Who Is In Your Circle of Influence

We have heard that old saying, You are judged by the company you keep. And that saying is important in our business life and our personal life. It is a fact that we allow ourselves to be influenced by ou5B4r peers. And for that reason, parents will pay attention to who their kids have as friends; employers will do background checks on job candidates; private schools will do in-depth parental interviews prior to admission of their child; private clubs will often restrict membership to individuals nominated by current members; and why police will ask who is in a victim's circle of influence when they investigate a crime.

The major point of all the above is this: who you associate with will say as much about you, your ethics, your integrity, your honesty, your core values, your beliefs, your passion and your future intentions as your actual personal behavior does. And as a business owner or business leader, you are being observed every minute of every day. Colleagues, clients, vendors, suppliers, et al are all scrutinizing, watching, listening to those people you influence. Therefore, this is a serious matter for consideration when you decide who will be in your circle of influence.

We know that it is difficult and sometimes very painful to break off and end relationships. This is especially true when those relationships are long-standing ones with friends, colleagues, employees, and others who have greatly influenced our life. And we need to remember that effective leaders, winners and high achievers gain their positions of stature by a very deliberate and well thought out process of selecting who they associate with in t364heir business and personal lives.

Another part of the harsh reality you must face, as you advance up through the ranks of success and leadership is that many of your former friends and colleagues may not be making the upward journey with you. Some of them will fall and fade away for a variety of reasons. A major risk to advancement and growth is sticking with the masses that get stuck in a time warp and stop growing and maturing. By hanging around with these people you will be infected and may actually stall or destroy your own growth. So you must decide that you will either maintain stagnant and no growth relationships or you will move on to more challenging and fulfilling relationships. In fact you must make this choice since you cannot have it both ways.

Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach challenges you to stop and look around you. 5B4 Who do you see? Who is there? Who is in your circle of influence? Are they losers, whiners, blamers, lawbreakers, cheaters, low achievers, liars, etc? Or are they winners, trusted friends or colleagues, high achievers, honest & law-abiding people, etc.? Now is a great time to review your circle of influence and ask yourself if the people you see there are: helping or hindering you and your efforts; are building up or demolishing the image you desire; positively or negatively impacting the achievement of your business and personal visions; and providing positive support or bringing a negative attitude to you.

Furthermore, Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach reminds you that it is your life and it is your right to choose who will be in your circle of influence. Ask yourself if you are making wise choices about your circle of influence. And be brutally honest with yourself when you answer that question. Your choices and your answers are critical to your future. Know that the people that you have in your circle of influence will speak more loudly about you than any words you can say.

Glenn Ebersole, Jr. is a multi-faceted professional, who is recognized as a visionary, guide and facilitator in the fields of business coaching, marketing, public relations, management, strategic planning and engineering. Glenn 5A6is the Founder and Chief Executive of two Lancaster, PA based consulting practices: The Renaissance Group, a creative marketing, public relations, strategic planning and business development consulting firm and J. G. Ebersole Associates, an independent professional engineering, marketing, and management consulting firm. He is a Certified Facilitator and serves as a business coach and a strategic planning facilitator and consultant to a diverse list of clients. Glenn is also the author of a monthly newsletter, "Glenn's Guiding Lines - Thoughts From Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach" and has published more than 275 articles on business.

To find out more about the benefits & rewards of effectively working with a strategic thinking business coach, please contact Glenn Ebersole through his web site at http://www.businesscoach4u.com or jgecoach@aol.com