by Kevin L. Baker
If a person is frustrated, failing, and fearful in life or in their business as an entrepreneur, owner, or manager, I will ask them questions about courage–strength in the face of fear. The presence or absence of courage is the crucial factor that determines whether a person, business, or organization is growing.
My business works with people, teams, and companies to lead them to reach the peak of their potential and grow. I often encounter very intelligent people when I begin an engagement with a company. Yet, even the best teams get stuck. Stuck companies are not developing internally, or growing sales and profits. There is usually one of two things going on in stuck companies–lack of courage or lack of ability to execute growth strategies.
How I Moved From Stuck to Courage
For several years, I was part of a Vistage CEO peer mentoring group. The group is a monthly meeting of business owners and CEOs. After a change in the Chairman of the Board of the company where I was President, the direction of the company took on a “circle the wagons” mentality. As a leader, that was not the strategic plan our senior management team had built for 10 years. I was asked by my peers why I did not just go out and start my own business at that point. I was obviously capable and competent to do so.
I had started four entrepreneurial ventures in my life. Three of the four succeeded. I should have had the confidence to believe I could succeed. Nevertheless, I was stuck and not moving forward. My business coach, Linda Murphy gradually uncovered the reasons I was holding back. We began to address the underlying barriers that had gradually caused me to not move forward. That is when I discovered the 4Cs formula.
The 4Cs Formula
I am a lifelong learner, and in my pursuit of growth as a businessman, I had come across Peter Diamandis’ “Abundance 360,” and his podcast with Dan Sullivan. Dan is founder of a firm in Toronto which was just 90 minutes from Buffalo, New York where I lived. Dan has a teaching on “The 4Cs Formula,” and it changed my life.
Sullivan says, “Nothing starts until you commit to achieving a specific measurable result by a specific date in your future. After you’ve made the commitment, courage is required because you have to take action before you’ve acquired the capability to achieve the result. Capability is actually created because of your commitment and courage. And, finally, confidence is the result of these first three stages.”
“Commitment leads to Courage. Courage leads to Capability. Capability leads to Confidence. Confidence leads to Commitment. Apply, lather, rinse, repeat.”
Sullivan’s work helped me to unlock the reason I was holding back from launching out into my own business venture and staying there. I now know, the 4Cs are “a universal language for any person to grow into a bigger and better future.” Having taught the principles to many in my work as a consultant and coach, I have grown in my understanding of them and added my own observations and learnings as I coach CEOs and key executives.
Commitment–Selling Your Goal to Yourself
The root of fear is often a belief that you do not have the capability to do something you want to commit to. Since you do not think you are capable, you do not make a commitment. I have known many leaders who say things like, “I will not make a commitment for our company to do something until we are capable of doing it.” Let me translate that. “I do not think I am capable of leading our company to become capable and confident enough to carry out this commitment.”
I totally understand that hesitancy. It was this barrier that had stopped me from moving forward into leaving the comfortable CEO executive role I was in. I did not think all the players in my personal life would support me leaving a highly successful executive role. So, I was stuck in a position I was not really happy in.
Commitment is the cornerstone to building anything. I learned long ago from the Franklin-Covey folks, that the best way to make a commitment to a goal is to have a starting line, a finish line, and a deadline.
Example of a commitment: I make it my commitment to grow from having no business, to launching my business by January 1, 2018.
Procrastination Is the Opposite of Commitment
Once you publicly state you are doing something, you have “skin in the game.” Commitment forces us to start moving forward. You may realize, “I cannot do this alone.” That is where courage comes in to take stock of what you will need to carry out your commitment.
However, not being capable of carrying out a commitment is not a reason to kick the can down the road until you are capable. If you make that choice, you will become frustrated, fearful, and failing. Commitment is the first step on the road to growing capabilities.
Courage Makes You Able
When you make a public commitment, you have stepped out of the safe zone. Now, you are in the position where growing in your abilities and risk tolerance have positioned you to push further than you have ever gone before. There is no going back once you commit. You can stay where you are and fail, or you can start that climb higher to reach the peak of your potential.
I can tell you, as an entrepreneur and business owner, I have had many moments where I have asked myself, “Why in the world did you leave the safe life making great money and start all over? Are you crazy? This whole enterprise could sink like the Titanic and then where will you be?”
Then I remember, I want to be free to live the life I want. I want to build my own balance sheet, not someone else’s. Now, I need to dig deeper. Grow more. Execute. Do the right things and make it happen. I need the courage to get up one day at a time and accomplish three important things each day to keep others writing checks and the cash flow coming so my family can live. Innovation happens when I am committed to being bigger and better.
When we face the uncomfortable place of having to find new ideas and develop new skills to succeed, we do. It is not easy. We often need to seek the help of others. Yet, as I dig deep, I realise I have my own unique gifts, abilities, personality, and experience. I stand out because I am unique. So are you. This is where courage comes from–deep within yourself.
Growing More Able Makes You Confident
When you make a commitment and put yourself in the place of iterating till you figure it out, you will become more capable, more competent, and more confident. When I moved to Australia, no one knew me. I had no network like I had in the USA. I had to start all over. There were days I wondered why I had ever thought I could move to a new country and succeed. I decided the first step was to focus on marketing and tell my story to a new group of people.
I spoke to my son Joel who is a trusted advisor. We discussed how I needed to share my body of knowledge to establish credibility. So I started writing articles for Linked In Pulse. I started a podcast and newsletter to talk to people. Day after day I worked, I wrote, I published, I figured out how to produce and publish a podcast. I did not have those abilities until I stepped out of the safe zone and was thrown into the deep end of sink or swim. I will never forget how excited I was when my first podcast was published to Libsyn and distributed through iTunes and people around the world. Staring at my computer screen I was hoping some person out there would read or listen to all the work I was doing to build my consulting, coaching, and brokering business. Then, I started having people comment, mail me, and reach out here in Australia and around the world!. My confidence to be in business for myself in a new country as well as the USA exploded as I met with new clients, wrote proposals, and walked into businesses to help others reach the peak of their potential!
The Path to Bigger Commitments is Built on Exponential Confidence
I recently shared this process with several groups of managers I am training for a client. Confidence is the result of having the courage to carry out your commitments. As your confidence grows, so does your courage to make even bigger commitments. This is what leads you to grow exponentially in your personal life and business.
Don’t Go It Alone
This journey to growth–Commitment, Courage, Capability, and Confidence is not easy. I do not recommend you try to climb your personal Mount Everest alone. When people ask me what I do for a living, I tell them I am a Sherpa–the local guides who assist those aspiring to climb to the summit of Mt. Everest. I did not make my journey alone. I have had paid coaches, mentors, and advisors in addition to the support of my family helping me every step of the way.
I am here to help you grow and succeed. Your first step of courage is to write to me. I am here to be your guide on the journey to success. Behind every star A-Team player is a great coach, a great mentor, trainers, and other players on the team. Let’s get started on the climb to your greatest success and growth today.