Personal inspirations for business development (1)

If you truly want to understand something, try to change it” (Kurt Lewin)

In my 2008 book titled Business Intelligence: Entrepreneurship & Business Building Techniques, mention was a made of a South African based couple, which was at a time in their life journey at crossroads regarding their marriage. The problem had to do with each of them being busy with building his/her respective business. Eventually, the man suggested that one of them should be in full time paid employment, so that their family would not be at risk during turbulent business seasons.

Unfortunately for him, the wife refused to let go of her ten year old business, which she had developed quite painfully over the ten year period. Thus, in order to ensure that the family risk was mitigated in a way, the man decided to abandon his own business, sold his company, and sought for paid employment. This gentleman however lasted barely seven months in the company that employed him thereafter.

Apparently, the many years (more than twenty years) that he had been his own boss, and had had become accustomed to the pleasure and freedom of running his own business had ‘spoilt’ him. While in the paid employment, he soon became miserable, unfulfilled, unchallenged, bored and naturally unproductive. He just did not seem to be suited for the end of month pay packet system any longer. He therefore quit the experiment after just seven months of his employment.

The issue was not just a case of poor job satisfaction. It was simply a case of lack of personal motivation, especially in working for someone else. He later confessed that he could no longer work for any one. He wanted to remain his own boss! He therefore promptly returned to what he really enjoys – building and managing his own business. Although he had to start his business afresh, he was quite satisfied and happy doing it.

As a business coach, I often question young people’s personal motivations and motives when they are either job-hunting or trying their hands (and luck) with starting a small business. This questioning exercise is important, even for people that have been running businesses for long periods. It is always worthwhile to stop and think again sometimes, just to do some self examination of personal motivations regarding business ownership and management.

It is not only when things go wrong or when there is a business failure that business owners and managers should do some self searching and questioning about their business motivations. From time to time, it is good to ask yourself why you are doing what you are doing, as a business owner or manager. The question is this: would you still desire to be where you are now, doing what you’re doing, even if you had the chance and choice of a change? Your answer will reveal your true motivations.

Are you motivated predominantly by external influences (“Push Factors”) that practically force a person to try his hands on business when all else seems to fail, or are you motivated by an insatiable entrepreneurial desire? Interestingly, even both push /external shock factors and the pull/internal inspirational factors require a good deal of personal inspiration and motivation to get you going. And, that is when coaching would be a good investment. Business coaching is especially useful in helping you to remain focused and tenacious, even when serious business challenges come up.

For example, there is usually a major problem with many people that become business owners and or managers due to certain external factors, which being beyond their control make them opt for the entrepreneurial route. Except they are actively motivated to stay the course, they can easily become too conscious and overwhelmed by the fear of what they are trying to get away from. As a result, their vision of creating a sustainable business could be hindered by their preoccupation with personal survival.

The problem is their tendency to focus more on the past, rather than on the future. Such a situation can have an adverse effect on the business, if special care is not taken to deliberately focus on the future and refuse to be bogged down by the past. Business coaching does a lot to help in this regard. The role of coaching and even counselling in such situations will be to develop the consciousness within the client’s mind of a long journey ahead, without any detours and short cuts. It must be a case of forward always and backward never, if coaching must achieve its goal in this regard.

The important thing is that they must be willing to succeed in their business, and be ready to pay the price upfront. Developing a sound personal foundation is the major requirement in this regard. This is one of the several personal inspiration development issues that a coach must be prepared to help the client to work through. The end result of course is to assist the client to achieving sustainable success going forward.

Emmanuel Imevbere