Week 23 Focus – What’s your message?
Focus Question: What are you doing to create a message that is clear, crisp and consistent? What is important to consider?

Description
We have spent the last few weeks exploring different marketing approaches which will have been of interest to virtual professionals and entrepreneurs. For those that are leaders and professionals internal to an organization, a reminder that positioning your message internally, and building a business case, draws on many of the marketing principles we have been talking about.

This week’s focus on “What’s your message?” is important to all virtual professionals and business owners. Being clear with your message, and its delivery is key to business success.

Across the span of a week we are constantly communicating. From formal presentations to meetings with your boss, to connecting with peers, communication happens formally and informally throughout the day.

This week’s focus is what’s your message? We’ll explore it in the light of making a presentation.

It’s often said that you have 7 seconds to make a good first impression. What’s going to capture the attention of others with your message?

Consider the following:

• Distilling your message down to 3 bullet points. Take a look at this week’s quote.
• Starting your presentation/communication with a factoid, photo or graphic to capture their attention.
• Asking a question to get people thinking about how the topic relates to them.

What’s going to make the impression you want? In today’s business context, being heard and being understood is critical.

Activity
Think about an upcoming presentation or message you need to deliver. It could the announcement of a new program or offering. Work through these questions:
What’s your core message? What is it that you really want to say? Distill it down to 3 bullet points. What’s your intent? What do you want others to do as a result of the presentation?
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Key to creating memorable messages is that it is:

• Memorable – What will make this stand out? Is there a story or image you can share?
• Clear – Review your message. What’s unclear?
• Understood – what are the terms or issues people are looking for? What are people listening for?

Connection to the Workbook and Planner
Using the content planners and brainstorming space found towards the back of the planner can support you with your messaging. Also consider referring to some of the tips in Section 3 (Marketing and Promotion Essentials) as well.

Download a one-page copy of this week's 52 Weeks of Plan, Do and Track here.

Best wishes, 
Jennifer

Read and download the initial weeks of the 52 weeks of Plan, Do and Track

​Jennifer Britton - Potentials Realized
Check out the Weekly Planning Hack Facebook Live each Wednesday or Thursday here. Be sure to like our page to be updated each week!
Author of PlanDoTrack (2019), Effective Virtual Conversations (2017) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013)

Week 17 Focus – Content Creation
Focus Question: What role does content creation (or distribution) play in your world?

Description
At the heart of many virtual organizations, and service-based businesses is content creation. Whether it is designing a new course, writing a blog post, leveraging a series on Instagram, content creation is key. This is why the CBB and PlanDoTrack, includes the Content Pages. As a reminder, included in the Content Pages Section are:
Monthly Content Trackers – Use this to capture what you are posting every day of the month. Include the streams you are posting on, how many visits, likes, comments or other things in notes. You have space in the bottom right corner to note any themes which you are focusing on for the month. This information becomes a gold-mine for years to come!
The Monthly Content Journal – Use these to capture one word reflections on the day . Perhaps you are doing some research. Maybe focusing on capturing new ideas, thoughts than need an anchor somewhere.
31 Day Challenge – Don’t just do it once. Series create energy and generate community. What could you focus on daily for 30 or 31 days in your business to create a baseline, or spread the world?
Content Collaboration Plan - Who can you collaborate with? What do they do? Who do they serve? What could collaboration look like? Why would you want to collaborate or have a joint venture with them? What can you offer them in return for your partnership?

Activity
Review the different Content Tools available. How could you leverage these in your work, and around your current priorities?

What is the content you have created? Make a list and/or note how you might repurpose or repackage the material for different platforms. For example, if you have a blog post, could it be combined with others to create an article, or be converted into a video.

Review your current content calendars. What’s working? What needs to be developed? When are you scheduling in time to create content?

Need some inspiration? Check out the 31 Days of 1BizStepaDay. You’ll find it over at the CoachingBusinessBuilder website.

Connection to the Workbook and Planner

Download a one-page copy of this week's 52 Weeks of Plan, Do and Track here.

Best wishes, 
Jennifer

Read and download the earlier weeks of the 52 weeks of Plan, Do and Track series

In a virtual team it is critical to build capacity given that people are working more autonomously. Time spent equipping team members with the tools to influence, be proactive and also communicate is key.
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This week I wanted to zoom into three skills related to coaching that may be valuable to your virtual or remote team. These skills are:

1. Goals
2. Listening
3. Questioning

I often am amazed at how many organizations have not invested time, or resources, into helping team members work around goals. While there are many frameworks including:

• SMART Goals
• CLEAR Goals – see John Whitmore’s Coaching for Performance writing
• WOOP Goals

I usually encourage organizations to consider what’s going to work best for you. A majority of clients I work with are aware of SMART Goals, which we morph into SMART – E Goals, E meaning Exciting. If our goals are not exciting or motivating, it’s unlikely that we will get them done.

As a quick refresher – SMART goals are goals that are:

“There are patterns which emerge in one's life, circling and returning anew, an endless variation of a theme”
― Jacqueline Carey, Kushiel's Chosen
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At the start of the year there is often a push to pick a theme to anchor the year. In my past few years I’ve had themes like – Waterfall (2013), or this year’s theme of Magnify. These anchoring themes can provide a valuable touchpoint in terms of focusing effort, creating momentum or even helping with decisions. For example, this year when I am faced with competing options I am finding myself asking the question – which one would help me magnify things more.  Have you considered setting a theme as well for the month or quarter?

You’ll notice in many of the planning tools I have included in the planner sections of PlanDoTrack and Coaching Business Builder, that there is space for you to note the theme.

To support you in picking a theme this year, you may want to take a look at some of the photos I share in a video I created earlier this year for setting your annual vision. You can view it here.

What is your theme this month? 

Best,
​Jennifer

Week 4 Focus – VALUES – What’s important to you?
Focus Question: What are the values that anchor your business?

Description
Like a compass, values provide an important anchor for us. They influence our decisions, ways we work, and how we connect with others. What are the values which influence your work?

Research/Story
Working with Values as a Coach is a foundational part of what we do.There are many different ways to work with values as a coach including:

• Values Checklist (see below)
• Getting people to speak to a peak experience they have had
• Creating a Word String, adjectives which further define who we are.

This week you have the opportunity to revisit your values. Your values as a coach, as an individual and as a business owner. Note when these are similar, and how they are different.
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​Activity
Values Checklist
Use the downloadable values checklist (found below) ​to highlight different values you hold. Once you have identified your top 5, give them a tagline or 3-4 adjectives each.
For example: If one of my values is high touch, that also means – small group size, integrating 1-1 calls with group calls, and taking time to really connect. 
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Connection to the Workbook and Planner
Given that values are such a core part of our work, you are invited to review these several times throughout the workbook.
As part of the Iceberg you are invited to identify your top 10 values for you and your business. Write these out on page 24 (CBB) or page 25 (PDT). You may want to read through this entire section from pages 23 – 29.
There is also space on page 38 under “Be True to Who you Are” - The Micro-Vision on page 38 (CBB) or page 42 (PDT).
You are invited to return to this in the Ecosystem in Section 4, noting your top 5 values as part of your anchoring system, grounding you (page 104 – CBB; page 108 – PDT). Note your top 5 values there as well.
 
Download a one-pager to create you own annual analog resource. 

Enjoy!
Jennifer

PS - Share your vision and how you engage with these activities on social media. Use the hashtag #dscam2019 (It stands for Daily Steps + Consistent Action = Momentum)