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Coaching Resources

The Three Personalities

The Four Leadership Roles

The Seven Dynamics

The Nine Principles

Ownership Scorecard

EMyth Management System Checklist

Case Study: Eddie Freeman

Business Coaching Defined

Core EMyth Courses

Your Company Values

Default Leadership Styles

Values, Passion and Purpose

Your Brand Commitment

Transforming Frustrations

5

10

12

15

23

25

28

31

39

45

69

83

93



Coaching Resources



The Three Personalities

Coaching Resources



© EMyth 2015emyth.com/become-a-coach/immersion

The Technician, Manager and EntrepreneurFrom The E-Myth Revisited, page 28–29:

The fact of the matter is that we all have the Entrepreneur, Manager, and Technician inside us.

And if they were equally balanced, we’d be describing an incredibly competent individual.

The Entrepreneur would be free to forge ahead into new areas of interest; The Manager would

be solidifying the base of operations; and The Technician would be doing the technical work.

Each would derive satisfaction from the work he does best, serving the whole in the most

productive way. Unfortunately, our experience shows us that few people who go into business

are blessed with such a balance. Instead, the typical small business owner is only 10 percent

Entrepreneur, 20 percent Manager, and 70 percent Technician.

The Entrepreneur wakes up with a vision.

The Manager screams, “Oh no!”

And while the two of them are battling it out, The Technician seizes the opportunity to go into

business for himself.

Not to pursue the Entrepreneurial dream, however, but to finally wrest control of his work from

the other two. To The Technician it’s a dream come true. The Boss is dead. But to the business

it’s a disaster, because the wrong person is at the helm. The Technician is in charge!

It follows then, that a critical part of building a business that works is sorting your “selves” out and finding a more dynamic balance. You need to consciously be aware of and choose which of these personas you’re being more and more often. In order to do this you first need to have a strong understanding of the qualities of each one. Here are some tools and distinctions to guide you along the way. And ask yourself, “Who am I being right now?” more and more often. Your business depends on your self-awareness.


LEADERSHIP The Three Personalities 6





Entrepreneurial work includes creating the vision for the business, establishing policies, setting the “rules of the road” for the business, and developing strategies that shape the business (e.g. the overall strategy, organizational strategy, marketing strategy, financial strategy, product strategy, positioning strategy and the systems development strategy). Managerial work is the work of facilitating and optimizing the work of others. It’s “indirect” work, and it includes work such as systems development, planning, organizing, supervising, mentoring and training, setting goals and standards, budgeting–any kind of work that directs, regulates, and monitors the work of others and develops and installs systems that are operated by others.

Technical work is the actual, hands-on, “direct” work of producing and delivering your company’s products and services or doing the administrative and support work of your business. So whether that’s creating the proposal for the new client, doing the bookkeeping, fixing the machines, paying the payables, collecting the receivables, writing the advertising copy, handling customer complaints–doing the work and operating the systems of the business is technical work.

Shaping the business is entrepreneurial work, doing the hands-on work is technical work, and manage-rial work is the bridge between the two. Anyone in the business can do any type of work, but in a well-run business, the “higher” you are in the organization, the more entrepreneurial work you should be doing, the “lower,” the more technical work you should be doing. To give you some perspective, here is an example of how the people in a well-developed, successful business might spend their time:

Entrepreneurial Work Managerial Work Technical Work

CEO 60% 40% –

Senior Managers 20% 60% 10%

Managers – 75% 25%

Front-line Employees – 10% 90%




What Does It Mean to Get Something “Done”

to the Technician, Manager and Entrepreneur?

The Technician

The Technician in us likes to finish things. They like to cross stuff off the list. Done means they never have to look at it again. It’s done! If you want to challenge a Technician, tell them the system will never be per-fect, tell them about the concept of continuous improvement. That’s contrary to technical thinking. In fact, sometimes, if the Technician knows it can’t be perfect at the start, it prevents them from acting at all. As you can imagine, people whose background includes years of expert training, such as engineers and doctors, tend to have some of the strongest internal Technicians they have to wrestle with.

Furthermore, the Technician doesn’t like doing more than one thing at a time, unless of course, it makes him feel busier and therefore more productive. To the Technician, thinking about work is not work—it gets in the way of work. The Entrepreneur is always getting in the way of the Technician’s work with the latest “new idea.” And the Manager always wants to organize the work before the Technician can get into it. The Technician is the voice inside you that says, “In the time it would take to organize it, we could be half way done!” Sometimes, the Technician is right, but nevertheless, you cannot let them make that decision!

The Manager

Where the Technician does the work, the Manager in us designs it. The Manager craves order and control. Their part of the work is organizing what’s to be done, and setting up a tracking system to ensure it gets done. But they generally don’t do the work itself. Management is supporting others to own getting results for themselves. Managers are done with their work when it’s safely handed off to the Technicians with a plan for them to follow, standards for them to uphold, a timeline and a way for the Manager to check in and monitor performance. For a Manager, getting things “done” means that the plan is in place. It’s not over. The Manager recognizes that it seldom is over.

The Entrepreneur

The Entrepreneur lives in the future. She dreams and defines the work that the Manager designs and the Technician does. The Entrepreneur is “done” after the dream has crystallized and been communicated to the Manager. The Entrepreneur wouldn’t even necessarily pick up a pen. They come out of their office, communicate the vision, say “make it so,” and the Managers take it from there. So for the Entrepreneur, getting things “done” means completing the dream, then defining and communicating the result. And even still, because the Entrepreneur lives in the unknown, the dream is never over—it keeps unfolding.


emyth.com/become-a-coach/immersion © EMyth 2015emyth.com/become-a-coach/immersion

EMyth Business Coaching Workbook 9

Notes




Coaching Resources



emyth.com/become-a-coach/immersion © EMyth 2015emyth.com/become-a-coach/immersion

LEADERSHIP The Four Leadership Roles 11


CEOThe Chief Executive Officer leads the enterprise by striving to embody its values in every

transaction, and secondarily responds to the challenges both internally and in the market.

The CEO’s main role is to create a culture of ownership, to inspire the passion and creativity

of employees at every level, and to not push away success or cover up failures.

COOThe Chief Operations Officer is the lead manager, responsible for creating and evolving the

right relationship between people and systems. The COO ensures that systems are designed to

grow the business in a way that allows more room, not less, for individual passion and crea-

tivity, and adjusts roles and responsibilities in real time in service of organizational excellence.

They ensure the integrity and authenticity of the company’s commitment to its employees.

CBOThe Chief Brand Officer is the champion of the business’ brand as it expresses both within the

organization and to the customers out in the marketplace. The CBO is a cultural leader and

evolver of the voice of the enterprise. They ensure the integrity and authenticity of the compa-

ny is expressed in both management and marketing. They continually ask, “Does who we are

inside our company match who we claim to be on the outside to our customers?”

CFOThe Chief Financial Officer monitors and seeks to improve the financial health of the business,

and is always looking for how to achieve deeper alignment between the brand and values

and how the company operates down to the most granular financial transactions. The CFO

provides the company leaders, and its shareholders, with current, accurate and actionable

metrics to allow for informed decision making.



The Seven Dynamics

Coaching Resources




LEADERSHIP The Seven Dynamics 13

The Seven DynamicsYour Business Ecosystem

Three Disciplines

Three Activities

----------------------LEADERSHIP

FINANCE

SALES

DEL

IVER

Y

MA

NA

GEM

ENT

MA

RK

ETIN

G

BR

AN

D



LEADERSHIP The Seven Dynamics 14

The Seven Dynamics

Your business is an ecosystem–a living thing made up of people and systems. The challenge is to get all the parts working seamlessly so your business can grow without consuming your life. Whether you are trying to solve a specific problem today or are doing some long term planning, this tool is designed to help you “know where you are” so your work has the greatest possible effect.

Being ItThe Disciplines

LEADERSHIP is about finding the heart of your business and embodying your unique product or service to a deeper

level. It’s about discovering–or refining–why you do what you do; creating the culture, setting the tone for how you

do business, not just for your employees, but for your customers.

BRAND is about turning the business into the product. It’s the “big picture” conversation you have with your cus-

tomers–the thing you rarely say directly but they can feel. It’s how you do it that’s different than anyone else. Your

brand guides all your activities–from slogans to colors–but it’s not the activity itself. Brand is the laboratory where

you bridge your personal values with your end product.

FINANCE is having a real time view into how money is moving through every aspect of your company–from the

prices you charge to your long term budgets–and making sure it’s all in line with your values and your brand.

MANAGEMENT is finding the right balance between people and systems. You are putting your brand into action

internally by creating a place where people love to work because they feel empowered to achieve great results, and

you’re developing the right systems and incentives to keep growing.

DELIVERY is how you treat people once they’ve purchased something from you. From the way you produce and

deliver the product to how you offer support and assistance, it’s about giving your customers an experience that

they got more value than they paid for–fulfilling on your brand promise.

SALES is the dialogue you have with people who have shown interest in your product or service. It’s about having an

honest conversation where you proudly show off your product and at the same time are willing to turn off the wrong

customers for the long term health of your business.

MARKETING is everything your business does actively to attract new customers. This is where you develop a stra-

tegy and a set of systems that ensures that your message is not just delivered consistently across whatever channels

you choose–web, print, phone, mail–but that those channels complement each other to maximize your results.

Doing ItThe Activities


The Nine Principles

Coaching Resources



16LEADERSHIP The Nine Principles


EMyth’s approach to business leadership and manage-

ment is grounded in self-honesty and the willingness and

courage to change your relationship to your business. It’s

a comprehensive process for transforming your business

into a more profitable and scalable enterprise, one that

serves your life in ways that are most meaningful to you.

It starts with this important premise: You are the solution.

As profound as this perspective can be, you are bigger

than it is. You have the ability to make the value-based

choice to integrate these principles and manifest your

dreams. The principles aren’t life-changing, you are.

At EMyth, business is personal.

The following are the core Nine Principles of The EMyth

Perspective.

The Nine Principles

One of the reasons most business owners never consider

replicating their business at all, let alone 10,000 times,

is because they believe, without even realizing it, that

they’re inside their business and that their single location

business is bigger than they are. If your business feels

bigger than you, you’re not likely to feel anything but

overwhelm. Overwhelm is always a result of relating to

something as if you’re smaller than it is. And overwhelm,

a combination of exhaustion and resignation to the status

quo, is about the best recipe for business stagnation or

failure we can imagine.

