Predict to provoke

In most coach trainings, you are trained to never lead the client. This makes sense, as many new coaches interrupt their clients too much. Or they mistake instruction for coaching and try to tell their clients what they think they should do.   

However, just like my boys removed their training wheels when they learned how to ride bikes, there comes a moment when you need to take your training wheels off. 

There are times when you can lead a client. 

Don’t lead from a place of “I’m right. You’re wrong.” 

Lead to provoke their thinking… 

Over time, great coaches build community. As a leader of that community, your job is to continue to provoke people’s thinking.  

Here are 17 predictions about the future, to challenge and provoke your thinking:

1. The barrier to entry to the coaching profession will continue to get lower and the barrier to success will get higher. Don’t let that worry you. Invest in your growth. When you’re good you’ll stand out in a crowd. 
2. You’ll be able to download apps for highly effective Artificial Intelligence coaches and therapists. Students will regularly use AI for support with issues such as time management, goal setting, or anxiety. Don’t let that worry you. High touch will always trump high tech.
3. Executive coaching will become a regular part of the package negotiated by everyone from new hires to CEOs, in the corporate world. 
4. More and more leaders and executives will leave the corporate world—due to burnout, frustration and layoffs. Many will become coaches and consultants. If they learn how to enroll clients, they will be some of the best coaches out there.  
5. Many executives will be given a coach or executive mentor by their corporation. The execs will love the coaching but organizations will be surprised at how many of these leaders leave the corporate world to become coaches themselves. 
6. LinkedIn and Facebook will become so full of people trying to get business that it will be impossible for most people to break through the noise. (We may already be there). Social media will suck more and more of your time, for little to no result. (We’re getting close). Building relationships one person at a time will be more important than ever.
7. A new social media platform will launch with massive media hype and exclusivity. Big influencer names will be the first to sign up. All your coaching friends will be excited to sign up. By the time you finally get in, it will be so full of people trying to get business that it will be impossible for you to break through the noise. 
8. A Chinese aircraft will be shot down in Taiwanese airspace, or a Taiwanese aircraft will be shot down in Chinese airspace, provoking the start of a cold war. But China will not start a full on invasion of Taiwan. 
9. Bolsonaro will be re-elected President of Brazil in 2022. There will be claims of voter fraud and intimidation. There will be deceptive campaign promises and low voter turnout.  
10. A handful of high school teachers and university lecturers will become breakout stars on YouTube. They’ll start an exodus of the best teachers away from the profession. Some universities will move to a mainly online degree.
11. India, Europe, Russia, China, Japan, the UAE and the US will launch more space craft, in a race to win the next space milestone. A base on the Earth, vehicles sent to Mars, humans sent to Mars… There will be a tragedy in space but the space race will continue unabated.
12. At least one of the big tech giants will be broken up by government ruling, in the next two years. They will be furious but the separate companies formed will become far bigger as a result. 
13. The world will see extreme floods and high temperatures on a regular basis. New Orleans, New York, Miami will face disaster level flooding. Los Angeles and Phoenix will have record high temperatures. Venice will have massive flooding. The Amazon forest will experience devastating wildfires.
14. Crypto currencies will remain volatile. Many people will make a lot of money. Many others will lose all their savings. And every time you share an opinion about crypto online, you’ll be deluged with people who disagree with you.
15. More and more people will drive electric vehicles. Ford 150 drivers and Harley Davidson lovers will be horrified at the thought of driving an electric vehicle—until they do and discover that they are cheaper, more powerful and more fun than gas powered vehicles. Then they’ll switch. 
16. Trump will raise lots of money for an election campaign for 2024 but stand aside at the last moment. 
17. Covid vaccinations will become as routine as flu vaccinations for most people. There will come a moment when it’s hard to recall just how intense it was to live through a pandemic. 

Remember: don’t predict to be perfect, predict to provoke. 

Love. Rich