Most business owners, professionals, managers and entrepreneurs are usually busy being busy. This means they spend most of their time working “in” their business and rarely take time to work “on” their business. In other words, they are reactive to the day-to-day details of running their business.
Instead, they should spend time being proactive. In order to be proactive, they need to take time to step back and analyze what is working well and determine what is not working well. They should take a few minutes each day for their own personal Strategic Time Out Process (STOP). This is time they should spend determining what is “broken” and developing a plan to fix it if needed or getting rid of it if it just doesn’t need to be done. It is also an opportunity to refine and improve what is working well.
At The Growth Coach, we recommend the following STOP quarterly approach to work “on” the business rather than “in” the business. By doing this, they start and continue taking their business to a higher level:
Step 1 – Weeks 1, 2 and 3, spend 15 minutes each day Monday – Thursday. On Friday spend 30 minutes.
Step 2 – Week 4, repeat the Monday through Thursday process, but on Friday send two hours on STOP.
Step 3 – Weeks 5, 6, and 7, repeat step 1.
Step 4 – Week 8, repeat step 2.
Step 5 – Weeks 9, 10 and 11, repeat step 1.
Step 6 – Week 12, repeat step 2.
Repeat this 12-week process each and every quarter on an ongoing basis to fix what is broken, eliminating things that can and should be eliminated and further refine what is working well. Before you know it, your business will be headed in the right direction for substantial growth.
Established in 2002, The Growth Coach is based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Over the past decade, it has grown to over 140 locations across North America and Puerto Rico and has helped thousands of small businesses grow substantially. At the same time the owners, professionals, managers and entrepreneurs have learned how to “let go” and start living more fulfilling personal, lives.
Rick Brines is owner of The Growth Coach, Chattanooga. Email him at R.Brines@TheGrowthCoach.com.