We’d like you to consider that feelings of overwhelm,

while real to you, are actually the result of a distorted

perception. And, that you’re not inside your business,

your business is inside of you. Think about it. In the most

real sense, your business would not exist without your

existence coming first. No matter how big your business

is or what your role in it is, your business is always inside

of you, even if it doesn’t feel that way.

And it doesn’t feel that way because of the ways that

you’re not currently leading your company: too much

Technician, too much under-responsibility, too much

over-responsibility, not enough long term vision, etc.,

whatever your version happens to be. You won’t begin to

feel that your business is inside of you until you’ve identi-

fied all of the ways that you’re not leading and start to

change them. This starts with cultivating a deep interest

in discovering who you are and what truly matters to you,

and then choosing, every day, to express your truest “You”

through your business. That’s when your feelings will start

to change.

1.Your Business Is Inside of You

Your Business




Once you’ve started your own self-inquiry, take an honest

inventory of your business. What works? What doesn’t?

You can’t change what you don’t acknowledge and then

accept as your current reality. How does your business

actually measure up to the competition, not just in terms

of your product, service or pricing, but in terms of your

company culture, what it’s really like to work for you, how

much room there is for creativity and employee owner-

ship of processes and results? Over time, the split be-

tween you and the business will disappear as you uncover

a new standard for your industry that leaves the competi-

tion behind, just by bringing all of who you are to your

business.

How passionate are you about your organization? Do

you still have the fire you started with? Are you exciting

to work for? How good a manager are you, really? It’s not

necessarily going to feel good, looking at yourself in the

mirror like this, but the pain you feel owning what’s true

can give you the drive to change. In short, get real with

what you don’t like about yourself and your business so

you can ignite your passion to change it.

2.Realness Is Required

The state of your business and your life in general is a

product of your previous choices and decisions. You can’t

change yourself or your business until you accept how

it is and how it got there. Whatever your weaknesses,

you’ll find they’re always distorted expressions of your

strengths. If you weren’t so creative, you wouldn’t have

trouble focusing. If you didn’t have such unusual vision,

you wouldn’t have difficulty following through. Without

your heroic work ethic, you wouldn’t struggle to delegate.

Only by accepting the essential goodness that underlies

any weakness can you truly change it. The alternative is

to conclude you are essentially flawed and shore up your

weaknesses from the outside-in. This is the essence of

the caring self-responsibility you must have as a busi-

ness leader: holding yourself accountable for every result,

every effect of your action or inaction, helpful or harmful,

and holding your own strengths as the root cause of all of

it. Self-responsible leaders know that the good news and

the bad news is that no one is coming to save them, and

are strong enough to accept their weaknesses equally

with their strengths in order to grow.

3.Change Is Inside-Out

You are here




More than anything, we want to help you discover what’s

actually meaningful to you about your business, ground-

ing you in your self-interest about how your business can

serve both meaning and money in your life. We want you

to develop a business model that expresses who you are,

attracts the right customers for exactly the same reasons,

and thus results in success. In this way, the essence of

“you” are not inside your business, your business is inside

of you, gains its first voice through a search for the root

causes of business transformation based in meaning and

not just efficiency.

When owners and employees embody more meaningful-

ness at work, they are always more efficient and more

likely to produce the desired results. From these kinds

of self-value choices, good managers can create sys-

tems. Not because systems are the savior, but because

their motivation to build systems is to free their people

to dream bigger, to innovate their products and services

with greater imagination, and to touch their customers

more deeply.

A meaning-driven, rather than money-driven business

is easy to feel. Your customers can feel whether their

experience matters to the business or not. And, they vote

with their feet. A business not driven by meaningful values

inevitably ends up competing on price, an unsatisfying

proposition. Your employees can feel this as well. They

want to work in an environment where what they do re-

ally matters, rather than being a cog in some machine.

Employees who find work that is meaningful to them

will work harder, stay longer, and bring engagement and

ownership to their jobs in their own self-interest. The

result is a business where the motive for financial reward

is sourced by a quest for personal meaning.

In the end, owning or working in a meaning-based busi-

ness makes work an inseparable part of each person’s

meaningful and bountiful life. Leaders find they have the

freedom to work “in” the business when they choose,

or not when they choose. They feel the impact of the

business on all employees in the organization and how

the product or service impacts the market and the com-

munity. Whether they’re in the business or not, they’re

able to hold the business inside of them. When business

owners create that kind of transformative space, the busi-

ness becomes a vehicle for a deep expression of personal

passion in the world.

4.Meaning Is Not in Your Head

Your Business

You




Ownership goes beyond equity, titles and salaries. It’s an

internal orientation that you, first, as the leader have be-

tween you and you. It’s about creating a place where you

work on yourself that inspires people to excellence as its

own reward. Owners who become leaders by owning

their choices establish credibility with their people. And

this credibility makes it possible for them to create a Cul-

ture of Ownership where everyone understands why the

business exists and what part they’re personally playing in

achieving its goals and reaching its vision.

A Culture of Ownership needs no external carrots or

sticks; they’re internally generated. The carrot is the

enjoyment of growth and meaning. The stick is the self-

correction employees do continuously to create more

enjoyment of growth and meaning.

It’s common for owners to think that no one could ever

care about the business as much as they do, but this is

really a limit in leadership and management, not a limit

in reality. Once you’re able to take full responsibility for

your past and present choices, you’ll find ways to inspire

everyone to care deeply about the results of the business

and create the future you’re wishing for.

5.Ownership ≠ Equity

Meta is our word for that deeper reality, where the root

source, rather than just the symptoms, of a business

problem lies. It’s the place from which you can see a

specific problem not as an isolated event but as part of

an underlying pattern. Meta involves stepping back from

the content (the problem at hand) to see the context

(the bigger picture) of the problem that needs to be ad-

dressed.

When you go Meta to a problem, you’re looking for

“systemic causation.” For example, Meta is the thing that

allows you to see that the reason your employees aren’t

being proactive is because you’re holding onto projects

or standards too tightly. Without Meta, you’re forever

stuck trying to cure symptoms, and end up covering over

the real problem with temporary fixes. With Meta, you’re

discovering the best system solutions for scaling your

business and creating predictable results.

Without exception, we all need outside reflection to

aid our Meta. It’s much easier to see subtleties in oth-

ers than in ourselves because we’re not them. This is an

important part of how coaching works, and an important

reason why clients ask for help. In the process of sharing

with |clients what we see from our experience and our

outside-of-the-business perspective, we’re also help-

ing them go Meta to themselves and to their businesses,

so that they can see, from the biggest perspective, the

causes of their frustrations and the most lasting solutions.

6.Got Meta?

Symptom

Meta!




We’re all drawn to comfort. True leaders are able to make

the choice to be “bigger” than this pull in themselves,

to seek out the uncomfortable truths and find the real

reasons why they or their business is stagnating. Discom-

fort is what it feels like when you actually leave no stone

unturned, when you confront all of your sacred cows. Ul-

timately, the best leaders find comfort in reality, whether

it feels good or not.

We all know that physical fitness happens through choos-

ing discomfort. A workout doesn’t feel like a massage: it’s

work. Yet, how quickly we can forget this when it comes

to difficult emotions in the course of professional growth.

Anxiety, frustration, stress, anger, and sadness etc. are all

very real parts of being a business leader, the same way

resistance to going to the gym or soreness is part of get-

ting into shape. What happens in a workout? You feel the

pain, but it doesn’t stop you from going on. You embrace

the discomfort because you know it’s actually benefiting

you in the long run. This is exactly what’s necessary to

become a great leader.

7.Discomfort Is Part of the Job

As a business owner, sometimes you’re doing Techni-

cian’s or “doing it” work, sometimes you’re managing

others who are “doing it,” and sometimes you’re work-

ing on the business to create opportunities for growth.

Making room for all three kinds of work is critical, which

means resisting the temptation to get lost in the work

that is easiest for you. When you’re doing Technician’s

work, do it so that your employees can learn and grow

from watching you. When you’re doing the work of the

Manager, explain your reasoning so others can become

effective managers in their own right.

And when you’re doing the work of the Entrepreneur,

include others in your vision so they can be inspired and

inspire you in the process. Lead by example, which is

always easier said than done, but do it because it matters

this much. Be a constant wellspring of value, never just

a completer of tasks. The higher up on the organization

chart you are, the more it’s about who you’re being than

what you’re doing. This is the immense responsibility

and opportunity of the leader that everyone is constantly

watching. You are always training everyone around you,

whether you realize it or intend it, or not.

8.Create Value, Not Work




When people think about EMyth, “systems” are often

the first thing that comes to mind. It’s true, the Entre-

preneurial Myth says that the antidote to the Technician

who builds a business around his or her ability to produce

results is a franchise prototype where systems run the

business and people run the systems. Systems play an

important role, but it’s sometimes a misunderstood one.

A systems-based business recognizes that repeatable

and consistent activities that serve desired outcomes and

thoughtful strategies are a key to operational success.

It is the way your business maintains quality, consistency,

stability and scalability.

The customer experience is the true measure of any busi-

ness. Your proprietary way of doing business, of produc-

ing the same customer experience over and over again,

is how your business distinguishes itself from the compe-

tition. A systems-based business is unlimited in its expan-

sion potential. It’s what makes it possible to open multiple

locations successfully. It’s also what gives you the choice,

as the owner, to work in the business, or not, and to be

there at all, or not. Your proprietary way of doing business

is also what makes your business ultimately saleable. The

value of your company doesn’t just lie in the numbers-

revenues, profit, earnings, etc.—it lies in your business

system that astute buyers will be looking for to convince

themselves they’ll be able to produce the same results

you have long after you’re gone.

At the same time, the system is not the entire solution.

There’s a delicate balance between people and systems,

and when that balance is achieved, it produces a result

that is greater than the sum of the parts. One plus one

equals three. People can do and accomplish things that

systems are incapable of, and systems can do and ac-

complish things much faster and more efficiently than

people can. People bring aliveness, care, interest and

spontaneity to a process where the human spirit is es-

sential. And, systems bring speed and consistency to the

same process where replicability is necessary. The com-

bination of the human spirit and replicability produces

a result that is greater than either one could produce

on their own. In a business, spirit without systems or

structure can produce chaos. And replicability without

people or substance can produce something that’s just

too impersonal. Why are call routing systems so frustrat-

ing when it feels like a company is making it impossible

for us to speak with a human being? Too much structure,

not enough humanity. When you care enough to find that

balance between people and systems, you leverage them

both on behalf of your business and everyone it touches.

