Finding your common purpose

Matrix Key: Relationships - Staff and Colleagues -

Common Interest

“Not finance. Not strategy. Not technology. It is teamwork that remains the ultimate competitive advantage, both because it is so powerful and so rare.” - Patrick Lencioni

Back in the day when I owned a sheet metal fabrication shop, I received a cold call from a business coach.  The woman at the other end of the phone asked "How would you like your employees to operate as a high performance team?"  My response was "Team? I would just like them to work together and to stop wanting to claw each other's eyes out!"  And so began my journey of transformation and coaching.  

One of the most important elements of balance and stability at work is to share common interests with your colleagues.  You do not all need to be friends, but is is critical that all employees be in agreement on several key elements.

In the WholeLife Matrix we define those elements as:

1. Vision and Mission
2. Projects
3. Workability
4. Meeting Deadlines

Consider for a moment an orchestra, and the many subtle and not so subtle refinements required to produce the sound that lifts and carries the audience.  The musicians need the same musical score; they must play in the same key and at the same tempo; each individual instrument must be in tune; every musician has to be committed to the performance from beginning to end; and everyone needs to pay attention to the conductor.  If any one of these factors is out of place or missing, it is obvious to the listener that something is wrong.

Likewise, for a group of colleagues to work together effectively, they need to share the same vision (purpose and values) and mission (mechanism for success).  Once these two items are in place, it is much easier for the group to align on the chosen project, work together in an effective manner, and agree to meet common deadlines.  Aligning on a common interest results with everyone being on the right bus in the right seat headed to that same destination.


Are you ready to win?

Making an exercise plan.

Matrix Key - Health & WellBeing - Exercise and Fitness - Exercise Plan

"No matter how slow you go, you are still lapping everybody on the couch."
Anonymous

One of my most basic coaching rules is that any result demands an intention, a period of time and some kind of action.  You can see this rule is key to any section of the WholeLife Matrix.  

Intentions must be specific and measurable.  Once you define what you want, you start to create it.  This is a logical process with itemized action steps.  The results from the actions do not always show up the way we envision, but they show progress on our intentions all the same. Unlike goals which require a specific outcome, we only fail our intentions if we quit trying.

You may set fitness intentions of any kind: changes in body mass or size, strength or endurance levels, weight loss, flexibility, improved emotional health...your list will be unique to you and your situation.  

In the WholeLife Matrix, we identify four key criteria for your exercise plan:

1.   Intentions

2.   Variety

3.   Keeping it Fun

4.   Support: Coach/Trainer/Friend

Having set your intentions, consider the other three criteria:  incorporating variety will keep your mind and body alert and aware; keeping it fun makes it so much easier to continue on the days you encounter resistance (and remember that skipping one day makes it easier to skips days 2, 3,4 and so on).

Finally enlisting a second and ideally a third person into the plan will also increase your wins at follow through.  Our mind can be our enemy when we challenge ourselves, and you have a 50/50 shot at talking your partner out of follow through on a particular day.  But when you bring a third person into the mix and form a triad, you have exponentially increased your ability to keep time and action focused on your intentions.

Are you ready to win?

What is your relationship with nature?

WholeLife Matrix: Personal Awareness - Environment - Relationship with Nature

"People think Nature is outside of them.  They don't take in the idea they are part of it." 
George Carlin

How would you explain your relationship with nature?  Do you see a separation between a "natural world" and a "human world?"  Or do you see a world where humans are a part of nature as much as anything else?

We often discuss nature in terms of the basic elements of the outdoors...ground, water, wind, even fire.  How do you describe your relationship with these elements?  Sometimes we have an active relationship: touching the earth, hiking on a trail, or smelling a flower.  On other occasions, you may take a more passive stance: listening to waves crash on the beach or looking closely at the many shades of green on a tree.  I remember an afternoon as a young boy, lying on the grass, watching and wondering how the clouds could possibly move across the sky.  

In the WholeLife Matrix we have identified four components of your relationship with nature:

1. Passive
2. Active
3. The Outdoors In
4. Preservation

Stop for a moment and think about your relationship with nature.  Whether we interact actively or passively, we are part of the natural world.  Increasing our awareness of this connection with the world outside us actually strengthens our connection with our personal inner world.  We do not always have time to be outside as much as we would like.  It can help to have indoor displays or reminders of the "natural world" to balance out the electronic and sterile world we often create indoors.

Underlying all these different ways to connect with the natural world, we must always remember the need for preservation of this natural world - it is a fragile system that sustains us.

Are you ready to win?

Managing Sales & Marketing Actions

Matrix Key:  Financial Viability - Marketing and Sales - Managing Actions

"Sales are contingent on the attitude of the salesman, not the attitude of the prospect." - William Clement Stone

If you are going to be successful at marketing and sales, your actions must reflect your commitment to the sales process.  You must have a disciplined approach to managing your sales and marketing actions.  Sales requires a lot of constant effort in order to keep clients moving along the sales cycle and to keep new opportunities coming in to your pipeline.  If you're not careful, you can easily drop something out and lose an important deal.  You can use the WholeLife Matrix as a guide to managing your sales actions.

The most successful salespeople know that these four attributes are essential to an effective sales process:

1. Training
2. Attitude
3. Setting Goals
4. Time Spent in Sales and Marketing

The best salespeople understand that they need continual training to stay on top of trends and technology.  They set specific goals so that drive their actions.  They spend time every day in sales actions, and they know that a good attitude shows through to prospective clients and keeps them in the game when times are tough.  There will always be days when you want to throw in the towel, but if you focus on consistent sales and marketing actions, you will soon find yourself in the winner's circle.

Are You Ready to Win?