By: Daniel C. Finley
ADVISOR SOLUTIONS

The One Minute Business Coach

Do you ever feel like you are on an emotional roller coaster ride? One minute you are emotionally up and the next minute emotionally down. In times like those, wouldn’t it be great to be able to coach yourself in a minute or less to handle life’s highs and lows? I created an exercise I call The One Minute Business Coach that I use when working with advisors/agents.

Connor McGregor, a former Ultimate Fighting Championship said it best, “Life is a roller coaster. You’re up one minute, you’re down one minute. But who doesn’t like roller coasters?”

To some extent I believe that is true. However, if you aren’t able to get off the emotional roller coaster then the antidote is to learn a better way to manage your emotions!

Learning how to be your own One Minute Business Coach is an art, not a science. The most effective way to determine if a high or low could benefit from this exerciseis to increase your level of awareness by using questions. However, the first step is in determining when to ask yourself the questions and know what questions you should be asking.

Typically, individuals know when they are experiencing a win or loss. It surfaces internally when you get that feeling of accomplishment or disappointment. Recognizing those emotions are the catalyst for when you need to incorporate a One Minute Business Coach session.If things are status quo and you find that you are not feeling up or down then you probably do not need a session. On the other hand, when you experience an activity that leaves you feeling those bigger emotions then it is time for a session.

It is important to understand the elements of the One Minute Business Coach session model so that you can be fully effective when applying the process. The following is a brief description and example steps in this case for coaching a “loss”.

Step 1: Identify an Activity that Creates An Emotional Trigger

What activities have caused you an emotional high or low? An example would be, I did not close a presentation.”  Obviously, this outcome doesn’t feel good.  So figuring out your triggers is a good place to start

Step 2: Identify the Associated Feeling(s)

You need to identify the associated feeling (s) that correspond with the activity that is causing a high or low. Some examples would be, I feel angry, concerned, and/or depressed.” The reason you want to define the feeling(s) is so you can actively recognize patterns on how many good feelings versus bad feelings you experience over the course of a day or a week.

Step 3: Ask Great Questions

Asking the right questions helps you to identify desired outcomes, causes and new behaviors. Remember, it’s important to ask questions that get to the heart of things. Not asking detailed questions that require responses will keep you spinning your wheels. Let’s take a look at an example of some solid questions you should ask yourself.

What was the desired outcome? I wanted to close the presentation.

What was the cause?  I did not prepare for objections; thus, I did not close.

What can I do differently next time? I will prepare for a minimum of 5 objections for every presentation I have.

One thing to note is that the last question helps you create a new behavior pattern. In other words, in this example the next time you are getting ready for an appointment you would prepare for a minimum of five common objections and be ready to close the sale.  

Why “The One Minute Business Coach” Works

This is an exercise in self-awareness and learning how to manage your emotions throughout the day. The reason why it works is because it reinforces wins/highs, so you continue doing what is working and helps you to learn from losses/lows by creating new and more rewarding patterns so you can smooth out your emotional roller coaster and better enjoy the ride!

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