When people think about systems, they most often think

of system action plans. A system action plan is a set of

step-by-step instructions for producing a result. Assem-

bly instructions are system action plans. A chocolate cake

recipe is a system action plan. They say, “do this, then

this, then this.” Business owners often yearn for an opera-

tions manuals filled with system action plans for every as-

pect of every task that the business performs: how to sell,

how to serve customers, how to deal with complaints,

etc. The hope is that each action plan will be the answer

to a different frustration.

While these kinds of action plans are surely valuable, it

should be remembered that they are a means to an end,

not the end itself. Their effectiveness is dependent on

other foundational “systems” that must precede them.

Your vision and your values create inspiration, engage-

ment and feeling connected to a larger mission. Your

organization chart helps people understand where the

results inherent in their position fit into the results the

organization as a whole is committed to producing.

Businesses are great when their leaders genuinely care

about their product or service and its quality, the employ-

ees who do the work, and the customers who receive it.

The quality of leadership, and the way it systematically

infuses the organization, has everything to do with how

well step-by-step instructions for producing technical

results work.

9.Systems are a Means




Notes


Ownership Scorecard

Coaching Resources





1

2

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

Ownership Scorecard

Today

Written Values

Written Marketing Plan

Sales Plan

Revenue Plan

Role Descriptions

Marketing Metrics

Ideal Customer

Strategic Metrics

Written Vision

6 Months


Management System Checklist

Coaching Resources



Management System Checklist 26


EMyth Management System Checklist

Mission or Strategic Purpose Statement

Company Values

Company Vision

Brand Commitment Statement

Organizational Chart

System Action Plan Development

Position Agreements

Position Profiles

Recruitment Process

Interviewing

Hiring

Onboarding and Orientation

Employee Development Meetings

Training Plans

Culture Activities

Separation System


Management System Checklist 27


Notes


Case Study

Coaching Resources



Case Study 29


Case Study: Eddie Freeman

Eddie Freeman seems overworked, tired yet passionately driven when you meet with him. He’s laid back, but focused.

Ambitious, but relaxed. He’s been thinking about getting a coach for three years. He says he’s been so busy it just

hadn’t happened until now. As luck would have it, he just happened to be in your town on one of his many adventures,

saw the sign outside your door and decided to knock.

Twenty years ago, Eddie was a professional surfer and lived the life you would imagine. Travel, adventure, and making

a living having fun. He completed his surfing career and worked as a sales rep for a handful of outdoor-oriented

companies like North Face, Patagonia and Billabong. Eddie traveled in a van and made clever modifications to it to

make his road-trips more fun.

He found his customers becoming more interested in his van than the products he sold and began to subcontract out

van modifications for his customers on the side. Eventually, this became the high-end custom van manufacturing and

retail business it is today. His entry level vans sell for $225k and sell for as high as $350k. They use the finest materials,

the most sophisticated electronics, soundproofing, solar power and are made to haul a great deal of sports gear or be

a comfortable living space, or both.

With twenty employees, customers who fly in on private jets, and no competitors in sight, Eddie is having serious

problems keeping up with demand. He just can’t get enough good production people and there is currently a three

month backlog in delivery. His customers are fine to wait, but Eddie is not okay with how busy he is. He works about

fifty-five hours a week and is stressed out. He’s constantly getting involved in production, filling in for the production

manager, Jerry, when Jerry is pulled into the technical work.

You ask him about what they’ve done in the area of recruiting and find out that he’s not done any job advertising, and

has recruited production staff by maintaining relationships with custom cabinet manufacturers, body shops and other

relevant trades. He visits these places periodically and networks to recruit employees.

Eddie also tells you there’s a kind of “war” between Jerry, the production manager, and Jimmy, who basically handles

all of the sales. Jerry is overwhelmed in production and resents Jimmy for making promises he can’t keep. Jimmy

thinks Jerry doesn’t run a tight enough ship. Eddie tells you this has been going on a long time, and says it’s one of the

issues that often drives him to jump in one of his vans and just “take off” for a few days at a time with a mountain bike

and a surfboard.

Cash flow is fine, and he’s got 1.5 times monthly expenses in the bank, which is comfortable for him. Net profit is be-

tween 5% and 15% monthly. It depends on the work they do. Some projects are just more profitable than others, Eddie

says. You see Eddie’s last three months of P&Ls. You notice he’s using Quickbooks, all the expenses are listed alpha-

betically, and they are in fact fairly profitable.

Eddie has a vision to eliminate pure custom work and implement a handful of standardized custom vans in order to

increase profit and decrease the heavy load of constant customization, but he has no time to implement this model.

He’s upset that he’s not living the “free life” of road-trips and adventures that got him into this business in the first

place. He wants the business to grow, but doesn’t know how to get there.


Case Study 30


Questions

1. What is Eddie’s Leadership Survival Strategy and how is it contributing to his current frustrations?

2. How would you begin working with Eddie?

3. What is the path to solving the gap between sales and production’s ability to deliver on them?

4. Is there anything else you observe and would want to address?

5. How does Eddie need to change as a leader to get the results he wants?

6. What kind of management infrastructure would you suspect Eddie’s business needs and why?

7. Create a high-level program plan for Eddie to create a healthy business culture.



Coaching Resources




Business Coaching Defined 32


Business Coaching is a relationship. It’s a place where a business owner or leader goes for guidance, support, and

challenge to help them figure out what’s in the way of them creating the business they want. Business Coaching

is about asking the right questions in the right moments to help the client build a culture of ownership and ac-

countability, and to back that coaching up with concrete solutions to put their work into practice. A coaching client

should feel like they have a trusted advisor, someone willing to ask tough questions, and who has the tools at their

disposal to help their client build a scalable, profitable business that serves their life.

What Does an EMyth Business Coach Do?Your job as a business coach is to help people improve their business’s by identifying the obstacles and dysfunc-

tion that exist in their business’s today and helping them to remove them. These issues are almost always rooted in

intrapersonal and interpersonal dynamics of leadership and management. Whether they say so, explicitly or not, you

are being hired to help them become a stronger leader. You deliver on this commitment by asking the right ques-

tions in the right moments, speaking the plain truth about what you see, and holding them accountable to the goals

they set for themselves. It is hugely rewarding work.

The goal of business coaching is to help the client bring more of their passion to their work, to transform their

operations so that they enable, rather than impede growth, and guide the client to a self-experienced reality that

the business is inside of them—ultimately providing them and their employees with financial rewards inside of a

meaningful life, within whatever value system they possess and express.

Like any good helper, the best business coaches are always working on themselves to be able to serve in the clean-

est and most effective ways possible. As part of that self-inquiry into “what is a business coach,” it can be equally

helpful to get clear about what a business coach is not.

Business coaching is not consulting, and it’s not therapy. It’s a unique profession that lives somewhere in between

those two poles. A good business coach has the acumen to be able to diagnose specific and systemic business

issues, and has the strength to wait for the client to embody the solution rather than jumping in and doing it for

them.

Your business acumen is the first pillar of the clients’ trust in you. It’s not enough to be a good listener; a client

should feel that you understand the problem at hand and how it’s affecting the business in concrete ways. Someone

who knows how to listen and encourage but who doesn’t understand business is doing therapy or life coaching, not

business coaching.




If you have that acumen, it is then your strength as a person that matters. Good coaching is often about forbear-

ance–knowing what the client needs to do, and waiting for them to do it, and holding their feet to the fire when

they know what to do, and don’t do it. You must be able to embody one core idea: that the client already has the

fundamental ingredient to transforming their business–the capacity to look at and change their relationship to it.

Your success (like your clients’), is defined by two main factors, curiosity and courage. You can’t help if you’re not

curious–you need to be willing to turn over every aspect of the business to find out what’s really going on. This

takes courage. It doesn’t mean you can’t help if you don’t do this; it just defines the range of how much you can

help. You have to be willing to discover and ask the right questions in the right moments, no matter how uncom-

fortable it might be. You have to be willing to upset the client in the moment, in service of the longer term goal that

they are paying you to have for them, until they can embody it themselves.

In that way, a good business coach is looking for ways that the leaders’ relationship to their business’s is affecting

the bottom line. Of course, in the process of identifying these issues it is inevitable that the discovery will evoke

uncomfortable, oftentimes painful, emotions for the client. A good coach is there for the client in terms of being

personally present and listening, but again business coaching is not therapy.

A therapist’s job is to stop in those moments and process that emotion, to discover what’s going on in their emo-

tional world that may be connected to their childhood or some traumatic event. A business coach’s job is to point

to the issue when relevant to the business problem, note its problematic impact on the business and move forward.

Whether the client wants to pursue the emotional issue further through whatever psychological, spiritual, religious

or other practice they choose is up to them.

Of course, there’s a fine line where a good coach might give a little more room for airing out a difficult issue, but

this line is critical to hold for a business coach. If a client only stays with you because you are a good listener, you

are violating the agreement between you. Your job is to help them fix or grow the business, first. If they like talking

to you, that may be helpful but it’s secondary. This may be the single most important factor for business coaches to

be aware of because the profession tends to attract “people” people. If you’re a good listener, that’s wonderful. Your

job is to use that quality in service of better business results.

Another way to say all of this is that your job is to make yourself obsolete. Over time, you should be teaching the

client to do what you are doing for them today–to become a real-time diagnostician of what aspect in the business

needs to be looked at and evolved. Like any good helping relationship, it’s a seemingly paradoxical arrangement. In

our view, your agreement with your client can be said this way: “I (client), am relying on your (coach) motivation and

ability to see what I can’t see, so that I can find my own self-motivation and ability to see those things myself”. If you

do your job well, when you are done, the client shouldn’t need you anymore.

In our experience, far too many coaches and coaching companies define success based on how long clients stay

with them. What they should measure is how successful they are in helping the client get traction in their progress

towards their goals–whether it takes five months or five years. And of course, the self-interest of the coach is tied to

the client staying with the relationship–it’s a strange set up but as long as it’s on the table, there’s no problem.




One way to navigate this strangeness is that as they grow, the client doesn’t need the coach in the same way they

did originally. A leader will always need wise counsel, but as time goes on, the lesson gets more nuanced and more

difficult but in a different way.

With that background on the nature of the relationship itself, it can be helpful to break down what’s happening in

any “coaching moment,” whether that happens in an actual coach session, in an email message, blog reply, in the

copy on a newsletter, or anywhere in between:

1. Meet the client where they are.

Your job as a business coach is to give the client the experience that you are really there. It’s no different than any

good counselor or helper; the client needs to trust that their reality–their anxiety, their fear, their dream–is safe with

you. Without this first step (which is only effective to the degree you are not faking it) you default to half-baked so-

lutions, firefighting, and surface level action steps, to make up for the lack of depth gone into, because of your own

shortcomings not the clients’. What is so special about your clients is that they are asking for help, and that has to

be honored as it is so beautifully rare. Businesses are born and die each day with owners thinking they are supposed

to already know how to do it. You have to start by honoring this and the fact that they are in business in the first

place. They don’t have to earn your respect. You have to earn theirs.

