I'm delighted to share this 6-question interview of Richard Reardon, formerly the Dean of the School of Small Business Coaching at CoachVille.com. Richard was the first established Graduate-level Dean selected by Thomas Leonard, and revolutionized Small Business Coach training in that role in the fall of 2002.

Those of you who remember meeting Richard at the Business Coaching Conference held fall 2002 in Toronto, Canada will clearly recall what a deep well of expertise and experience he represents. A humble, rather quiet and dare I say 'old school' (in a good way) Mentor Coach, Richard has been doing the work of transforming businesses since 1981.

As you will see from just a few interview questions, there is no faking his kind of experience. Let me also add that Richard personally coached me through some of the most difficult days of my journey as a business owner, so if you pick up my rather fond feelings towards him, that will be why.

That will also be why I'm so delighted to partner with his R&R Business Development to invite you to 3 new course offerings designed to deepen your abilities as a Small Business Coach. These highly affordable offerings are now open for registration here.

Without further preamble, here's the interview. You may want to pay special attention to question #4.

(1) Richard, not to be rude, but you have been coaching businesses for a very long time! What is your favorite client success story?

The client who began coaching approximately 2 years ago and who now works solely with Fortune 500 companies, sets fees at 5K per day, has plenty of work and really "gets" coaching as a means to a bigger end.

He started with lots and lots of self doubt but, did the work, met the challenges and grew into it.

(2) As part of your legacy, you have said that you'd like to pass along your insights, methods and experience to new business coaches. Would you fill in the blank of this sentence?

I wish more business coaches would _______________.

Easy... practice what they preach and become world class business advisors.

Most have so much potential as business advisors/coaches but get all hung up on trivial stuff, side roads, analysis, what is a coach type of talk over and over... the market is so big...what are we waiting for?

(3) You have mentored coaches in several places including the Graduate School of Coaching - you must be exceeding patient and persistent to continue to make offerings available to coaches. I think many trainers might have given up by now. What makes you so determined?

Actually I tend toward impatient. Since I fully expect the 80/20 rule applies everywhere, I tend to attract/work with those who are ready to " get it going", learn what has to change and build their business.

Not everyone will do the work necessary (not that it is all that hard, by the way) and that (not doing the work) is to be expected in any "new endeavor."

In my role, I benefit in three areas:

(a) opportunity to teach good material and then
(b) the chance to work 1x1 with those who really want more. and, finally
(c) coaching business owners on-site.

The free stuff is easy to do and it's nice that I enjoy it too ---- no patience needed, really.

(4) What kind of earnings do you think it's reasonable for a business coach to expect in their first year, done well? Fifth year? 10th?

Depends on the vision, goals, character and how big they want to become....I strongly believe that Solo operators doing coaching to businesses can easily earn...

Year one $115 ,000 plus
Year two $155,000 plus
Year five $300,000 plus

Once the model is decided and process developed, any solo person can earn these without a lot of extra service or affiliates. By year ten it depends mostly on the model and growth strategy.

All this is possible if they develop a step-by-step plan and develop the mental discipline to operate to the plan month after month.

Too many coaches are looking for a quick homerun ...that is a mistake. This is a profession that requires a consistent plan of development and a whole new level of mental energy. It is fun and rewarding but does not just happen.

Frankly, if the above revenues are not set as baseline goals, I think the payoff will be too small for the amount of mental change and work required for becoming happy & successfully self employed. Revenues count.

(5) Recently I have been coaching coaches a great deal around the concept of building their businesses to sell. Can you say a little about the universal things that need to be in place to make a business sell-able?

> Systems in all areas of the business (that run independent of the "coach.")

> A well-oiled marketing process that operates all year round.

> A product (or service) focus that really is world class in its impact on the business (and is easy to deliver.)

> Higher than average fees because the service is truly value added and clients see that. It can be vanilla and stand out in some way.

> The plan and awareness from the get go to "build it" for sale.

(6) You recently approached me to introduce a new set of 3-week course offerings to make a difference in the lives of small business coaches. What kind of business coach do you most hope will join up?

Those who want to "lead" their clients toward much better productivity and profitably by using both the strategic side of business development and the personal development side ....they really do go well together.

Example: The coaches' business will not exceed her own level of growth next year, etc.

Great questions, Andrea. Best, Richard

----end interview---

P.S. A great example of what I mean when I describe Richard as 'old school' is his recent succinct article called "Too much happy talk?" available at his new blog. Be sure to stop by and say hello!

Multiple Streams of Coaching Income and R&R Business Development are pleased to present the following 3 new course offerings for Business Coaches.

Each is 3 weeks long and addresses a single theme focusd on gaining you new clients and then exceeding their expecatations. Led by Richard Reardon, Mentor Coach of over 25 years experience, the classes will be participative and include recordings and full notes. (More on Richard here, and here.)

Early-bird seating is available for a very limited number of registrants, so act fast if you're that way inclined. :) That said, the full-price for the training is affordable by any standard. Click here to view the descriptions directly at Richard's website, or use the appropriate links below.

See you in class!

-----begin class descriptions-----

Class #3001 Getting Hired | The 9 Most Frequently-Occurring Challenges In Small Businesses

Learn nine areas where a business owner is most likely to hire you and your services. Opportunity is there. You just have to know where to look and understand how to sell to the 'hot buttons.'

Particularly in the small business coaching arena, it is important to be clear about where it's best to enter the small business, and avoid selling coaching per se. In this 3-session course, you will learn 9 ways to do this. Chances are, if you already know some ways, you will add to your repertoire and increase your ability to secure a range of small business clients with a wide spectrum of needs.

This class lays a foundation of what services and solutions you can develop as a coach.

