As an entrepreneur you make decisions all day, every day.

With all the available data, new analytics software and the advances of AI, there’s pressure for entrepreneurs to make their decisions faster and better.

Since, as we all know, the difference between a good and a bad decision, can make or break your business, minimizing the number of bad decisions is an important factor in your success.

According to a survey conducted by McKinsey in May 2019, managers at a typical Fortune 500 company could waste more than 500,000 days a year on ineffective decision making. Costing these companies some $250 million in wages annually.

In the entrepreneurial world, these numbers would mean the end of your business.

So how can you minimize the number of bad decisions and not only increase the number of good decisions but increase the speed at which you make these decisions so you can keep up with everything else?

There is no hard answer for this one.

No magic wand or magic trick that will guarantee you make the right decisions each and every time. 

Sure there are processes to put in place such as clearly defining the issues at hand, defining your success criteria, openly debate and analyze various options, delegating the tasks to the right people quickly—but before the processes…

There are fundamentals that go above and beyond, or should I say that go before and below anything else. 

These 3 fundamentals are the building blocks of your business and should be at the very core of why you started a business in the first place.

Know your values

One of the biggest hurdle to making fast decisions is our discomfort with fear which can trigger procrastination. By pushing things further down the road, we try to avoid feeling uncomfortable in the present moment.

Although procrastination can be viewed as a positive tool to making decisions, if it allows you to take a step back and get to the root of the issues, it can also hinder your progress and keep you stuck in no-mans-land.

According to David Amerland, author of The Sniper Mind, “uncertainty is present in every decision we make. Because we are hardwired to avoid uncertainty when we encounter it we feel fear. Fear then begins to shut us down unless we take steps to counter it.”

The cure for facing fear with – somewhat – confidence and avoid passing the bucket down the line? 

Know your values.

When you have a clear understanding of the values that are at the core of who you are and what your business stands for, measure them to the potential outcome of the decision you are contemplating.

Is your decision aligned with your values?

How are the options you are contemplating aligning with what your business stands for?

Is it something that you could feel proud of because it will reflect well on you as a leader, your teams and what your business stands for?

“It doesn’t fell right in my gut” is an expression often used when decisions are out of alignement with our core values.

As the clock is ticking away and you’re analyzing the data and going over the numbers, ask yourself if your decision sits well with what you stand for.

TIP: Before you clearly define the issues at hand, take a moment to review your core values and make sure that everybody that is involved in the decision-making process agrees on the same values your business stands for. It will help guide you when things get sticky.

Understand your “why”

Understanding why you’re in business and the vision you’ve set for yourself is fundamental to making better and faster decisions.

Without it, your business looses it’s uniqueness. It looses what makes it your business.

Understanding your “why” also allows you to take bigger risks, to make decisions that may otherwise seem out of reach, to keep moving forward after hearing 100 – or 1,000 – “no”.

To quote Simon Sinek, “People don’t buy what you do or how you do it, they buy why you do it.” 

Purpose should permeate everything you do, including your decisions.

Every decision you make should align with the purpose of your business.

The word “purpose” is a word thrown around quite often and can be seen as some woo-woo concept that makes your marketing efforts look good.

But at it’s core, your purpose is the foundation of your business, the essence of your message to your employees and your customers; it’s your reputation, your brand.

Now more than ever, people are looking to work for, represent and buy from brands and companies that have a deeper purpose.

Consequently, that purpose needs to show up in everything and all that you do as a business owner. 

Your purpose becomes your barometer agains which all decisions are measured as they all need to be aligned. 

Nothing is more confusing to employees or customers than a business whose decisions follow no clear path of meaning. 

TIP: As you look to make better and faster decisions, look at what the end result might be and if it aligns with why you’re in business. Which one of the contemplated solutions is taking you a step closer to your big vision.

Forget the present

Making a decision based on current circumstances is tempting.

It feels safe.

But it might not be in the best interest of your business.

Limiting your decisions to what is, prevents you from moving to what could be.

Some of the world’s most prominent business leaders – we’re looking at your Elon Musk – all share a common trait: they see what’s ahead before anyone else.

Meaning they must also make decisions based on what is yet unseen but could only be considered a possible theory or the deconstruction of a current reality taken as the whole truth, nothing but the truth, so help you God.

To make better and faster decisions for your business, ask yourself the following question:

What’s possible?

What decisions can I make now, that will move me forward in the future in a way that is yet not seen?

Use what is known now in your industry to push it forward. 

For you business to stand out and for you to have the impact you are looking for, your decisions will inevitably have to reflect your forward-thinking processes.

The world is too competitive, the market too saturated for you to make decisions based on what is currently being done.

I challenge you to see the unseen. To do the not-yet-done.