EMyth Coach: “Wow, you’ve built yourself a good business. So why coaching? Why now?

Client: “I’m proud of my business, but I know it could be a lot better. I want more out of my life.

It’s just not what I thought it would be.”

EMyth Coach: “Now, you’ve got my attention. So few leaders out there have the courage to own

their own limits. How can I help?”

2. Be curious. Ask questions.

This is possibly the greatest asset of the coach and where care, competence, and challenge are working in equal

measure. If our core coaching idea is that the client already has the fundamental ingredient to transforming their

business, then it is something to be brought out of them and not put in. The only way to do this is through your

curiosity and asking the right questions. People are used to others not really being interested in why they do what

they do, so any curiosity on your part goes a long way in building a trusting relationship. This same trust also earns

you the right to ask the tough questions later on; questions that may make them uncomfortable but will lead to the

real truth of what’s going on in their business and their leadership. Consultants come into a business and in a very

short time tell the owners what’s wrong and try to sell their solution. The owner sits back and watches it happen

and hopes the solutions stick.

Coaches are different. They are there to help the owner transform the way they lead, and then teach them the tools

to implement changes in the business so that it lines up with their vision.




3. Offer counter-intuitive possibilities.

Once the relationship is established (a process which never ends), you earn your fee by being able to identify and

show the client things they can’t see themselves–patterns, attitudes, etc. that are hindering their leadership and the

performance of the business. The key ingredient is that in these moments you are holding a bigger version of them

than they are; this is what gives you the space to see what you are seeing. You are creating room for movement, the

space for insight and maybe even a deep feeling that primes the pump of the client’s own motivation to move to

the next level. If you are being curious and creative, you will ask your client questions that teach them how to relate

differently to their business problems. It might sound something like this.

Client: “My brother-in-law just isn’t cutting it”

Any Coach: “Have you shared your expectations as stated in his job description?”

EMyth Coach: “Have you ever thought of asking your brother-in-law if he would hire himself as it

stood right now? Can you see how this is you getting ‘bigger than’ the problem, naming it from an

oblique angle that could lead to a new outcome? Are you up for trying that?”

4. Show them how this discovery could change their business.

You are using your business acumen, intuition and creativity in full strength now. Without forcing a specific out-

come, your job is to show the client how what they just learned about themselves can be applied to specific prob-

lems – how to reframe an issue with a poorly performing employee, why the wrong customers are coming and why

they can’t seem to attract the right ones, etc. The possibilities are endless; the key is you are teaching them to be as

curious and hungry to get to the truth as you are. It is a muscle you are paid to have, and that they have to develop.

This muscle is the key to both your success and your obsolescence.

Client: “I’m losing all my customers to the bigger chains. What can you do?”

EMyth Coach: “What have you tried?”

Client: “Lowering prices, creating better customer experience, improving my selection of products.”

EMyth Coach: “Has that worked?”

Client: “Somewhat, but it only seems to slow the bleeding, not stop it.”

EMyth Coach: “Okay, what have you not tried because it seemed too risky?”




5. Their personal life and values are only relevant in a very specific way.

So if you are not a therapist, you are not there to heal their marriage or their wounds from childhood. Your job is

to help them improve their business and their relationship to it so it doesn’t consume their life. That doesn’t mean

you’re not human. It is of course, appropriate to empathize with a client’s pain, but that’s not the currency of your

relationship. The only venue you have is boundaried by this question: “How is what’s going on for them person-

ally affecting their ability to be a competent leader or manager?” A therapist hears someone’s pain and goes in to

explore and support them in the pain. A coach acknowledges the pain, but then moves to take the next step.

Client: “My business is killing me. Everyday is painful.”

Life Coach/Therapist: “I can really feel your pain, please say more”

EMyth Coach: “I’m sorry. That sounds like a tough spot. Sounds like there’s a lot for us to talk about along

the way, but how do you imagine I might be able to work with that?” If you do end up digging deeper

it is not to find their personal source of pain, but to go deeper into the things in their business that are

bothering them and what’s at cause.

Client: “My business is killing me. Every day is painful.”

EMyth Coach: “Tell me more about that. What’s painful about it?”

Client: “I can’t get anyone to care about the customers like I do and I have to watch client relationships

get dropped every day. It kills me.”

EMyth Coach: “That must be tough. Can you give me an example of when that happens?

Let’s try and get to the bottom of why that’s happening”




6. Hold them accountable for the work.

Some clients need it more than others, but part of your agreement is to hold them to what they commit to do.

These are conflicts you must be willing to have. Not keeping their agreements are desperate calls for help besides

obviously undermining any authority they are trying to build with themselves or their staff. No matter how much

they might fight you in the moment, they will appreciate you for it later. And if they don’t, business coaching wasn’t

going to work for them anyway. You embodying strength and boundaries is the only way they can learn it for them-

selves.

EMyth Coach: “I’m surprised you didn’t complete the work you said you’d do. You seemed so committed

to it and got how important it was for what you’re building. What happened?”

Client: “Things just got away from me this week. People were out sick, and I had to pick up the slack.

You know how it is.”

EMyth Coach: “Well I do know this. Things always happen and sometimes they are unexpected.

But successful leaders don’t drop their deepest priorities, ever. They find a way to get it done and stay the

course. If they have to delegate, they delegate.

If they have to re-prioritize they do that too. You’re going to have to decide if you really want to change

the way you’re running the business. If you drop the important stuff, how can you expect your employees

to be any different?”

Talk to them in real and professional tones. The conversation isn’t soupy with healing rhetoric and it isn’t dry busi-

ness-speak. There is a gritty, practical dialogue taking place about changing long held patterns and habits; uncom-

fortable feelings are bound to come up. Those feelings are signs that you are onto the real issue and are subse-

quently the fuel for real change in your client’s base of leadership, as well as the trajectory of their business. This

type of work is already hard enough to get into their day-to-day habits. If the language isn’t day-to-day, it will never

make sense in their world. It should never be hard for an owner to bring their employees into our way of relating to

business because our way of relating to business is just stripped down, plain, ownership-driven people-work that

results in real creativity and passion.




Core EMyth Courses




Your Company Values Creating a culture based in meaning

LEADERSHIP

LEADERSHIP Your Company Values 40

© EMyth 2015

Your Company Values

Definition

This process is designed to help you define–clearly–the values that you want every employee in your company to embody. The research about this is clear. Com-panies who invest in their culture, who make a priority out of clarify-ing their values and helping their people grow achieve higherprofits, steady growth, and sustainability.

Key Points

The most powerful values come from the heart of the founder/ owner/partners first and then cascade down through the organization.

The research about this is clear. Companies who invest in their culture, who make a priority out of clarifying their values and helping their people grow achieve higher profits, steady growth, and sustainability

Creating a Culture of Ownership

Your values, vision and brand commitment form the basis for your culture and your way of de-veloping and managing your peo-ple. The best form of manage-ment begins with hiring the right people–people who are alig-ned with your culture and brand. Then, as a leader and manager, you must learn how to success-fully influence and mentor, so that the great people you hire be-come even greater ongoing part-ners in your business.

You’ll notice the word partner above in reference to your people. It’s critical that you make a shift to a different perspective than is typically seen in the workplace. While we may use the word em-ployee to indicate a person that works for you; it’s far better that you view your people as partners, associates or owners of their res-ponsibilities.

More Than Just Words

Most businesses think about values in terms of words, like: integrity, honesty, teamwork, or communication. The problem with just words is that the meaning or association to those words can be different depending upon a person‘s experience or upbringing. Values become more powerful when you take the time to define what you mean by each word and illustrate it with an example. It is also helpful to think about four differenttypes of values:

Foundational: Where all of the other values are rooted

Functional: How people relate to their work

Relational: How people relate to others in the work environment

Embodied: How the overall culture performs in line with the Brand

Each is important in supporting a culture of ownership and providing clarity for your people.




© EMyth 2015

Review your list and select the ones you want to include and in which category:

Foundational, Functional, Relational and Embodied.

1Review Your Personal Core Values

How does it feel, look, act?

How do people relate to themselves?

How do people work together?

How do you balance hierarchy and

structure with teamwork and

collaboration?

How do you communicate?

Be as vivid and detailed as you can. Don’t hold back from expressing anything that is living in you, particularly if

you’re hesitating because of the gap between where your business is today and how you can imagine it looking one

day. That’s another reason you’ve come to EMyth, to get help in closing that gap. So, dream big.

2Describe Your Vision of a Healthy Business Culture




© EMyth 2015

From the detailed description of a healthy business

culture you’ve created, go back and pull out the most

important words and organize them under the four

categories of values.

Pick the top three that you feel are the most impor-

tant to form your foundation. If you must have more

than three, don’t exceed five. Your culture will become

diluted, and actually suffer, by having too many. You can

choose as many as six values in the other three catego-

ries. Once you have your list, go back and create a defi-

nition for each one. A clear and compelling definition

helps people know if they’re sharing and embodying

that value in the same way you do, and as the company

will expect them to.

Define Your Foundational Values

Foundational means the basis upon which everything

else stands, is founded, or supported. These values de-

scribe how each person relates to him or herself. Here’s

an example of a Foundational Value from the EMyth

Values document:

Self-Responsibility: Holding yourself responsible and

accountable for every result, and every effect of your

action or inaction (positive or negative). A standard of

personal integrity where you own your successes and

failures without diminishing or exaggerating your con-

tribution to either.

Define Your Functional Values

Functional Values are the way people act as a coordi-

nated group. They are values that grow out of a compa-

ny’s organizational and management structures. Here’s

an example provided by one of our clients, an engineer-

ing firm:

Organically Creative and Well-Managed: Strengths-

based team management, based on creative organiza-

tional and management philosophies, helps us achieve

the highest level of individual and collaborative perfor-

mance, and employee satisfaction and value in support

of the mission of the company.

Define Your Relational Values

Relational values reflect the way people relate to

themselves first and then others. They are a person’s

inner orientation to his or her relationship with others.

Here’s an example from a popular grocery retailer,

Whole Foods:

Shared Fate: We recognize there is a community of

interest among all of our stakeholders. There are no

entitlements; we share together in our collective fate.

To that end we have a salary cap that limits the com-

pensation (wages plus profit incentive bonuses) of

any Team Member to nineteen times the average total

compensation of all full-time Team Members in the

company.