The overt benefits from this hands-on "how to" offering are:

> Increased competence and confidence when speaking with business owners, with an eye towards consistently securing new clients
> Nine fresh approaches for problem solving and coaching competency specific to the small business arena.
> The ability to apply coaching to situations beyond what you currently work on with business owners.
> Increased viability of your coaching business as your pool of prospective clients grows

Dates: 3 Mondays - February 26, March 5 and 12, 2007

Time: 4:00 P.M. Eastern, USA for one hour

Price: $127.00 for the first 3 registrants. $167.00 thereafter. Class size is limited and course content will not be repeated in 2007.

In addition to the 3 full-hour sessions by conference line, your course fee includes class notes and audio recordings. The only additional cost you will incur is long-distance charges to dial into the conference line. However if you opt to listen to the recordings later via the internet, you will not incur these charges.

Register early to secure your seat.

----

Class # 9011 It's Not Just Business, It's Personal Coaching the 'Whole' Business Owner for Lasting Change

In addition to solving all their business related problems, many clients need your advice on dealing with feelings of alienation and stress. Your depth as a coach matters, and here is where your coaching can have the most lasting impact.

When you learn how to help the client find meaning in their work, become comfortable in both their inner and outer worlds and transform themselves toward fulfillment, you will assure your success and become even better paid for your work. The tricky part is building a bridge from business issues to the personal realm with the buy-in of the client.

This class shows how to cross the gap between what you may be hired for (overtly) and where you are needed most. Treating the roots of issues in addition to the business symptoms.

The overt benefits from this class are:

> Clarity and comfort with the process of guiding your client toward a deeper purpose of coaching.
>How to help the client access both the business and personal elements of lasting success.
>The ability to overcome objections to crossing the line between business and personal.
>Familiarity with the language business owners can understand, when it comes to inner work.

Dates: 3 Mondays - April 9, 16 and 23, 2007

Time: 12:00 noon, eastern, USA for one hour

Price: $ 127.00 for the first 3 registrants only. 167.00 thereafter. Class size is limited and course content will not be repeated in 2007.

In addition to the 3 full-hour sessions by conference line, your course fee includes class notes and audio recordings. The only additional cost you will incur is long-distance charges to dial into the conference line. However if you opt to listen to the recordings later via the internet, you will not incur these charges.

Register early to secure your seat.

-----

Class # 3111 - 7 Universal Success Factors How A Coach Can Improve Any Small Business

The more you understand the nature of successful organizations, the more assured you are of affecting growth and improving the performance of your client and his or her business. The 7 most important success factors affect any organization regardless of its mission, products, services or market.

Once you know how, you can use simple conversation for discovery, analysis and planning. This course provides a structured, repeatable and reliable approach to improving productivity, direction and long-term success of your clients' businesses.

The overt benefits of this 3-session offering are:

> Meaningful business insights to provoke your client.
> Action steps you can coach within any small business environment.
> Proven growth initiatives so your coaching is always tied to concrete results.

Dates: 3 Mondays, September 10, 17 and 24, 2007

Time: 12:00 noon eastern, USA, for one hour.

Price: $ 127.00 for the first 3 registrants only. $167.00 thereafter. Class size is limited.

In addition to the 3 full-hour sessions by conference line, your course fee includes class notes and audio recordings. The only additional cost you will incur is long-distance charges to dial into the conference line. However if you opt to listen to the recordings later via the internet, you will not incur these charges.

Register here.

---end course descriptions---

Additional Incentive for registrants in all 3 courses: A business book selected by me (Andrea) after reviewing your website, if you have one, and shipped to your address.

To qualify for this additional gift, take action to register for all 3 course offerings together (as opposed to one at a time throughout the year.)

Once you've done this, simply send your receipt to me via ericka@msoci.com with 'Business Book Selection CF Richard Reardon' in the subject line. Include your website address and I will select your book.

If you don't have a website send a description in your email about what your plans are for a web presence (or not.) I'll base my book selection for you on what you send, so send me what you think will help me understand where you're at. Until then...

Blogging Expert Andy Wibbels recently posted about the books that changed his life in 2006.

What book has YOU shaking at the knees with passion? And no, I'm not talking romance novels. ;-)

The premise of Companion Coaching Programs will be of interest to you if you'd like a short-cut to creating products and services that already have some currency in your market. In other words, it's an alternative to starting from scratch to create intellectual property of your own.

Here's how (and a little why...)

For every piece of popular intellectual property, for example a best-selling business book, there is an opportunity for greater learning to occur in a coaching setting. A well-designed companion program alows participants to implement the ideas sparked by that book to a greater degree. To take the theory and integrate it more fully into their daily lives.

Consider for a moment how much transformational material does NOT yet have a coaching component to help take it from 'great thinking' to 'real life?'

I've often wondered -- What if 'The Purple Cow' had a companion coaching program and corresponding team of coaches who brilliantly elicited 'remarkable' from its clients?

After writing lengthily about this concept in Multiple Streams of Coaching Income, I've noted a handful of new companion coaching programs spring up. Foremost is a brand being created simply and elegantly by Coach Carol Ross, CPCC, based on the work of Dan Pink, author of "A Whole New Mind."

Carol kindly agreed to share her work in this area at her websites here and here, and also be interviewed for this blog. As a pioneer in the Companion Coaching area, her answers reflect a lovely evolutionary process - see for yourself.

(1) Carol, what made you choose Dan Pink's work to piggyback on, from a field of so many?

The book resonated with me from the first page. It explained what I have been living for the last 7 years, migrating from an analytical software engineer in Bell Labs to a creative entrepreneur and writer.

It also gave concrete reasons for using both sides of our brain, the creative right brain as well as the analytical left brain. It not just a feel good thing but a necessity to be competitive in today’s world. I identified with the book’s concepts and approach so wholeheartedly that I could see building my brand with it.

(2) Of all the ideas Dan presents, what is one that you feel is least understood, or least valued, to your disappointment?

