Against The Odds

You know how people tell you to dream big and to set a goal that scares you a little bit? Well that is what I did in this story.

​You might not know this about me, as well as being an Action Coach, I am also a Musical Director. I conduct big bands in my spare time. Being an avid trumpet player myself, it helps me to marry two of my biggest passions – music and coaching.

​It all began 3 months ago when I decided it would be a great idea to take the brass band I conduct to the national championships in Blenheim. We were up against it from the start. We had a range of different skill levels, we had band members who ranged in age from 15 to 80, and we even had some language barriers.

​But the wonderful thing about music is that it doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t matter how old you are, what cultural background you come from, or which instrument you play, what matters is your skill and dedication.

Making A Plan

For the competition we had to play a compulsory piece that was assigned to us by the judges, and a second piece of our choosing. We knew we were going to need a plan. So we set a schedule for when we were going to practice. That in itself was a challenge when you have more than 20 people trying to commit to one practice time with busy lives and schedules of their own.

But we made a plan, put the steps in place, and practiced the plan.

We stuck to that schedule religiously. It certainly wasn’t smooth sailing. People had to change their own schedules, and there were some hard truths when some realised that their abilities weren’t quite as good as they first thought. We even had to rewrite our chosen song!

But that is the kind of situation I relish. I could see the potential. I knew they could do it because they wanted to win. They were all willing to make the sacrifices to achieve success. They understood that we were only as good as our worst player.

I approached things as I would normally in my business. I undertook a Gap Analysis of the situation. It started with what we could do, then I looked at what we needed to do, and how we could get there. I addressed weaknesses and coached them to be better, we worked as a team and drove each other to be better. And we practiced, boy did we practice!

When the big day came, the performance was amazing. All that hard work had paid off. We were awarded with 6 out of the 7 titles up for grabs…

• Best Sacred Item Music

• Best Set Piece

• Best Musical Director (that’s me!)

• Best Marching Band

• Best Drum Major

• Overall Championship Winners

We all won more than the titles and trophies that day. We discovered that we could do it. The feedback from the players was that they had never enjoyed working that hard before! The judges were blown away, telling us we were a great ensemble and that they could actually hear the enjoyment as we played.

What We Learned

You might not immediately relate a band with a small business. But regardless of the details involved, you can still follow the same formula for success.

The key points are preparation and application. Set a plan, stick to the key elements, and tweak the parts that aren’t working. The reward comes by setting a big goal and taking action consistently. There will be obstacles to overcome on the journey, but that just makes the victory even more sweet in the end.

This is what I do every day to help people in business. If a motley crew of band members from every walk of life can join together to achieve a common goal, then surely you can do the same in your business.

Who Am I?

I am Kerry from Auckland Centre Of Business Excellence and I am a Business Specialist. I have spent my whole career perfecting the art of helping business owners take action and achieve the goals they have set. Whether you are chasing a dream of business growth, conquering your industry, or simply putting an effective business plan into place, then I can help you do that.

Take the first step towards achieving your goals by getting in touch with me today.

Kerry Wood
Certified Business Coach

0212 837 499
kerry@acbe.co.nz
www.acbe.co.nz

“Life is not a dress rehearsal“