Define Your Embodied Values

Embodied Values are also known as a company ethos.

They are the values that best represent your brand, that

you most want your customers and prospective cus-

tomers to associate with you. They describe the spirit of

how you do business. These values, each of which is

defined in the Company Values document are EMyth’s

Embodied Values: Care, Challenge, Competence and

Curiosity

3Create the Company Values Document




© EMyth 2015

Foundational

Functional

Relational

Embodied



© EMyth 2015


Notes




Taking personal responsibility to create change

LEADERSHIP

© EMyth 2015

LEADERSHIP Default Leadership Styles 46


Key Points

Your weaknesses are distorted expressions of your strengths. Embrace and accept them because they are part of you. Avoiding them makes things worse.

Almost all of your business frustrations can be traced back to your strategy. When you realize how you made your business the way it is in every way, you have the power to change it.

Take responsibility for the implications of your strategy so you can change yourself and your business. It’s not comfortable, but it does work.

Purpose

Your business is an expression of you, for better and for worse. You can change your business by seeing how your shadow issues negatively impact it, changing how you express yourself, and watching the result.

Benchmarks

Learn about the nine Default Leadership Styles.

Use the Assessment Worksheet to help you identify your primary

strategy.

Discuss what you’ve found with your coach, if you have one.

Look for specific ways your strat-egy expresses in the business and

create a strategy for change.


1. Under-Responsibility

2. Myopia

3. Fear

4. Distraction

5. Micromanagement

6. Over-Responsibility

7. Over-Achievement

8. Disconnect

9. Self-Importance



© EMyth 2015



Default Leadership Styles Assessment

Instructions

Read each statement and evaluate if it is true about you. Mark true if it is and false if you feel it isn’t.

The value of this assessment depends on self-honesty. The more honest you can be with yourself, the more

this tool can highlight the obstacles in the way of your business being all it can be. We all have shadow

issues. No one escapes them. It’s a given for all of us. The problem is not that we have them. It’s only a

problem when we pretend they aren’t there. Remember, your weaknesses simply need attention. Your busi-

ness and your people need your attention on them. This assessment does not always provide a conclusive

diagnosis of your Default Leadership Styles, but it can be very helpful in narrowing the field. Once you’ve

completed the assessment, send the results to your coach so you can discuss how you can use it to sup-

port your professional growth.


© EMyth 2015



Descriptions and Symptoms

Under-Responsibility Businesses with this theme can appear to be quite alive and even functional. Often under-responsibility is masked

by a constant flow of new ideas and exciting initiatives without follow through or success. This aliveness can make

the causes of failure difficult to pinpoint. Another version of under-responsibility is where a key person, a partner or

an office manager, functions as the “glue that holds everything together”, keeping everyone else in the company in

an infantilized and unaccountable position.

A third expression of this is overlapping or unclear job responsibilities. In this case, it looks and feels like people are

being responsible and helping each other out (common in family businesses), but without real ownership of results,

real accountability is impossible. Organizational line crossing and lack of expense management are also common

symptoms of this theme.

Myopia

A myopic business is short on entrepreneurial spirit and personal engagement. It’s not an inspiring environment and

can often be traced back to depression or anxiety in the owner. These business owners create their own worst night-

mares by allowing their fear or indifference about the future to cause them to not plan for it. Hard-working people

can suffer from this theme. It can be a result of a lifetime of “you’re not good enough” conditioning or from a few sig-

nificant failures or hardships that they never recovered from.

For many, lack of vision is a defense against failure. It’s based on the assumption that if you lower your expectations,

your disappointment will be easier to bear. Rather than risk all-too-painful feelings of failure, these business owners,

and the environments they create, settle into a constant malaise. The Technician myth operates here: that hard work is

the answer to everything. Unfortunately, it isn’t.

In addition to not having a defined vision, myopic businesses will usually not reflect even a basic idea of a marketing

strategy. The value proposition of the business will not be “feelable” in any kind of rich, exciting way. These businesses

tend to coast near break-even, with passive marketing activities, if any at all. Without an active “how do we plan for

growth?” orientation, growth is held as a “someday maybe it will happen to us” possibility.

Fear

A fear-based business owner is always worried about the worst-case scenario just around the corner and has seri-

ous difficulty with risk in certain domains. Oftentimes, the owner has tried various strategies to grow the business

and failed, and the experience was so painful they’re not able to get back on the horse. Owners and managers with

this theme tend to be very hard workers, and use this strength as a place to hide, in classic Technician fashion. They

use their creativity to think of a myriad of reasons not to change, and are more likely to stay with a known discomfort

rather than take an unknown risk to make things better. This can create significant stagnation.


© EMyth 2015



Formal planning is usually avoided in this theme, and procrastination and paralysis cause the business to stay in a

reactive mode. Not only do managers with this theme operate in fear, but they are afraid of fear as well. This means

that purposefully steering into discomfort in order to grow is incredibly difficult because the baseline state of anxiety

is already so uncomfortable that it is difficult to bear. People with this theme must learn, more than any other, that

fear is usually a reason to do something rather than to avoid it.

Businesses with this theme will often have structural dysfunction that the owner is afraid to address: a poorly per-

forming manager who has not been spoken to, a family member routinely crossing organizational lines, a successful

salesperson holding the business hostage.

Distraction “Spoiling” the business like a child and giving it what it needs impulsively. Investing in infrastructure for growth

that never comes. Growing the business to compensate for problems rather than addressing the issues. Constant

frustration that others are not as inspired as they are. Inability to stick with any longer term strategy. Avoidance of

quantification.

What is usually true for people with this theme is that they are incredibly creative and spontaneous such that long

periods of stillness and focus are unbearably painful. Learning to bear this perceived pain will make you stronger and is

important to face into with courage. Building your inner Manager is the path to transforming your business here.

Micromanagement Leaders who micromanage operate out of their fear of losing control. Leaders can’t control everything and their

attempts to will result in fear, mistrust and constriction. Micromanagers are more comfortable expressing anger and

frustration than any other theme group and often use it to react to their unfulfilled expectations rather than offering

supportive, constructive criticism. More subtle expressions of this theme can look supportive but are more subtly

controlling, like when they give employees responsibility without authority. Their dominating personalities makes it

impossible for their employees to get the emotional room they need to rise in self-responsibility. Business owners

with this theme complain how no one can do it like they can, yet they often don’t take the time to train their people

thoroughly with any sensitivity to what people need to be effective.

The long-term effect of this is that employees learn that it’s not worth it to evolve, because ultimately “the boss will do

it themselves” or will know better. Managers under this leadership will feel like they can never do it right and revert to a

kind of survival mode where pleasing the leader is more important than getting results.

Systemization is used as a means of control, not as a means to support employees to discover and document best

practices. The systems become an unquestioned explanation for “how we do it here” rather than part of a process of

continuing innovation.

This theme often features reverse delegation, when a manager takes back a project or task that was previously handed

off. Also common is low-performing and under-responsible employees and managers, procrastination, stagnant

growth in revenue and employees, management conflict, disempowered managers, stifled creativity, and a lack of

passion and personal engagement.


© EMyth 2015



Over-Responsibility This kind of business owner or manager typically operates in overwhelm and does not realize how much they need

to be needed. They often gain an unconscious pride from having all the answers, being the only one who knows, and

coming to the rescue. In their experience, their actions stem from a deep caring which, while true, distorts into hold-

ing others back from their own growth and responsibility.

Owners with this theme often have money issues because money and the denial of one’s own needs are so inter-

twined. They will tend to be over-generous or spend cash needlessly. They avoid confrontation and often keep

employees longer than they should. This pressure can build to an after- all-I’ve-done-for-you-type tirade, revealing

the hidden, unavoidable self-interest behind the “selfless” generosity. Over-responsible people sometimes slowly self-

destruct wondering why their care is not rewarded.

Symptoms include overwhelm, ignoring reasonable and healthy personal needs, trying to be all things to all customers

and prospective customers, passive aggression with employees, under-responsible employees utilized poorly, lack of

management, and outer-directed frustrations.

Over-Achievement Symptoms inside the business include a lack of soulfulness, and a lack of color and warmth in business objectives and

strategies; a willingness to cut corners or sell out on values to achieve results; stepping on people’s toes; insensitivity,

superficiality and dishonesty; and absence of ‘felt’ purpose and human connection. Business owners operating out of

this theme often expect everyone else to match their drive without any interest in whether employees are personally

connected to the owners’ goals.

Over-achieving owners may feel hollow and superficial. They are driven but not truly inspired and so don’t really touch

the hearts of their people. They may have a hard time inspiring others because their ambitious motives are not mean-

ingful to others. On the other hand, leaders with this theme are usually powerful manifestors, capable of creating

whatever they put their mind to. Workaholism is common when the pursuit of fulfillment becomes a kind of lifestyle

in place of actual fulfillment. People with this theme often define themselves by what they accomplish and so have a

very difficult time with criticism and failure.


© EMyth 2015



Dissociation Symptoms include long-standing obvious business problems with relatively simple solutions, rotten apple personnel

issues, acute people-dependency because of management abdication, lack of direction/inspiration/dreams, disorgani-

zation, lack of structure and clear roles and responsibilities, and neglect in areas of the business.

Unlike the Fear theme, leaders and managers in this category are not usually conscious of what they avoid. They also

do not track how stubborn they are about keeping their head in the sand. Dissociated owners may be able to get

along well with people, but are unable to stand firm in their decisions. Making decisions is difficult in this theme and

they need long periods of uninterrupted time to commit to change.

Businesses driven by this theme will appear to have capable and independent employees, but they’ve become this way

by default and not under direct management, which can lead to a non-unified organization where everyone more or

less takes care of themselves, having filled the power-vacuum left by the leader.

Self-Importance While each of us has a self that is definitely important, that needs to be valued and cared for, excessive Self-Impor-

tance is a problem. It’s a problem when it’s the result of insecurity that is compensated for by an artificially heightened

or false sense of importance. People with this theme tend to have a distorted sense of superiority even though they

may have special qualities: unusually high intelligence, extraordinary skill or deep experience. As with each of these

themes, strengths become weaknesses when they lead to dysfunctionality. Self-important leaders are charismatic,

and may ignore people who don’t interest them personally. They are complex people and may miss the importance

of simple, ordinary solutions or have disdain for people who they perceive are not as multifaceted. They are confident,

and may miss facing into what they don’t know and appropriately asking for help. They learn quickly, but may not real-

ize they’re not actually prepared to begin a project or initiative.

