Amazon shook up another industry last week by announcing it was buying Whole Foods. This is an opportunity for executives and leadership coaches, and those thinking of getting into to the field.
Right now, every well-run grocery chain is setting aside time to figure out a new strategy. How do they adapt to a world where customers can use a wand to order almost anything with a bar code from home and have it delivered to them same or next day? How do they adapt to services like Hello Fresh and Blue Apron that deliver prepped meals right to the door, ready to cook? Killer apps and disruptive business models are appearing everywhere, and grocery chains need to be ready or they will start falling just like other retail stores are failing due to what one analyst calls the Retail Ice Age.
This is an opportunity for executive and leadership coaches. You can be the sounding board for executives and their teams as they come up with the 2.0 version of their businesses — not just in the retail and grocery space, but in all industries.
I’m doing this now with one client, in the financial services space. His $250 million company had been the market leader and is now seeing market share erode while more nimble competitors with better technologies and more focused niches nip away at his lines of business. He has no choice but to come up with an entirely new business model and develop or assemble the new technologies to make it possible — while still keeping current sales initiatlves on track. The work is daunting and he finds huge value in the coaching because he can’t confide to anyone else about his fears and concerns.
Our coaching sessions focus on what the new business must look like. We also discuss how he can sell his new vision to his board and to investors. We discuss the new types of talent he has to recruit, and how he has to integrate them into his company — or whether to keep them separate. And we also talk about how to keep current operations moving forward while he implements the new vision.
It’s amazing work that gets into everything from strategy to influence to what it takes to be a bold leader.
If this is the kind of work you want to do in your career, you have an amazing opportunity. Things are changing so quickly that every leader needs to be thinking about version 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0 of their businesses. As a coach, you can ask, “If you had to develop the killer app in your industry before anyone else did, what would it look like?” Then you can go from there, and it is incredibly rewarding, challenging work!
The Center for Executive Coaching gives you the tools to be a leading coach to executives, leaders, business owners, and up-and-coming talent. The above case is only one of the situations in which we equip you to excel.
Get started with your training and certification now. That way, you have the skills and can jump into the field at anytime. Coaching is a fantastic career, including for your encore career and as something to add to what you are already doing now. But… You need to get practical, results-driven training that will delight your clients, and support building your practice. We provide you with exactly that; again, I guarantee it.
