We’re thrilled to be kicking off another Mission: Vacation series with APC and this year’s winner, Eric Craine from All-Ways Painting. It’s a program that continues to bring us back to the core purpose of why Nolan Consulting Group was born 16 years ago.

Investing in Vulnerability

As an entrepreneur, like many of you, I have a passion for creating a dream of personal freedom and financial independence. It’s amazing where that passion and energy can take us – new ventures, masters of crafts, leaders in our industry and community. From the outside, it can look like we’ve got it all figured out and know all the answers; after all, you’re the leader! Sure, maybe that mindset works for you, but at Nolan Consulting Group, we think there is a different approach to leadershipand growth. Investing in your vulnerability and speaking about your weaknesses can be challenging, but they may be just the breakthrough you need to get to the next level.

Taking that first step is exactly how Eric Craine landed the Mission: Vacation experience –  he is ready to tear down the walls. Through our initial conversations withEric, we discovered together that our starting point for his journey was understanding where his own leadership could improve, because that focus would allow for growth in all other aspects of his business and his personal life.

We prompted him: Where are you holding back leadership by controlling everything and not delegating appropriately? Leaders can often be quick to blame other people for operational failure, but it’s critical they do a selfcheck first. Does your team have a clarity of roles and responsibilities? Are you empowering them to step up through delegation? Are you coaching them for success and are you holding them accountable? Where are you jumping in to solve a problem to get things done quickly?

We all can fall victim to the mindset of “It’s just easier if I do it” or “I can do it best,” yet this is where we stall out and growth halts. This is the perfect opportunity to be coaching other people to learn how to solve problems.

The Journey

In assessing your own business, start first with this: what is my vision, my values, my purpose? Is the existing organizational structure broken? Am I playing the roles meant for others? What are my strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, both as a
company and as an owner? Creating this picture begins to set the tone. These are the assessments and the journey we’ll follow with Eric through our Cascading Planning Process™, a goal-based planning system that produces guiding documents for vision achievement at all levels in an organization. It is a systematic approach that creates organizational alignment and enhances employee engagement and exponentially increases a company’s chances of achieving its vision. While everyone’s journey might look a little different, these are the pillars to build on.

Rediscovering Vision and Values

Your company’s core vision is its most fundamental reason for being; it’s your desired future state. It’s motivational because it connects with the heart and the head, and it paints a realistic picture of where the company is going.  Your values help determine whether you are on the right path and fulfilling your business goals. Core values are also a guide to decision-making and drive the culture. In Eric’s case, what does All-Ways Painting want to look like as an organization in three years, and what values are driving the team culture?

Weakness Prevents You From Achieving Your Vision

Your SWOT – assessing your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats –assists in painting the picture of what’s preventing you from achieving your vision or from engaging in taking that next step.  In starting our relationship with Eric, it was critical to understand not only where he wanted All-Ways Painting to go but also the current status of operations. We reviewed our Business Systems’ Checklistto paint a picture of priorities and assess the areas of need as we worked the path backward from B to A. With the vision of success in mind, you can begin to prioritize the steps that need to happen for that pathway to develop.

The Big Rocks

You’ve remembered your vision and the why – and identified where you’re stuck and accepted that you don’t have it all figured out. This is a milestone! We hope you recognize the strength that comes with it. The exciting part
is next: the “make it happen” part of the adventure, where you can establish the focus points for the next year – your Big Rocks! These Big Rocks get served priority timing through action planning, time management and strategy; the small day-to-day stuff
will find a way to fit in.

With Eric, we’re getting ready to focus on those Big Rocks – the critical success areas where we will choose to take action and implement change. This is where we can help hold him accountable and ensure he is staying on track yet also be there with him to support and engage in strategy.

Eric is working with members of our core team from Nolan Consulting Group, each of whom specializes in a unique content area. As point guard of the series, I, Brian Nolan, am leading the strategic charge, bringing in senior coaches Andrew Amrhein and Kathryn Freeman for their focus areas on financial management and human resources.

Eric has an amazing journey ahead, and we’re just getting started. We’re so excited to see him take All-Ways Painting to the next level, all while getting ready for the family vacation he deserves.

This is Mission: Vacation; we invite you to join the ride.

By Brian Nolan of Nolan Consulting Group

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