Self-important business leaders see their leadership strengths in their own assets of personality rather than in their

ability to support the strengths of other people. Even with the best intentions, they tend to create organizations de-

pendent on them, because to empower other people makes them less important. When there are things only they

can do, it means they have value. If anyone can do what they do, they feel worthless. In this way, the identity of these

leaders is deeply woven into what they do. This makes them especially sensitive to criticism. As a result, they typically

ignore or deflect negative feedback or, when they listen, are overly-crushed by it in an unproductive way.





Section 1: Under-Responsibility T F

1. I have a difficult time finishing what I start.

2 Commitment makes me feel like I’m limiting my options.

3. I’m frustrated by the fact that my people are not as inspired as I am.

4. My employees don’t follow through like I need them to.

5. I get bored easily doing routine tasks or after the excitement

of a new idea wears off.

6. Some people say I change my mind too often.

7. I don’t enjoy managing people and wish my employees didn’t

need so much support.

8. I have a hard time delegating because people don’t see the end result like I do.

9. I generally see others as the cause of problems before I see my own contribution.

10. It’s difficult for me to slow down and focus. It can make me feel

very uncomfortable.

11. I have people in my life (spouse, key manager, etc.) who I feel ground me.

12. I cross organizational lines sometimes in my business in the name

of moving quickly.

13. I like to keep the energy up and plan exciting things in advance

to look forward to.

14. I don’t always keep my word and am more of a ‘go with the flow’ kind of person.

15. Freedom means being able to do whatever I want and is one of my most

important values.

%

Total True:

(Divide the number of “true” answers by the total number of questions.) Percentage True:





Section 2: Myopia T F

1. I find goal setting difficult and generally avoid it.

2 I’m comfortable with hard work and see it as the solution to my problems.

3. Leadership is uncomfortable for me and I’m most comfortable doing

the work myself.

4. I don’t often have a clear vision of what my business will look like in the future

because it seems like there’s so much to deal with right now.

5. Planning isn’t interesting to me because it seems like things never go

as planned anyway.

6. I often don’t feel inspired about my business.

7. My employees don’t seem inspired about my business.

8. When I start to imagine or plan for the future, I feel a fear of failure.

9. Failure for me means things not going as planned.

10. I don’t have a sense of what my company’s brand identity is.

11. I don’t feel my business is a canvas for self-expression.

12. If we just do what we do well, I expect the business will grow.

13. I don’t pay much attention to our competition.

14. It doesn’t seem realistic to make a living doing what you’re passionate about.

15. I’m not sure what I would do with myself if I didn’t have work.

%

Total True:




© EMyth 2015emyth.com/become-a-coachemyth.com/become-a-coach/immersion


Section 3: Fear T F

1. I tend to imagine the worst-case scenario first.

2. I often procrastinate.

3. I like to keep busy and feel uncomfortable if I’m not doing something.

4. I tend to operate in overwhelm a lot.

5. It’s hard for me to “get back on the horse” after something doesn’t work.

6. I have difficulty making decisions if I haven’t thought through

all the possible outcomes.

7. It’s hard for me to stay organized because I’m so busy.

8. I tend to avoid uncomfortable situations, especially when they

involve confrontation.

9. Often I know what I need to do, but just can’t bring myself to do it.

10. I find myself in analysis-paralysis periodically.

11. I seem to be more willing to stay in discomfort than risk change.

12. I know I should delegate more, but it’s often much easier to do it myself.

13. I have difficulty trusting others to take responsibility.

14. I often wish growth didn’t have to be so uncomfortable.

15. My mind moves so fast that it’s sometimes hard to slow myself down.

%

Total True:


http://www.emyth.com/become-a-coach





Section 4: Distraction T F

1. Sometimes I feel like I have Attention Deficit Disorder.

2. I’m usually reading more than one book at a time.

3. I am easily distracted by new ideas.

4. When I’m feeling low, a new idea will always make me feel better.

5. Some people say I change my mind too often.

6. I get bored easily and need a lot of stimulation.

7. It’s hard for me to stay organized because I have so many projects.

8. It’s hard for me to delegate because thinking things all the way through

isn’t easy for me.

9. It’s difficult for me to slow down and focus. It can make me feel

very uncomfortable.

10. I find it difficult to say “No” to new opportunities.

I’m afraid I might be missing out.

11. Structure can make me feel limited.

12. I tend to give in to my strong need for instant gratification.

13. I need to have the remote control.

14. If I am not in control of my time, sometimes I feel trapped.

15. Accountability makes me very uncomfortable.

%

Total True:






1. I have perfectionistic tendencies.

2. My employees just are not detail oriented enough for me.

3. It’s hard for me to let go of control and trust people to do the work as well as I could.

4. Often it’s just easier for me to do it rather than take the time to train someone else.

5. Sometimes when an employee isn’t succeeding with something, I’ll take

the work back and do it myself.

6. I don’t really know the best way to train someone.

7. I’ve had a lot of bad experiences with delegation.

8. I like the idea of empowering employees, but it’s never seemed to work for me.

9. If my employees would demonstrate more responsibility, I would give them

more authority to make decisions.

10. I think my employees are scared of me.

11. My employees don’t take risks like I would like them to.

12. My employees don’t challenge my thinking.

13. I don’t like it when plans change.

14. If I can’t do something really well, I’ll avoid it, procrastinate or not do it at all.

15. Quantification seems like a good idea, but I like to be involved enough to be able

to see and feel what’s going on.

Section 5: Micromanagement T F

%

Total True:






1. People in my business don’t own their responsibilities like I would like them to.

2. People seem to ask me to help them make decisions they should be able

to make on their own.

3. Sometimes I feel like my employees delegate tasks up to me.

4. I’m generally not comfortable confronting people.

5. I tend to be more focused on other people’s needs over my own.

6. Sometimes I feel taken advantage of by people.

7. It’s hard for me to say “No” to people.

8. I care so much about people that I avoid saying or doing things

that would hurt them.

9. Sometimes I get frustrated with how people don’t appreciate everything

I do for them.

10. I have some passive-aggressive tendencies.

11. I think I can be generous to a fault.

12. It’s difficult for me to hold people accountable because I can see how

hard they’re trying/working.

13. Sometimes I work so hard I don’t take care of myself.

14. My people don’t seem adequately challenged.

15. I’m concerned if my people are pushed too hard, they won’t like

me or their work.

Section 6: Over-Responsibility T F

%

Total True:






1. I love setting goals and thinking about what I will achieve.

2. After I achieve goals, I feel the need to create new ones.

3. How I feel about myself depends a lot on how much I got done in the day.

4. I routinely get done less than I would like.

5. People have told me I’m insensitive to their feelings.

6. I don’t understand how unambitious many people can be.

7. I’m not sure what my passion is, but when I have the time and money I’ll find out.

8. Failure is very difficult for me.

9. I have a hard time taking criticism.

10. Keeping busy and having a positive attitude seems to be the secret to happiness.

11. Sometimes I overwork and need to just collapse for a while.

12. I’m frustrated when emotion gets in the way of productivity.

13. I have heroic tendencies or ideas about myself.

14. I was a kind of “star” at one point in my life.

15. Sometimes I see people as a means to achieve my own goals.

Section 7: Over-Achievement T F

%

Total True:






1. I generally prefer to manage numbers and systems rather than engage with people.

2. I avoid conflict and it’s hard for me to confront people.

3. It’s difficult for me to make quick, decisive decisions.

4. I don’t understand why people let their emotions get so involved in their work.

5. Peace of mind is a core value for me.

6. Getting along with people and maintaining harmony is more important than

telling them exactly what I think.

7. It’s not easy for me to express inspiration about my business.

8. Holding people accountable is very uncomfortable for me.

9. There are certain aspects of my business that I just don’t want to deal with.

10. Sometimes when critical priorities show up, I find myself doing

unimportant things.

11. My people are hard workers, but lack enthusiasm.

12. It’s easier for me to make decisions by myself than when other people are around.

13. There are personnel issues in my business that I know of and I’m choosing

to live with rather than address.

14. It’s hard for me to know what I really want.

15. Having a comfortable quality of life is more important than setting goals

and achieving them.

Section 8: Dissociation T F

%

Total True:






1. It’s easy for me to feel like others don’t appreciate my gifts, but even when they do,

it doesn’t feel like enough.

2. I need others more than I would like to feel good about myself.

3. I like having something unique to contribute.

4. People sometimes say I’m arrogant, which surprises me because I feel insecure

on the inside a lot of the time.

5. I seem to be a bit more dramatic and temperamental than most.

6. People see me as complex and difficult to relate to in some ways,

but I actually like that about myself.

7. I don’t like to lead or follow, and have difficulties in either role.

8. I tend to get frustrated when other people don’t see what’s so obvious to me.

9. I tend not to follow rules very well because I want to put my special touch on

whatever I do.

10. It’s easy for me to feel alone, even when I’m around people I’m close to.

11. It’s easy for me to see what’s wrong or missing in things and sometimes the

amount of judgment in my head is distracting.

12. When others are praised, I often feel the need to compete.

13. Many times, I feel like I’m the last to know about the way I’ve been

impacting people around me.

14. It’s easy for me to be bored by people and I feel I have to contribute a lot to make

conversations alive and interesting.

15. I have a persistent feeling of being misunderstood.

Section 9: Self-Importance T F

%

Total True:







2. Myopia

3. Fear

4. Distraction

5. Micromanagement


7. Over-Achievement

8. Dissociation

9. Self-Importance

Score % Score % Score % Score %

Scorecard

You are encouraged to input scores from previous assessments (if any) here

for comparison, with the most recent scores on the left. Input the date where indicated.

Section Date: Date: Date: Date:



© EMyth 2015

Notes





Default Leadership Styles: Coach Lab

Instructions: Read each scenario and write the primary survival strategy next to the scenario number. Resist

the urge to list more than one as an answer, since there is always one primary strategy at cause for any other

strategy. A list of the strategy and short descriptions are provided in the appendix.

Scenario 1:

The client, a hairstyle school owner, was stolen from by a trusted office manager prior to beginning coach-

ing. She has worked diligently to feel she can trust people again, but she tends to control rather than mentor

her people. She is learning that others can do things as well as she can or better, but she still doesn’t have that

basic trust that will help her let go, let others do things, much less allow them to make mistakes and learn. She

certainly has a technician’s perfectionism and recognizes it. Her employees are loyal, yet they don’t innovate

and rarely do anything beyond meeting her basic expectations.

Scenario 2:

The client, a heating and ventilating contractor, has been in business for eight years, growing gradually, but

not making any significant progress. In the beginning of coaching, he created a vision and values, but hasn’t

really followed through to communicate them to his team. There is very little inspiration, and not a lot of

planning for the future. He has been wrestling with creating a new marketing strategy, but has been working

on it for over a year and seems to be no closer to defining his brand than when he first began.

