What does business coaching have to do with business software? It first starts with understanding what business coaching is all about.
Just like in sports, where athletes rely on coaches to look over their shoulder and help them plan everything from diets, training and rest periods, business coach is there to assist executives with managing a number of tasks and responsibilities that it takes to successfully run a business.
Most great executives today have a business coach. A business coach is someone to help them focus, which is necessary because there are sometimes just too many things to do in one day. The coach helps focus the energies of the top team to work on not just the urgent issues, but all of the important ones as well.
Typically an executive will find themselves faced with so many burning issues in one day that they struggle to focus on important issues, like ones that implement better systems and teams. This should be the core focus of a top executive. Too often, though, the business owner is the best salesman, or best accountant, instead of the best team and systems builder.
They key idea here is that with the top executive building better systems and teams, they are in turn able to support customers better, which leads to more customers, happier customers, and a strengthened business, which is the ultimate goal for almost all businesses. Often, a business owner loses track of this and works directly with customers himself, instead of working on implementing better systems and teams. This is a problem in small businesses where the owner was the chief bottle washer in all areas of the company. As the business grows, his need to focus on a stronger team and better systems grows, and this is where a business coach can help.
The coach helps to focus on important tasks first. This enables a business owner to start to build a strong foundation, starting with a clarity about where the company is headed, and focusing on the strengths o the business and its team members, to ensure better returns on the sales effort.
So what does this have to do with business software? In short, the best businesses run on fully integrated business software so that all information is available at all times. This is important in today’s fast paced business world, for the team to be agile, informed and able to make solid decisions quickly. However, an integrated system will only work if a great team and great processes are in place, and this is where synergy between business coaching and business systems are found.
Often, business software is 20% of the business systems and the rest is made up of the people and the business processes. While system implementers typically help with the 20% of the software, the other 80% is where a business coach comes in. To some extent, system implementers also coach businesses, designing processes and helping teams to adapt to new software, but this is a small part of what is necessary to build a great business.
In today’s business world, a good business coach and good business system are not luxuries, but rather necessities to compete. A business coach to a growing company is like a swimming pool to an Olympic trainer.
Call us today at 727.786.2900 and let us help you with your executive business coaching needs.