Becoming an entrepreneur takes a specific type of personality not necessarily the business skills of a manager

DO YOU HAVE THE

 DNA OF AN ENTREPRENEUR?

I was recently a guest at a business network breakfast meet  and the youngster were bursting with enthusiasm to become entrepreneurs!!!  Mid-career survivors the ones who have just been laid off in today business environment think even more vivaciously the “adventure” of being an entrepreneur.

One has to look at the graveyard of the entrepreneurial ventures of the 21^st century. How many billions of precious money went up in smoke? Not to speak of the heartbreaks and the endless sleepless nights of toil and tension which came to naught? The universal statistics are clear 80 % of entrepreneurial startups fail in the nascent stage. 10% meekly survive to adulthood. And the one in a million becomes a Dhirubhai Ambani and a Jeff Bezos.

Do you think you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? Becoming an entrepreneur takes a specific type of personality. Fortunately, it's the type of personality you can develop by working on yourself, growing, and learning how to express these traits. Focus on theser top traits below and you'll find yourself ahead of the crowd.

AN ENTREPRENEUR IS FIERCELY INDEPENDENT

The wannabe entrepreneur places a high value on independence .Like in Aesop’s fable the lean  stray dog talking to the fat.collared dog… the starving mongrel would not exchange the riches  a chained existence for the  fat privilege of roaming free in the world. The wannabe entrepreneur knows that freedom is the prerequisite for all success- it begins with an unfettered scope for  your talents and energies. But freedom also means responsibility hence the next step ...become self-driven proactive and opportunity ready

AN ENTREPRENEUR IS A SELF-STARTER

This is about more than simply being your own boss. This is about more than simply being able to get up in the morning and get to work. An entrepreneur is always capable of seeing a tomorrow that's just a little bit better than today. He's not satisfied to just sit on his laurels and enjoy the fruits of his success. He's constantly looking forward-creating plausible plans to create more opportunities and find his next point of success. An entrepreneur is also willing to push himself. Last year's success was fine, but this year's success should reflect his growth. He's always coming up with some new project and looking for ways to make that project succeed.

AN ENTREPRENEUR HAS IMMENSE SELF-BELIEF

There's not much room in the business world for self-doubt. Fear can make you back away from projects that could be the key to your ultimate success. Furthermore, the entrepreneur has to be in the business of convincing other people that his ideas are good. Partners, investors, financing, creative structuring-it all depends on the entrepreneur's ability to convince other people that they're making a good bet when they team up with him. If the entrepreneur isn't sure about himself, how can anyone else be sure of him?

AN ENTREPRENEUR MAKES THINGS  HAPPEN

An entrepreneur looks at a problem and knows it's an opportunity. That's not a cliché talking. A problem is literally an opportunity to get paid if you can be the one to solve it. Successful entrepreneurs make their name identifying problems without solutions, and providing those solutions. Every good product solves some sort of problem. Even video games solve a problem-they provide a way for people to unwind after a stressful day and fulfill a fantasy.

If you want to be a successful entrepreneur, your natural response to any given problem should always be to ask yourself how you can solve that problem. Not who is to blame, not how that problem came to be-just how the problem can be solved. Problem-solving becomes a habit. As you become alert to problems with no solutions, you become alert to new ways to create, grow, develop, and innovate new products. If you can marry this alertness to calculated action you will develop the instincts that you need to be an outstanding entrepreneur.

AN ENTREPRENEUR HAS A BIG APPETITE FOR RISK. 

Risk-adverse people don't make very good entrepreneurs-but neither do extremely reckless people who leap first and look later. Real entrepreneurs evaluate their potential risks. They also know how to minimize the risks they need to take through hard work, dedication, and strategic planning.When a risk goes bad an entrepreneur doesn't waste a lot of time looking for someone to blame. Instead a true entrepreneur analyzes what went wrong, learns from it, and moves on.

SUMMING UP

Now do you really want to be an entrepreneur? Weight the pro’s and the cons’ It is said at the end of your life you will regret the things you did not do … rather than the blunders  for which you paid a small price and the harvest of benefits of making life an adventure

with best compliments

Dr Wilfred Monteiro

Business coaching has gone from fad to being an essential part of the managers job.

COACHING :

 THE  NEW STYLE OF MANAGING ?

Business coaching has gone from fad to being an essential part of the managers job. This was badly needed, in a knowledge economy; where the young generation believe: they are drivers of their own performance and would therefore detest a dominating style of leadership. The prime purpose of coaching  is to increase effectiveness, broaden thinking, identify strengths and development needs and set and achieve challenging goals. It is based on asking rather than telling, on provoking thought rather than giving directions and helping a person become self-regulating and accountable for his or her goals. Young generation have their highest priority (after pay packet) ... how to  grow in the role?... and a manager’s job is to help them get there!!!

Research from both academics and the corporate world has fine-tuned the skills managers need to coach others into five categories:

1) PUTTING TRUST AT THE CENTRE OF THE RELATIONSHIP. 
It’s easier to learn from someone you trust. People can learn more from a friend than a knowledgeable  but authoritative figure. Good Coaches must effectively establish goodwill  and build trust by being clear about the learning and development objectives they set, showing good judgment, being patient and following through on any promises and agreements they make.

2) PROVIDING OBJECTIVE FEEDBACK .
 In coaching the master question is: Where are you now and where do you want to go? Helping others to gain self-awareness and insight is a key job for an effective coach. The coach can provide timely feedback and help clarify the behaviors that an employee would like to change. Performance improvement is  often an exploration; which focuses on gaps or inconsistencies, on current performance vs. desired performance, words vs. actions and intention vs. impact. The ownership of accepting the gap is based upon the learner and not a prescription from the coach
 
3) PROVOKING NEW  THINKING . 
Thinking from a new perspective is an important part of the coaching process. Challenging old myths and pet assumptions helps to bring a new insight to the problem at hand or a fresh zeal to meet daunting challenges. Hence good coaches ask open-ended questions, push for alternative solutions to problems, motivate through task simplification and encourage reasonable risk-taking.