TIP: As you sit down to debate various outcomes to your issue, I invite you to widen your circle of influence. Invite people from different backgrounds, culture, race, ethnicities, gender and life experiences. This is where diversity holds all its powerful and beautiful glory. Debating with those that have seen and lived differently will allow you to, inevitably, hopefully, see the unseen of what can be.

By focusing on these 3 fundamentals, you’ll be making better and faster decisions that will allow your business to grow and move quickly towards your bigger vision.

Your decision-making tips

What are some of your tips for better and faster decision-making?

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This article is part of the Lead Yourself First Newsletter. If you like this article, feel free to subscribe and check out my coaching videos on the topics I talk about in the LYF newsletter.

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Performance Coach | Business Mentor l Entrepreneurial Leadership

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We’re on a mission to help entrepreneurs become high performing leaders and create a culture that skyrockets engagement and profits.

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As a business owner, you want your business to be successful.


You want to reach your financial and purpose goals.


And the best way to get there is to have a team that supports you, that understands your vision, that is engaged and passionate about the work they do.


Long gone are the days when a simple paycheque and some benefits were sufficient to keep employees happy – and that’s a good thing.


People want their career and work to matter.


They want to find meaning and purpose in what they do with one third of their life.


They want to be inspired by the vision of their leader and the company they work for.

It starts with culture

Your culture is as a set of shared values, goals and principles that characterize your business.


It’s the way people your actions inspire people to feel about the work they do, the values they believe in, the vision you are following and the mission you are on.


But to build a culture that represents all those things.


A culture that truly impacts the people that work for you and with you.


You need one thing.


And that is courage.


Courage is the first step in building whatever culture you need to implement in order for your team to thrive, your profits to soar and your business to become wildly successful.


And because people model example, you’ll have to be the one that takes the first step.

How to build a culture of courage

In this video, I take you through the first step you need to take to build a culture of courage.

If you are ready for more

If you’re ready to shatter your income ceiling, streamline your decision-making, free up your time and skyrocket your profits than you are ready to build a powerful business culture.


Building a powerful company culture is only for those who want to grow a wildly successful business, for those who want a brand that creates raving fans, for those who want to have an impact and build a legacy.


If you’re business is a side-hustle and you want to keep it that way, there is no need for you to focus your energy on a culture.


But if your business is at the core of what you do and you want to drive results and blast through financial goals, then I’ve got something for you.


I’ve put together a FREE Masterclass to get you started.


In this Masterclass, I share with you

The 5 Steps Successful Business Owners Use To Free Up Their Time, Streamline Decision-Making And Create A Culture That Skyrockets Profits.


It’s a powerful Masterclass that sums up over 15 years of personal and professional experience in building multiple 7-figure businesses and working alongside other entrepreneurs that have also built wildly successful businesses.


Listen, I know what it’s like to feel like you can’t delegate work to anyone,
like you have to micromanage every detail of your business,
like you’re alone to carry the success of the business.


I know what it’s like to miss out on family dinners, bedtime stories and weekend practices.


I know what it’s like to cancel yet again, another date night.


But these are not prerequisites to building a wildly successful business.


It’s actually the opposite.


To build a successful business you need to know how to delegate,
you need to know how to inspire your team to perform,
you need to know how to free up your time to think,
you need to know how to make better decisions,
you need to know how to hire the right people,
you need to know how to build a legacy.


Watch this Masterclass.



It’s the best time investment you’ll make today.


And the first step into building your legacy.



To your success,
Eloïse

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Entrepreneurial Leadership ➖Performance Coach ➖Business Mentor

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Tired of spinning your wheels and going nowhere fast?

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Trust is a tricky thing. Have you ever trusted someone, fully, only to catch them in a little lie. You’re thinking, it’s not that bad, it’s just a little lie, no one got hurt… But then something inside of you shifts.

Continue reading

How to resolve conflict tactfully in 4 steps

Conflict is never about what appears on the surface.

To learn how to resolve conflicts swiftly and tactfully, you need to be willing to be present, look deeper, listen more attentively and remove yourself form the outcome.

Conflict is costly

CEOs spend almost 3 hours a week and a staggering $359 million US annually (in time/salaries paid) trying to resolve conflict.

If you don’t mind wasting your money for no good reason, purposely being unproductive and ducking your head in the sand when issues arise, then this article is not for you. 

On the other hand, if you are the kind of person who spends money in the wisest ways, takes pride in their daily accomplishments and is willing to face challenges head on then you are my people and keep reading.

I believe this step-by-step process will be greatly valuable to you. 

Willingness leads to millions

Decades ago, a senior partner at the law firm where I interned asked me to join him in a meeting. Within minutes of the casual greeting pleasantries, it turned into a all-out shouting match. 

