OnTrack Blog

For a long time I believed that anything is possible . . . for everyone else but me! I was, after all, a successful executive coach — and a coach stands for what is possible for others.  Somehow it never  sunk in that I had to include myself and take on the “anything is possible” belief for myself!

Of course, I had experienced isolated moments of manifesting the results I wanted. Take the time I was late taking my family to the ballet and confidently declared, “Don’t worry, I’ll find a space three parking meters from the theater.” I dropped them off 5 minutes before curtain and arrived  at my seat around the same time they did. I found a place exactly three parking meters from that theater! Amazing!

This process has been described by writers like Napoleon Hill, Deepak Chopra, and Wayne Dyer and in the infamous “The Secret” as one of the metaphysical laws of the universe. But as far as I was concerned, the process wasn’t predictable enough.

Before I discovered Best Year Yet, I hadn’t heard about the “foolproof combination.” I simply thought I would have a plan that would allow me to organize the big things I had chosen to take on, but I wasn’t getting too far.  When just completing my own plan wasn’t enough, I began to lead workshops for others. That’s when I really saw the amazing transformations they were having by shifting their paradigm, using that Foolproof Combination: Attitude creates Action creates Results.  It worked, time after time.

What we think leads to what we do, whether we are aware of it or not, and that leads directly to the results we produce. Think about it. It really isn’t rocket science. When we don’t believe in what we are doing, why on earth should we give it our all—our best effort, our finest thoughts, our most loving actions? Why should we do things that are challenging or take us out of our comfort zone to get what we want?

The secret to producing the Results we want and need in our lives and in our businesses is in both what we believe and what we do. One without the other simply won’t get us where we want to go. Here is the Foolproof Combination:

So why wasn’t I doing that? Well, you’ve heard the old saying, “the cobblers children go barefoot.” Determined to change, I took on my own transformation. I had made a lot of changes over the years – big ones, too – but in the background were a few nagging thoughts: “I’ll never be financially secure,” “I don’t really have what it takes to succeed in the way I would like” and “Whatever I do, I will succeed but I always have to work hard at it.”

One of my big dreams has been to write a book. I had come a long way from thinking of myself as not being able to write or speak in front of others. I had written articles, led workshops, created and delivered well-received trainings to other coaches, but writing a book seemed way beyond what was possible. It would be too hard.

Every year this ambition showed up on my Best Year Yet plan in my Top Ten Goals, and every year I failed because there was “not enough time” (when you HAVE to work hard, of course, there never is.), and “not enough money” (how could I take the time away from “pay days”?), and “it’s been done by others by now and they did it better that I could.”

I had even been given the name of a top publisher in my field, and they had asked for a proposal. But I became overwhelmed looking by what was required to complete it. One, two and then three years went by until I was too humiliated to contact him again.

Finally I decided I needed to do something. My clients were having amazing results in their lives, and now it was my turn!  I started by asking myself the questions I had been taught to ask clients.

Jinny Ditzler, creator of the Best Year Yet process, often says, “Your Attitude leads to your Actions and they lead to the Results you get.  Every single time.”

Before taking action to change the results, I had to discover my strongest negative attitude. It’s really pretty easy.  You just work the model in reverse to discover the results you’re achieving, the actions you’re taking that lead to those results and, most importantly, the attitude that leads to the actions. That attitude is the source of the problem – your strongest limiting belief, point of view or assumption about yourself.

My strongest limiting belief was “I’ll never get rich, much less get ahead.”  It felt much like climbing a mountain with a boulder around my neck. By believing something new, “Money is abundant and flows spontaneously in my life”; I have achieved the transformation I was longing for. In recent week a lovely flow – actually gush – of new business, new clients and new opportunities have arrived spontaneously.  I also have less anxiety, fewer counterproductive actions and am showing more generosity towards others, in both action and thought.

With the Best Year Yet system we aren’t talking about superficial platitudes like the Saturday Night Live character Stuart Smiley and his cute affirmations, such as “I’m wonderful, I’m fabulous and everyone loves me”. When we say Shift your Attitude, in Jinny’s words, “we are moving from a deeply held negative assumption whose invisible hand has been guiding and limiting you for
a long time.”

Using the model above what my story looks like:

• I was not getting the Results I wanted in my business.
• My Actions were keeping me small and preventing me from grabbing opportunities that were coming to me.
• I was wasting valuable Actions in piecemeal efforts to succeed in my business by throwing a lot of mud at the wall and hoping things would stick. Many did, but spinning all the plates was hard work.
• My Attitude was: I’ll never have the money (or success) I want, much less get ahead.”

