Afternoon Tea in Jerusalem Blog

In addition to my work as a business coach, one of my interests is blogging about life in Israel. This is a country full of contrasts – over eight million citizens living in an area the size of Wales. You can see snow and the lowest place on the globe in the same day. Although surrounded by geopolitical extremes, Israel has achieved a decade of high economic growth. My work brings me in contact with an array of new companies, exciting technologies and dynamic characters. Sitting back with a relaxing cup of strong tea (with milk), you realise just how much there is to appreciate in the Holyland. Large or small operations, private sector or non profit, my clients provide experiences from which others can learn and benefit.

“I do not need to change. The problems lies elsewhere”.

Thus says many a CEO to the business coach. And the only reason that the coach does not groan with disappointment is because they know that ironically, the CEO is admitting to the core of the problem facing the company – himself. He is stuck in his own mud.

The fact of the matter is that we all need to change. Just look at your own skin – it is peeling away as you read this. You are changing at this very moment.

In parallel, your work environment changes – maybe new competitors come on the scene with different business models to steal your clients. Technology is a great game-changer; ignore it at your peril. And of course people change their views as they are exposed to new influences.

So when a company manager ignores the dynamic environment around him (or her), there is a reasonable possibility that his business will suffer, and sooner rather than later.

In my view, it is the task of the business coach or mentor to point out the impossibility of blocking change. The client may not realise it initially, but the coach is usually engaged to try to ensure that the client takes increased responsibility for his decisions and actions.

I have recently been involved with two contrary cases, which illustrate this point.

Mr Entrepreneur had been looking to set up a hightech biz for some time. The ideas, the partner, the tech, the market – many of the fundamentals were in place. However, after a while, it became evident to me that the market was to be secured by the partner. And gradually, I realised that the discussions were not moving forward, as the entrepreneur was always waiting for “somebody to just finish something”….which never happened.

I realised that the ‘other somebody’ was a euphemism for the entrepreneur himself. The problem had been transposed in order to duck responsibility. Any talk from me along the lines of ‘what are you doing to …….’ was rejected repeatedly. So when I last heard, the project was waiting for somebody……………

Mr CEO has been running his operation for years. Around twelve months ago, sales plummeted. He wanted to blame the market, competition, staff and more. While later analysis showed that he may have had a point, the immediate issue lay elsewhere; new revenue, and immediately.

So my CEO decided not to going round muttering “j’accuse”, but came up with a new business strategy. Today, sales are up. Additional work flow is being generated. Measures are in process to find more appropriate staff. While the jury is still evaluating the ultimate success of the changes, for now the company is very much afloat.

Change is not always so easy to understand nor embrace nor internalise. If you ignore or reject it, the pain could be even greater.

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