The title of this blog could be the most important question to answer for the ultimate success of your business. Let me explain from my own experience when I was racing and had my Race Prep Services business.

I was an early adaptor to utilize the data acquisition technology (TachTale) in the mid 80’s. It was a single channel device that recorded revolutions per minute (rpm) of either the engine or an axle that could be printed out to compare one lap to another and see places where the car/driver was faster or slower. 

This technology opened the potential for coaching racing driver performance that wasn’t possible before. I started using it with my customers whose racecars I maintained and serviced at the track.

I really enjoyed coaching my customers, they did better because we found areas where they were fast or slow comparatively and could have a conversation about how to improve their speed and confirm that it worked. I liked doing this so much that I started offering my coaching services to other drivers who weren’t car prep customers, and they won championships! 

I competed 11 times in the SCCA F-Vee National Championship race (without a coach) and failed to win.  Winning the National Champion title was my driving ambition. Now my most proud day in racing is from coaching! In 1991 I coached 3 drivers in the National Championship F-Vee race and they finished 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd! 

Ultimately, I closed my race preparation shop to engage entirely in coaching racecar drivers. At the same time, I happened to enroll in a training in the profession of personal coaching now known as “Co-Active Coaching” that transformed my knowledge and understanding of how to effectively coach anyone in anything. Coaching has been my life passion and profession ever since. 

Back to the point of this blog. The only racing drivers (with very few exceptions) who hired me were drivers who were already winning, or had a high desire TO win. 

This makes perfect sense because most of those participating in non-professional racing events like SCCA or NASA are perfectly happy just participating.  Unless there is a skill improvement desire, there is no real interest in attaining the performance level it takes to win.

Fast forward to the focus of my coaching today with business owner/leaders and an insight I recently had on the effect having a “Winning Outcome Purpose” could have on the success and profitability of your business.

There are numerous studies on high performing business cultures that identify how essential it is to have a clear, specific, and meaningful purpose for the business to operate from. 

Great business leaders hold and inspire this purpose with everyone working in the business, and communicate it to customers as well.  Businesses that have a meaningful purpose, clearly defined, and articulated dramatically outperform (as much as 3-5 times) businesses that don’t.

What if this meaningful purpose rose to a level of energy that powers motivation that rises to the energy and commitment it takes to WIN a race?  My insight, reinforced by the winning successes drivers I’ve coached achieve, is that it would potentially make a huge difference in productivity and profitability for a business.

I’ve been sitting with the question of how to best accomplish this outcome, and invented the term “Winning Outcome Purpose” to call it. From my experience coaching I’ve found a significant difference in performance success and creativity when the focus of intention is on achieving a desired “Outcome” as opposed to focusing on perfectly performing the “Process” that leads to reaching the outcome.