Is Strategic Coach Worth the Money?

Posted on by Jeremy Overton Posted in Personal

I joined Strategic Coach in April of 2011.  My friend Ed Kelly of Summit Journey Coaching recommended Dan Sullivan’s book, The Advisor Century.  I was fascinated with Dan’s vision and approach, and I immediately began internalizing as many of his ideas as I could.  I emailed him a few months later and he invited me to Chicago to attend a free introduction to the Strategic Coach program.  He talked more about his approach and described a number of “tools” that he had created to help business owners enjoy increased efficiency, spend more time focusing on revenue-generating activities and take more time off.

I was hooked.

Now, two and a half years (10 sessions) into the program, I have nothing but good things to say about it.

Among my benefits:

  • Each quarter, I identify 15-20 quarterly results-producing relationships and opportunities – To date I’ve written down 165 of these and accomplished 71.
  • Also each quarter, I identify 10-20 longer-term relationships and opportunities – I’ve written 113 and achieved 27 of these.  Looking back today, 9 of those 27 seemed out of reach when I wrote them down.
  • I have written and published a book.  The idea, the progress I made toward completion and the publishing process were all directly influenced by the program and people I met through the program.
  • Along with the book, I also created a Unique Process that helps individuals and couples painlessly develop goals for their retirement.  Again, I never would have thought of or completed this process without Dan and Strategic Coach.
  • I listed 5-10 quarterly strategic projects each quarter, a total of 87.  These were larger-scale projects like developing a hiring process, developing my web presence or systematizing processes within our organization. For each project, I left Chicago with a clear picture of the target result, who is involved and what action steps needed to be taken right away.
  • After years of wanting to kick off a speaking career, I have spoken in front of large groups a dozen times.  I’ve developed multiple presentations and packaged them to share with others.
  • Though almost all of these projects are in an ongoing state of refinement, I can point to 15 or more right now that are substantially complete and have had a major impact on me and the people in my organization. It’s difficult to quantify the financial and quality of life ramifications of these ongoing projects.

Some readers will view the numbers I’ve just listed as a description of failure, but you have to take the alternative into account:  if you don’t plan and implement projects, you won’t complete any of them.

If you’re looking for comprehensive, detailed business planning, the Strategic Coach program probably isn’t the right fit.  On the other hand, if you’re looking to implement a comprehensive business planning program, and you have been putting it off or don’t know where to start, you should sign up today.

Each quarter, I list my 1 year, 3 year and lifetime goals.  It’s a joy to look them over, celebrate progress and achievement and see how much clarity I’ve gained through ongoing refinement of my mission, message, processes and approach.  My coach, Kim Butler, has provided incredible value in the form of best practices, resources and contacts.

Strategic Coach has allowed me to make plan design and implementation a habit and a way of life.  I’m a lifetime fan of Dan Sullivan and his program.

Why It’s Okay to Have More Problems Than You Can Handle

Posted on by Jeremy Overton Posted in Personal

The last thing we want is another problem, right? For as long as we can remember, problems are something to hate.

As we moved from counting to adding and subtracting, multiplying and dividing, and then on to algebra and more complex mathematics, one thing was constant: we hated working on problems.

As entrepreneurs, we’re faced with maintaining day to day operations, cleaning up messes that exist in our organization, and planning and preparing for future growth. We have a seemingly infinite number of problems that must be solved on a daily basis, and the truth is, it really never ends – but there is a different way to tackle those problems. If having a grand checklist with no open tasks is your goal, you’re in the wrong business.

You’ll always have 98 problems, and if you don’t believe me, then you have 99. 

It’s an ongoing process, but accepting this truth will lead you to do something you’ve probably never even considered… you’ll actually begin to value your problems.

That’s right… taking the approach that you will always have a finite number of problems means that you need to fill that space with the best problems, the ones that can have the highest impact if solved.

One of the best way to begin defining your problems is through a goal development process. Goal development is a term that seems silly to most entrepreneurs. It’s the first step, and the one we’re most likely to skip. Without goal development and a clear way-point or destination, however, you’ll never have the right set of problems.

Having all your problems on paper is actually quite a stress reliever:

It seems wrong, doesn’t it? We think of talking about our problems as an act of weakness.  We tend to associate the behavior with words like “complaining” “whining” or other generally negative descriptors.  The reality is that one of the major components to therapy or counseling of any kind is the ability of the therapist to help the patient get their issues out in the open.  In the same way, a great coach will guide you through a process to scour your mind for problems, begin writing them down and then start to tackle them, one by one.

