Coaching Success Stories
CASE STUDY: Disciplined Creativity Saves the Day
Background
Gwen has built a sizable construction company by combining high-quality remodeling projects with superb customer service. Successful in a largely male-dominated industry, Gwen is “tough as nails” when she needs to be, but also values good relationships with customers and employees. She is a right-brained thinker and communicator – intuitive, creative, and in touch with the feelings of others.
The Challenge
Despite her considerable strengths, Gwen lacks confidence in her ability to make her business profitable. She loses focus and gets stuck in the minutiae of unimportant tasks. She forgets both to delegate to her production and administrative teams and make sales her top priority. Often Gwen works long hours, neither exercising not sleeping. She’s unclear about her life’s direction and the role her business plays in it.
The Process
I provided executive coaching to Gwen for over a year. Pointing to her track record of business success and creativity, I regularly expressed my own confidence in her abilities. I encouraged her to change her negative “self-talk” into more honest and positive thinking. With permission, I held her accountable for completing tasks. She set time limits on her open-ended creative and intuitive thinking process. Also, Gwen developed sales communications strategies that would enable her to connect more effectively with her analytical and linear-thinking (i.e., left-brained) prospects.
The Results. Gwen:
- Crafted a powerful personal vision statement and business plan.
- Delegated estimating and design work so that she could focus more on sales.
- Identified sales goals and reached a monthly sales goal of $50,000.
- Improved gross profitability margins to over 40%.
- Won a top national award in her industry.
- For the first time in her life, developed a sense of balance between her work and personal lives.
- Limited work to 40 hours per week and created an exercise routine.
- Developed a sense of personal power, motivation, and energy that brought her, “…So much closer in my life plan than I have ever been. Everything is jelling.”