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Bridging the Victory Gap The 6 Steps to Success Part 1
Bridging the Victory Gap The 6 Steps to Success Part 1
Bridging the Victory Gap: 6 Steps to Massive Results
By Warren Coughlin, Business Coach
“Be great in act as you have been in thought” Shakespeare.
Do you want to make more money in your business? Do you want to have more time to enjoy the money you do generate? This is the first in a series of articles designed to help you do just that.
Many business owners begin their own businesses for one or a combination of 4 reasons:
a) They have expertise in a particular area for which they feel a demand exists;
b) They have a passion for a particular activity that they feel compelled to pursue;
c) They have a passion for freedom and independence and discovered an opportunity to follow that passion through their own business; or
d) They were driven to self-employment by circumstances.
However, regardless of how they came to be business owners, they frequently have not developed or acquired all the skills or knowledge necessary to fully capitalize on the businesses they have created. As a result, their dreams remain unfulfilled as they never bridge “The Victory Gap.”
What is “The Victory Gap”
This concept can best be understood by reference to athletics. Anyone who has watched any elite level competitive racing, such as Olympic swimming, sprinting, or cycling, knows that there are generally 3 or 4 top athletes who are always at the front of the pack. They may exchange places from race to race, but they are always at the top. Then there is the rest of the pack, none of whom seem able to break into the ranks of the top racers. The distance between the leaders and the pack is the Victory Gap. It is usually not a very large gap, often measured only in tenths or hundredths of a second. Yet the difference in rewards enjoyed by the members of the two groups is dramatic.
The lesson? In business, you don’t have to be vastly superior to your competition to win the lion’s share of the market. You must simply be marginally better than the competition on a consistent basis. That consistency is achieved by focusing on Critical Victory Factors (CVF’s); those skills and attributes that are essential for success. Great athletes continuously practice and train to enhance the CVF’s relevant to their sport. For instance, a marathon runner doesn’t work on upper body strength while a sprinter does. Business is no different. Consistent superior performance in business can be realized by focusing on the entrepreneur’s CVF’s.
The Entrepreneur’s CVF’s
There are 8 CVF’s for business owners. The more proficient you become in each of these areas, the greater the success you will achieve. The CVF’s are:
Subject matter expertise (e.g. if you are a lawyer, you know the law; if you are a carpenter, you know which end of a hammer to hold);
Success mindset (i.e. you believe in your ability to win)
Financial management
Marketing
Sales
Team building
Systems development
Time management.
Your altitude is limited by your aptitude. That means that the height to which your business can soar is limited by the weakest of your CVF’s. If you are a wonderful sales person, but have poor time management skills, you will always be challenged to sell to enough customers. If you are a wonderful
salesperson with excellent time management habits, but lacklustre team building skills, you will always find it difficult to grow your business.
The sad reality is that very few entrepreneurs diligently pursue opportunities to develop these skills. This happens for a couple of reasons. First, rather than view learning opportunities as investments, they may consider them as costs to be minimized, thereby sentencing themselves to limited growth. Second, they may feel there is so much to learn, they don’t know where to start. And so they don’t.
Where to Begin: the 6 Steps to Massive Results
In this series of articles, we will explore these skills. But before we do, it is important to know how to begin. Every business goes through a 6 step evolution. How far up the evolutionary ladder it ascends is a function of the owner’s willingness to continually develop the organization’s skills. Please note that the owner does not have to possess all the skills herself, as long as those skills exist in the right places within the company. The owner must be sufficiently familiar with all of them to ensure they are being adequately developed and deployed, but she need not be an expert in all areas.
However, if the business is to move up the evolutionary ladder quickly and effectively, it is critical that the owner know enough to ensure that the CVF’s are pursued in the right order. If not, the business could falter. For instance, if an owner is working diligently on enhancing team-building skills without understanding the business’ cash flows, she could end up with a happy team soon to be out of work. So, if you have not mastered all of the CVF’s listed above and don’t know where your business sits on the evolutionary ladder, be sure to read the next article in this series where we introduce each of the 6 steps.
"Perceiving a victory when it is perceived by all is not the highest excellence."
Sun Tzu
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In business, you don’t have to be vastly superior to your competition to win the lion’s share of the market. You must simply be marginally better than the competition on a consistent basis. That consistency is ach...
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Leanne Hoagland Smith
Are you or your business where you want to be? Are you facing constant struggles in business or life in general? Would you like to "unlock" those obstacles keeping you from greater business or personal success? As your results partner, we can work together to unlock those desired results by achieving tomorrow's solutions today. Let’s use your strengths for real change through proven and affordable solutions where the real problems are identified. Are you seeking loyal customers, great attitudes, increased sales, improved profitability or just some sleep filled nights? Then we should talk because my clients have experienced exactly those types of results. Learn more about customer loyalty at http://www.processspec ialist.com/customer-loyalty.htm Give me a call 219.759.5601 for a free strategy session. I look forward to speaking with you. P.S. If you are seeking a motivational speaker, sales trainer or small business expert that will leave your audience smiling and remembering, please feel free to contact me at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland Smith's Website
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Warren Coughlin
(Visit Warren's Website)
Warren Coughlin is the Canadian Coach of
the Year with Action International and
selected from the over 900 coaches
internationally for a Global Action Man
Award and a North American Action Man
Award. His experience and his passion
have allowed his clients to experience 300
and 400% growth, create stronger teams,
reach for bigger dreams and gain skills
they can use for as long as they run
businesses. He is now challenging all
Toronto area Entrepreneurs to double or
triple your revenue (or more)! You get to
enjoy that growth, receive a free vacation
and here's the kicker - he's going to
show you exactly how to do it!
It’s only $50 to participate in the
Bennett Gold Action Challenge, to learn
techniques of growth, to participate in an
ongoing teleseminar series, to receive
tools for success and to have access to
great additional learning and networking
opportunities. If you really want to take
your business to the next level, visit www.
bennettgold.ca/challenge.
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