TAILOR: Lead the Way

In the ACTIV process, the TAILOR phase is where vision meets reality. This step doesn’t limit your goals. It helps shape a strategy that fits your life and builds momentum. In ACCESS, you clarified what matters most. In CHOOSE, you identified a direction that aligns with your values. Now, in TAILOR, you begin to shape a path forward that reflects your responsibilities, priorities, and the realities of your day-to-day life.

TAILORing doesn’t shrink your ambition. It sets you up to succeed by grounding your plan in real life. This allows you to start where you are, set meaningful goals, and build momentum. Like tailoring a suit, the focus is on fit. It provides a strategy that reflects not just who you want to be, but where you are now.

That’s what makes this step powerful. You’re not following someone else’s playbook. You’re creating your own playbook, one that’s doable, flexible, and aligned with what matters most. Sustainable growth doesn’t come from forcing a perfect plan. It comes from shaping one that works in real time, with real life in mind.

ACTIV: A Framework for Navigating Workplace Transitions

The ACTIV framework helps individuals, leaders, and organizations move through change with clarity and confidence. Each phase builds upon the last:

• ACCESS – Reconnect with your values, motivations, and deeper goals

• CHOOSE – Make decisions that reflect who you are and where you want to go

• TAILOR – Shape a path that fits your unique strengths and circumstances

• IMPLEMENT – Move forward with intention and confidence

• VALIDATE – Reflect, assess, and realign as needed

✨What Does TAILORing Look Like in Coaching?

TAILORing is about aligning your coaching experience with the realities of your life. Not the ideal version of your life but the one you live every day. In this phase, we examine what matters most in the context of your present circumstances.

You explore how your values will be woven into the path you’ve chosen and how your responsibilities need to be honored along the way. You begin to clarify which priorities will shape your next steps. And finally, you take stock of the current realities that must be considered as you move forward.

🚀 TAILORing Builds Momentum

Coaching is client-led and coach-supported. You decide the pace, where to begin, and the direction that feels right. Whether you start small or go big from the outset, the key is making sure the plan fits you. When your strategy reflects your life and priorities, progress becomes not only possible but meaningful.

Success builds motivation. When you begin to see that your strategy is working—even in small ways—you gain the confidence to continue and the desire to reach further. TAILORing your path gives you a solid foundation to move forward with clarity, purpose, and belief in what’s possible.

This isn’t about building the perfect plan. It’s about building a plan that fits and a foundation strong enough to support the weight of real life.

Case Study: John’s Crazy Socks – A Business Tailored to Purpose and Strengths

In 2016, just out of high school, John Cronin co-founded John’s Crazy Socks with his father, Mark. John has Down syndrome, and together they launched the business with a simple mission: to spread happiness through socks. Their goal was also to show what people with differing abilities can achieve. That mission still shapes everything they do. It defines the company from product design to hiring practices and from growth to culture. (Entrepreneur, 2024).

Rather than building a company focused on fast growth or mass distribution, the Cronins tailored every part of the business to reflect their personal values, pace of life, and social mission. They built a workplace where more than half of the employees have a disability, a model that reflects not just inclusion, but intention.

John took on a highly visible role as the face of the company—doing Facebook Lives, writing thank-you notes to customers, and helping define the brand’s joyful personality. Mark supported the operational structure to keep things sustainable and scalable on their terms.

That TAILORed approach paid off. Today, John’s Crazy Socks is the largest sock store in the world! Since launching in 2016, John’s Crazy Socks has generated over $15 million in revenue Entrepreneur, 2024, shipped to 88 countries, processed over 2 million orders, and donated nearly $800,000 to charity (NY Post, 2024). Their success story proves that a mission-driven business can thrive without compromising its values.

As John Cronin put it, “It’s not enough to simply sell a product... People don’t just buy socks from us. They tap into our mission of happiness and into the giving back that we do” (Inc., 2018).

Their business has flourished not because they followed the fastest path to scale, but because they built something that truly fit. As John told the BBC, "I have Down syndrome, but Down syndrome never holds me back" (BBC, 2017).

That’s what the TAILOR phase is all about—designing a journey that supports your success while staying true to who you are and what matters most.

Final Thoughts: Designed for You

TAILORing is where the process truly becomes yours. You’re setting meaningful goals and creating a structure that supports them. This is where priorities come into focus and your confidence begins to grow.

You’re not just preparing to take the leap—you’re shaping a path that ensures the landing is solid when you do. A TAILORed approach allows you to move forward with clarity, purpose, and momentum that’s built to last.

📞 Let’s shape a strategy that fits—so when it’s time to act, you’re ready. Reach out today to schedule your free 15-minute consultation and take the first step toward a coaching journey designed just for you.

📌 What’s Next?

Once your plan is TAILORed, it’s time to take action. In the next phase of the ACTIV process—IMPLEMENT—we’ll focus on how to follow through, stay intentional, and move your plan into motion.

Stay tuned!

ACTIV: A Framework for Navigating Workplace Transitions 🔹 ACCESS → 🔹 CHOOSE → ✅ TAILOR → 🔜 IMPLEMENT → VALIDATE

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