Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, September 3, 1995                   TAG: 9509010032
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: F-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: CAMILLE WRIGHT MILLER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

COACHES MAY NOT KNOW BUSINESS, BUT THEY KNOW HOW TO SET GOALS

A: Page Moir, head basketball coach at Roanoke College, believes that it's the "motivational end and team building" properties of coaching that can help business. Moir cautions that "coaches don't have business skills." Coaching skills can help if blended with business skills, but one is not a replacement for the other.

Moir uses the formula "enthusiasm plus hard work equals success."

"Setting goals and showing how goals can be met generates enthusiasm. Coaches set goals and design plans to meet those goals. The coach also makes the team believe they have what it takes to meet those goals." It's the coach who pushes members to "understand what teammates have to help the team meet those goals."

Moir emphasizes individual development in addition to teamwork - the hard work. Coaching stresses that "no one should be looking over your shoulder to push you; you work to improve yourself. Being successful is learning to improve on your own." He provides the analogy of the weight room - one who works hard only when the coach is in the room won't be as successful in the game.

Coaching, according to Moir, also includes training individuals to "use failure as an opportunity to learn and better oneself."

Creating a team means identifying and removing those players who prevent others from forming a team. Sometimes, "team members have goals inconsistent with the team. Coaches help them see that their goals are different, help them reset their goals to fit with the team, or suggest they go somewhere else where their goals will fit."

Coaching should be viewed as an additional tool, not as an entirely new way of doing business.

Q: I made a colossal mistake at work and I feel like a huge failure.

A: Mistakes happen; we're human. It's how mistakes are handled that make or break careers.

Every time a mistake occurs, conduct a post-mortem. What events led to the wrong decision? What information was missing that allowed the error to occur? At what point was the mistake made? At what point was the mistake discovered? By whom? How? How was the mistake handled when it was uncovered?

Work to understand what went wrong. Then take charge of the mistake.

Admit the mistake and show some remorse. Thank the person who uncovered the mistake. The sooner a mistake is uncovered, the easier it is to find a solution to set things right; the one who uncovers the error is saving us greater future grief.

What solutions are available? Offer to help implement them immediately. Demonstrate, through your actions, that you've learned from the mistake. Don't belabor the point. Learn from mistakes and move on - rehashing them only serves to undermine confidence. Worse, it decreases our overall effectiveness.

Q: I'm going to have an office of my own and am concerned about decorating it. I want to impress my clients, but can't afford to hire a designer.

A: When meeting someone for the first time, we form solid impressions of the individual within 30 seconds. It can take months to correct a wrong impression. Offices "speak" for us, telling others who we are. They are similarly summed up by first-time visitors.

Look to your peers and role models to determine what's acceptable in your field. Decorate to those standards.

Create the feeling of as much space as possible. More office space is equated with greater status. Add nonfluorescent lighting to provide both adequate work light and a sense of welcome. Provide seating and working areas that allow you to work with clients without the barrier of a desk.

Choose wall colors and furniture carefully. Color psychology finds that various hues have powerful impacts on people. Hunter green, for example, conveys power and wealth while Air Force blue transmits great authority. Consider what you want to happen in your office and color it accordingly.

Pictures and trophies should be displayed sparingly; they can clutter and distract from conversations. Do personalize your office, but not to the extent that you'd personalize your home study.

Given the impact an office has, it can be worth hiring a professional to guide major choices such as color. When that isn't feasible, stay on the traditional side and decorate with restraint.