Executive and personal coaching

Corporations spend over $1 billion annually on executive coaching for their senior-most employees. Harvard Business School, Forbes and several other independent organizations have found significantly high returns on investment from coaching.

A global survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Association Resource Centre found that the mean return on investment in coaching was seven times the initial investment, and over a quarter of coaching clients reported a stunning ROI of 10 to 49 times the cost.

Ultimately, you will have to be the judge of the benefit you get, as there are different ways to measure your return: increased income, more free time, higher quality of living. Think about it this way. How much is a single promotion worth to you? How much is your dream job worth to you? What if coaching could help you get there faster than you previously thought possible, with greater levels of happiness? Wouldn't that be worth the cost?

Coaching requires a commitment. Before you enroll in a one-on-one program with me, we will spend at least one session ensuring that we are a good fit to work together, and that we are oriented around creating long-term and lasting results for you.

Once we begin, you are only financially committing to one month at a time. If for whatever reason you need to conclude our partnership, just tell me and we can do so after the month in progress ends.

As a coach, I am someone who asks deep and meaningful questions to help my clients arrive at great answers to the biggest problems and opportunities in their career and life. The basis of my coaching is grounded in what I call inside-out coaching.

This approach is built upon a realization that human beings are fully and innately capable of fresh thinking, wisdom and insights that support their progress in life and work. What's missing? We have numerous misunderstandings and confusions regarding how the mind works.

In addition, I use the arts of deep listening and inquiry, psychology and neurobiology, and am a certified executive coach. I have studied a host of scientifically proven techniques that guide my clients to tap into inner resources to think creatively and solve highly complex problems.

Lastly, I have worked with a coach extensively in my own life, and credit coaching with much of my success in my corporate career and now as an entrepreneur. This gives me a perspective that allows me to relate to the situations my clients are going through, most of whom are technology professionals or entrepreneurs.

Coaching matches the particular needs and situation of each client. This is what differentiates working one-on-one with a coach from reading a self-help book or attending a seminar. We will work together to clarify your specific goals and ambitions, and co-create a path forward in service of your advancement.

Therapy is useful, but is backward-looking and focused on healing past trauma. Consulting has its place, but consultants are paid to provide subject matter expertise beyond what a client already knows. They tell you what to do instead of helping you uncover the best of what you already know.

Coaches, on the other hand, are not focused on providing advice. Coaches focus on supporting clients in arriving at their own best and appropriate solutions, and maintain a forward-looking outlook for how a client wants things to be in the future, regardless of what happened in the past. As a coach, it is my mission to help you arrive at your best answer to the toughest problems in your career and life.

The benefit of a coach is in providing objective feedback based on progress made over time. This is tough to achieve by reading a book alone. Finding someone to help evolve what you are being taught, based on your progress, is critical. This is where a coach can be an invaluable resource.

Most clients will begin to see progress in the first session alone. However, you will see compounded results and the biggest breakthroughs over the course of several months of consistent coaching.

I worked for 14 years as a consistent high performer — promoted 10 times, three-time gold star award winner, if that means anything to you — and leader at one of the most esteemed technology companies in the world, Microsoft. I led teams at the corporate headquarters creating plans for new products, as well as operating in strategy, marketing and product management roles.

I've also undergone extensive executive coach training and am an active member and Professional Certified Coach (PCC) of the International Coach Federation, the global governing body for professional coaches.

All that said, being a great coach is not about certifications. It is about the ability of a coach to connect and help their clients.

I work with motivated people who are looking to take their careers and lives to the next level, or simply get ahead of the unknown factors that might create issues down the road. While some of my clients are executives, many are not yet, but aspire to be in the future.

I also work with some clients who are satisfied with their careers but are looking to gain more balance and strength in other parts of their lives. They are at a crossroads, and find coaching the missing link that brings them towards clarity and confidence regarding their next steps.

Absolutely. While most of my clients are interested in advancing their career or growing their business, some are more focused on getting work-life balance or regaining a profound sense of health and wellness. Our lives are multi-dimensional, our goals shift over time, and my coaching approach takes that into consideration.

Some of the most successful people in the world — in business, in sports, in the arts — work with coaches. Michael Jordan, Bill Gates, Eric Schmidt, Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey: they all work with coaches to improve their performance in their business, career, health or some other aspect of their lives. You would be surprised how many world leaders have the support of coaches behind the scenes. The vast majority of CEOs at Fortune 500 companies work with coaches as well.

My primary requirement is that all clients remain committed to growth and improvement. If you are motivated and want to advance your career, grow your business and build a robust lifestyle for yourself, we might be a good fit to work together.

All of my coaching sessions are conducted by phone or Zoom. Technology has evolved to the point where meeting virtually is not just doable but often preferable for clients, and the tools I use — studio quality webcam and microphone, plus a physical whiteboard — make it seem like we are in the same room.

Ironically, I've found — and many seasoned coaches agree — that virtual meetings are not just effective, they are often more effective than meeting in person. Not only does driving to an office waste significant time, meeting virtually allows you to be in a comfortable and familiar setting and not worry about looking at me and misreading body language. Instead, you may put all your focus and energy into the coaching itself.

That said, I live just outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota. If you are in the area, we are welcome to meet in person.

All my coaching sessions are done remotely, at a time convenient to you. There is bound to be a time of the week that will work out. All of my clients find that despite dedicating a few hours a month to coaching, they get back many more hours in free time as a by-product of having more clarity and focus in decision making at work.

It is not uncommon for clients to see a greater than 20% increase in net productivity at work based on just a handful of focused coaching sessions. What would you do with 20% more free time?

I work with clients who are based in the USA or Canada, but often travel throughout the world. If you are based in another part of the world, I recommend finding a coach who might be a better fit for your time zone, market and cultural context, and language needs.

Yes. All sessions are strictly confidential. My client list is confidential as well, though some kindly offer their testimonial on what it was like to coach with me.