Archive for March, 2010

Winning the Game of Work and Life

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

In a blog this morning  I read the famous Michael Gerber quote, “don’t work in your business, work on your business.”  What if  your business was a game?   How would that change how you related to the whole concept of working in your business?   How about your life, could you play it like a game?

  • What would your game be called?
  • What would your game board or playing field be like?
  • Who would be playing the game with you?
  • What would the rules be?
  • How would you define winning?

Exciting.  I love playing games.

This weekend I did just that, played the game of defining my Personal Life Game.  I went to California to play The Game Of ….  – Playing the Game You are Build 4  — See web site http://bit.ly/9yMFUY

The process was fun and creative and totally felt like playing.   I came out of the weekend with a  game plan for all of the above questions and more.  So how do I use the information that I have uncovered?

I am using it to clearly define how I want to show up in this world, who do I want to be and how do I want to experience the world.  It gives more clarity on the Intention that I had set for myself last year  – see article on setting intentions -http://bit.ly/c0jBzw .

I have already used the insights that I have gained in making decisions.  I am in the process of looking for accommodations to rent in Belize for this fall when I take my business fully virtual for 3 months.  It became evident that the accommodations that I was looking at renting would have suited me perfectly from a logistical point of view. In the past this would have signaled me to say “yes”.   However my intuition signaled to me that the tone of the living environment would have been the opposite of the fun, vibrant life that I want to live.  Just by playing my game, I would have pushed my land lady’s fear buttons, causing an emotional reaction leading to conflict.

This was not the kind of experience that I defined for winning the game of my Personal Life. I listened to my intuition and said” no” and I am continuing on my search.

In your business when are you making decisions about what you need to do because it seems to make good logical sense?  Yet  it  creates an experience that you would prefer not to be having.   This is typically what happens when we work in our business rather than working on it.   We are creating experiences for ourselves that do not leave us winning.

This fall I will bring The Game Of…  to Vancouver.   Check the web site above for other games being played in the United States.

May you win and master your own game.

Jacque

Coaching Generated Big Returns

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

The following is a recent quote from Fortune Magazine:

“Of the monetary payoff from the coaching they got, these managers described an average return of more than $100,000, or about six times what the coaching had cost their companies.” Fortune, 2/19/01,

– “Executive Coaching — With Returns a CFO Could Love”

In my own work I have also found this to be true.  Some companies that I have worked with have generated astronomical returns on investment of 2,500%.  I believe there are some key factors that determine if a company will be able to generate an ROI of at least 600%.

  • The most senior person in the company or group has participated in coaching and is now a role model for others who take coaching.
  • Several other people in management also participate in coaching.   The more people on the leadership team that have received coaching the more successful the program.
  • Team development initiatives are taken to foster open communication and collaboration across the company or group.
  • Managers adopt a coach approach and consistently meet with staff in both group meetings and one on one.
  • Finally you need to stay the course and keep using and applying what you have learned.  As soon as you go back to your old ways, so will your results.

While doing the work with these companies, staff came to regard their organization as the best place that they ever worked.

Companies or groups within a company that have maintained these results for the longest period of time have consistently practiced doing all of the above.  It is a long term game.

Jacque