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Do it or Ditch It Book reviewed by Claire Cahill

The Coaching Academy Blog

Posted: August 2014

For me a sign of a good book is if I pick it up and continue to read chapter after chapter without putting the book down... This is exactly what happened when I started reading Do it or Ditch it by Bev James, MD of The Coaching Academy and Founder of The Entrepreneurs Business Academy with James Caan.

Who is the book for?

It is aimed at business owners and entrepreneurs. More people than ever before are aspiring to set up their own business. Now don’t worry if you are one of those people that are already successfully running your own business then this book is still for you. This book is also aimed at Intrapreneurs – employees who want to make a good idea great, identify new ways of doing business or simply want to be more effective at decision making in the Corporate World.

Why did Bev write this book?

In her words “I wrote this book due to having too many conversations with a friend that resorted in frustration, I have been hearing you talk about this for years, but you’ve never done it. It’s time to bite the bullet and either do it or ditch it for good” Does this sound familiar? I could certainly relate to this from my own personal experiences and I love this direct approach.

What did I like about the book?

Before reading the book I thought “this is going to be another book that suggests I have a business plan and tells me how to write it….” Oh how I was wrong... This book was Bev’s story of how she decided to go from Coaching Academy delegate to MD of The Coaching Academy in 1000 days. What an inspiration of someone have a dream and making that dream come true. If you think it was easy then you would be wrong, it took hard work, drive, ambition, resilience, determination and coaching supported her along the way by helping her address and overcome limiting beliefs. It’s hard to believe I know, however even the best coaches and business people have the power of the mind to deal with on a day to day basis.

The Do it or Ditch it approach takes you out of your comfort zone and into your learning zone. Bev uses DISC (personality profiling)which is her Unique Selling Point to help her clients turn ideas into action and make decisions that count. Anything is possible – it depends on the choices you make and how you choose to use your time.

The Do it or Ditch it approach is clear, focused and practical. Throughout the book Bev shares her own personal experiences and shares her stories linking back to decision making, DISC and Coaching.

• Part 1 of the book is all about 5 decision making tools

• Part 2 of the book is how to apply each of those steps to your business

How have I used my learning?

I was a big fan of DISC from the 1st time I attended a training day on it and really understood how this fits into your business model. I subsequently went on to become a certified DISC personality profiler so that I can get to know my clients in minutes rather than months. I can then use this to move my client forward a lot faster and it forms the 1st coaching session.

Bev talks in pictures which capture my visual learning preferences and I realise being an “ID” personality, outgoing influencer with task dominance when under pressure I have lots of planes circling which need to land 1 by 1. In other words I have loads of ideas which I need to commit to paper and see through to the end. Her own personal experiences tap into my kinesthetic learning preference as well as my “Influencer” personality.

I recently had a coaching session with a client who is successfully running his own business and it is growing at a rapid rate following the coaching sessions. I used the time travel tool and took him on a journey of self discovery, taking him to the past, present and future. As a result he was able to draw on his past experiences to support his present as well as dream big again for the future. I have also got him to reflect on the DISC personalities looking in the mirror at himself to reflect what he sees, but also what is missing and how when he seeks future employees he can use DISC to play to his strengths to build a team that fits all the boxes.

How will I use this learning to grow my business further?

I realise and accept that within business you need all of the DISC personalities, outgoing task Dominant, outgoing people focused Influencing, reserved people focused Supportive and reserved task focused Compliance. What is missing in my business and what I will need to be aware of in the future is the need for someone to keep me compliant, someone who thrives on getting into the detail and can prepare me for the risks that I might face, someone who can keep me grounded. A coach always needs a coach and I realise that a coach can help me land my planes and with the use of DISC I can turn my ideas into action and make decisions that count. All of the tools have now been added to my toolkit so that my clients can benefit too. If it moves me forward “Do it” if it moves me away “Ditch it”. This book is highly recommended for any coach or business owner.

You can buy Bev's book on Amazon by clicking here - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0753539993/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=0753539993&linkCode=as2&tag=thecoacacad-21

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