Breakthroughs In Business Are Completely In Your Control.

Please read on, with an OPEN MIND, knowing that I CARE VERY MUCH ABOUT YOU AND YOUR BUSINESS <3

If you think you’re doing pretty well at staying positive and focused on all the amazing things that are SO GREAT in your business, feel free to skip this week’s reading. BUT if you’ve been negative about, in, or around your business lately – READ THIS PLEASE! If you’ve been really negative, read it 3 times, AND post it on your office wall 

You have GOT to learn to control your mind, and focus on the positive! Teach yourself to look for what’s RIGHT, what’s GOOD, what HAS IMPROVED, what’s excitingly on its way, and other positive things. If you don’t, you’re demotivating your staff, attracting negative circumstances, losing staff and clients and ultimately losing MONEY. One day, you could even put yourself out of business if you focused on the WRONG things for long enough!

HERE’S HOW TO DO THIS:

1. SYSTEMIZE VIEWING IMPORTANT NUMBERS:

Put this on your job description and put it in your calendar, because these numbers are one of the most important things you need to look at each month, and numbers are a GREAT place to find PROGRESS. Schedule a meeting to “review business numbers” and look at your revenue, your gross profit, your net profit, your number of clients, your average spend per year per client, your conversion rate, your number of leads, or ANY OTHER METRIC that shows progress or improvement in your business. Take time to really acknowledge the IMPROVEMENTS shown in any of those numbers. Figure out how we did that, and do it some more! If there are some bad numbers/trends when you look, spend NO MORE THAN 90 seconds (ONE TIME ONLY!!!) describing the problem, and then, FOCUS ONLY ON SOLUTIONS. *Hint, figure out what was being done that caused the bad number and stop it, OR figure out what makes it better and do that.

2. SYSTEMIZE TRAINING YOUR MIND:

Find books, videos, podcasts or other media (our TMH Facebook /YouTube page for example) to consume that remind you that FOCUSING ON THE GOOD THINGS BRINGS MORE GOOD THINGS, and having a negative focus is KILLING YOU AND YOUR BUSINESS. A great example (and a classic, that I’m currently re-reading is Success Principles, by Jack Canfield), I highly recommend you read or listen to it!

Constantly remind yourself to only outline a problem ONCE and from then on focus ONLY ON SOLUTIONS. Post this on your wall: what CAN we do? Ask that over and over, especially when you have a person saying “yes, but that won’t work….” and other depressing retorts just say “Ok, WHAT CAN WE DO?” Don’t ask to hear about problems, only ask to hear about solutions. So, to sum up:

– Get a system in place where you’re learning at least once a week and put it in the calendar,

– post something on your wall to remind you to focus on solutions,

– AND get accountability partners! Tell someone important in your life/business to hold you accountable. Tell them “I want to stop being so negative and ruining my business, can you hold me accountable and help me with this”. Show them this blog post, it’s a road map of how to keep you in check! Trust me, the people around you can’t STAND when you’re negative so I’m sure they’d be happy to be your accountability partner!

3. SYSTEMIZE RECOGNITION AND AWARDS:

Remember that when you focus on the negative, you totally NEGATE all of the hard work and success your team has achieved for you. All they can hear when you’re negative is criticism and negativity. You’ve RUINED any recent compliments you’ve given them.

SO, first, completely separate any required constructive feedback from your compliments.

AND instead of criticizing, try giving them more clear roles and goals, and focus them on achieving those! It’s a much more positive way to get what you want, and it’s the only way that works! 

Systemize (put it in your calendar) and constantly hand out high-fives and hey-I’ve-noticed-you-did-something-greats because they will drive your staff to do even more amazing things for you! You can use step two (improved numbers you can congratulate them for) or virtually ANYTHING else you can observe with your 5 senses – does the place look great? Did you hear them do a great job with a client? Does our business SMELL clean? What else can you find to compliment them on? Do it! They deserve it! AND you will get more positive results, the more compliments they get. The more AUTHENTIC & SINCERE recognition, compliments and rewards in business, the higher your numbers go – EVERY TIME. Make sure you don’t let a DROP of “but these other things are still bad” in there! Or you’ll totally destroy the good you’ve attempted to do. 

4. “YEAH BUT SOMETIMES BAD THINGS DO HAPPEN AND I HAVE TO LOOK AT THEM”

...you’re right, they do, most likely because you’ve been negatively focused, but when bad things do happen, commit to spend 90 seconds MAX (AND ONLY ONE TIME) describing the “what’s wrong” to the team, and then focus on WHAT CAN WE DO?? FOCUS ON MOVING THE NEEDLE, IN A POSITIVE WAY. People love to solve problems and we are GREAT at it, so focus on that instead of complaining uselessly about “what’s wrong”. 

I promise you, if you focus on what’s wrong, you will lose at the game of business. You MUST train your brain to find, and FOCUS ON what’s GOOD. The mindset of the leadership is the MOST DAMAGING or the MOST POSITIVELY POWERFUL tool in your toolbelt. Use it wisely. If you can’t find anything good in your business, then, stay away from your business until you can! You have some work to do. Start with finding some good in your home, your bed, your pet, your vehicle, ANYTHING, just start training yourself to FOCUS ON THE GOOD, then habituate finding MORE of it. Your business depends on it. 

I know that if one of my clients were to refuse to change this very important paradigm, and continued to focus on being negative, I would not be able to keep working with them, because my coaching doesn’t work if leadership is negatively focused, and neither does your business. Imagine how your staff feels! If a business coach would quit on you, your staff DEFINITELY will too, and if we have no staff, we have no customers…..

PLEASE BE MORE POSITIVE OR PERISH. I cannot emphasize this enough. Please, read this over and over and systemize it into your life and your business. 

Visit tmhbusinesscoaching.com/articles/ to find this article and even more useful/ practical content!

If you are doing well, but like us, know that Business Can Be Better?,  contact TMH Business Coaching and Consulting today for a confidential strategy session. Also, please feel free to add yourself to our weekly business tips email!