Wildly Important Goals for Coaching Businesses: The 4DX Approach

Transcript

You. Welcome to the Crack The Coaching C.O.D.E.™ podcast, where every Thursday, coaches from all over the world can tune in to get a dose of good info to help them crack the coaching code in their coaching business. On this podcast, you will get what you need to make your coaching business a true dream. Business minutes. Whether that's a short learn-to-earn knowledge session or a full-length interview conversation with some of the most interesting, influential, and impactful people in the industry, this podcast will give you the inspiration, motivation, but above all, the encouragement you need to get you and keep you building and growing your own coaching practice. 

Welcome to the Crack The Coaching C.O.D.E.™ podcast. I'm your host. Chareen Goodman, Founder of Crack The Coaching C.O.D.E.™.

In this episode, we'll be continuing with our series called What Do I Need to Change? In the second quarter. Where we'll be discussing strategies and tips to help coaches achieve their goals and make the most of the second quarter of the year. In this episode, we'll be diving into the four disciplines of execution, a framework designed to help coaches achieve their most important goals by focusing on a few critical objectives, executing with excellence, and consistently measuring progress. 

Today, we'll be talking about two of the four disciplines of execution and how coaches can use them to improve their business outcomes in the second quarter. Whether you're a solo coach looking to overcome the struggles of running your own business or a coach looking to take your business to the next level, the four disciplines of execution can provide you with some valuable insights to help you achieve your goals. So sit back, relax, grab your pen and notepad, and get ready to learn how to crack the code to success with the Four Disciplines of Execution. In this episode, we're going to dive deep into a framework that can help coaches achieve their goals and make real progress in their businesses. It's called the four Disciplines of Execution.

Or 4DX for short. So last Friday, I was on my usual Institute of Management Consultants call, and there was a presentation being made about the four disciplines of execution. Now, for me, execution is everything. With my project management consulting background, execution is key. So the 4DX framework was developed by Chris McChesney, Sean Covey, and Jim Huling, who wrote a book about it called The Four Disciplines of Execution: Achieving Your Wildly Important Goals. 

So the 4DX framework is centered around the idea that most businesses, including coaches, have too many goals and initiatives that they are trying to work on at any given point in time, which can lead to a lack of focus and poor execution. Instead, the framework emphasizes the importance of identifying only one or two at the most Wildly Important Goals. They call them WIGs that are critical to the success of your coaching business and then, execution with excellence, which I call exquisite execution.

On those goals. I was recently attending a networking event, and one of the persons I was networking with mentioned that she was new in her coaching business and was trying to get it up and running. And she mentioned that there's a lot to do in business, but schools don't teach you how to run a business. And I was like, you're absolutely right. And she goes, Well, I wonder, do I really need to set goals? Do I really need to build an email list? And my answer to her was yes and yes, especially on the goals. I was like, you need to set goals because how will you know what you're moving toward, let alone how will you know if you've achieved it? 

So this first discipline of execution is important to figure out what is your Wildly Important Goal. By focusing on a few critical goals this quarter, you can create clarity and alignment with your business. This can also help you avoid the squirreliness of day-to-day tasks and distractions that can pull you away from your most important goals.

But setting WIGs or Wildly Important Goals is only the beginning. The Four Disciplines of Execution framework also provides guidance on how to act on lead measures, keep a compelling scorecard, and create a cadence of accountability to consistently measure progress and course correct as needed. The benefits of the 4DX framework for coaches are clear. By focusing on a few critical goals, again one to two at max and executing them with excellence, coaches can achieve greater clarity and alignment in their business and make real progress towards their most important goals, especially for the second quarter. 

Now, let's get into the first two disciplines of execution. In this segment, we're going to dive deep into the first discipline of execution, which is to focus on the Wildly Important Goals that are critical to the success of your coaching business. As we discussed earlier, the Four Disciplines of Execution emphasize the importance of setting one or two Wildly Important Goals that are critical to your coaching business.

These WIGs should be smart, specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. And they should represent the most important priorities for your business. So what are some examples of WIGs that a coach could set? Well, it really depends on your business and your goals, but some examples might include increasing client acquisition, improving client satisfaction, or developing a new coaching program. Real Moneymakers so let's say your WIG is to increase client acquisition. You might set a specific goal to acquire ten new clients in the second quarter or increase client acquisition by 25% within the next three months. This goal is specific. It is measurable. I would say it's even achievable. When you set your mind and focus on it, it's relevant, it's money-making, and time-bound, all within the second quarter or at least a month after that. 

The key to setting effective, Wildly Important Goals is to ensure that they are smart. This will help you stay focused and avoid distractions, and it will also help you track progress and course correct as needed. So as you think about your business and your goals for the second quarter, consider setting one or two WIGs, Wildly Important Goals that are crucial to your success this year, and make sure they are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. This will help you stay focused and make real progress toward your most important goals in your business. 

Okay, so in this segment, we're going to dive into the second discipline of execution, which is to act on lead measures that will lead to the achievement of your Wildly Important Goals. Lead measures are the specific behaviors or actions that you will take which directly influences the progress toward your Wildly Important Goals. These are the things that you can control and that will have the greatest impact on your success in achieving those goals.

For example, if your goal is to increase client acquisition, some lead measures you can focus on might include increasing your social media presence, attending networking events, or perhaps optimizing your website for search engines. The key to identifying effective lead measures is to focus on actions that are within your control and that will directly influence progress toward your goals. Here's the thing these lead measures should also be smart. They should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound, just like your Wildly Important Goals. 

So again, let's say your WIG, Wildly Important Goal is to increase your social media presence. Some lead measures you could focus on might include posting daily updates on your social media accounts, engaging with followers by responding to comments, and direct messages. Maybe it's about experimenting with different types of content to see what resonates with your audience. Again, the key is to incorporate things that you can control.

The key to success with this discipline is to consistently let me repeat that consistently act on your lead measures and measure progress towards your Wildly Important Goals. By focusing on specific actions that are within your control, you can make real progress toward your most important goals. So as you think about your business and your goals for the second quarter, consider identifying lead measures that will directly influence progress toward your Wildly Important Goals. And remember, it's important to have lead measures that are smart. That means they should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Having smart lead measures can really help you stay on track and make tangible progress toward your most important goals. So keep this in mind as you plan out your next steps. 

And that concludes episode two of the Crack The Coaching C.O.D.E.™ podcast, where we explore the first two disciplines of execution that can help coaches improve their businesses in the second quarter.

To recap, the Four Disciplines of Execution Framework provides a systematic approach to achieving your most critical goals for your coaching business by focusing on a few key objectives, execution with excellence, and consistently measuring your progress. Discipline One is all about identifying the Wildly Important Goals that are critical to the success of your business and represent the most important priorities for your business. Discipline Two emphasizes the importance of taking action on lead measures or the specific behaviors that will lead to the achievement of your goals. By focusing on actions that are within your control, you can directly influence the progress you make toward your goal. Remember that the first two disciplines of execution are just the beginning of the 4DX framework, and implementing all four disciplines can have and I'm certain will have a significant impact on the success of your coaching business. 

In our next episode, we'll continue our discussion of the four disciplines of execution and dive into the remaining two disciplines. So stay tuned. Thank you for listening to this episode of the Crack The Coaching C.O.D.E.™podcast.

If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to contact us via our website or social media channels. Again, thanks for tuning in and I look forward to seeing you in the next episode of the Crack The Coaching C.O.D.E.™ podcast. Blessings.