How to Be a Positive Influence in Other’s Lives - Part 1

By Certified Action Coach Dave Beam

One question that I get quite often from business owners is “How can I change my employees and help them take ownership so that they will care about their work, customers, and the business as much as I do?”  It is a great question, and is worthy of consideration.

First, I usually start by telling them that they really can’t “change” anyone.  They can likely change their environment, compensation, job, and comfort.  But my question is can anyone really change the motives, desires, values, and identity of another person?

One Big Problem With Your Business Is That You Expect Too Much From Your Employees

By Certified Action Coach Dave Beam

If you are a business owner or manager, I’m sure that title caught your attention.  You did read it correctly – what you expect of your employees is causing lots of problems in your business.  You may be thinking, “What kind of angle is this!!!  If anything, I don’t expect ENOUGH out of my employees.  In fact, some of them only scrape by on the bare minimum activity, and try their hardest to get out of even doing the bare minimum!”

The problem IS expectation.

How to Ask for Referrals and Feel Good About It

By Certified Action Coach Dave Beam

Most of my business comes from referrals.  Someone who has experienced my coaching, or attended an event, tells someone else they know and recommends they call me.  I am also a member of a regional referrals group, BNI.  Almost 100% of the business owners that I speak with tell me that the majority of their customers come from “word-of-mouth”.

What I want to help you with in this article is increasing the number of customers in your business through referrals.  One of the obvious ways to be successful at any endeavor is to take something that works and make it better.  Here are some practical ideas to help you gain more business and new customers through referrals.

The Joy of Discipline

By Certified Action Coach Dave Beam

I hope the title of this article caught your attention.  My guess is that many readers don’t typically put joy and discipline together.  I really think all of us could use a shift of thinking so that these two concepts are joined in our minds.

When you hear or read the word “discipline”, what comes to mind?  For many, it’s forcing yourself do all of the stuff that you really hate because you “should” do it, or “shouldn’t” do that; it is motivated by the feelings of guilt, compulsion, and condemnation.  Now I don’t know about you, but I don’t jump out of bed in the morning ready to jump into a lot of activity that I “have to do”, and that “I’d better do” and “shame on me if I don’t do”.  Who among us pursues such misery and pain consistently?

A Key to Great Listening – Being Present

By Certified Action Coach Dave Beam

How many times have you thought “I just don’t understand him” or “Why does she do that?” or “They really just don’t make sense”.  Consider the essence of what you are thinking.  Up to this point in the communication, you have not really listened to that person.  Realize this. Good listening is not natural.  As a typical self-centered person, your focus in communication is you.  You want others to understand you.  You want to be heard and appreciated.  If they would just listen, you could help them get this situation resolved.  You really do have the answers, don’t you?  And you don’t understand why ______ won’t listen to you.