my clients. I have an internal belief that supports this behavior. It could be something like, “in order to be responsible I have to always be available”, or “people will flounder without my support”. Both are obviously flawed and neither serves me well. If you want to leave your work behind for the holidays begin to notice these internal beliefs at play and consciously make a choice that serves your purpose. After all, you will always be more impactful after a good rest.

There was also a time when I did not have the conditions set up in my business to allow me to leave without worrying. I was missing good systems, I wasn’t surrounded by the right people and I hadn’t committed to ongoing training and to setting expectations and boundaries.

Has this happened to you this summer? Don’t be afraid to reach out for some help.

Clint Best is a business coach and the founder of Kaizen Business Coaching in Kelowna, BC. Clint has been guiding forward thinking business owners through change and growth since 2002.

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