Upskilling your people is one of the most intelligent moves you can make as a business leader...
“I don’t need any help. My business is doing great!”
No one likes rejection, but we take it pretty well at The Icehouse. It’s good news when a potential customer tells us they don’t need our programmes, workshops or coaching services. It means they’re flying, and that the owner and their team are doing exceptional things.
It all contributes to a strong economy and a flourishing SME ecosystem – vital for Aotearoa.
However, what if your business isn’t performing as well as you think it is, or could do even better? Similarly, what if you have all the good stuff in place and then get thrown the biggest curveball of a generation… maybe, a worldwide health crisis or a global financial meltdown?
Business owners find it hard to ask for help when the business is failing. They find it even harder to ask for help when it’s doing well. Why would you? Many owners who have been through the Owner Manager Programme (OMP) tell us precisely that. They didn’t want help, or didn’t think they needed it. Then they got it, and it was a transformative decision.
If you know 95% of the puzzle, but could have that extra 5% to cut the distance from second to first, it could be the difference between having an exceptional business and something even more amazing.
“I’m a ‘determined optimist’. By that I mean I don’t see OMP as something for somebody who's struggling, I see it as for someone who wants to excel and exceed. OMP gives you every chance to do that,” says Richard Shearer, owner and Managing Director of QP Sport.
As Liz Wotherspoon, Chief Executive of The Icehouse explains, “The Icehouse programmes are designed for successful businesses – not businesses that are in trouble. Bringing owners and leaders of Kiwi SMEs together in a learning environment that enables them to step outside their business, connect with us but, more importantly, with other owners and leaders and consider their opportunities and challenges, is the basis for our high-impact programmes.”
“We present content and deliver a process that can be challenging and provocative at times, but the intent is to give them time and space to reflect and decide what the right choices are for taking their great business to even greater levels. I’m often reminded of the quote, ‘there’s nothing wrong with it, but is everything right with it?’.”
An additional piece of knowledge could be the difference between achieving all your personal, business and financial goals, or achieving some of them. “We are in a lucky position to work with businesses that have had some success and business growth. We are not in the game of helping businesses to survive. We help them thrive,” says Gareth Bayliss, Sales Manager at The Icehouse.”
“With growth comes opportunities, which are sometimes lost in the additional activities that come with growth. It’s our job to get owners to reflect, take time and assess the opportunities they may have overlooked.”
OMP can also help you see a little of the unforeseen, and cope for the best and the worst, because running a business is anything but predictable.
“I signed up for OMP in 2008. I remember thinking, ‘Oh, God, this is such a lot of money. What am I doing it for, things are trekking along well, what could go wrong?’ By the time I started the course the entire Auckland market had plummeted,” says Miranda Smith, owner of Miranda Smith Homecare.
“When I hit that first session of OMP, I was stressed, and I just really could not believe it. I was 33 and still thought I was quite young. I was like, ‘what is happening to me?’ I have had growth, I had 10 years of growth and it came as a bit of a shock. Something’s going wrong and how do you fix it? It was just the best timing for me – to be in it and to have all that support and knowledge, was amazing.”
Asking for help leads to progression. It also means accepting vulnerability, a shift in mindset that perhaps things could improve, or an admission that growth could be shifting faster than it is. Even if you have a great business, it’s fine to face some tough questions.
“Honestly, at the beginning, I didn’t like OMP. I didn’t sign up for it. It was my ex-business partner who signed on originally, but he left just before it started and I took on OMP the very next week.” says Mike Williams, founder and Director of MW Design.
“It was really confronting. I felt the questions being asked were personal jabs at me. I know they weren’t, but I’d been running my business for 20 years and to suddenly be challenged on that was tough. The truth hurts!”
“On the very last day, Deb Shepherd (the facilitator) mentioned something to the group, and it all came together. In a single moment I realised OMP was really, really good for me and I knew what the past few months had been for and why I’d reached this point.”
Think of all the things that drive entrepreneurs and the very best leaders; discipline, curiosity, creativity, a willingness to make a difference, taking risks and always having a plan. If you’re looking for an extra 5% vision, 5% confidence, 5% motivation and 5% everything in between, we may be able to help you find the difference between great and greater.
For information on programmes, workshops and business coaching services from The Icehouse, click here.
For more business ownership and leadership advice, check out more of our resources.
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