That’s a hard one. There’s not one that stands out as being harder to understand.

I suppose companies are starting to see the value of Story. I recently interviewed Steve Denning, an expert who teaches companies how to use story-telling in to achieve business goals. He told me that his clients are incorporating story-telling into their leadership development.

Maybe Play is one that still hasn’t caught on as fully. Play is still seen as frivolous—something the dotcom companies did in between burning through start-up money. And Play is probably the one that I’m most naturally oriented to. My work is play when it’s at its best.

(3) Did you secure permission from Dan before you went ahead, or after? How did you approach him? And what does Dan say about the whole endeavor?

This is an interesting little story. It started after I read the book, when I went to visit his website.

On the website is a calendar of events and I noticed that he had a public speaking gig in Denver, where I live. This was in January 2006.

Unfortunately, I was scheduled to deliver a workshop the same time he was speaking. I mentioned this to my coach, Shirley Anderson. I wanted to contact Dan after I was further along on figuring out how to build off the book. But Shirley didn’t let me slide. Instead she urged me to email Dan Pink, to arrange a meeting while he was in town.

It was also fortuitous that a colleague of mine, Robert Rasmussen, had met Dan Pink in person when they were both speaking at a conference. Robert also encouraged me to contact Dan, telling me he was very approachable.

So between Shirley and Robert, I decided to email Dan. I leveraged the fact that we both knew Robert by using the subject line: “Referred to you by Robert Rasmussen.”

I talked about why the book resonated with me and pointed to a blog posting about the impact the book had on me. I told him I wanted to use his book as part of building my brand but didn’t want to step on toes. I asked if we could meet while he was in town, and offered to take him out for dinner the night before his speaking engagement. I added a light touch by saying something like, “Don’t worry. I’m a happily married woman with two beautiful sons.” I also let him know that I had already registered a lens on Squidoo that month with the title, “Living With A Whole New Mind” so that he could tell me right off the bat if I was crossing the line. I wanted to be as upfront as possible.

Dan emailed back the next day and was very gracious. He was flying in late the night before the talk and leaving the next morning, right after the talk to catch a plane. So while he could not meet in person, he gave me the go-ahead to use the concepts in his book in whatever way it could help me—whether it was with coaching or organization development work (I do both)--as long as I gave him attribution.

His response came from a place of abundance: “Lots of folks are incorporating these ideas into their work -- and that benefits everyone. They get new material to work with. I get a few more book sales….Go forth and conquer!”

Since then, I’ve interviewed Dan twice, once over the phone for my podcast, Leading With A Whole New Mind, and once in person for a Northwestern University alumni podcast on career development (we’re both alums.)

(4) How did you come to select the domain name "LeadingWithaWholeNewMind.com."

I have to credit my coach, Shirley Anderson, with that one.

I had the idea of a series of interviews to bring the book to life, in the form of a podcast. Originally I wanted to name the podcast, “Living With A Whole New Mind.”

Shirley suggested Leading With A Whole New Mind instead. It has more of a business bent and based on my target audience—intelligent, analytical professionals who are ready to engage the creative right brain—it made sense to use the word “Leading” instead of “Living.”

(5) Can you give us some examples of how a 'whole-brain' approach has benefitted a coaching client?

I have to limit myself to a few paragraphs on this one. Otherwise, I’ll be writing for days! Some highlights:

- Sometimes clients need help in picking up on non-verbal, non-written information that’s in front of them—they
miss signs that people are giving them.

I’ll ask him/her to practice sensing the emotion of the room or of someone they are interacting with. Is the person pensive? Angry? Frustrated? Sad? Is the group confused? Scared? Jubilant?

This is the first step to developing empathy for those who aren’t naturally empathetic (and we all know people like that!) Just this one step gives a client so much more information to work from, in both personal and professional situations.

Then the left brain can then kick in to assess the most effective way to proceed with the conversation (e.g., If I start talking about X, that will confuse the group even more. Better keep my remarks simple.)

- I will use visualization with clients when they are having trouble seeing the big picture (Symphony). We imagine going up a ladder to different platform heights and at each level, I ask the client what they see down below, where his/her life is playing out.

As we go higher up, the client sees the pattern and picture of their life and becomes aware of underlying emotions. Clients can then let go of the details that run their life, and focus on the important stuff.

I had one client, a brilliant manager and financial whiz, who visualized seeing at the highest platform just one thing below him. He saw his oldest son, about four at the time, learning to ski by putting his skis in a “pizza wedge.” His life wasn’t about work, about making money, about his career. It was about being a father.

- One of the most common whole-brain approaches is to use our natural intuition. Clients know so much from checking their gut, yet they often don’t include that in how they live their life or work in business. I’m not saying to rely solely on intuition, but to include it as part of the decision-making process. As much as we include facts and figures.

Much of this stuff is what I learned in coaching training and I’m guessing your blog readers did too, Andrea.

So when I pass on coaching skills, like sensing emotion and trusting intuition, to my clients, I’m helping them engage the right-brain. For many of us, including my target market, we already have a competency in logical reasoning. So combine that with the right-brain stuff and you get whole brain thinking.

(6) What one mistake would you advise other coaches to avoid, and how, when considering this kind of approach to an existing piece of IP.

Don’t wait to have all your ducks in a row.

The worst thing I could have done was wait to contact Dan Pink until I felt ready.

Dive in, seize the opportunity, and improvise from there. This stuff happens organically. You can’t plan it out.

For example, I could not have predicted that I would be interviewing Dan on behalf of Northwestern University. In his original reply to me, he made the connection that we are both Northwestern alums. He had read my bio on my website. From there, I contacted Northwestern. The career services director for alumni was aware of the book but did not know that Dan was an alum. I suggested an interview and things took off from there.

The other piece of advice is to be up front and clear about your intentions. Tell the truth of how you want to use the existing IP. Be sincere.