Scenario 3:

The owner of a software company is always coming up with a new idea that will flesh out the existing offer-

ing and push the business to the “next level.” Structural issues exist, like a missing organization chart, and are

focused on occasionally; but then he reverts to the idea that growing alone will save and sustain his company

and doesn’t complete the task at hand. He says he wants to quantify more to discover the truth in lead gen-

eration and sales, but just can’t seem to get it done.

Scenario 4:

The three owners of this landscaping and garden center business are two brothers and a sister. They prize

harmony and not having significant problems in their company. They are particularly proud of their very loyal

people who have been with them for years. They lack inspiration, structure and clear roles between them.

They keep their emotions inside, and tell you their father, who started the business, was an emotional fire-

cracker. They come to meetings with very little to say and the coach has to work harder than they should to

elicit, much less address their issues. The employees feel direction is lacking and attempt to do the right thing,

but they are often frustrated.




Scenario 5:

The client, a doctor, has an office manager that holds things together; but the level of progress desired since they

started coaching just hasn’t been happening. The client shows up for meetings often unprepared and unfocused, and

blames external events frequently for this. He keeps his appointments with patients, but many of his other commit-

ments are not kept in a similar fashion. He often finds fault with his office manager, but knows he can’t do without

her. The other employees are inconsistent, sometimes they are quite good, but at other times they are not clear about

their responsibilities and things fall through the cracks.

Scenario 6:

The client, an electrical contractor, tried repeatedly to get out of the recession rut and grow his business consistently.

He works hard, harder than everyone else in the company. He acquired a new compatible company and wants to

open new branches; but he can’t seem to grapple with the strategies that will set him on the right direction. He makes

progress, then falls back into procrastination, reaction and inability to make decisions. His managers are holding him

back. He knows this, but he hasn’t found a clear path to direct them.

Scenario 7:

The client, who owns a video production company, is incredibly passionate about her business as she seeks to sup-

port nonprofits, as well as creators of art. Business has grown rapidly, but she is completely overwhelmed. She remains

the go-to person for advice, consultations, and substituting for sick employees. She cares deeply about her business

and her people, but feels her life is getting a short shift. She knows some of her people are just coasting, but she can’t

bring herself to either get them to step up or get them out.

Scenario 8:

The client owns a training company and has a very optimistic vision he is attempting to reach in a very short time

frame. It’s very important to him to achieve his objectives. He’s motivated by money, but also wants to prove he can

do it. Sometimes he lets his values take a backseat to what he feels is necessary “to get the job done right.” He fires

quickly if he doesn’t feel a person is getting it, but has also re-hired some that he has fired. He often feels let down that

others are not matching his lead. He senses something lacking inside, but doesn’t have the energy for figuring that out,

and would rather focus his time, energy and resources on realizing the vision regardless of how he feels within himself.

Scenario 9:

This financial services company is led by charismatic, “larger than life” leader who has written a bestselling book. He

is frustrated how none of his employees understand the principles of the company like he does, and every six months

he fires the sales manager and takes the role on himself. His employees used to take initiative, but the owner has

shot down so many of their ideas that people don’t even try anymore. He doesn’t understand why the business hasn’t

grown, given how wonderful their subscription-based product is, even though retention is weak and there are a fair

amount of complaints.




Default Leadership Styles Summary


Light:

Free-spirited

Creative

Spontaneous

Shadow:

Deficits in accountability

Lack of ownership

Integrity issues

3. Fear

Light:

Ability to think ahead

Sharp analytical skills

Shadow:

Resistance to the unknown, discomfort

Procrastination

Paralysis analysis

2. Myopia

Light:

Lack of clear vision

Lack of expectations

Uninspiring, dry

Shadow:

Belief that hard work will solve problems

Change isn’t easy or worth the effort

Lack of passion




4. Distraction

Light:

Spontaneous

Creative

Engaging, exciting

Shadow:

Impulsiveness

Lack of focus, follow through

Disorganization, overwhelm


Light:

Enormous care

Commitment

Responsibility

Shadow:

Care-taking

Putting self last

Net-Irresponsibility

5. Micromanagement

Light:

Passion, drive

Intensity of care

Precision

Shadow:

Perfectionism

Domination

Bullying




7. Over-Achievement

Light:

Passion, drive

Goal-orientation

Efficiency, focus

Shadow:

Unrealistic goals and expectations

Exhaustion, overwhelm

A need to be heroic

9. Self-Importance

Light:

Charismatic

Interesting

Outspoken

Expressive

Shadow:

Arrogant

Narcissistic

Need to be special

8. Dissociation

Light

Calm, approachable

Easy-going

Even-keeled

Shadow:

Head-in-the-sand

Pain and conflict avoidance

Indecisive, aloof



Notes

© EMyth 2015emyth.com/become-a-coach © EMyth 2015


Notes



Values, Passionand Purpose Putting your life first

LEADERSHIP

LEADERSHIP Values, Passion and Purpose 70


Your Values, Passion and Purpose

Definition

This process is designed to help you discover—or rediscover—the things that matter to you most. We categorize those things into your values, your passions and your purpose. They are the answer to the question: “Why do I do what I do?” It’s the most personal question and an ongo-ing conversation you have with yourself. It’s the foundation for inhabiting your role as leader, no matter what business you’re in or how many people you work with.

Key Points

The Purpose Statement is in-tensely personal. It’s all about you. There is no such thing as a right or wrong, a good or bad Purpose Statement. There is only what is true for you.

The keys to understanding your purpose are to explore what you do not want your life to be like, to decide what you do want your life to be like, and to discover the self-imposed limitations that get in the way.

Money, status, power, possessi-ons, and winning are not the es-sence of a Purpose Statement. It’s deeper than that.

The best indicator that you have discovered your true Purpose is your emotions. If you don’t feel energy, enthusiasm, commitment, and a sense of “Yes! That’s me!”, you haven’t found it.

The Values, Passion and Purpose discovery process is not New Age pseudo-psychology. It’s a pragmatic and real world way to put your life in perspective. It anchors your leadership and your decision-making with a solid understanding of what is and is not important.

Why Do You Needto Understand YourValues, Passion and Purpose?

Understanding your values, passion and purpose gives you the ability to live your life inten-tionally—rather than randomly— by making conscious choices that are consistent with what is most important to you. It helps you set your life’s real priorities and puts your business in its proper per-spective. It enables you to under-stand where the real purpose of your life lies, and how better to serve that purpose.

The Values, Passion and Purpose

Discovery Process

List what you don’t want in your life

List what you do want in your life

Set priorities and bust barriers

Write your Values, Passion and Purpose

Write your Purpose Statement




The Discovery Questions are designed to help you answer these deeper questions about yourself and arrive at

your Purpose Statement. Give yourself permission to explore these questions without self-imposed boundaries.

The questions are here to open up the space for the values and passion that are already in you to emerge. Be

bold, be irrational, be unstopped by your fears, and dare to listen to your heart. Consider each question, sit with

it, discuss it with others if you feel that will help, but don’t over-analyze your answers.

What do you want your life to look and feel like?

What matters most at this point in your life?

What do you value most? What’s important to you?

What would you like to be able to say about your life after it’s too late to do anything about it?

Discovery Questions




What would you like people’s perceptions of you to be?

What would you like people’s perceptions of you to be?

How do you want your life to feel on a day-to-day basis?

What are your daydreams about?




When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Of all the things you have done in your life, what has given you the most satisfaction or pleasure?

What is missing from your life? When you find yourself wishing for something, what is it?

Do you ever find yourself wishing you were different? What do you wish?

Why aren’t you that way? What gets in your way?

If you no longer had to work, how would you spend your time? And with whom?

Of all the things you have done in your life, what has given you the least satisfaction or pleasure?




What motivates you to perform above and beyond the call of duty?

What are your greatest weaknesses?

What are your greatest strengths?

What do you want to achieve, but you find it impossible to do?

What barriers make it impossible? Think again, are those barriers really insurmountable?




1What Don’t You Want in Your Life?

1

Using the space below, list everything that causes you anger, stress, frustration, fear,

hatred, embarrassment, dissatisfaction—whatever it is that you do not want in your life.

2

Now go back over your list, thinking carefully about each item. Notice your feelings, your sense

of importance about each one. Mark no more than 5 or 6 items that are the most important not

to have in your life.




2What Do You Want in Your Life?

1

Use the space below to list everything that you do want in your life. Look at what your deepest

don’t-wants tell you about what you really do want. Focus on what makes you feel happy, fulfilled,

satisfied, and what energizes and motivates you. Avoid the superficial and the material and go for

the deeply satisfying, profoundly rewarding life experiences. Again, don’t think too much about it

yet, and write as many as you can.

2

Go back over your list, now thinking carefully about each item. Again, notice your feelings, your

sense of importance about each one. Mark no more than 5 or 6 items that are the most important

to you. Look over those items and rank them from the most important to the least important.




3What Are Your Priorities, and What’s in Your Way?Write down, in order of importance, the items you marked from the list of what you want in your life.

Think carefully about each of them, and write down what, if anything, is keeping you from attaining

them. Think especially hard about self-imposed limitations.

Important Things

You Want in Life

Barriers

and Limitations

Barrier-Breakers/

Solutions



© EMyth 2015emyth.com/become-a-coach

4Your Core ValuesAs you begin to reflect on your own core values, don’t ignore any deeply-held desires simply because they seem

impossible, undeserved, embarrassing, unpopular, inappropriate or beyond your reach. Those are the important

ones! We can’t stress this enough. They hold a vast amount of often previously hidden information you can tap into

to deepen your awareness of yourself. And this awareness is the source of your greatest success.

Now, create four values categories: Health, Relationships, Work and Financial. Think about what you value in these

four areas. Write down as many values as you can think of that resonate with you. Avoid generic statements; try to

make it as personal and specific as you can. If you want some help with words or ideas, go online and do a search for

“values lists.” When you’ve made an exhaustive list, go back and circle the ones that feel most true to you. Combine

the ones that are repetitive. Narrow your list down to no more than 10 total.






5Write Your Own EulogyYears and years from now, after a happy and fulfilling life, you are given the opportunity to write the eulogy for your

memorial service. Assuming you live the life you want from this point onward, what will your eulogy say? If the idea of

writing your eulogy is too much for you right now, write a letter instead to a childhood friend, one of your children,

maybe a grandchild or someone you see every once in awhile. Tell them about who you’ve become, what makes you

feel best about yourself and your life, what you cherish, what you’ve learned about what really matters and, of course,

what you would want to do over if you had the chance.

