Although my calls for ‘help’ appear to be different on the surface, underneath they follow a similar pattern. Managers ask for help with wayward employees; employees ask for help with stagnant careers; owners ask for help with stalled business results and franchisors ask for help with franchisees who think they’ve bought a job (I’m an ex franchisor).

So I thought I’d cover those learning and un-learning challenges we all face (me included) by posting some questions I ask each of the groups above; questions I hope you will ask yourself if you fall into any of the categories above:

Managers:
Q1:        What are you doing that you shouldn’t be doing?
Q2:        What are you NOT doing that you should be doing?

Employees:
Q1:         Who do you work for? (Every employee is actually self employed)
Q2:         What are you doing for yourself to prepare for your next promotion? (Sadly most employees expect their bosses to be investing in them when they really should be investing in themselves).

Owners:
Q1:         How are you holding your business back? (similar to the management question)
Q2:         What happens to your business and family if you get run over by a bus?

Franchisors:
Q1:         Are you clear on what your franchisees CAN do with your system and what they can’t?
Q2:         Are you clear on what you WILL be able to do for your franchisors and what you won’t?

We’re all human. We all do what we do with the best of intentions, but being human we just can’t seem to help ourselves from falling into the ‘I’ve always done it this way’ groove. Richard Bach (Jonathan Livingston Seagull) said ‘Remember where you came from, where you are going and why you created the mess you got yourself into in the first place’. I love that man.

Alvin Toffler (The Third Wave) said ‘The illiterate of the millennium will not be those who can’t read and write, but those who can’t learn, unlearn and re-learn.

So are YOU learning, unlearning and re-learning?  If not, why not?

PS: I’ve just updated my best selling book ‘My Dear Franchisees’, a letter I wrote one day when I was trying to get my 11 franchisees to understand that they had not bought a job. Although I wrote it for franchisors, it is equally suitable for owners, managers and even those employees who may be thinking about buying a franchise.

Have a great couple of weeks ‘thinking’ and challenging yourselves. I will if you will.