I was attending a business workshop recently and the facilitator posed a simple question to all the attendees; “What makes your business different?” For everyone who tried to answer that question, the facilitator was able to counter with statements such as “there are may other companies in your sector who can argue that THEY provide the best service / most unique service”. It is an interesting question and one that is very hard to answer from a commercial point of view. So does this mean that as business owners, we are deluding ourselves with our beliefs on the position and perception of our business in the wider business world? If so, are we then disappointed when things don’t work out as we expected.

Our businesses are like our children. We don’t like people telling us when ‘our child [business]’ has a less than perfect perception in the wider business world. This can be demoralising for us. We put a lot of effort into our business. In our minds, we have the best product/service since sliced bread. But, unless we are Steve Jobs coming up with radical new products, in general, we are merely taking existing products/services and packaging them in a different way to other companies. So again, the question that needs to be asked is “What makes your business different?” Why should individuals or companies buy from you instead of their current suppliers? Why should an individual or company decide to buy from you rather than an alternative supplier?

As a business owner, I find these very difficult questions, so when I got back from the workshop, I started to conduct a little exercise in an effort to help me answer the question “what makes InnoChan Solutions different?”

There are many Training & Development, Mentoring, Coaching and Consultancy companies out there and, in the current climate that number is growing daily as more and more people (who cannot get work) set themselves up as Trainers, Coaches and/or Consultants. The industry sector is quite crowded.

So what makes InnoChan Solutions different?

To begin with, let’s look at the Coaching/Consulting/Mentoring business.

There are many many ‘experts’ out there calling themselves Coaches, Consultants and/or Mentors and indeed some of them have considerable commercial experience. However, in some cases the commercial experience relates to a single (or limited) range of business functions, e.g. Accountancy, HR, Sales, etc. InnoChan Solutions is unique in that my experience in the commercial field is spread across multiple business functions. Over the years I have actually worked in most business functions (many at management level). In short, I have physically worked the Supply Chain from Sales, Stores, Warehouse Management, all the way up the Supply Chain to Data Management/Data Capture. Having worked at all levels and in most functions gives me a unique understanding and perspective of function operations and how they do (or should) interact with other functions.

In developing my business model, I recognised that experience would not be enough. I needed the academic detail to back up the experience. Enter Masters #1 (a MSc in Supply Chain Management). This, I believe, gives me the requirements needed to provide a thorough (and unique) service to clients.

Now let’s look at Coaching. In a previous blog, I noted the “fear” many have in relation to Coaching. This is due to a lack of understanding and, I believe, the number of untrained (cowboy) coaches operating in the world today. It is incredible to think that one can think s/he can become a coach as a result of a correspondence course without ever having met a client or having practiced the tools and techniques involved.

While there are many good and well organised coaching courses available, what makes the InnoChan Solutions courses any different? To begin with, over the last three years I have undergone a wide and intensive array of globally recognised Coaching, NLP, Psychometric and Emotional Intelligence training leading to recognised and academic qualifications up to a MA degree in Coaching & NLP and academic special awards in Emotional Intelligence.

These qualifications have provided me with the best possible tools that can be used in a Coaching, Mentoring and Consultancy situation. For example, under the brand of iWAM Ireland, I can offer a test that is three times more in depth than the current MBTI test (MBTI measures 16 cognitive patterns while the iWAM test measures 48 cognitive patterns).

Now let’s look at training. Currently I lecture on behalf of the Irish Institute of Purchasing and Materials Management (IIPMM) and I have begun organising Coaching, iWAM and Extended DISC Courses. InnoChan Solutions hopes to change the way training is conducted for Coaching by combining the good I have experienced in my own training journey with my academic interests in order to provide would be participants with a series of solid (intensive) programmes which are designed in such a way that they can be taken as stand alone qualifications or as part of an academic qualification ranging from Post-Grad Certificates all the way to a full University Masters degree (the MA in Applied Coaching). I believe that these courses will be as attractive to individuals looking for a new career as they will be to organisations looking to improve the Coaching and Mentoring skills of HR, Managers and Supervisors within their organisations.

So what does all this mean with regard to the initial question asked; “What makes InnoChan Solutions different?”

I believe I offer a unique set of skills (that couples commercial experience with both academic qualifications and the added qualifications and experience in Coaching and Mentoring). My approach to training is designed to provide courses that will ensure fully qualified people who will be able to operate as Coaches & Mentors and, who will be compliant with forthcoming regulations in relation to coach qualifications (regulation will be effective from September 2012).

So what else makes InnoChan Solutions unique?

I have started to merge the two distinct sets of skills I have; the commercial with the “softer” skills of Coaching and Mentoring. InnoChan Solutions, using EQ and psychometric testing can profile the skills needed to perform specific roles within organisations. These tests tap into the motivational patterns of people within individual functions which will assist with effectiveness, staff retention and efficiency. This knowledge can also be used by companies when it comes to improving efficiency in recruitment thereby reducing recruitment costs while improving the success rate of recruitment.

InnoChan Solutions offers a different way of managing within an organisation and this can be backed up with in-house or external training that will “Deliver Innovation & Change through People”.