I don't know about you, but I typically dread company wide meetings. 2 years ago I would have told you that I would rather be doing my job (or fly fishing--truth be told I still would prefer to be fly fishing-- sorry Joe). Maybe I am jaded because I have typically worked for bigger companies and the meetings usually turn into 1 person going on and on about something that is not relevant to me or my job. The team meeting we had on Monday and Tuesday of this week was not like that at all. While there were certainly people in the room who spoke more than others, that should not be a surprise. After all, we started with a look at the 4 types of leaders so that we could understand how to best work with each other. (Check out Les McKeown's Predictable Success to learn more).
Before I go too far, however, it is important to understand that Intuitive Accountant is a separate business from the other businesses under the Woodard umbrella (I like to call it Woodard World :) ). However, we work so closely with the awesome teams at Scaling New Heights and the National Advisor Network that we are treated as if we are all one growing family (without the crazy aunt and uncle).
With that said, we started the meeting by taking a condensed version of the core curriculum out of the National Advisor Network's recent launch, NAN Institute. We crammed 15+ hours of learning into 3 hours or so, but the nuggets that rose to the top were useful and a really good reminder that I need to focus on my own continuing education. How about you. Do you have a continuing education plan? If not, you may want to look at the National Advisor Network and the NAN Institute (or something similar) as a means of sharpening your skills (DISCLOSURE: NAN is owned by Joe Woodard, my business partner in Intuitive Accountant).
We spent Monday afternoon and most of the day Tuesday discussing and reviewing the future path of the Woodard organization and how the companies will be working together to "Radically and positively impact the way small businesses operate, working through small business advisors." Throughout this process we heard the vision of the CEO (Joe Woodard) and spent many hours poking holes in the vision and crafting it and sharing our perspectives on the vision. There were times of laughter, poking fun at one another and a few "challenges" made to the positions people were taking. All in it was a very healthy process that ended with a great Christmas dinner where the only business talked about was our goals for 2015.
So why am I writing about this?
1. To encourage you to look into the National Advisor Network. It can change the way you do business.
2. To encourage you to build a team around you that can support you, challenge you and tell you the truth. Check your ego at the door and listen to what everyone has to say. Joe does that well and it pays off in the long run.
3. To encourage you to consider attending Scaling New Heights. Am I saying that because my business partner owns the show? Absolutely not. I recommended this show to attendees and to exhibitors long before Joe and I were partners. I am encouraging you to attend the show because I truly believe it is the best place you can go to learn how to be a better business advisor to your clients.
4. To encourage you to write out your goals for 2015. I wrote my goals for 2014 in the notebook on my phone during last year's Christmas Party and was able to review the goals throughout the year and at our party last night was able to share that we exceeded our audience development goal and came extremely close to our revenue goal for the year. The year is not over yet!
5. Lastly, I am writing about this because Murph and I need your help to reach a couple of the goals we set for the business for 2015 and shared at our party. Murph is looking for 26 leading ProAdvisors to commit to regularly providing content for us. I am looking to increase our subscriber base by 250% over the next year. If you like to write, leave a comment in the comment section below and Murph will be in touch. If you like what we write, use the Share tools posted at the top of every article and post them to your social media channels and forward the newsletters to your industry friends.
So, do you have annual Team Planning meetings? Do you have someone or some people who you share your vision with who are empowered to challenge you and give you constructive feedback? Do you want to grow your business and increase your skills in 2015? Do you want to write for Intuitive Accountant? Will you help us increase our audience by recommending us to your colleagues? Take some time over the coming holiday to think about these questions and write out your goals for the new year and beyond. You'll be glad you did.
Happy Holidays!
Gary