Over my years as a business coach and mentor, one pattern emerges repeatedly: business owners want to implement change but struggle to follow through. To try and explain why this is happening, I look for a catalyst that is truly driving the desire to change.

My experience is that business owners will implement change in two circumstances:

1.     Inspiration – a compelling vision which pulls them forward
2.      Desperation – crisis forces their hand

In such moments, I challenge business owners by asking: “Why do the most rapid technological advancements happen during war?”

The answer is always the same: desperation. When facing defeat, the ability to innovate means survival.

In business, desperation focuses the mind wonderfully. But inspiration? That’s far harder. It requires a crystal-clear vision compelling enough to justify the cost and discomfort of change.

Last week, two brothers sought my help to develop a succession plan to take over their parents’ successful business. As they described their situation, I heard about strong performance and comfortable roles. What I did not hear was any urgency or inspiration. No desperation. No compelling vision. No catalyst for change.

When I challenged them on this, silence filled the room. They struggled to articulate why they wanted to assume control beyond a vague desire to “create a multi-generational business” – without defining what that meant.

In that moment, I made a decision that surprised them: “I don’t think we should continue this conversation today.”

They looked confused, so I explained: “You’re not ready for a succession plan. You don’t need strategies or frameworks right now. You need clarity about what you’re trying to create. Without that clarity – being a vision for the future that genuinely inspires you to make difficult choices to implement change – any plan we develop will sit in a drawer unused.”

 I sent them away with homework: Come back when you can paint a vivid picture of and story about the business you want to create. This is a picture and story about the future of the business which genuinely excites you enough to justify the hard work ahead.

I was not giving up on them. I was refusing to waste my time and theirs on strategies when they could not articulate the purpose for implementing those strategies.

The lesson for business owners from this story is that when there is no catalyst to change – whether through inspiration or desperation – in the end it is just a figment of their imagination.  I encourage business owners that before they develop strategies to implement change, they must get brutally honest with themselves about what’s driving that change. If you can’t identify a clear catalyst for the changes, stop planning and start clarifying why you want to implement the changes and the desired outcomes.

As a business coach and mentor, I have learned that sometimes the best coaching is knowing when to pause the process until the real work – defining what is trying to be achieved – gets done.