Dan Coughlin Executive Coach & Author – Business Leadership Branding, Innovation and Execution in Tough Times

Air Date: 2-8-2013| Episode: 273


From Maui to Budapest, Dan Coughlin has worked with senior-level executives and business owners to improve their impact as business leaders on branding, innovation, and execution…

Full Description:

From Maui to Budapest, Dan Coughlin has worked with senior-level executives and business owners to improve their impact as business leaders on branding, innovation, and execution. His clients include RE/MAX, Shell, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Marriott, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, GE, Toyota, Abbott, St. Louis Cardinals, and more than 200 other organizations. As an executive coach, he has invested more than 3,000 hours on-site in over 30 industries working with more than 170 executives to improve their key business outcomes.

He is the author of the books: BEAT YESTERDAY, The Management 500, & Find a Way to Win. He has been quoted in USA Today, Investor’s Business Daily, and The Journal of the American Management Association, and his articles have been published in more than 100 trade association publications. Dan lives in St. Louis, Missouri with his wife, Barb, and their children, Sarah and Ben.

Z-Man’s Blog

Consultin’ with Coughlin

Business coach and author Dan Coughlin was our guest today and shared business tactics for tough financial times with the IAQradio audience.
Nuggets mined from today’s episode:

•Leadership is influencing how others think so they make decisions that improve results in a sustainable way. Good leaders aren’t born, they are made through their experiences and influenced by people in their lives.

•4 critical questions for leaders: What is the most important outcome you wish to improve and why did you select that outcome? Who do you need to influence? How do you want them to think before deciding? What are you going to do to influence their thinking? Set examples, be a teacher, and ask good open-ended questions.

•Innovation is the creation of appropriate value for others and delivering that appropriate value to others.

•Value equation V =I/C. Value=anything that increases or improves others achieving their desired outcomes. I= improvement in the person’s desired outcome. C= cost in price, time or energy that the person had to invest in order to get that improvement in their desired outcome.

•Exclusive customers want the best, cost conscious customers want lowest cost and others buy the middle of the road. To do more business, offer more options the customer can say yes to. Starbucks known as good and high cost, McCafé is a reasonably priced alternative. Recommended reading: Million Dollar Consulting by Alan Weiss.

•Financial limitations can stimulate innovation by forcing concentration and focus. Answer the question, what can we do now to provide more appropriate value for our customers?

•We must create appropriate value in the consumer’s mind. Most consumers think of only 1 or 2 options for every buying decision, this is the space we occupy in the potential customers mind, to grow you must become the #1 or #2 option the customer thinks about.

•The biggest reason for drama in the workplace is lack of clarity over roles, responsibilities and rationales. Clarify who is responsible for doing what and when, explain why you made the decision.

•Branding. Conduct a brand audit, consider everything that happens as which have greatest potential to improve the brand. Branding: know the value delivered, who the value is being delivered to, and how they will deliver the value. Let go of activities that don’t strengthen the brand. Focus and avoid tangents.

The 1 – 3 – 6 Rule
•Have your group identify their most important objective.
•Have them identify the three things they can do that would have the greatest positive impact on achieving that one outcome.
•Have them identify six things they will stop doing so they can have the time, energy and resources to do the three things they know they need to do to achieve this outcome.

•Considering reinventing your brand? What value are you known for delivering, who are you delivering value to, and how do you deliver that value. Change your business too often creates the risk of diluting your brand.

•Considering hiring a business coach: are you already a strong performer, do you want to improve, and are you truly open to working with an outside person? Considering hiring a coach for kids in your business: do the kids really want to be there, performance rationale do they lack motivation or do they lack technical skill?

•Be ready for your moments. Opportunities occur daily for us to step into and be influential.

Today’s Music: Rocky Theme by Bill Conti
Z-Man signing off