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Too many small-business people aren’t willing to ask for help when they need it. For example, the consultant must be willing to tell clients things that they need to hear, but may not want to — even if doing so means that the consultant loses business. She or he may not know your specific company or industry, but you and your people know your company and your industry quite well No matter how smart a consultant is, she or he won’t be able to help you improve your business until they fully understand the challenges you face.

Enroll your internal coach candidates in a coach-training program that is designed to train individuals that work inside companies as a coach. If you choose to enroll internal employees to become coaches, ensure they’re being coached by a coach with experience coaching internal coaches. In addition, be sure to train the individuals who are to be coached on the role and responsibilities of the participant, while establishing a clear and consistent process for enrolling clients, coaching time and exiting clients. In addition, be sure to ask the managers of the program’s participants about the changes they may have noticed in their employee’s behaviors after being coached.

Or Jeannette Bitz, chief strategist and managing principal at Engage, who says: “As a business owner, I’m focused and motivated, but I don’t always make time for strategic thinking because I’m busy serving clients. Often success is elusive or simply unfamiliar — most people who experience success aren’t ready to slow down or relax because they’ve spent years building a company or a career and they habitually push themselves. Beyond those questions, after any successful period, it’s important to take stock, re-evaluate and decide what’s important to focus on next. With every level of success there is another level of success just beyond the horizon that requires thought, decisions and actions that a coach can help you accelerate or think through.

Logistics/supply chain-intensive companies such as FedEx and Apple have solved much of Boxbee’s logistical, supply chain and labor challenges, which is why we sought out mentors such as FedEx’s cofounder, Roger Frock, and Apple’s former vice president of the online store, Mike Janes. Most people don’t do this because they’re concerned that these people are too busy and important to consistently donate time, but you’ll find that they’re flattered you’ve asked them for help and would relish at being partially responsible for your success. Being closely surrounded with mentors has changed how I approach all sorts of situations: what to say to the top executives to guarantee a meeting, how to build a strong network and use it regularly to strategically grow the company, how to start every day by visualizing and rehearsing events, how to constantly push everyone around me to their full potential, how to maintain confidence and cope with tremendous uncertainty and bad news. A true mentor will cause you to ask the right questions that help you get to where you want to be and they’ll call you out when they know you’re accepting less of yourself, your vision or your team.