(7) There are several other coaching companies who leverage the fame and popularity of books to grow their businesses. They go 'deeper' into the material with the clients. But for the most part these are bigger organizations. What are your plans as a solopreneur to build out this brand in the future? Do you envision products, etc.?

Great question. I’ve been percolating on the idea of passive revenue for the last year (especially after reading your book, Multiple Streams of Coaching Income) and your question has only intensified the brewing process!

It feels like I’m at a crossroad in my business journey, where I need to decide what to do with the seeds that I’ve planted and sort out how much, and how deeply my brand is connected with A Whole New Mind.

When I started to go down this path of building off of A Whole New Mind, I asked William Arruda, founder of Reach his take on what I was doing. Arruda is known as a personal branding guru and in his blog, he talks about brands being complementary.

For example, the clothing retailer, H+M, and Madonna. These are both strong brands that complement each other.

His response to me was this: “I believe brand association is very positive. Look at the value of having Aveda products in your bathroom at a W hotel. Connecting with a powerful brand adds power to your brand.

BUT...you must also make it clear what YOUR brand is. How have you applied Dan’s work to a specific area that you own? You must develop your own thought leadership that differentiates you from anyone else who might be using the ideas in his book.”

I’m not sure that I’ve done justice to the advice that William has given me. But I try to remember that I need to have my own brand, that is uniquely me, even as I align myself with A Whole New Mind.

My gut says that whatever products I produce will be a combination of A Whole New Mind and my own brand. For example, with the podcast, Leading With A Whole New Mind, I’m using the concepts from the book as a guide for who I interview and for framing the interview (e.g., this individual’s work is about Story).

And my interview style, which impacts the larger picture of what people are hearing, is part of my brand—intelligent, genuine, and creative. I think people’s best efforts usually reflect some part of them, so it’s no different here.

I don’t know what the right mix is and my guess is that will emerge, organically. Seems like a good part of what looks like success is really the umpteenth iteration of trying something out - after going through a process of trial and error.

(8) Would you say there is a significant advantage of sorts to the piggyback approach you've taken? Is there a marketing advantage that you've seized?

The big advantage is that people who like the book usually like my approach and who I am. They self-select. And vice versa.

My clients who have come to me but don’t know about the book usually enjoy reading it when I recommend it.

So if I can align myself with the book in some way (e.g., the podcast, the Squidoo lens), it makes it a lot easier on me. I naturally attract who I want to serve.

This book is not for everyone and likewise, I’m not for everyone.

(9) On your website, your photo appears a bunch of times, but Dan's doesn't appear at all...nor does his book. Why is that?

When I first read your question, I immediately moved into action to fill the gap. So you’ll now see a photo of me and Dan at this link at my site. (Scroll about half-way down, under the heading of Podcasts. At the end, under the heading of Books, you’ll see his book.) [Ed. note: The photo in question is also above.]

It actually stunned me that I could have missed something so obvious.

On further reflection, I can see that it’s a sign of my lack of clarity on how the work I’ve done with the book (podcast, interviews with Dan Pink) fits into an overall brand strategy.

The answers are still emerging and quite frankly, your questions and conversations with my coach have prompted me to think about what the next version of my website should look like. Or if I should have more than one website. I find that every 18 months to 2 years, my website needs a good overhaul, to be current with where I’m at and to reflect my evolution.

(10) What's the one thing you hope visitors to your site will take action on, and take away from their visit?

I hope that they’ll become engaged in the dialogue that I’m trying to foster. That might mean signing up for my monthly ezine, commenting on my blog, subscribing to one of my podcasts, contacting me for a complimentary consultation, or reading a sampling of my 50+ articles on the website.

What’s the dialogue about? Certainly, it’s about whole brain thinking. But it’s not just for the sake of some cool concept. It’s for the sake of having inspired careers, working on inspired teams, and living inspired lives. It’s about finding the big things in the small things, about using all of what’s in front of us, and making conscious choices.

I want individuals and organizations to wake up to what’s possible, instead of focusing on what’s wrong.

-----end interview with Carol----

Thanks, Carol! I appreciate the time you've taken to shine a light on your process with us.

It's my hope that others will be moved to take a closer look at the shortcuts available to them as coaches by following your example. Not to mention the benefits of deepening the conversation around exciting bodies of intellectual property...

Best wishes with your whole minded pursuits. :-)

"Carol's engineering background makes her uniquely positioned to see both the left-brain and right-brain perspectives of any situation. In looking at problems, she's able to respond by coupling the "soft skills" with an analytical approach."

-- Wendy Bohling, Former Research and Development Director, Avaya

By cheeky request, a reader of this blog asked about my vacation schedule for 2007. I guess he'd read an article about making sure one learns from people whose lifestyle they admire. Makes sense not to follow the advice of someone who works themself to the bone, I say!

"Andrea, if you're teaching us to do more with less time, why don't you show us how much time you take off so we can see?"

Here is the schedule I set for the year as of December 2006. It includes time off as well as travel time.

January 1-7 | OFF
January 11-13 | Speaking Engagement, British Columbia

February 1- March 4 | Creative Hiatus with 1 week OFF (Select Client work by appointment only.)

April 19-21 | Speaking Engagement, Philadelphia Area Coaches Association
April 22-25 | OFF

May 3-9 | Speaking Engagements, Chicago, Madison, etc.
May 10-11 | OFF

June 1-4 | OFF

July 1-September 4 | Summer Hours (Select Client work by appointment only.)

October 5-8 | OFF
October 31-November 3 | Conference, Long Beach, California (Tentative)

November 4-13 | OFF

December 15-January 2(tbd) | OFF

Summarizing...

I have 13 days of booked travel for business with 4 days that are tentative. That's a max total of 17 days of booked travel for 2007. Plenty.