Sitting back quietly was my senior partner. After a few minutes, he got up, “John, come get some coffee with me. What we serve here tastes like brown water.”

John, who was shouting the loudest, mumbled as we all walked out of the boardroom. What happened next, gave me my first glance into tactful conflict resolution. 

As John vented his frustration while we waited for the elevator, the partner asked him: so what’s the real problem?

Before he could get more than a few words in, the partner raised his “no, I get all that. I’m asking you want the real issue is, not what you are making it out to be”.

John stood there, uncomfortably silent.

By the time we got back to the boardroom, freshly brewed coffee in hand, we understood the underlying issues and believed we could get the deal done if we addressed them head on. 

Which we did.

How we went about resolving the conflict saved all parties involved a huge amount of money and time. And that is what I want for you.

Whether you are dealing with multi-million dollar conflicts or simply an inter-personal conflict, this step-by-step process will be your greatest ally in resolving the conflict swiftly and tactfully.

It starts with awareness

Before you can tackle the conflict itself, you have to make a conscious effort of awareness.

Let’s be honest, how often have you felt a conflict brewing but chose to wait it out and see?

You’re best bet when you feel something isn’t right, is to take a proactive approach to it.

Lead, don’t simply follow.

Now I’m not saying you should put your nose where it doesn’t belong but if a budding conflict can have repercussions on your colleagues and team members, your culture and your bottom line, then it’s best you step up.

And it starts with awareness. 

Take out your note pad and write down a few notes about the conflict that is emerging. Write your first impressions of the conflict and set yourself a reminder to check in on how the conflict is evolving over a few days.

In a day or two, if the conflict dissolves, move on. If not, move on through the three following steps of the process.

Lead with curiosity

As we were making our way down in the elevator, the senior partner relentlessly asked questions. He didn’t offer John any advice. He simply asked one question after the other. 

Being a leadership coach now, I understand that my senior partner wanted John to open up.

John’s first answers were glossy, shiny excuses for why he was getting upset. They weren’t the real reason for his frustration and did nothing to help us resolve the conflict.

As you step in with awareness, express genuine curiosity and show a willingness to understand and help. You will get those involved to open up about the real issue.

Lead with curiosity.  Don’t assume or presume anything.

Be mindful of the questions you ask as questions not only solicit information, they reveal information. They reveal information about your assumptions, about how much knowledge you have around the conflict, about how assertive you are going to be on resolving it.

And all of those things will feed into the responses you get. So be open with your questions and don’t base them on assumptions or biases.

Equity rules

Let’s be honest, we all have biases.

We all tend to lean towards one person or one explanation more than the other. Some things simply make more sense to us based on our experiences, beliefs, behaviours and world views.

But as a leader, as someone who is proactively looking to resolve a conflict, equity rules and personal biases have no place.

As stated by John W. Budd and Alexander J.S. Colvin in their paper on The Goals and Assumptions of Conflict Management in Organizations, equitycaptures a sense of justice, fairness, and due process. Equitable conflict resolution prevent arbitrary or ego-centred decision-making. As a result equitable conflict resolution outcomes are those that are consistent with the judgment of a reasonable person who does not have a vested interest in a particular outcome. 

Fairness plays a huge role here also as all participants should be treated with respect, sensitivity, and privacy.

So as you go about becoming aware of the conflict and diving deeper into asking open and genuine questions, you want to do so with all parties involved and give them the same opportunity to express themselves, free of judgement.

Understanding each point of view will go a long way into establishing you as a fair and unbiased leader.

Authenticity and integrity are the buzzwords of the year but this is how you bring them to life in your everyday business: by showing openness, transparency and fairness in all of your processes, including, conflict resolution.

It doesn’t need fixin’ 

This last step is where a lot of people trip up and it has everything to do with your mindset as you get involved into resolving this conflict.

At the onset, you have to shift your mindset from one of fixing the situation to facilitating a  more positive and better outcome for all parties involved.

You are not the handy-woman. You are not there to fix things – and we all know, from experience, there is no such thing as fixing people.

Your involvement as a leader is to offer options and possible solutions.

Fixing and facilitating are two very different mindsets and I can assure you that you will not be able to reach a facilitating mindset if you have not done the previous work of awareness, curiosity and equity.

Facilitating allows you to take a step back, to analyze the progression of the situation objectively and to remain in a position of service instead of baring the weight of the conflict. 

It also allows those involved to take ownership of the part they play in the conflict and participate in the elaboration of a solution. 

By establishing a step-by-step process of conflict resolution that promotes awareness, curiosity, equity and ownership, you are empowering yourself and your people to resolve conflict quickly and tactfully.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Do you have a conflict resolution process in place?

Let me know in the comments below.