Looking back on the life of




6Your Purpose StatementEven if you’ve read and re-read the material you’ve generated, go back over it one more time. Look for any answers

that don’t seem clear or complete and fill in what’s missing. Change anything that doesn’t feel quite right. Notice

similar or repeated words. Let yourself feel connections that you might have overlooked. Give yourself permission to

feel what you feel about specific words or phrases or ideas. Take your time. This shouldn’t be rushed. Trust that the

clues are there. The answers are there. Your purpose is there whether it has popped out at you yet or not. It’s already

in you. Everything you’ve written has come from you, from the inside out. What is all of this material telling you?

Now, condense everything you’ve written into a couple of sentences. In the most essential way, what would your life

be like if you were bringing all of who you are to all of what you do? Try various word combinations and ways to

describe yourself until you feel that “Ah-ah! I’ve got it. This is who I am at my best. This is what I’ve come to express in

the world.”

The essence of my Purpose is …

Or, I am …




7Your Personal Goals

Component

Annual Income

Professional Growth

Education and Personal Development

Family and Relationships

Hobbies, Pastimes

Travel, Leisure

Retirement

Major Purchases

In 6 Months By Next Year In 5 Years 10 Years +

Personal Goals are tangible and measurable. They can be material or financial or about the quality of your life,

like volunteering in your son’s classroom every month. Your Personal Goals should be in alignment with your

values, passions and purpose and company Vision. If they aren’t, you will certainly want to ask “why?”




Notes


Your Brand Commitment Defining your purpose

BRAND

BRAND Your Brand Commitment 84

© EMyth 2015

Your Brand Commitment

Overview

The Most Valuable Leadership System

Brand takes your values and vision, your passion and purpose, and connects them with your culture and customers. Your brand idea—that which differentiates you from everyone else—forms the basis for your Brand Commitment, or the promise you make to your customers.

Your Brand Commitment is a brief state-ment that describes what your customers need to feel in every interaction with your business. It is the total expression of your customer experience. It is the “why” behind everything you do.

The Brand Commitment is the explicit agreement amongst your entire staff that accentuates the idea that everything they do is intended to enhance the emotional connection the customer has with your staff and the business. You as the leader must decide what that emotional connec-tion needs to be.

The Brand Commitment is the most impor-tant and valuable internal Leadership Sys-tem which guides your entire business. It is the foundation of all your systems and gi-ves life and meaning to the work of the or-ganization and each position. It empowers each team member, gives meaning to why they do the work they do, and informs their behavior that shows up through a fulfilling client experience. The Brand Commitment is at the heart of the organization.

Creating Your Brand Commitment Statement

There is no magic formula for how to create a Brand Commitment. The worksheets will guide you through a discovery process and help you think about what matters most and how to articulate that in the form of a statement that inspires and empowers your people. First, you will review key leadership documents, such as your vision, values, and marketing strategy. Next you will dive deeper and consider how to put your brand into your operations through engagement (your people) and experience (your customers). Lastly, you will be asked two final questions:

1) What do you want your custo-mers to say about your business?

2) How do you want your customer to feel in every interaction with your business?

How you answer those questions will help you summarize in a 3-4 sentence statement the essence of your Brand Commitment.

Key Points

The Brand Commitment:

Provides the why to the way you do it

Keeps you customer-focused

Creates customer loyalty

Is your competitive edge

Differentiates you

Integrates culture and customers




© EMyth 2015

Creating Your Brand Commitment

You’ve always been working out what it is that you really want your customers to get from your business but

you always did it before by thinking in terms of specifications or benefits not typically the feelings one gets.

Answering the questions that follow will help elicit more information to distill into your formal statement.

To get started, you will first need to review your key leadership documents.

Company Vision

Company Values

Marketing Strategy

Leadership Questions

Your vision directs your thinking about your brand and defining the commitment you

want to make to your customers furthers the effectiveness of the vision.

What do you want your company to be known for?

How will coming from these values via your brand commitment impact how you do business?




© EMyth 2015

The psychographic profile of your customers—which is how they think and feel, and why they buy your product

or service—is based on answering these questions:

What is currently holding your customers back?

What is their immediate pain?

Their missed opportunities?

What kinds of freedoms do your customers want?

How can you make your customers more productive?

How can you help your customers enjoy life more?




© EMyth 2015

Basis of Competition

What will be your competitive advantage (price, quality, convenience, customer service, advertising, product

features, responsiveness, fast deliver, appearance, market coverage, simplicity, reliability, durability, etc.)?

Distinctive elements of your product or service:

Product/service enhancements (guarantees, service contracts, leases, community benefits, ecological benefits, ethnic appeals, unit sizes, enhanced product performance):

Distinctive marketing methods:

Distinctive behavior/dress/qualifications of employees:

Distinctive “presence” (appearance, size, sound, texture, smell, colors, shapes, designs, etc. Think in terms of (1) the senses - visual, tactile, scent, sound, and taste, and (2) intangible impressions – trustworthiness, reliability, honesty, novelty, etc.):




© EMyth 2015

What is your USP (i.e., tagline or advertising slogan)?

What customer compliments do you receive on a regular basis?




© EMyth 2015

Who are your three main competitors and what are they known for? Note both compliments and complaints you hear about them.

Management Questions

This is where you put your brand into operations. This happens by looking at two specific areas: engagement

and experience. These final two questions help craft a statement that expresses your brand commitment.

How do I want our customers to feel in every interaction with the business?

Review the description above and circle the adjectives and expressive words or phrases that best

represent the experience you want your customers to have.




© EMyth 2015

If you can orchestrate that experience consistently, what do want your customers to say about the business?

The customer experience is supported first by the design of your systems and second, by the development of your

people. The Brand Commitment anchors both of these strategies by providing a clearly stated “why” behind the

way you do business. The Brand Commitment is a “results statement” for your people to clearly understand the

experience you are creating and striving to deliver to your customers, and each other day after day.



© EMyth 2015


Draft Your Company’s Brand Commitment Statement

It’s now time to take a stab at drafting your statement. First, go back and review all the material you’ve generated thus

far and notice particular adjectives and descriptive words that came up frequently. Then, dig deeper. For example, if

you used a word like “friendly,” then ask yourself how does that make people feel? It makes them feel like a friend and

you care about them personally, right? Try to tap into and experience and the feelings behind the words. Make some

fun out of it, take sufficient time and revise until you feel it’s right. The finished statement should be no more than 3-4

sentences max.



Transforming Frustrations Solving problems from the root cause

LEADERSHIP

LEADERSHIP Transforming Frustrations 94


Definition

A frustration in your business is an undesirable pattern of results that can be eliminated by instal-ling a system. The Transforming Frustrations Process is a method by which you can identify the un-derlying business condition and create system solutions to elimi-nate the undesirable conditions.

Key Points

The heart of the Transforming Frustrations Process lies in understanding the underlying business condition that is causing the frustration.

The key to understanding is to continue to ask specific, probing questions until the underlying condition is exposed. You must also look at how the frustration, as an aspect of the business, is a reflection of you.

The key to eliminating the frustration is to create effective systems that address the underlying condition and not just apply Band-Aids.

There are three ways of perceiving frustrations:

1. Self-Directed: I am the cause.

2. Outer-Directed: Someone or something else is the cause.

3. System-Directed: The lack of an effective system is the cause.

Self and Outer-Directed contributions must be explored before an effective system can be implemented or else systemization may work around personal responsibility rather than support it.

Why Do You Needthe Transforming Frustrations Process ?

The Transforming Frustrations Process teaches you the primary skill of successful small business management: systemic thinking. It is a tool for eliminating frustrations and problems by developing system solutions. It also reveals hidden opportunities in yourself and your business. It helps you identify deep underlying strategies in yourself and the business that are the source of most of your day-to-day frustrations.

Transforming Frustrations Process

State a single frustration

Explore contributions and restate it as a system-directed frustration

Uncover the underlying condition

Quantify the impact of the frustration

Identify the Generic System Solution

Assess your commitment to solving the problem

Define the specific system solution

Implement the Solution

Transforming Frustrations Into Solutions




This worksheet guides you step by step through the Transforming Frustrations Process.

The eight steps of the process are outlined below.

What’s bothering me?

Identify one frustration you have in your business.

Remember, you can only work through one frustration at a time, so be specific.

Transforming Frustrations into Solutions Worksheet

1 State a Single Frustration

Who and/or what is contributing to the frustration and how?

Self-Directed: How am I contributing to the frustration?

Outer-Directed: How is someone or something else contributing to the frustration?

2Explore Contributions and Restate as a System-Directed Frustration




System-Directed: How is the lack of a system, or a system that’s lacking, contributing to the frustration?

Write: There’s no system to ensure

(the result you’re not getting)

What is the underlying theme or condition of the frustration?

Ask specific, probing questions to achieve clarity on the cause of the frustration. Be thorough.

It’s better to ask too many questions than too few. The heart of the process is recognizing the real problem.

3Uncover the Underlying Condition

What exactly is the impact of the frustration?

Ask questions to quantify the condition to establish its magnitude. Quantification can reveal important clues for

solving the prolem. Below are a few examples of questions to help you get started, but keep asking! There are many

more questions you can ask regarding what’s really going on.

Specifically, how is my business impacted by my frustration?

What are the specific examples of when/where/how this frustration occurs?

What are the results I’m not achieving in my business because of this frustration?

What is the opportunity cost related to this frustration? What could be happening if this wasn’t going on?

4Quantify the Impact of the Frustration




What is the solution going to basically, generically look like?

Translate the specific frustrating condition into a generic system solution.

Don’t be surprised if you identify more than one system solution.

What kind of system would eliminate the frustrating condition I’m experiencing?

What result would have to be produced by a system designed to eliminate this frustration?

5Identify the Generic System Solution




Does it make sense to address this now? If not, when?

Do I really want to remedy this frustrating condition, or would I rather live with the frustration?

How does the quantification in Step 4 inform this?

If you choose to continue:

6Assess Your Commitment to Solve the Problem

What exactly does the system need to look like?

Begin the process of designing the specific, detailed system solution to the frustrating condition in your business.

Use a separate sheet of paper to outline the system design elements that are needed. Again, here are the four basic

elements:

1. Title

2. Result Statement

3. Accountable Positions

4. Work Listing

7Define the Specific System Solution




How exactly will the system be implemented?

Set a timeline and make sure it gets done! Use your calendar! Get others to help!

The sooner you implement the solution, the faster you’ll see results.

8Implement the Solution


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