By shifting my ATTITUDE to I can do whatever I put my mind to, I naturally started taking Actions to that would lead to the Results I wanted:

• Earn enough money in my business to have the freedom to do the work I
  really want to do.
• Be known as an expert beyond my local circle,and have a platform for expanding my training of other coaches and coaching managers.
• Make a difference for others in a way that rewards me, too.

My Results?  My book was published in February and is making a difference for others. And the money is flowing as well!

Finally I’m getting the same results as my corporate and small business clients:

• A corporate leadership team whose members believed they were “out to save the sinking ship.” They shifted to “We make money for ourselves, our customers and our shareholders” and they were purchased that same year by a larger company. The team initiated specific measures of both productivity and teamwork success so they could motivate staff in each of their areas of responsibility. Soon other people in the company were asking what had gotten into them, and everyone’s productivity went up.
• A government executive who shifted from, “I’m failing with my most important objective” to “When I focus on what is most important, I get the job done!”  He solved the key problem within 3 months, far exceeding their expectations. He plotted his goal on a month-to-month basis, and by breaking down his problem saw new solutions.
• A small consultancy that downsized substantially and moved from surviving to thriving by adopting the belief, “We are small but powerful and thriving!” They quickly moved on from mourning what they had lost to focusing on the strengths of their surviving group.
• A private school board that went from “How will we ever pay off our debt?” to “By being bold and and decisive, we are raising the $10M endowment we need.”  They moved quickly toward interviewing a consultant who specializes in helping educational institutions raise endowment monies—a bold and decisive move discussed for years but never acted upon.

We’ll never know if JFK understood that all results come from attitude when he uttered his famous words, “ I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth.” But he will always be the icon of Anything truly IS Possible!

So, go forth and dream your dreams.  When you shift your core beliefs, your actions change to those that prove anything is possible!

Originally published at:http://www.bestyearyet.com/newsletter/current.html

Dedicated to bringing a best year yet to as many people as possible,
as quickly as possible
BestYearYet.com

Title: WHAT IT TAKES TO FIND BUSINESS IN THIS ECONOMY
Location: Waterfield Business Center, 12 Alfred St. Woburn MA
Link out: Click here
Description: This workshop is geared to helping you find prospects through relationship networking and the art of cold-calling to grow your business and success.

Part I- Networking:
In this fast-paced session, repeated by popular demand, Marilyn Edelson, MCC, President and Founder of OnTrack Coaching, serving entrepreneurs, “solopreneurs,” executives and family businesses, will share:

–The principles of relationship networking
–Where to network on and off line
–How to effectively network on the web including successfully using LinkedIn.

Part II Cold Calling:
In the this immediately actionable session, Carl Harvey, Founder of Success & Self-Esteem, and author of “What Stopping You: building the confidence to succeed at sales, will outline the keys to effective cold calling:

–How to overcome your fears and self-doubts about cold calling
–The three keys to being effective on a cold call
–How to reduce prospect resistance
–How to deal with stalls and objections
Start Time: 12:00 Noon
Date: 2010-05-14
End Time: 15:00

By Lloyd Franke

“Success is simple. First, you decide what you want specifically; and second, you decide you’re willing to pay the price to make it happen, and then pay that price.” –Nelson Bunker Hunt

What would be your response if I asked you to list five “foolproof combinations” in the next 30 seconds?   These are items, actions, foods, etc. that when seen or used together drive very positive results, feelings, or impact.   My list includes:

• Short and Sweet
• Ham and eggs
• Diet and exercise
• Scotch and soda
• Attitude and action

The last, “Attitude and action” most likely didn’t make your quick list but it is one of the most important combinations to ensure that you reach the goals you set for yourself and your business.

When taken alone, the items in a foolproof combination are okay but don’t deliver the impact that comes with the combination. Diet and exercise together are keys to keeping ourselves fit. We must watch what we eat and get ourselves moving to burn excess calories and strengthen muscles. Either by itself does not deliver the results that the “foolproof combination” of diet and exercise provide.

The recent Winter Olympics illustrated numerous cases for the combination of action and attitude. We saw in-depth looks at the individual athletes and their personal fights to get in top physical shape. Then, the mental attitude training – visualization, focus on positive outcome, and even hypnosis – to overcome limiting beliefs, memories of past failures or falls, and to see themselves on the medal podium.

The “ACTION” is 4 years of continuous physical training in the sport to build muscle memory and perfection. The “ATTITUDE” is the mental stamina to maintain focus on the goal (gold), dispel thoughts of failing (or falling), and perform with absolute all out confidence that they can win.

