Are You a Strategic or Tactical Business Owner?
Tim Shepelak
The Growth Coach

In my years as both a CEO and an executive coach, I have noticed a common behavior pattern that impacts not only business results, but also quality of life: yours, your family’s, and your employees and their families. Too many business owners/managers are gifted technicians but are not very effective as strategic leaders.  If you are not leading in your business, who is?  If you are not being strategic, who is?  If you are not proactive, who is?  To find out if you are you a strategic business owner, ask yourself the following questions:

• Do I see the big picture and have a long-term view?
• Do I think more like a CEO than an employee?
• Do I create a yearly business plan and continually implement it?
• Is my leadership purposeful, proactive, and planning-based?
• Do I constantly think about the direction and objectives of the business?
• Do I focus on the entire business and not just the technical work of my business?
• Have I created plans, procedures and policies to help operate our company?
• Have I developed and documented our key business processes?
• Do I utilize the leverage of marketing to grow my business?
• Do I spend more time on important matters rather than trivial/urgent matters?
• Have I created a systems-dependent business rather than an owner-dependent business?
• Do I conduct regular one-on-one coaching sessions with my managers and/or key employees?
• Do I avoid getting buried in the day-to-day details and headaches of the business?
• Have I shaped my business more by design than by default?

If you answered “no” to most of these questions, you are operating as a tactical, reactive business owner.  You could benefit greatly from becoming a Strategic Business Owner (SBO). In short, a strategic business owner gets the highest and best return possible for his time, money and effort.  He/she focuses on working smarter, not harder. 
 
The rewards from transforming your behavior patterns from tactical to strategic extend beyond money.  Time and energy capacity is improved, as are quality of relationships, both inside and outside of your business.  In addition, you develop the capacity to be the person you want to be, thereby minimizing one of life’s biggest risks: regret. For you, is this journey, from tactical to strategic, worth taking?  Your answer is life-changing.     

Contact Tim Sepelak, t.shepelak@thegrowthcoach.com. Tim is an instructor in Chamber University and will be presenting “How to Own a Business that is About Profit, Freedom and Fun, Tues., March 3, 2009, 7:30 – 10 a.m. at the Northern Kentucky Chamber.