Reflections on my day at The Strategic Coach

Spending a day with laptops and mobile phones banned from the room was an unusual experience. I actually found it quite irritating because I use both mind-mapping software and Microsoft OneNote for my e-scribbles and feel as if I have another “to do” over the days ahead, transferring lots of notes across – an unexpected waste of time. I emerged from my coaching day laden down with binders, paper, CD’s and books – credit where it’s due, the “added-value” of all these paper and audio goodies is excellent – but I do wish the whole process were available in a virtual format for us travellers. You see – as Dan Sullivan suggests – I don’t have an office. Firstly because I don’t – and secondly because I spend the majority of my professional life travelling and cannot carry “stuff” around with me (I’d need a trailer) – so everything lives in my elaborately backed-up laptop. But my support team don’t have an office either – we all work virtually – so where the hell I’m going to put all these binders I don’t know – and I WILL have to transfer a lot of yesterday’s material across if I’m to access the coaching process daily and weekly. Listen up Strategic Coach – I know that many of your clients are office-based financial planners. Spare a thought for us travelling performers. That gripe apart, I’m scoring a big fat 10/10 for the day. I’ve been listening to Dan for years and so none of the content was either original or unexpected – but it doesn’t matter – what mattered most was the opportunity for some self-indulgent space in which I could think and plan for myself. I KNOW the theory – but like all cobbler’s sons, I’m too busy coaching my clients to coach myself. Russell presented well and held the room. The support team made the event seamless. The choice of hotel was good and the environment in the room sufficiently well illuminated and spacial for us all to benefit. I was surprised that only 6 of us were not financial planners – and equally surprised that many of my fellow delegates were much quieter than I expected – but we are going to be working together for the next 3 years and I’m hoping that new relationships will develop. In conclusion, I’m confident that these quarter days will be a catalyst for me to get my act together and move forward – it’s time I did.