The same attitude and action are needed to reach our personal and business goals.

The GOAL:

-Do you know specifically what you want?

It’s important to have a clear objective to aim for; and, a clear measure of when the objective is reached. “Increase my income” or “Lose some weight”, or “Improve relationship with teenage son” are not clear goals.

Instead, make them clear and measurable: “Increase income at least 15% by the end of 2010”, ‘Lose 20 pounds by the end of 2010”, “Enjoy at least two one-on-one outings each month with my son”.

These are clear, measurable, and “actionable”.

The ATTITUDE:

-Do you believe you can do it?

Find and overcome any limiting beliefs you may have (subject of another article). Even though you may have failed in the past, commit to success through focus and structure this time. The Canadian hockey team came back to beat the USA for the Gold after losing to them earlier – they believed!

-Are you willing to pay the price?

Zig Ziglar used to say: “Don’t PAY the price, ENJOY the price!” Find exercise that you can enjoy; find healthy foods that you like; taking your son on excursions can certainly be fun (better than slaving at the office) and you might learn something new!

The ACTION

-Do you have a plan for each goal in each area?

Keep the goals in continuous sight; put sticky notes on your mirror, computer, etc.

Identify obstacles and find ways over, around or through them; visualize yourself at the point of success – then list the action steps to reach that end; complete the actions and monitor progress along the way (it’s best to set a specific time weekly to review progress).

Now visualize yourself standing on that podium receiving the coveted Gold Medal.

The “Foolproof Combination” of ACTION and ATTITUDE – get started now!

© Copyright 2010 Lloyd Franke

Title: Values-based Coaching: Inspire Strengths and Possibilities in Yourself and Your Clients
Location: Sheraton Framingham Hotel & Conference Ctr.
Link out: Click here
Description: Marilyn will be doing a pre-conference intensive at the 11th Biennial NASW of Massachusetts Symposium
Start Time: 8:30 am
Date: 2010-04-15
End Time: 11:45 am

“How’d you do this year?” people ask. We think about it and we casually answer with what is fresh in our minds – the last few months or weeks or days. It’s been a tough year for many: job losses, health problems, family issues, or other disappointments. For some, the year has been good despite the surrounding conditions. What makes the difference in performance and achievement? How can we do better while all about us seems to be unstable or even crumbling?

Each year we take time to formally or informally assess how we did over the last 12 months. We use the start of the New Year to set goals (resolutions?) in areas that are important to us. However, commitment and follow-through become a problem. Example: look at gym memberships: In January, gym enrollments soar. People resolve to lose weight gained over the year and holidays and to get more fit. Soon, like in February or March, enthusiasm wanes and ”the call of the couch” is louder than the inner voice recalling the commitment to exercise.

Secrets of Transformation

In this article we will look at five principles for transforming performance from the Best Year Yet®*:

1. Appreciate successes; 2. Learn lessons; 3. Shift limiting beliefs;

4. Live our values;  5. Set and focus on goals

Why don’t we reach our goals?

There are many reasons why people don’t reach their goals – some common ones:

Some never set goals                                     Lack of commitment

Not following steps to reach them              No measures of success

No timeframe to give focus                          Fear of success or failure

Lack of belief that the goals are reachable

Outside influences (time, money, friends, circumstances, …)

Think about your reasons FOR reaching your goals. Are you ready to transform your performance and actually reach 80 – 100% of them? If so, here are the five steps to follow with explanation for each:

The Five Steps

1) Appreciate successes

When we work on projects, we follow a cycle:

Create the idea > Do the steps > Complete the project > Acknowledge Success

Human nature has shown that each of us has strengths in one or more of these steps. However, many times when the job is completed, we’re too busy to acknowledge; we lose the chance to build on our success. Acknowledging success re-fuels our enthusiasm and commitment.

2) Learn your lessons

By reflecting on successes and disappointments, we learn important lessons that provide guidance in future endeavors. What are the reasons we fail to reach a goal? What were the driving factors, skills, and tactics used in achieving successes? When we understand the lessons and use them as guidelines to overcome excuses for failure, we are motivated toward success.

3) Shift limiting beliefs

What are you are good at? Lousy at? You can readily see that your attitude contributes to your success in those areas. A wise man once said: “Attitude determines outcome”.

How many people don’t even attempt to understand simple science concepts because of poor early school introductions? The mindset that “I’m not good at science” stops many from even trying to understand concepts. The same is true for weight loss “I can’t lose weight and keep it off – I’m made to be overweight!” Change the limiting beliefs and we can succeed where we previously have failed.