I have 43 days of booked vacation time off. That's a little bit more than 6 weeks, about right to offset the intensity of my work days.

And I have a full month of planned creative hiatus which means for me a limit of 5-10 hours per week of select appointments. This kind of time is actually my favorite - I love vacation time off too, but my work and creativity are so much part of me that I enjoy my days more when I can putter around, choose to do what I like when I like - that includes creating stuff and not feeling like i 'have' to go 'enjoy my vacation.' Sounds funny, but it's true.

Finally I have 2 months of summer hours, which is the same sort of time as creative hiatus, except I have a concrete creative goal for hiatus and not for summer hours.

I like to take summer hours to take advantage of the sunshine and be outside more. Which is a good time to mention that yes, in the winter season I do tend to work longer hours on work days...that's how I work best, but my total work time per week still sits at about 30 hours.

Questions? How about you? What works, what doesn't? Where's the gap between the amount of business you want to be doing and the amount you work?

Two weeks ago, while on the road speaking to BNI in a delightful corner of British Columbia, and with the start of a terrible cold, I participated in a Coaching Predictions call hosted by Milana Leshinsky.

Here is the link to the recordings for this call. Mine is the second clip in and is about 20 minutes long. I'm told the entire series of predictions ended up being close to 3 hours, so forewarned is forearmed - begin listening at your own risk! :-)

To prepare for our segments, Milana asked us to reveal in no-holds barred fashion, a mindstream of the 3 most important trends, opportunities and landmines we could foresee for professional coaches in 2007, including how each is likely to impact a coach's business (that's you!), and what I'm doing about the predictions myself.

Here are the promised notes from the predictions I made, for those who missed the call or prefer reading over listening...

Coaching Prediction #1: Expect to see lots more coaching jobs.

By that I don’t mean jobs that involve coaching skills, but jobs where coaching is the core deliverable. This will happen at three levels:

(1) the Executive level - this is already happening and there will be many more of these.
(2) the non-Executive level - these coaching jobs are becoming part of the woodwork in fitness and wellness industries, in the academic world, etc.

(3) AND – coaches who are reaching a certain degree of success are now hiring associate coaches themselves, creating a demand for coaches with the skill set and experience set who don't want to build businesses.

How to prepare for this trend?

- Collect testimonials of the hard-core type
- Use before and after progress worksheets
- Be prepared to provide examples of your coaching abilities in a resume…

Tip: As a natural benefit to your 1-1 or group coaching clients, you can already be offering to record their sessions, confidentially for their use, of course. It's a great value add and costs you little if you use an easy recording service like this.

When the time comes you then also have the option of approaching them for permission to use audio clips you record for the purpose of your coaching portfolio. This bolsters your application immeasurably as you are helping prospective employers understand how to recognize great coaching.

It's early yet in the days of coaching jobs, and people aren't altogether clear how to hire the best coaches. This is great news: you can help them hire you.

What I personally hope to do in light of the increasing number of coaching jobs is help build connections between those who want the jobs and those who are in a position to hire. I've already spent several years developing my business as a place that helps with business management and infrastructure so as to facilitate coaches hiring other coaches. Love that.

Coaching Prediction #2: Watch for a great deal more coaching in the mainstream media.

There will continue to be coaching in reality television, as a part of the bigger premise of the show. But you’ll see in 2007 a couple of shows where coaching is the focus. Many of us have hoped that this would happen in a way that can showcase the real power of coaching – well, isn't it awesome that it’s now coming?

As I explain on the audio clip from the Coaching Predictions call - I cheat a little with the word 'predictions' here because some of these things I know to be a forgone conclusion. Plus, I think you'll agree that we create our own future so if I have anything to do with the predictions, let's just say I like to think they'll be a little more than predictions when the year is through. ;-)

So, how to prepare for this one? It may sound silly, but stay flexible. Be prepared to nimbly take advantage of this trend in your marketing collateral. Now may not be the time to print 1000 business cards. Hedge your bets and be ready to take advantage of trends, language and ideas as they sweep through.

What I hope to do is support the coaches who are even now preparing for big launches in radio, video games and yes, TV, as well as help coaches who want to make the most of the halo effect of all this.

Coaching Prediction #3: I also predict an increase in mainstream criticism of coaching and the self help industry as a whole.

Some of you who are following along know this has begun already in the form of recently-published books painting self-help as a whole with a very dark shade of black. And of course, there is the backlash to the very successful movie 'The Secret.'

So how can you prepare for this? Isn't it hard enough to market your coaching business?

More details to this worthy question in another post, but in general terms, my best suggestion is that each of us embrace the criticism as an opportunity. Don’t run from the criticism, take it as a vitamin and let it strengthen you.

Because here's the thing, when I take a close look at some of what's being said - there is real truth to it. And hearing that truth at a deep level can only make us better at what we do, and how we talk about it.

And although Milana only asked us for three, here are four more quickie predictions I slipped in. Note: Because I had to leave the call early, I wasn't able to cover each in detail on the record so the notes will be where you get the most detail.

Coaching Prediction #4: We will see a handful or so coaches emerging as leaders in definitive (and perhaps unexpected) new niche markets.

Again, I say this more from a factual standpoint than a crystal-ball or tea-leaf standpoint. There may be more than a handful but I can stand by at least a handful at this moment. Hint: This means more coaches hiring coaches as the new niche market embraces coaching results and demand increases.

Coaching Prediction #5: There will be a steady increase in the number of mergers and acquisitions taking place. That is, the buying and selling of successful coaching businesses by people in and outside the industry.

Whether it's because veteran coaches are moving out of the market going onto other things, selling, thinking about their legacy as a coach or just simply planning exit strategies...or.... just the fact that the coaching landscape is coalescing and consolidating ...this is also already happening.