To your success,
Eloïse

Confidence: A necessary skill for entrepreneurs

This is a 3-part series on building confidence for entrepreneurs. In this first part, I share with you the first step in building your confidence.

These steps stem from my own experience of working as an international lawyer alongside successful, and highly confident entrepreneurs, for over 15 years; my training and the results I get for my clients, as a leadership coach.

A little background on confidence

Confidence is often misunderstood yet it is a vital skill for all entrepreneurs to master.

The word confidence comes from the latin word ‘fidere’ which means “to trust”. 

Having confidence hence, is our ability to trust ourselves. 

It is important to note that confidence is a perception; it is the perception we have of ourselves, independent of external factors.

Let me write that again: independent of external factors.

Confidence does not rely on praises or accolades, cheers or applause.

Confidence resides within you and allows you to face life’s challenges head on, regardless of what they are and without letting them affect who you are.

The best thing about confidence is that it’s a skill, which means it can be learned.

You don’t need to be born confident or have a special degree or come from a lineage of successful and confident individuals. 

You can develop your confidence.

The question becomes, how? How do you learn to trust yourself? 

The first step in building your confidence: Self-Discipline = Self-Confidence

I need to make one thing very clear: without discipline and without confidence, you will never reach the extent of your ambitions. 

I know that sounds harsh. It is meant that way.

Think about this for a moment: how many times have you set out to accomplish something and got distracted or lost interest or lacked motivation to complete it? Were you satisfied with your results? How was your confidence level?

I’m gonna say you were probably disappointed, wondering if you have what it takes to succeed and maybe, just maybe, you started doubting yourself… when in fact, the missing piece has nothing to do with your talent or with your motivation. It has everything to do with discipline.

With self-discipline, there is no limit to what you can achieve.

“Self-discipline is the key to personal greatness. With self-discipline, the average person can rise as far and as fast as his talents and intelligence can take him. But without self-discipline, a person with every blessing of background, education and opportunity will seldom rise above mediocrity.” – Brian Tracey.

Self-discipline allows you to organize and execute what needs to be done in order to reach your goals, ambitions and aspirations.

It helps you overcome laziness, procrastination and indecisiveness. It builds a protective layer around you that allows you to withstand external pressure and influence.

Self-discipline allows you to motivate and inspire others around you that wish they too could show up for themselves, honor their goals and have the standards to level-up to their aspirations.

In order to help you build your self-confidence, overcome imposter syndrome and learn how to handle rejection and failure with optimism, I suggest you start by building your self-discipline.

Let’s begin by implementing  the following 3 practises for the next 30 days.

Practice 1: Self-Control

Coined the “greatest human strength” (Baumeister & Tierney, 2011), self-control is the foundation of self-discipline and self-confidence. According to research, we battle temptations all day long.

Actually, we resist, on average, two impulses out of every five that we face daily (Muraven et al., 1999) – in other words, we spend more than half our time resisting, or desperately trying to resist our urges and impulses. 

Practise self-control by picking one thing you crave daily and delaying it’s satisfaction.

For example, if you crave something sweet to eat in the afternoon, delay the temptation until the evening. If you watch television every night for 2 hours, delay your watch time by one hour and only watch TV for that one remaining hour. 

Practice 2: Reduce temptations

Reducing temptation goes hand in hand with self-control and self-discipline (Hofmann, et al., 2012).

It is very hard to delay gratification of a warm cookie after a demanding day if the cookies are staring right at you as you walk into the kitchen.

Allow yourself the luxury of removing temptations (Patrick, V., & Hagtvedt, H. 2012).

For example, when you chose to work on a project, remove all other distractions and implement the 50-10 rule which dictates that you focus exclusively on your project for 50 minutes and then take a 10-minute break.

Another example, if you are tempted to watch television in the evening, place a book where the remote control normally sits as a reminder of your intention to read  and as an easy grab.

Practice 3: Morning and evening routine

Developing a daily routine will help build your confidence in your ability to accomplish what you set out to do, will anchor your self-discipline and can also help you to feel more in control and make room for all that’s important.

A daily morning and evening routine is also a great aid to your mental health as it can help you cope with change, form healthy habits, and reduce your stress levels.

Develop a morning and evening routine that has you waking up and going to bed at the same time every day. Include a time to relax, take care of yourself, meditate, exercise and read or journal.

This routine is about you and setting the tone for the day, reflecting on your day and getting yourself ready for what’s next. 

As an entrepreneur, you are your greatest asset and therefore, taking care of yourself, building your self-confidence  and setting yourself up for success should be your main priority.

In part 2 of this series, I will share with you the second step into building your self-confidence, overcoming imposter syndrome and learning to handle rejection and failure with optimism.

Don’t miss the second and third part of the series, subscribe to my newsletter HERE.