4) Live your values

What is most important in your life for happiness and success. What are your most important values? What values influence you in making decisions? What are you willing to give all you’ve got to protect?

“Character is how we act when no one is watching”. Values are the drivers of character. Ensure that the goals you seek to achieve are in line with your values – you’ll be more successful and fulfilled.

5) Set and focus on goals

That great sales motivational speaker Zig Ziglar teaches: “You’ve gotta have goals; a goal properly set is halfway reached”.  Many studies have shown the great difference in achievement between those who set and follow goals and those who don’t.

Following Ziglar’s goal setting formula:

• Write down your Objective
• Put a Date on it
• List all Obstacles to achieving the goal
• Identify the People, groups, or organizations you need for help
• Identify any Knowledge you need to achieve the goal
• Devise a detailed plan of Action
  • Write down all the Benefits in achieving the goal

Then get busy and persistently follow your plan and track your progress.

With this formula you will transform your performance and your life in all the areas you focus on. Just GET STARTED!

*Note: for more about the Best Year Yet® program go to http://tiny.cc/IndBYY or call Lloyd Franke at 781-721-2123 or Marilyn Edelson at 617-964-3202

© Copyright 2009 Lloyd Franke

———————————————————————————————————

Lloyd Franke focuses on defining and achieving high  performance goals in owner-managed businesses. He is a certified Program Leader for Best Year Yet® and an Associate at OnTrack Coaching. Check his web site at www.LfrankeAssociates.com Email:lfranke@LFrankeAssociates.com Call: 781-721-2123

Title: Best Year Yet Workshop
Location: Waterfield Business Center, 12 Alfred St. Woburn MA

Link out: Click here

Description: Create your personalized plan for success in 2010 online (including one full year software subscription to track you plan)  and attend workshop for an additional $100 to perfect your plan and start 2010 off really powerfully!

Start Time: 9:00
Date: 2010-01-30
End Time: 13:00

My appreciation of Michael Jackson has grown more since his death than in life. I spent the weekend obsessively watching program after program about the phenomenon of Michael Jackson. His music never appealed much to me — or so I thought– but even I, who missed a few decades of music while raising kids, knew the legendary “moon walk” and could appreciate his talent.

Like most phenomena, what he did looked effortless for him, and impossible for the rest of us, which is the stuff of which admiration –even worship– is made. What few people knew– and I learned by watching all those documentaries of his life– was that Michael was an instinctive follower of what Daniel Coyle, author of The Talent Code: Greatness Isn’t Born. It’s Grown. Here’s How., calls “deep practice.”  “Deep practice,” states Coyle, is  key to building myelin, the magical substance that surrounds our nerve pathways to and helps embed learning in our systems.

As a child, it is alleged, Michael practiced under the threat of punishment by his dad. As an adult, that morphed into his own perfectionism. He would, according to old interviews, practice routines for hours and hours by himself (no band, no dancers)  to make those moves his own. When I watched those old videos, I noticed the dancers were dancing extremely well but Michael, was dancing “in the zone.”

Why does this interest me now? As a Master Certified Coach (M.C.C.), I want to be a true Master coach, i.e. a master at coaching others to their greatness. The Master coach, according to Daniel Coyle. has four virtues — knowledge, perceptiveness, “GPS reflex” guidance, and “theatrical” honesty. The coach must ignite the flame (or keep it going once ignited) and the client needs to do the rest through deep practice.

Michael knew how to use coaches. He knew what he wanted to accomplish and hired the best to help him get there–  Quincy Jones (Billy Jean), Martin Scorcese (Thriller), George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola, to name a few.

I’m an amateur artist. As a teenager at a prestigious NYC public school for music and art, my spirit squashed by a combination of little real direction and the careless comment of a painting teacher who described a hand in a portrait I was working on as looking like “death.”  I had to spend a week doing yoga and painting 25 years later to shed Miss Sherman’s negativity.  My yoga/painting teacher had us finger paint (some of us  even used our feet) and paint with our eyes closed to loosen up, but she also talked about looking for dark, light and middle values, showed us how to compare tones by poking two holes a half inch apart in a piece of white paper, and gave us honest, real (vs. harsh) critiques. A good coach– a Master– shows you the essential supplier for your journey down your path, helps you remove unnecessary obstacles, encourages you when the path gets tricky, and, of course, holds you accountable.

Out of that sometimes genius emerges, at other times the accomplishment of something previously unattainable, and at other times, you simply get where you want to go faster and more easily. Michael didn’t invent the moonwalk. He simply perfected it and made it his own!

