Business success happens when you think and play above the line

By John Corban

What does above the line mean? It starts with thinking and playing above the line of responsibility. When you take responsibility and ownership for all that is happening in your business (good and bad), you are empowered to do whatever it takes to make your business successful.

When you don’t operate above the line of responsibility, you are not in control and operate from the area of being a victim and feel the effect of everything.

Let’s go into this important explanation in a little more detail.

Victim

If you blame others, like your staff, contractors, clients or the economy, for any bad situation in your business, you will think like a victim and will remove the power and desire to fix the issues.

Blame –You always blame others, the economy, or something else for what happens. In other words, you don’t think you caused it.

Excuses – There is always a reason or excuse why something doesn’t happen. You don’t think it’s your fault.

Denial – You are constantly in denial that you are making mistakes and the cause of the problems.

So how do you get your power back? How do you need to think and act?

Empowered

Ownership – No matter what is happening in your business or life, you must take ownership of it. As soon as you start thinking this way, you realise you have control and can start making positive changes.

Responsibility – As soon as you declare that ‘I am a responsible person, and regardless of what is happening, I am prepared to fix the situation,’ things start improving.

Accountability – Being accountable means you have promised to find a way to fix your situation. You are accountable to yourself, your team and your family to progress and make your business successful.

Playing above the line gives you the power to change something you don’t like. When you start thinking and playing above the line, you are then in control of your business and life.

An example:

A landscaper called me recently and asked for help. He explained that he had had a bad year as three projects did not go well. His team leader had made mistakes, and the jobs took much longer than expected. Also, two clients were hard to please, asking for aspects of the jobs to be replaced.

I asked him what he felt needed changing. He said that his team leaders and two clients made it a tough year and he needed to find a replacement for one of his employees, and then work with better clients.

Clearly, this landscaper was not taking responsibility for the year of losses and stress. He didn’t recognise the issues in the way he qualified potential clients, understood the client’s needs, quoted jobs properly and carefully, or informed the client of the details of the estimate. He also didn’t take responsibility for how he trained and managed his team leaders to ensure the project was executed properly. So, I suggested that if he wanted to transform his business, it had to start with him taking full ownership of what had happened. He needed to stop blaming others, then make a commitment to setting up proper processes and systems and refining them until the results were what he wanted.

When we operate from a position of empowerment (responsibility, ownership, and accountability), we are determined and committed to making positive changes. We operate from a place of confidence and attract aligned clients. We train and encourage our team members to execute great standards and make decisions that work in our favour.

And that position is the only way to run a business!

John Corban
Business Coach for Landscapers, Horticulturists and Nursery owners
Mob: 0433 27 1980
www.landscaperscoach.com.au