Interview originally published in Life and Style News.
Did you know that many of the world’s most successful business leaders rely on business coaching to help them achieve their goals? Working with an experienced coach not only provides guidance, support, inspiration, accountability and encouragement, it can also enable your business to flourish beyond your expectations.
Dr. Rajesh Mohan Rai – Business Coach, Executive Coach & HR Strategist (Jointly Holding a Guinness World Record) is putting his views on some of the questions asked by our Journalist:
Q. How can a Business Coach help an organization to grow? Are you helping MSMEs also?
Dr. Rajesh Mohan Rai: When a business starts, it is all about firefighting. A lot of time is spent reacting and responding to planned and unplanned things. Though it may be necessary and need of the hour, it is not the same thing as running a business that grows. When a business owner spends most of the time reacting and wearing many hats, it is easy to lose sight of goals and vision. A coach can be ideal growth partner for the small busines owner for helping a business gain stability and scalability.
A coach, helps the business owner put the purpose and goals at the forefront, and helps and supports regularly, remind the business owner that why one is doing what one is doing.
The coach offers great insights and help a business owner develop smart habits and best practices so that the business can succeed while the business owner still gets to engage the subject matter expertise.
Coaching is not just for Fortune 500 CEOs and business leaders. A coach can be a valuable asset for the small business owners too that is just starting or has a deep desire to grow. Most of my current clients are in the MSME space with a deep desire to grow. I do support MSMEs.
Q: What Size of business do you specialize in coaching?
Dr. Rajesh Mohan Rai: Size of the business does not matter. What matters is the desire of the business owner to grow the business. The deeper the desire to grow more meaningful the relationship is between the Coach and the business owner. However, I have coached business owners whose annual revenue was 50 lakhs upto businesses with topline of over 800 crores annually. Regarding the size of the organization with employee numbers the range has been 7 employees to 2500 employees. Few of my clients have also been startups and had understood the importance of engaging with a business coach early.
Q: What Industries have you coached?
Dr. Rajesh Mohan Rai: I have personally coached business owners and leaders in several industries like manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, IT, Engineering, Retail, Financial Services, Defense Production, Life Insurance, Gems and Jewelry, Real Estate, Breweries, Logistics etc. I would like to mention that the needs of the business have been different, the stage of the business has been different and the self-awareness of every business leader was different. Creating accountability is the key to success.
Q: What additional skills besides coaching do you bring into play?
Dr. Rajesh Mohan Rai: I support businesses in setting up the processes and policy guidelines with special focus on Human Resources. My belief that Human Resources is the SOUL of every business. Being a certified Fire Walk Instructor, I have helped businesses and the teams to overcome their limiting beliefs by making them walk on the fire barefoot. I have facilitated several Emotional Intelligence (EI) workshops wherein the Business owners and leaders were exposed to the concept of EI and how could EI help them and their businesses grow.
Q: What kind of measurable results have you helped your clients achieve?
Dr. Rajesh Mohan Rai: In my coaching practice, I do an organizational diagnostics to evaluate the stage of business and I firmly believe and state that the investment is not on Coaching but the results mutually decided after the diagnostics. The measurement of results is the foremost importance. The criteria of success are agreed in the pre-engagement stage and then collectively we drive the results. Every aspect is quantified. Few areas where the most impactful results have been achieved are addition of products and services, width of distribution, adding geographies, reduction in attrition, improved employee engagement levels, much higher top line and bottom line, increase in number of stores for retail businesses etc. As the old saying goes, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, none of my clients have ever terminated the engagement before the duration of the engagement ended. More than 85% of my clients have renewed the engagement. Most of my clients are referred by satisfied clients.
Q: Share an experience you had dealing with a difficult person and how did you handle the situation.
Dr. Rajesh Mohan Rai: My personal belief – people are not difficult; circumstances have made them who they are. In one case, I had to deal with a father and son duo in Hyderabad, Two different generations two different views on every possible aspect of the business. I started working with father and it took me over 5 months to make him realize that the times are not same as 1988 (the year in which he started the business). The perseverance and making him see the value in the newer way of doing business and the new breed of employees to be brought in was critical for the growth and success of the business, a line which was similar to suggested by the son. I used to discuss only the issue and never discussed people. I kept making him see the value and sometimes tried to convert into money terms. Finally, I could prevail upon and the company has grown from 178 crores to over 500 crores in just over 3 years’ time. The person is still in connect with me and has thanked several times to make him see the real reason of the changes made by him.
Q: What do you think about the future of business coaching post covid-19?
Dr. Rajesh Mohan Rai: Business coaching has always helped business owners and leaders. It is going to stay. However, the way coaching sessions were planned may get changed in near future. It’s need has been more deeply understood and accepted now by the business owners and leaders. It may become more virtual than Face to Face. The next generation which could join the business would require hand holding by the business coaches as the hard work done by the previous generation has not been done by the new generation. They have not seen and experienced failure and then the bounce back. They would need the support of a business coach to build and sustain their resilience.