When the buzzer sounds ending the first half of the game, the reporter invariably asks one of the coaches heading to the locker room why his team is ahead/behind, what’s working or not working, and changes to be made in the second half? At the mid point of the year, business leaders as coaches for their companies and teams must answer the same questions. If results are not meeting goals set in the annual plan at the start of the year, what are we going to do about it? If we are on track, how will we maintain or improve performance?

The halftime review:

1. Set aside a day for the management team to meet off site, off the playing field. You need concentrated time and everyone’s focused attention to get the benefit of this session.

2. Use a structured approach to review performance toward annual goals. Each of the goals should have a champion assigned who takes responsibility for its achievement. Ask each champion:

• Were last month’s milestones completed?
• Are we on track to meet the goal?
• What have been the accomplishments to date?
• What are the disappointments?
• What lessons have we learned so far?
• What are the milestones for next month?

3. Look for performance facts not excuses, complaints, or blame. Considering the facts, which goals are in trouble (red light)? Which are on track (green light)? And, which are in some doubt (yellow light)? (This is a concept used successfully in the Best Year Yet® program, achieving results for over 25 years. www.bestyearyet.com).

The green light goals may need little attention but to reconfirm their importance, acknowledge the good work of the leaders championing them, and discuss lessons learned and strategies that might help others. The goals considered “red light”, in danger of not being met require more in depth review:

• Is the goal still critically important?
• Do we change it or abandon it?
• How should it be revised?
• What additional resources are needed for accomplishment?
• In light of the current environment, how do we change the game plan going forward? Put on the brakes?
• The Business at Halftime

Those rated “yellow light” also need more scrutiny to push them forward – like many drivers when encountering a yellow traffic light, step on the gas! What are the critical elements to get this in the “green”?

4. Set up Incremental Steps to Success. What should we be monitoring in addition to revenue and profit? What are the indicators that we must watch to prevent end-of-month surprises? In sales, for example, there are many events that lead up to the final closing of the sale: pipeline progress, marketing touches, prospect meetings, and proposals. Each of these can be tracked and measured to give an early forecast of sales. If there aren’t enough prospects in the pipeline, sales will suffer. What’s the closing rate – how many new prospects must we have in order to close one sale? To get prospects, we must make multiple contacts or marketing touches – how are we doing that? Set the goals, and monitor activities regularly to ensure that the final objectives will be achieved.

5. Take Timeouts. Schedule a monthly 2 – 4 hour session with the management team to review progress – it’s essential to keep everyone focused and on track.

6. Attitude Check Finally, before going back into the game, take a reading on the team’s attitude:

• Do we believe in what we are doing and that we can achieve success?
• Are we acting to reinforce our beliefs?
• Are we living the values that are essential to a winning culture?
• Are managers passing the vision and goals to their employees? Spread the word!
• Keep the strategic plan in view and review regularly

Commitment of all the key players is essential to winning in sports as well as in business. Think about the difference in winning teams versus losing – many times it is a matter of attitude and commitment; the difference in attitude of “trying” and “doing”. As Yoda said in “Star Wars”: “Try not. Do or do not. There is no try!”

7. Now execute the game plan!

Cynics will say that nothing comes from these review sessions: “lots of talk but nothing changes.” You as a Leader/Manager/Coach must make sure that there IS action. Watch the scoreboard, make sure the “plays” are being made, provide feedback as needed and look forward to WINNING!

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

© Copyright 2009 Franke Associates

Lloyd Franke of Franke Associates (www.frankeassociates.com)  helps companies increase performance through development and implementation obusiness and strategic plans and continuous improvement programs. He is a certified Program Leader for Best Year Yet® and an OnTrack Coaching & Consulting Associate.  His focus is on defining and achieving high performance goals in owner-managed businesses. He can be reached at lfranke@LFrankeAssociates.com or, by phone, at 781-721-2123

Title: Lunch and Learn: Network Your Way to Success, 12-1:30 The program and lunch are free but must make reservations. Email: staff@waterfieldbc.com or call 781-897-1700
Location: Waterfield Business Center, 12 Alfred St. Woburn MA
Link out: Click here
Description: Directions:http://www.waterfieldbusinesscenter.com/location.html
Date: 2009-07-01

Title: Boston Women Commuincators: Mastering the Art of Relationship Networking
Location: College Club of Boston, 44 Comm Ave.
Link out: Click here
Description: Learn 5 key strategies for turning contacts into connections.
Start Time: 8:00 a.m.
Date: 2009-06-17
End Time: 10:00