Reference no: EM133145176

Case Study

You meet with Lionel and discuss the issues. He no longer enjoys his job. He doesn't particularly trust the staff as they seem to know things that he doesn't. He used to know a lot about technology, but things are changing so fast, he is now finding it hard to keep up with that AND carry out all the tasks required by the business. He seems stressed and disinterested. 

You suggest that perhaps Lionel may actually not be enjoying this anymore and perhaps there are other options, such as selling or winding down.  You discuss a range of options with Lionel.

Wind down the business. Allow the business to reduce, stop buying new stock. If staff leave, don't employ new staff and so on.

Employ a manager, who takes over the business tasks to allow Lionel to retire or try new things.

Scale down the business. Perhaps reduce staff, cut down on costs by doing so and Lionel works answering calls himself. 

Offer fewer services; perhaps only sell the firewall and anti-virus software, rather than offering the telephone support.

There are many different options that Lionel could consider. For many businesspeople, the business is something they have worked hard on, something they developed. But if the joy and passion for that business leaves them, they may find that they don't want to do it anymore or just don't want to do it the way they currently do. This is when you can look at options. 

As we said earlier, it is important as a business coach to be aware of all the different options for clients, things they could and should consider, different ways of operating and so on. This chapter has covered a wide range of topics. It is not an extensive list but gives you a starting point to start working with clients.

Set Task 2

Imagine Lionel (mentioned in the case study above) is a client. Sit down with him and discuss:

The issues that you see are happening in the business.

How he could improve the way his business is working.

Particularly, consider how he could utilise his staff better to enable him to fulfil other roles within the firm.