Unfortunately, this type of meta-activity also means it becomes much more important to have your grown-up business 'ducks in a row'. As business goals of varying coaching organizations overlap and sometimes even clash, there will be lawsuits and other 'vigorous' negotiations. Yes even among coaches.

How can you prepare? Think bigger about how to reach your goals. If one of your goals is to build a list of 10,000, how can you leapfrog the organic process of doing that? Ask, who’s getting out of the biz? Who’s going on sabbatical? How can you step in, acquire or buy a business asset?

Also, be prepared to invest in infrastructure – accountants, lawyers, business managers etc.

As for myself, there are a couple of businesses I’m looking at acquiring and/or merging with now – and that’s something I haven't done before in the coaching industry, for myself, only for clients. So this will be an exciting time of growth - one that I aim to navigate without adding too more hours in front of the computer. Fun.

Coaching Prediction #6: We will see increased numbers of companion coaching programs – where coaches create programs based on existing best selling material.

For example Coach Carol Ross' work based on Dan Pink's book 'A Whole New Mind' called "Leading with a Whole New Mind." If you're curious about this, I've posted my online interview with Carol in a separate post here.

Coaching Prediction #7: We will see significant bodies of proof come to light that coaches are earning great livings.

Ah, perhaps my favorite prediction. By this I mean Real Proof - no more 'Survey says we all stink.' (Can I just say I can't wait???)

As an adjuct to this, as more coaches begin earning well, the pendulum will begin swinging back towards the 'meaning' side of the Money--Meaning spectrum. We'll start hearing more conversation about the social value of our businesses. How can we best give back? How do we manage our legacies or build charitable organizations that reflect our values? How can we infuse our business successes with greater meaning?

We'll see more innovative creations along the social venture line, for example the book 'The BIG MOO' by Seth Godin where 100% of author royalties went to charity.

----end predictions----

Needless to say, it's truly the most wonderful of times, isn't it? Great evolutionary tension, as it were.

And now, over to you. What do you see and feel, hear or think, as you consider your spot on 'the map?'

What are you interested in hearing more about, as the predictions bear fruit? What questions do you have?

Post a comment to help shape my editorial focus for the coming months.

And to be nudged when I post anew, input your email address in the top left of the website. That way, you won't miss a thing.

If you're serious about building your online business, you'll be interested in learning more about Graham White below, but before diving in, just a little preamble.

I've noticed that some of the most popular work we do in the area of online business is in Rules of Thumb. These are benchmarks for what you can expect in your online business, based on our experience, and are wildly popular because we all like to know if we're on the right track.

That said, there really is no science behind the benchmarks which is why we call them rules of 'thumb' - your results will vary depending on the size of your thumb! However they are our best guesses and can be hugely helpful in the absence of anything else.

For example:

Question: Andrea, when should I invest in a shopping cart system to collect money at my website?

Andrea's Rule of Thumb: When you can fairly easily see charging about $1000 per month through your cart.

A little more background: If you aren't collecting much money at all through a shopping cart, but are investing the $50, 60 or 100 each month to have one available, it can feel like a sunk cost - an investment that isn't paying off.

However if you are very close to releasing products or getting some real traffic going, signing up for a shopping cart earlier rather than later can be a good 'environment' that pulls you forward. (The cost invigorates you to start making 'having a cart worthwhile.')

But strictly speaking from a benchmark point of view, if you don't think you're going to be doing at least a little regular business through a cart, there's no real reason to get one. You can live with just Paypal, have your clients pay you by mailing a good-old-fashioned check, or indeed get a merchant account only, thereby allowing you to run credit cards at least manually. (If you're wanting some more basic outlines of how the money collection process works online, post to the comments below and I'll create another entry for you.)

To take a look at or actually try the cart that we and several dozen of our clients use, just click this link.

Today I'm excited to introduce a new rule of thumb. This one comes courtesy of my friend and colleague Graham White, who is the owner of Effective Ethical Marketing, a management consulting firm also here in Calgary.

Besides being a very sharp consultant, I like and respect Graham for many reasons, just one of which is knowing his pivotal part in birthing SuccessTracs, the coaching program at T. Harv Eker's organization, Peak Potentials (of Millionaire Mind Intensive fame.) On a personal level he barbeques a great steak and his wife and children are dynamos in their own right...

In any case, if you've been looking for an Online Business or high-end Marketing Manager - and I know many of you are, based on how many requests my office gets - do consider Graham. My partner Tina Forsyth and I keep a longish waiting list of consulting clients and I must say I'm relieved to be able to suggest Graham for those of you who really don't want to wait - and a virtual assistant alone just isn't cutting it for you any longer.

By way of introduction to Graham, I asked him to extrapolate on a rule of thumb he's publicized. Here are the results of the interview for your contemplation. Whether you are interested in Graham's services or not, I think you'll like what he has to say, just a little differently from how I usually put it. ;-)

----begin interview----

Andrea: Graham, on your website, you state that it should be possible to earn $2 per month for every subscriber on a given ezine or list.

Where does it come from, and why $2?

Graham: Well Andrea, I have lead a mastermind group with a dozen members who maintain lists from a few hundred to 20,000 for over a year. These numbers come from our actual results.

Some people I work with have lists with thousands of individuals. Strangely enough, often times they are reluctant to offer their list anything to purchase, or if they have found their list to be unresponsive to their own products and services, they are reluctant to offer the products and services of others for fear of offending people on their list.

My question then is, "So what is the purpose of your list? Do you have 1000 leads who you simply support energetically, or do you have a list of business prospects that you offer valuable goods and services to in exchange for payment?"

People become so attached to their list that they're almost willing to go broke rather than offend one or two people because they had the audacity to make an offer that 1 in 500 might not appreciate.

Frankly, if your list doesn't desire to purchase anything you or any affiliate might have to offer, it is costing you time money and energy to maintain it - is that what you want?

