At the heart of it, mastery is practice. Mastery is staying on
the path." ~ George Leonard, US pioneer in human potential
We often hear managers complaining that their employees aren't
productive, don't listen and just can't consistently get the job
done. As a youth sports coach, I hear coaches with similar
complaints--the kids don't listen, don't know where to go and
don't try very hard. I can't relate. The boys on my team are
usually focused, do what I ask of them, and work hard. As a
business owner, my employees are focused, do what I ask of them
and work hard. What am I doing that is different from the rest?
And what can this teach you about running a successful small
business?
As a coach, I make my boys' jobs very simple. I ask only two
things of them. I ask them to master one shot and I ask them to
be aware of what is going on around them. Of course we work on
defensive and offensive strategy, but both of those revolve
around the two keys that I gave them for success--awareness and
mastery.
I teach awareness by constantly asking them to be aware of where
the ball is and at the same time to be aware of their teammates
are and where their opponents are. I teach them how to see the
ball and their opponent when he doesn't have the ball. Sounds
simple, but for ten year olds this is work.
I teach mastery by assigning homework to each boy. The second
week of practice, they have to show me a spot on the court from
which they can make a shot every time. I don't care if it is
from just two feet under the basket. I want them to know they
can make it every single time. As the season progresses, they
may gradually move their spot further and further out, but I
still ask that they be able to make their shot every time
unguarded in practice.
These two simple concepts have a tremendous effect on the boys
during their games. They have incredible confidence in their
ability to make shots because they "know" that they will always
make it. I don't need to yell at them like other coaches about
where they should be on the court because they have developed
awareness of what they are doing and seeing. Now let's see how
you can use this in your successful small business.
As a business owner, I put these two key principles to work in
training my employees. From the first day on the job, I work
with them to be aware of what tasks are needed, what I expect of
them, how I want customers treated, etc. And I ask them to
master tasks and customer scripts. Once they are mastered, I
open it up for them to adlib just like with my players. When
correction is needed, it is usually in one of these two areas.
They are either unaware of what is needed or they haven't
mastered the task at hand.
Not only does following these two concepts make it easy for me
to get results with my players and employees, it also brings
incredible results. My first team lost only one game all season
and my employees rarely lose a sale. My businesses and products
win awards earned by my employees. And, as a bonus, everyone
enjoys themselves with this simple structure. I knew I was doing
it right when the father of one of my boys told me that his boy
enjoyed practice so much that he chose to come to practice
instead of going to see our professional basketball team play
one night. And I know it works with my employees because they
show up on time happy, focused and ready to work. Remember,
mastery and awareness are your two keys to a successful small
business.
For more tips on creating a successful small business, visit
http://www.biznbeyond.com and get your free copy of From Vision
to Action --A Five Step Process For Getting Started, Getting
Unstuck, and Eliminating Overwhelm
About the author:
Business consultant and professional speaker Michael Clark has
been helping businesses including Fortune 500 companies such as
IBM and Cellular One succeed for over 20 years. Michael is a
serial entrepreneur having opened multiple successful businesses
over the last 12 years. Before that he had a successful career
in finance and accounting for large corporations. He has been
interviewed on radio, tv, and in print, as well as been a
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