(audio version available at the end of this blog)

Take responsibility for crying out loud!

We have heard that many times in our lives, probably from caring parents, clever teachers, excellent bosses, and good friends.

I get it, but responsibility taken to accomplish what?  The answer is often not proffered.

The kind of responsibility I am interested in is the kind that leads to  success.  Often though, it is not just about all the day-to-day decisions that will help our business or personal lives flourish.  No, I am talking about a philosophical shift in thinking about how to get what we want before we even start.

My approach is called Balanced Experimentalism (BE), the final module in our Success U group coaching course.  Here is its essence: When we embrace life as the grand science experiment that it has the potential to be for all of us, we are far more likely to achieve our goals.

Regardless if you want to be a full-time coach or a full-time computer programmer I urge you to try living this philosophy.  I credit it with my success in this business and in all the others I have had in my life.  When I have deviated from BE, I have floundered and failed.

And I am not referring to mini-failures, those “oops moments” that are practically a prerequisite for macro-successes.   Without BE we cannot expect to gather enough data to determine what works and what does not work in our personal and our business lives.

So how do we begin to live this life?  Here are the three basic tenets of Balanced Experimentalism.

1. BE Means Experiments Speak Louder than Ideas

Try it!  By “it” I mean whatever idea you have for business or personal success.  I assure you it will remain in your head for someone else to take advantage of until you make a personal call to action.  You do not have to recreate the wheel here.  In fact, it is often quipped that the second permutation of a great idea usually is the most successful.

After I decided that coaching was the business for me, I started to feverishly network because everyone told me to do that.  But feverish behavior makes us think we are doing well when in fact we are just doing.  I soon realized that if I started my own networking group I could network less and obtain more clients.  It became a focused approach learned through my early unfocused actions.

BE does not discourage “thought experiments” but there comes a point when you must pull the trigger and act (pardon the bellicose lingo!) and then adapt based on those actions.

2. BE Means Experiments Need Time to Germinate

We all must give our experiments a chance to succeed or to fail.  We have the opportunity to learn from both, if we give them a chance.  I recall a time when I tried health and wellness coaching.  It was a niche I thought I would love.  I tried it for about six months, for I felt that was an adequate amount of time to determine if there was real passion supporting this focus.  I soon grew weary of talking about carbs, proteins, and fats.  I shifted gears.

And when I started my networking group I did not receive a client from the group for three months.  I thought, “Gosh, is this worth it?”  But if you believe 1) in your ability to serve your clients 2) your product and service is in demand and 3) the group is viable and vibrant, then it is important to wait it out.  I waited and it has been an incredibly successful venture.  Other successful members waited one year to get their first client.

Unfortunately, I have witnessed coaches and other business owners hyper-experiment, falling prey to the false and dangerous assumption that action always trumps reflection.  This is not the case.  Balanced Experimentalism requires time to reflect on the merits of the current experiment.  There is nothing wrong with waiting if you need more data to assess the efficacy of your current path of action.

3. BE Means Avoiding the “Me Vacuum”

Small business owners can be a focused bunch.  And that focus is essential to success.  Balanced Experimentalism though cautions us not to make decisions without the counsel of trusted confidants.  Stay out of the “Me Vacuum,” that zone where we think we can just “go it alone.”  Nothing kills a business faster than me-ism.

If you do not have business partners then confide in family or friends.  Better yet, hire a coach who can help you see the advantages in the collaborative possibilities of running your own business.

Find a team for you, now.

BE is about taking responsibility for living an exploratory life.  Once this ethos is accepted we must combat our modern impatience for fast results with a logical realization that our experiments, like any scientific experiment, require time to determine if they work for us and our business.  Finally, we must experiment and assess with the counsel of trusted advisors.

There is no magic formula for starting and maintaining a successful business even though the Internet is filled with charlatans telling us what we must do.  I do believe, however, there is a sound philosophy for business success and happiness and it is called Balanced Experimentalism.

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If you have any questions about coaching please feel free to contact me at scott@kineticcoaching.co, and remember I always offer a complimentary 30-45 minute session to prospective clients to determine if we want to work together.