Why ‘cooking the books’ really is the right approach for your business!
Okay, so now I have your attention, read on for a recipe for ‘cooking the books’ that I guarantee will make your business more successful!
You can read as many books, listen to as many audio tracks and watch as much multi-media as you like, but unless you act on the information you digest, nothing much will happen.
Now this sounds obvious but given that the ‘How-To, Self-Help, Make-Your-Fortune etc’ industry is worth multiple billions world-wide, why is it that so few people make the progress they expect? Is the industry producing low quality material, or is it because many people like the initial motivation they get from a book but then carry on as before? Maybe they are looking for that magic pill.
Cast your mind back to those illustrious school years and think how much information you absorbed – now think how much you remember today. Hmmm… get the idea?
So what’s this got to do with cooking the books?
All this information you are consuming… well think of it like the ingredients in a recipe. Mix it all together in the right amounts; cook-it at the right temperature for the correct amount of time; dress it, serve it… now you have the makings of a great result.
The information that you read in books needs to be mixed, cooked and served in the optimum way for you to get the result you’re looking for. Get any aspect wrong and you could end up with a disaster.
So here is my recipe for taking the huge amounts of information available and producing a great result!
q If you see a particular point of interest when reading, dwell on it and consider the implications for you or your business, before moving on.
q Keep a notebook to hand and write down this consideration in a way that means something to you.
q Put aside an hour of your time and take all your considerations and ideas and turn them into an action plan. A real action plan with objectives, dates and expected outcomes.
q Find a way to hold yourself accountable. Maybe you can do this quite easily yourself; if not, find a friend, spouse, colleague, mentor, business coach etc to help you. If you want to achieve something with this information, you need to know that you will actually do what you say you are going to do.
q Practice with your new found skill, knowledge or approach. Don’t be surprised if, when you try something new, that your old way seemed better. It’s really quite common, when you are developing a new skill or technique, for your performance to drop off before it gets better. Persist!
q Revisit the book after a reasonable time and measure the results. See which aspects worked for you and which didn’t.
q Write a review of the book – not about the book, but which aspects of the content made a difference to you when you applied them. Send it to the author; they will nearly always welcome the feedback (even if it isn’t good)
q Sit back and enjoy the fact that you invested a modest amount of money and really did benefit from it.
q Recognise that 90% of the above requires you to take action with the information available as opposed to just reading the book!
For more business help, practical advice and business coaching book your first FREE coaching session from Charting Success by calling 01284 330 400 or e-mail dbaker@chartingsuccess.co.uk
