Discover What Your Pool and Home Office Have in Common

I have a client here in Scottsdale and while I was consulting with him, I came up with a story that ended up being an effective analogy of why working with a business coach regularly makes perfect sense.

When I arrived at his house, I noticed his lovely pool area. I was thinking to myself as I approached his entry just how well-maintained it had been and it looked very welcoming.  I wonder what it’ll be like inside the house.

While we were having our initial conversation, I was describing to him what our working relationship would likely look like.   I asked him some questions–  relating to his swimming pool.

I questioned, What did your pool look like when you moved in?

Client:  It was a mess

Oh I’m wondering and asked, did you thoroughly clean it yourself or did you hire an expert?

Client: I could very well have handled it myself, but I hired someone to get it done

I asked, Why did you hire a professional pool cleaner?

Client:  Because I quite simply wasn’t sure what was necessary to get it done , and I suspected they would have the proper equipment, etc. and then I would be able to learn from them to do it myself.

Remarkable I was thinking, I then asked, Are you continuing to employ the pool service?

Client:  Yes they return once a month

Fascinating once again, I inquired, Is it necessary to do anything in between visits?

Client: (grinning) I see where you’re going with this, yes!

And I asked, Just how long does it take to keep up in between visits?

Client:. Not long, I simply have to skim off the top just about every day to  remove the bugs and other debris.  it’s possible that it takes 10-15 minutes.

At this point I’m the one chuckling!  So how’s that any different from managing the papers in your office?

Most of us have important investments, in our home or in our business.  We protect the obvious investments of a pool, our car,.  Why not the equivalent protection with our office?  The added benefit to working with a professional business consultant to organize your office is that it enables one to see things more clearly, you’re not wasting time shuffling papers from one area to the other, or just feeling frustrated because you’re tired of looking at the same old piles day after day.