Each month you need to make at least one offer to your list for something to purchase - and that should translate into sales. If you have a list of 500 people, you should make $1000+.

If you don't, you need to either do something different with your marketing or refine your list to become a group of eager prospects and get rid of the people who want everything for nothing.

If you have a big list and you're making regular offers and you're STILL not making any money - that is called market research and the market is telling you that you're offering something they're not interested in buying.

The next question you ask addresses what to do if and when you realize your list is really just a market research vehicle. I address that it my 30 minute consultation which your readers are most welcome to try - you know how effective this can be Andrea, as my style is very direct and results-oriented.

Andrea: Yes, I can definitely vouch for you in that way Graham which is why I'm so glad to be able to recommend you to those who are ready for a business manager. The only thing I think will be an issue is how long you will continue to have room for new clients, quite honestly!

In any case, if you wouldn't mind continuing to share for our readers...in your experience making online businesses work, what are the most effective, ethical ways to generate more dollars per subscriber? Since that is the name of your business.

Graham: It's simple, you ask your subscriber to tell you exactly what they want, how they would like it and specifically what that would be worth to them.

As obvious as that sounds, you wouldn't believe all of the people I meet who have never asked and are trying to sell the market something they have never done any real research on.

Give people more than they asked for in precisely the format they asked for it in at a price that is a fraction of what they're prepared to pay for it and you WILL make money.

There is one other critical piece - be sure you're showing up and doing business in an area where people want to pay money for what you're offering and that you're dealing with people who can afford what you're offering.

Far too often I see people trying to sell what they feel people "need" or offering what they have to people who "need" it the most. This may be good for karma, but to have a successful business you need to offer
what people "want" to purchase and can offord.

Andrea: Yes, this is a great point, especially for business owners who are particularly committed to making both money AND meaning in their ventures. I like to think of it as 'giving people what they want, and earning the right (and building the trust required) to invite them to consider what they need.' This isn't a bait and switch, it's about relationship building...

Finally Graham, would you tell us about your services in your own words? I want to make it very clear why I'm introducing you at my website.

Graham: Sure. As a marketer I know I have to sell myself but as a heart-centered business person I prefer focusing on my clients so you'll see a lot of their stories at my webiste. But let me provide a brief description of my background so that your readers know where I'm coming from.

I've been a business and marketing consultant for over 15 years. I have worked with over 2000 clients. I help successful business owners increase profits by 500% or more. I'm also the former Head Coach for Peak Potentials - the world's largest personal and financial training company.

I'm a self-made millionaire and have helped many, many people become embarassingly successful in business. I have dozens of free resources available at the link below which I welcome everyone to take a look at, and implement.

Andrea, you know that I tell it like it is. I am very direct when I speak to a business owner and try to tell them precisely what I believe they should expect in the form of results and exactly how much time, energy and money it will take for them to get those results.

In fact, I spell all of that out before they spend a dime to work with me. I only want to work with people who have a high likelihood of success and I hate to see anyone throwing money at something I just don't think they can win.

Andrea: Yes, I know sometimes you can almost seem too direct at times! :-)

Graham: I think it's important to be right up front since it's not a small investment, and people are putting their heart and soul into their businesses - they have families to support - I know what that's like! So I take a look at every business question I am sent and provide my response at no cost, just at my website, as a place to start.

If I think the business idea has the potential to be profitable, I'll pick up the phone and explain what I believe will be the best way to ensure this happens.

To be frank, anyone who has a question about business and marketing that doesn't take advantage of this opportunity before investing in it would be foolish because I do give real value even though it's no cost.

Andrea: Alright Graham. As I always say, hiring someone whether they are a virtual assistant, an associate coach, or a business manager/consultant - a lot comes down to fit, style and chemistry. So I do encourage everyone reading to bear that in mind.

In the meantime, thanks very much Graham for your contribution to our collection of Rules of Thumb. I know the $2 rule will come in handy as I measure results going forward.

-----end interview-----

To be in touch with Graham to ask questions about the '$2 per subscriber per month' Rule of Thumb, or any other aspect of your online business, you are welcome (and I encourage you) to ask via his website by clicking here.

You'll also see some interesting layout at his website - particularly at the 'internet consulting' link.

Finally, as with all the posts here on the Money and Meaning Blog, I don't recommend anything lightly, and that goes even more for people who do just about exactly what I do for a living! :-) So do let me know how it goes with Graham. He lives not ten minutes away from me so you can bet I'll pass along your comments the next time we're over for supper. Cheers!

The exhibit hall at any large industry conference is one of those places. In it, the interests of three different groups of people meet, intersect, and sometimes, unfortunately, clash.

When it comes to numbers of booths, the color of the carpets, how much to charge for what size of booth, etc., that stuff is the science. When it comes to managing expectations and meeting the needs of the disparate 'shareholders' as it were, that is the art.

I've been to many, many exhibit halls in many markets, as speaker, presenter, event host (too many times to count) as well as just plain attendee. It's really magic when both the art and science of the hall come together and I can tell you that it's harder to achieve than it looks. For the most part, it's the art side that gets neglected.

Here are some tips to increase your chances of knocking it out of the park:

(1) Let it flow.

Traffic is essential to making an exhibit hall hum. At best, the hall takes on an 'electric' aspect, and people wander through not just to 'check out the booths' as if ticking off an item on their 'make the conference worthwhile' checklist. They go back to the hall because that's where the excitement is - like the midway at the carnival, the cafeteria in the office building, or the commercials during superbowl. If the talks and presentations at a conference are the bones, the exhibit hall and the flow of traffic in and out of it are like the connective tissue that make the bones work.

As such...make sure the hall itself is in the middle of all the presentation rooms.

This can be tough because some of the buildings these conferences are held in weren't designed with this in mind. An attendee has to trek a long way away from their next breakout to even get near the hall. Don't hold your conference in that venue if this is the case. The exhibit hall will fail.

