Space for Coaching
Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space lies our freedom and power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and freedom.
–Viktor Frankl (1905 – 1997)
in Man’s Search For Meaning
Root Causing
I often use the story below at the beginning of executive coaching engagements, particularly when coaching groups. These executives, especially my CEO executive coaching clients, have achieved a great deal by demanding and producing rapid results. Many results, however, require extraordinary diligence and patience. This “Bamboo Story” is a useful metaphor for individuals and teams out to produce significant and enduring new opportunities. [A free, single-page version of this executive coaching story is available by clicking here.]
A certain remarkable species of bamboo is cultivated in Asia. The root system is so complex that the farmer must water, fertilize, and weed for five years before the first shoot emerges from the ground. Imagine how this farmer must look to her neighbors: “Hey, how is your dirt crop coming along?” Season after season she sees others harvesting, eating, and selling their produce, while she labors for no visible result.
Once the root system is fully developed the first shoots emerge and the plants grow as high as 90 feet in a few weeks. The bamboo grows so quickly you can hear the rustle as the leaves spread. As anyone who has tried to remove a stand of bamboo knows, good luck stopping such growth once strong roots are established.
How do you tend to your root system?
Click here to download free, printable poster of this story.
Find the Heart of the Issue
I worked one-on-one with Tony over several months as I sorted through opportunities and obstacles to growth of my law firm. I came to realize that there were very substantial and irreconcilable differences in approach to growth between me and some of my partners. The end result was an amicable firm split and my formation of a new firm with partners who share similar views on how best to grow the business.
Tony is outstanding at probing to find the “heart” of an issue, and he constantly presents his clients with alternative ways of achieving their goals.
Lonnie C. Rich, Partner
Rich Rosenthal Manitta Dzubin & Kroeger, LLP
Key Business Relationships
Tony’s executive coaching has been very valuable to the growth and development of DIAMOND Marketing. For example, he’s helped us identify and then develop key business relationships that have taken the firm to a higher level. We were unaware of most of these potential partners before working with Tony. All have paid significant dividends.
Through my association with the group, I was pleased to acquire two additional clients. While the business and personal support is what I generally expect from the group, getting new business was a bonus.
The Web of Life
The 
renowned author of The Tao of Physics weaves a yet broader tapestry of reality in The Web of Life. Capra’s readable survey goes beyond quantum physics and eastern mystics to encompass biology, consciousness, and the ecology of the entire earth. From chaos and complexity science, through Heidegger and the Systems Thinkers, right up to the Gaia Theory, Capra explains in fascinating detail the key ideas of twentieth-century philosophers and scientists whose insights may be propelling all of us into the post-modern era.
A New Scientific Understanding of Living Systems
by Fritoj Capra
Selected excerpts from the book. [My comments in brackets.]
p. 6 A social paradigm, which I define as “a constellation of concepts, values, perceptions, and practices shared by a community, which forms a particular vision of reality that is the basis of the way the community organizes itself.”
The paradigm that is now receding has (more…)
Goal Setting Sabotage
I frequently coach individuals and groups on long-term goal setting. I have found a subtle trap that you can easily avoid if you take a moment to notice that not everything progresses at the same rate.
A great benefit of specific plans is the opportunity to track progress. After my clients set a ten year goal, I invite them to imagine themselves in the future, ten years hence, with the goal achieved. I then ask, “Look back five years. Tell me how much progress you had made at the halfway point.”
This where most people make a crucial error. Luckily, it is easy to avoid.
Let’s say you have set a goal for (more…)
Your greatest strength is your #1 blind spot
I got a call from a salesman looking for my help to close a business owner. The salesman was frustrated because the owner so needed the product but was not making a decision, though he was willing to keep talking.
The business owner was tired and frantically busy as his company grew past 100 employees. He was traveling more and more, continually meeting prospective clients, reviewing active projects, and checking on employees. He was proudly a stickler for quality and involved with every detail. His company’s reputation for excellent work was a foundation of their success and growth.
My immediate response was, “Wow! He must have a terrible time retaining key employees.”
“How did you know that?” the salesman exclaimed, “He says that’s his #1 problem.”
“Of course it is. The best people (more…)
Grow or Die
I have been an adviser and executive coach to business owners for years, as well a being a serial entrepreneur myself. A common question is, “Why does my company need to grow (or grow faster)? I make enough money, I am comfortable at this scale, what gets better with growth to compensate for the extra work and stress?”
I have answered this question several ways for myself and clients but I never (more…)
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