Ode to the Coach

Good Support is Priceless -- For Small Business, for Government Contracts

Time and again, I find myself reminded to walk my talk. Another one of the lessons that's become abundantly clear to me this year is the value of the right help.

Today I worked with Terry Monaghan, of Organizing for Your Life. I met Terry through eWomenNetwork, recommended by another member of the network, Rosemary McDowell, President of RSDN (a woman who has an 85% win rate on bid and proposal projects, with whom I've since teamed to serve another client).

Terry is a career systems professional who also has superb people skills, and she's decided to focus on helping clients who want to bring order, flow, and organization to their work. Terry helps people who need to document what they do (imagine the value of someone who can record what your top manager says she does before she walks out the door for good!), and tames complex projects or a pile of well-meaning ideas that never seem to get traction.

This week, she helped me sort out a fractured pile of business development ideas that had overwhelmed to the point of hopeless paralysis. We separated the B-list things from the stuff that is really important to achieve my business objectives, and then set out the time it would take to do those things onto my calendar.

Rocket science? No. But, as a solo business owner, I needed help to work through that, to focus on the mechanical organizational planning instead of getting distracted by the "gottas". As a result, I am much more serene and less worried and distracted, and thus more productive, because I know I'm focused on the right things at the right time.

I see value in that kind of coaching and support -- just a few hours, a small investment, returns many times over. Remember that in the U.S., you can call on SCORE -- Service Corps of Retired Executives. Ken Larson of Minnesota, SCORE member, recently added that info in a reply to my last post to offer his free services to small businesses on government contracts. Thanks, Ken!

(That's the same reason why clients hire me and Summit Insight for help in MY domain: to find the things that will bring you the best results in winning government contracts -- particularly but not only if your company is in Canada. My outside opinion and insider knowledge can focus your efforts and save you hours of gut-grinding and weeks of wheel spinning. Call me to find out how -- 703 627 1074.)