My name is Kathy Burns. I'm an entrepreneur, a business coach and strategy consultant, a workshop presenter and creative thinker. I'm a voracious reader and a scrabble player, an avid cook and joyful eater and the founder and former owner of Garlic's Restaurant.
Burns' Biz Blog is a blog about: business strategy and marketing, business owners, how to move your business forward, business development, the trials and tribulations of owning a company, following your dreams, keeping the balance, and interesting business books and articles.
kathy | 7-Jul-2009
I was at a networking function recently and the usual question came up, “What do you do?” I said I was a business coach and asked my new friend, “What’s your perception of the difference between a business coach and a consultant?” I’ve taken to asking this question often these days and am surprised by the lack of understanding around business coaching. Here’s my take on that question.
A business consultant is generally called into a company when it’s in a state of limbo. The company recognizes that they need outside help to move their situation forward. They bring in an outside consultant who has been choosen for their area of expertise and knowledge. The expectation is that the consultant will observe and analyse the situation then provide a solution that’ll move the company forward. The solution is presented in the form of recommendations that the company can choose to implement, ignore or shelve. If the consultant was a doctor, we’d recognize the process as one where the patient is examined, a diagnosis is made, and a prescription is written.
A business coach is also called into a company to help it move forward. So the starting point can be very much the same as for the consultant. The primary difference between coaching and consulting is philosophical. The belief in coaching is that the client or company is naturally creative, resourceful and whole - even though they may be at a juncture where they’re stuck. They have the solution - it’s up to the business coach to pull it out of them as opposed to prescribing the solution. While consultants observe, analyse and recommend, business coaches facilitate the client’s analysis of the situation to deepen their learning and drive them to action. The hope with business coaching is that the learning leads to behavioural changes that ultimately have a sustainable positive effect. Hey business coaches out there - do you agree?
[ 1 Comment ] Category: Business Coaching, Business Growth, Uncategorized
kathy | 19-Jun-2009
One of the first steps I took when I decided to become a business coach was to hire a coach for me. His name is Samy and I’ve been working with him for about three years. In my start up days, just like most businesses, my cash flow was limited.Paying for a business coach seemed like an extravagance. I remember one of the things that Samy said in those early days that’s stuck with me. He said that, “ having a business coach is one of the most inexpensive business partners you’ll ever have”. In addition, business coaches don’t have a vested interest in your business like real partners. Their only interest is in your well being and the well being of your company. Plus, you don’t have to share the profits with your biz coach. And last but DEFINITELY not least…when your relationship with your business coach needs to take a pause or feels complete, there are no legal strings attached. So next time you hear someone questioning the cost of a coach, think about what Samy said.
[ 2 Comments ] Category: Business Coaching, Business Growth, Entrepreneurship
kathy | 22-May-2009
I’m still reading “What Would Google Do” and am thoroughly enjoying it. Jarvis, the author, notes that we’re living in an era when niche markets are on the rise. If “mass markets are dead and it’s long live the mass of niches”, then what happens to the busness generalists?
Niche implies specialization and focus. I suppose the evolution of specialization is a direct result of basic economics….and the theory of supply and demand. When an industry is born and demand reaches a stage of critical mass, there’s a period when demand outweighs the supply. The imbalance between supply and demand allows for generalization vs. specialization, mass vs. niche. Think about retail in the olden days before the rise of transportation and multiple distribution channels. The general store did the trick for a while yet as supply increasd, the larger general stores morphed into department stores. Eventually, specialty stores and boutiques sprung up. These specialized stores have now evolved to giant big box specialty stores that focus on pets, electronic needs, books etc.. Then along comes the internet giving consumers even more choice and more supply which forces more specialization. In the world of consumer goods, increased competition in a supply chain seems to result in increased specialization. What about in the world of knowledge?
Back to the internet…and the world of Google whose mission is “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful” As a result of Google, knowledge today is more abundant and accessible than ever before. What are the repercussions for the knowledge providers? Knowledge is no longer scarce, in fact the abundance of knowledge available today is at times downright overwhelming. Seem like Google has caused the role of the business advisor/knowledge provider to evolve. Google is the new generalist, the big department store of knowledge. To survive in this knowledge-rich society, business advisors/knowledge providers need to ramp up their game when it comes to specialization. Hey Jim Collin’s does this mean the foxes of the world will morph into hedgehogs? Or will generalists evolve to become generalists of specific niches?
[ No Comments ] Category: Social Media, Strategy
kathy | 14-May-2009
I’ve been reading the book, ”What Would Google do?” and have found some nuggets. The author, Jeff Jarvis, talks about how we have shifted from a content economy (media, books) to a link economy. My favourite line that I’ve read so far is this, “content without links is the tree that falls in the forest that nobody hears (and turns into newsprint.)” So how does a lone entrepreneur establish/create links? Can anyone help?
Jarvis suggests that the link economy makes five demands: it’s a matter of creating unique content with clear value, ensuring that the content is searchable, exploiting the links and audience through advertising, using the links to find new efficiencies and finding opportunities to create value atop this link layer = Googlethink.
In my quest to understand and leverage the power of social media I think I’m starting to grasp some basics. It seems to be all about creating valuable content and then linking that content to numerous sources/outlets/or channels. Hmm…so the focus now has to be on creating valuable content. Who defines value when it comes to content? Just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, content value must be in the eye of the reader.
[ 1 Comment ] Category: Social Media
kathy | 29-Apr-2009
Here’s a copy of my Burns’ Biz Tips e-newsletter from May 2009.
Most of my clients are business owners who want to grow their companies. Business owners know that if they want different results, change is required. Yet, often the biggest change needed is the hardest change to achieve. I’m talking about an adjustment to the duties of the business owner or CEO.
This month’s issue of Harvard Business Review has an interview with the CEO of Proctor & Gamble. He believes that, “the CEO has a unique external perspective to bring to his or her real work which is to link the outside to the inside.” This involves four tasks: Read full article >
[ 2 Comments ] Category: Biz Tips
kathy | 22-Apr-2009
Welcome - this is my first blog entry EVER. I’ve started a blog because everything I seem to read about business these days talks about how important social media is to growing a business. I thought I should learn about it and experience it so that I can help my non-techie clients understand its value. So, if you’re one or two steps behind me, I invite you to learn along with me. If you’re ahead of me on the learning curve, sit back and have a good laugh - maybe even clue me in if I’m really missing the boat. Read full article >
[ 3 Comments ] Category: Entrepreneurship, Strategy
