Both the Action business coach and the client must commit to the coaching process and will have to work as a team to ensure that goals are established and realized. There is one important rule that we must both comply with:

Play above the line at all times!

Above the line, you own the ship and have an OAR to steer it.  Below the line, you make your BED and you must lie in it.  By playing above the line, we take ownership of what is happening around us and accept the responsibility and accountability that goes with it.

When something goes wrong, the easiest thing to do is to blame it on somebody else, find an excuse or deny that there is a problem.  This ‘playing below the line’ is destructive, as it does not resolve anything and problems get worse.  This type of reaction is typical of the victim mentality – failure is a self-fulfilling prophecy for people who think like this.

Playing above the line is constructive because taking ownership of, and responsibility for, challenges leads to the resolution of problems. It also ensures that they don’t happen again.  This pro-active approach is typical of people with a victor mentality.  Team members need to commit to playing above the line at all times.

It’s Victor Mentality or Victim Mentality. Always play Above the Line…be a Victor.

There are many reasons why we don’t achieve our goals. Sometimes the goals we set are unrealistic. New Year’s resolutions are typical examples. Suddenly, we expect to change the way we eat, or the way we exercise just because the calendar changes. It’s like expecting a child that’s never ridden a bike to suddenly jump on and go, or to run a marathon without months of training. These goals are based on illusion with little regard to natural growth. You must be able to crawl before you walk.

So, how do we set and achieve goals for a business? Stephen R. Covey says it best in his book “7 Habits of Highly Effective People”. “To begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination. It means to know where you’re going so that you better understand where you are now and so that the steps you take are always in the right direction.”

Setting S.M.A.R.T. goals is vital to being successful in the goal setting process. The benefits of Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results orientated, Time-framed (S.M.A.R.T) goals have been written about in self-help books for years. So, it follows that goal setting is obviously a powerful process.

Ralph Berge, an Action business coach says It is about ‘eating the elephant, one bite at a time’ and of turning vision into achievable, actionable things. It’s the common denominator of successful individuals and businesses.