Fortune Magazine Article
Most small business owners think it is important…to "go it alone" due to their belief in the myth of individualism; they hold tightly to the idea that everyone succeeds or fails on the basis of individual efforts and abilities. This assumption is so powerful that when an alternative view is suggested (that success depends on our relationships with others as much as it does on us) the usual reaction is denial. Denial of the role of relationships in the business owners’ success preserves the self-enhancing illusion that we are masters of our own fates and, therefore, deserving of all the credit for our successes.

Since the myth of individualism continues to drive most small business owners and executives, they don't know that help is available to grow professionally and personally. They fail to realize that a coaching relationship would help them and their organization become more productive.

A recent study by the International Coach Federation (ICF) reported that most small business owners, who hadn't been coached, would like to achieve positive change in their business development, career, and financial and physical health. The top six professional and business development areas identified in the study were:

1. Productivity and effectiveness
2. Planning
3. Sales and marketing
4. Business management
5. Positioning their firm for the future
6. Leadership

1. Productivity and effectiveness
2. Leadership
3. Sales and marketing
4. Planning