Once you say them out loud and caught on paper, you’ll be surprised how much better you feel.

Having all your problems on one place will allow you to prioritize and define progress:

A major benefit of having your problems in one place is that you can name them and begin to see where they fit in. For instance, having a one-year goal of increasing your sales allows you to create a “problem set.” When you define the obstacles to achieving that goal, you can lay out those “problems,” assign the ones that can be delegated, and work the rest of them into your schedule. Focusing on the right problems during your productive time at work will reap huge dividends.

Developing a problem solving mindset will change your approach to business and life in general:

Having a problem solving mindset will help you keep your head up. Beware, it’s a lonely place to be. Constantly focusing on areas of improvement, future growth, and an increase in quality of life is uncharted territory for 97% of the population. When you begin to be optimistic about the fact that the problems you face are actually opportunities to grow your business, involve your team, and ultimately make more money AND take more time off, you’ll find that you don’t have a lot of peers who think the same way. You’ll need to set aside time to surround yourself with people who think like you.

Some problems will solve themselves

Your brain never quits working for you. When you lay out problems for your brain, it will actually help you see opportunities, even when you’re not consciously thinking about your goals and the problems associated with them. Answers will literally begin coming to you in the shower.

Goal Development + Problem Definition = Business Planning

The goal development process plays a major role in coming up with better problems. When you set a waypoint, and have a clearly defined trajectory toward your goal, you’re able to look at what obstacles stand in your way. Listing these obstacles, no matter how complex, will provide you with the plan you need to get there. The end result is a business plan that defines the high level problems that you need to work on to get where you need to go.

Having a list of goals and developing the “problem sets” that accompany those goals is the best way to develop a dynamic business plan that you can keep fresh at regular intervals.

 

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Can Social Media Save Rural America?

Posted on by Jeremy Overton Posted in Business, Marketing

Do We Need to Save Rural America?

Small towns either grow or begin to deteriorate over generations, making it less noticeable for those inside the community.

In some cases, creative and progressive rural cities and towns are growing tourism in and spurring their local economies.

Vibrant economies in small towns and nano-towns (populations of <2,500) are becoming more and more rare every decade.

What happens in 20-30 years when if don’t have Midwest treasures like New Harmony, Indiana?

The reality is that some towns thrive and others don’t.

Every community has the resources to increase the scope of their marketing and advertising and give themselves a better shot at generating revenue from outside sources.

One beautiful thing about social media is that it gives the little guy the opportunity to compete one on one with the big guys.

But can social media really save rural America?

I think it can and here’s how:

The opportunity to advertise small market features to big markets is an incredible value capability for business owners in cities and towns with tourist-based economies. The problem is that too many entrepreneurs, especially those over the age of 55, have written off social media for their businesses.  Leaders of chambers of commerce, business associations and convention and visitors bureaus in middle America have an opportunity to help their members work together to establish and consistently improve their online presence.

The goal for any community, merchant or organization should be an online asset that is an adequate reflection of the experience they provide.  Once this is well-established, it’s simply a matter of grabbing the attention of would-be visitors.  The ability to advertise in larger markets lets laws of scale work in the favor of the small town, as long at they have the online “bait” to lure ’em in.

But there’s a catch…

Someone has to take the lead.

Once everyone gets up and running (and it doesn’t take long), social media planning can be integrated into regularly scheduled meetings.  A staff member or chamber member can take the lead on keeping content development top of mind.  After just a few months of cooperation and consistent activity, the online personality and culture begins to take shape, providing a stronger anchor for remote advertising, in print and in electronic media.

For pennies, the organization can reach thousands of people who are interested in what it is that they have to offer by taking advantage of the incredible demographic filtering options that come with Facebook advertising.

It will take time, but high school students today are much less likely to be watching TV, reading newspapers or travel magazines or even emailing (fact: in a recent survey, I found that 1 in 5 high school students claimed they used email “rarely if ever”).  Though individual platforms may come and go (the same students described Facebook as “old” and “too much trouble” while expressing a preference toward Instagram, Twitter and Vine).

Social media is not a fad, it’s the new language of marketing.

If you are a community leader and would like help developing a big-picture social media strategy for your community or organization, please contact us.

 

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