4) TASK AND EMOTIONAL ENCOURAGEMENT . 
Coaching places the responsibility on the learner, who has to generate the solution; or at least work in partnership with the coach  to find solution Coaching is certainly  not a prescription or a command mode of interaction.  Therefore the learner understands the solution, and how it was arrived at.  Creating their own customized solution, they are also more likely to carry it through. As partners in learning, good coaches listen carefully, are open to the perspectives of others and allow employees to vent emotions without judgment. They encourage employees to make progress toward their goals, and they recognize their successes.

5) FOCUSS ON MEASURABLE RESULTS. 
Effective coaching is about concrete results. The coach helps the employee set meaningful ones and identify specific behaviors or steps for meeting them. The coach helps to clarify milestones or key measures of success and holds the employee accountable for them. Self assessment is the key to learner participation and the low-risk context (if  failure occurs) is what the coach should build.

Would you want to change your corporate culture of managing and develop you line managers to become executive coaches 24x7. VISIT MY WEBSITE www.synergymanager.net for contact details.

with best compliments

DR WILFRED MONTEIRO

EXECUTIVE COACHING MYTH OR MASTER-KEY TO PEFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT

In the avalanche of “certified” coaches and the certifying bodies galore the business world has some re-think on the issue of Executive Coaching The need for coaching has never been greater. Executive Coaching  is  best defined as the “building a relationship of trust, tapping a person’s potential, creating commitment and executing goals.” research shows that a team that is highly engaged has double the chance of job performance and success.


First there are a lot of questions of what coaching entails. As a starter, here’s what Executive coaching is not:
·         Coaching is not ordering people around because you have authority or a title.
·         Coaching is not “fixing” a person.
·         Coaching is not creating a dependency or indulging in “open-ended therapy.”


The services provided by an Executive coach are quite similar to that of a sports coach, the only difference is that business coaching is undertaken for the benefit of an organization. Executive coaching not only aims at improving individual performance but also concentrates on improving team performance.
in unlocking hidden potential


Just as a sports coach helps in unlocking the real potential of players, an Executive Coach helps the employees to improve their working skills. Most successful business coaches know that every employee has the potential to perform above expectations. The only thing required is proper guidance and the confidence that he can achieve the set goal and objective. The aligning of personal and professional goals of the employees with organizational goals and objectives enables the Executive Coachto increase productivity and maximizing profitability. This helps in the increase of profitability and success in a very short time.


People often confuse Executive Coaching with business consulting. Both are very different from each other and are undertaken for achieving different set of goals and objectives. In business consulting, the consultant offers you solutions to your queries, based on his knowledge, experience and technical qualifications. Business consulting is more like gambling in which you win some and lose some. The advice provided by the consultant may or may not work in solving your problems. In comparison, business coaching allows the employees to explore and find the solutions for themselves. It just provides the right guidance, which may not seem much help, but is very essential when it comes to unlocking the true potential of an individual. It takes a great amount of skill and patience to be able to connect with the employees, which can only be made possible with the help of a business coach. The coach provides the necessary guidance to the employee or team members. This helps them to overcome common organizational problems.


Executive Coach  differs from consulting, counseling, and therapy in that the focus is on each executive’s success in the work setting. Coaching is similar to these other professions (consulting, counseling, and therapy) in that they all rely heavily on skillful listening to clients (executive) and reflecting back what is heard and what is meant so that clients can achieve deeper self-understanding and learning.

As a business growth specialist we provide you with knowledge to succeed in business, we only use proven time tested methods. And act as a sounding board to you and provide useful guidance for getting the best from difficult situations.

An Executive Coach can see the problems from the outside without being shortsighted by old bad habits the company have been gathering over the years. The owner needs someone to encourage, to push him, to congratulate him, to support him and keep him focused on the planned goals and made accountable for the outcomes. It can be a lonely job being the boss without a trusted sounding board.

Meta+Coach^© Model Coaching is a way to bridge any gap between where you and your business or career are today and where you would like to be. Customized business coaching works faster, is more effective, and is more convenient than standard management seminars and work books. Business coaching is not an extravagance but a must to get fast effective business solutions.

The Executive Coach may work with business owners, executives, and people at every level in the company.
·         Set and achieve higher quality goals
·         Ensure people are accountable and take responsibility of their actions
·         Accelerate development in business processes, skills, knowledge, and relationships
·         Eliminate rather than tolerate the negatives in their life
·         Encouraging you to focus on your key priorities
·         Providing you with an impartial sounding board
·         Supporting you in making better decisions
·         Giving you greater confidence
·         Helping you achieve new levels of job satisfaction and motivation

Life’s toughest issues are not solved by having all the answers, but by asking the right questions. Coaches who continue to ask powerful and provocative questions help individuals develop a sense of internal purpose and commitment for the long run.
Meta+Coach^©suggests that powerful questions leaders ask may fall into three areas:
1.      Engaging with purpose (Opening)
2.      Advancing to commitment.
3.      Obtaining commitment (Closing)


CONCLUDING : THE BENEFITS OF COACHING.
o   Coaching highlights what people can readily achieve, given the right support.
o    Good programs can simplify what might appear to be particularly difficult situations.
o   Successful programs can lead to improved individual and team performance and increased levels of motivation.