October 2004

Spielberg missed it by a mile.  In "The Terminal", a man without a country is trapped in a NYC airport, unable to go back home, and unable to legally enter the U.S.  He lives in the airport as months pass. He adjusts, creates a new life in 'The Terminal" until his ultimate exit to freedom.

The movie is based on reality, but the truth is even stranger. Merhan Nasseri landed in Paris in 1988, refused entry into England because his passport and UN refugee certificate had been stolen. He was a 'non-person' with nowhere  to go. 
In 1999, after ELEVEN YEARS of bureaucratic nightmare, Nasseri was presented a paper that gave him his  freedom.  He refused to sign.

After 11 years living in Charles DeGaulle airport, he simply didn't know how to do anything else.  He was terrified to do something different - to step out of his comfort zone.  As of late 2004, Nasseri is still at Charles deGaulle,  having lived there 16 years. 

Our business decisions all involve a comfort zone. We talk to companies who are undergoing wrenching pain, devastating problems, yet they won't leave these false 'comfort zones'.

The budget 'comfort zone':  We have turnover costs, conflict and inefficiency in our budget, but we DON'T  have anything in our budget for consultants. 

The buddy 'comfort zone': Our CEO has a friend who (pick one): does training videos, is a 'coach', works on employee turnover. We're 'all set'. 

The 'not invented here' zone: We develop everything internally, training, leadership, HR systems. Never use consultants.

All these zones mean no extra effort, no risk and no progress. 

Like the man in "The Terminal", companies that think like this are stuck, the world passing them by, a ticket in their hand and no place to go. 

Rocky Mountain (a little too) High: 
Coaching is in Chaos
Denver Post   October 2004

A recent Denver coaching conference drew 'coaches'  of every stripe, as this press coverage describes.

At the Denver Coaching Federation's conference Thursday, there were spirituality coaches, relationship coaches, life coaches, business coaches, career coaches, communications coaches, management coaches and leadership coaches. They introduced themselves:

"Hi, my name is Richard. I have experience in tremendous business success. I have experience in tremendous business failure."

"I'm Ann. I'm good at staying inspired. I'm good at creating sacred space. I am good at creating beauty."

For $200 to $1,000 a month, you too can have a coach. But beware: Some coaches trade on trite ideas, then self-publish books and produce CDs with inspirational themes. They give motivational speeches, slide-show presentations and invent acronyms like "ACT." That's "Awareness + Connection = Transformation." Get it?

Coaching studies show that coaching can lead to double-digit productivity gains and triple-digit returns on investment. Those studies come from consultants studying the effectiveness of consultants. Imagine that.

Coaching, however, does have its place. The CEO of Denver-based Denewiler Capital grew his business from $5 million to $35 million with the help os a coach. "I could not have done it without her," he says. But he's going to get rid of her, soon.

"Coaches are great in the beginning," Denewiler said. "But the only way they can continue the relationship is to become your therapist ... I'm not sure I want to wrestle with all my internal demons. And I don't want to achieve a new goal every two weeks."

Companies often hire coaches to work with their management teams. One coach said about half her clients are people who didn't ask for her services - their employers did.

Another says the problems she uncovers are sometimes the CEOs who hire her. "You have to tell them the truth, that they are part of the problem." That's a valuable service given the density of  the executive skull these days. And I suppose it's why coaching is here to stay.
 

1. This is business: Business coaches should emulate athletics: Performance-related results are the only goal. 

2. It's not personal. Coaching is not therapy. Personal history is not relevant. Business behavior is. 

3. It can't last forever. Coaching shouldn't last much more than 12 weeks, one hour a week. Coaching with no exit strategy is bad coaching, and it'$ expen$ive. 

4. Show me your papers, please: There are no recognized training programs or degrees. A coaching certificate and three bucks will buy you a coffee at Starbucks. 

5. Location, Location: Face-to-face coaching is, far and away, the only way to coach. When a coach uses phone or email, it'$  all about THEM, not you.

It's attracted the attention of several universities who want to grant a credible coaching certificate.

For executives and teams, the process is perfect and the results are profound.

Great track record, refreshingly honest approach.

More on team coaching
More on executive coaching

How Trump Started - How He Judges Talent

John Eckberg - Cincinnati Enquirer, 2004

Donald Trump, real estate mogul and salvation of NBC with his reality show The Apprentice, lived in Cincinnati for a year.  "It was in the early '70s, I loved it there." Trump was at a loss for the exact year because, when you build and sell  empires, well, the years just  fade one into another. How does a guy like Trump measure time, anyhow? By project?  Wife?  Wealth?

Trump's career began in Cincinnati because that's where his dad, the late Fred Trump, decided it would begin. His father presented Donald with an unusual present: an apartment complex in Bond Hill. Trump remembered the exact number of units, too. "There were 1,164. Almost all were vacant. They were a disaster," Trump says. "We turned it around, and it became a great success." 

Now, much of America watches Trump judge talent and ability. So how does Trump do it? 

"There is nothing quite like education. If somebody went to Wharton School or Harvard, it certainly tells you that they've done a lot, they've done a good job and they're smart," he said. "But ability is not exclusively that. I think you have to look in their eyes. I know I can see a lot." 

To be truthful, we can't offer general rules, or a set of platitudes about hiring.

What Sasha offers is a design process, Employment Dynamics, that allows you to create the perfect system for acquiring and molding talent and teams.

From Jacksonville to Johannesburg, HR execs have learned Employment Dynamics, use it to  design every new HR system, and to improve the systems they have. 

That includes "Reduced Risk Selection" for onboarding, as well as mentoring, training, career paths and more.

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