Also...make sure all the doors (entrances/exits) etc. are wide open to the hall. All of them - don't force people to squeeze through one half a set of doors - they'll leave.

If you must have security at the doors, make sure it is friendly and unintimidating for attendees to get through. Even better, ask why you have to have security in the first place. Unless you actually have a need for a metal detector, isn't more people going into the hall better than fewer? Let them in, for pete's sake, let them all in.

(2) Add value. In doing so, come to embrace the 'commerce' side of exhibit halls.

Too many conference organizers are scared of promoting their exhibit halls for fear of being too commercial. They are what I call purists. They want the event to be educational. They want to receive accolades as to the content of the conference. A worthy goal, to be sure. And, once again, information is only information - what if you look at the exhibit hall as a place to add value over and over information?

Add value to the exhibit hall experience by:

- creating places for people to interact with speakers, through signings, sure, but how about q&a sessions, hot seat coaching or demos, like the ginsu knife demo at the home show?

- offering a range of options for food, right in the hall. attendees don't always want to have to sit down at the moment the conference schedule indicates, in order to fuel themselves. get creative with food offerings - making it easy, inexpensive and integrated with the exhibit hall experience...people bond over food, big business gets done over food, the right food and water in the right spots can transform an entire conference and exhibit experience.

- offer places for people to interact with each other. organize through similar interests, but ask for accountability and action to be taken...emphasize more active involvement on the part of participants. use experiential exercises to surprise attendees out of passive learning mode. this brings the material in the conference to life.

- integrate the five senses - ask attendees to diagram, fingerpaint or record on audio/video, what their experience has been that session/morning/day. this pays off even more later when you get to show how much activity has gone on - the unsolicited testimonial as it were.

- create a party atmosphere when appropriate. this won't 'fly' for the more serious industry conferences but let's face it, many conference goers rely on this annual get together to party, hard. tie the celebrations into a greater whole by utilizing your exhibit hall space well. think beyond your 'gala dinner' - people want to have something fun to do each night, not just the last big one.

The best of all possibilities is when you ask the exhibitors themselves to participate in the above.

How can you transform a static exhibit hall full of brochures to an activity-based, participation-oriented conversation? The exhibitors will be thrilled to have you embrace their role - to provide value-based transactions that lead to business.

(3) Stop being embarassed. Let go of the tentativity.

Too many exhibit hall managers, regardless of the industry, are unwilling to go full tilt on behalf of their constituents - the exhibitors. This taints the experience for attendees who pick up on this - no one is going to linger in the exhibit hall if the event managers are hesitant about promoting it.

It's true that the conference has to be successful as a whole - the attendees, who are paying to be there, must leave with value and eagerly await next year. The host organization has to turn a profit. But the exhibitors, who are responsible in large part for that profit, are too often the poor 'third-class' citizen in this group.

Stop being embarassed that you have an exhibit hall. Your tentativeness about making exhibitors happy is so obvious it's like, well, *you're* the one that's on display. A simple tweak in attitude, valuing your exhibitors as key partners in making the conference a success, will net you bigger dividends than you might imagine.

Several final points that are usually ignored:

(1) Offer education to make your exhibitors the best they can be. First-timers especially will be forever in your debt if you help them look fabulous beside their bigger 'brother and sister' exhibitors.

(2) Ask your exhibitors to help publicize the event. Give them tools to make this easy, attractive, viral. Help them understand how to add value (see above.) Attendance is always a central concern for any conference - why not get everyone's oars in the water on this?

(3) Generate camaraderie among the exhibitors. There is value in the relationships among your vendor list, and as a conference host, you can be a hero by fostering these. How about an exhibitors only thank you session before or after the conference? Personal introductions of one exhibitor to another, just because you sense there is big business that could be done between them? An exhibitor mastermind call prior to the conference?

Like many things, it's the simple things that count. Start by realizing that a great Exhibit Hall can make a world of difference to your entire conference for all parties - attendees, exhibitors, and yourselves.

This is one to pass on to your networks and client databases - if one of them wins as a result of your recommendation -- instant hero status for you, not to mention great newsletter or blog fodder. ;-)

Oprah Winfrey is offering 50 five-day stays at Miraval Resort in Tucson, Arizona, USA. Miraval is on my personal short-list of places to spa, in future, possibly for my big 40 in 2010.

But you (or one of your network) could be there much, much sooner, this March to be exact. Details, courtesy of the Province, Travel Section page D9, Sunday January 14, 2007:

O, The Oprah Magazine is giving 50 women a "Live Your Life Vest Spa Week." A team of fitness and life coaches will help each contest winner make lasting transformations during a five-day, four-night stay in March that will be filmed for an Oprah Winfrey Show.

Women 18 and older are invited to explain in 50 words or less why they need a spa vacation.

Send a stamped postcard with full name, address, date of birth and daytime telephone number to O, the Oprah Magazine.

PO Box 1708
Sandusky, Ohio
44871

Entries must be postmarked by February 12, 2007. Winners will be notified by telephone on or around February 27.

Obviously you must be willing to be on television as part of your experience. Stay tuned while I ask my PR partner-in-crime Suzanne Falter-Barns to post tips on how you might distinguish yourself in your 50 words.

Coming soon

The International Coaching Federation sent a summary of feedback on my presentation at their Conference in November 2006.

Here it is, along with a the live graphic recording of the talk done by the lovely Martha McGinnis.

So this is what a talk looks like in pictures! A fascinating right-brain representation - click to enlarge.

Number of completed evaluations: 45

Questions are based upon a 10-point scale where “1” is not at all satisfied and “10” is extremely satisfied.

I. SESSION CONTENT:

Overall Session 8.9
Ideas and information have value for my work 8.9
Content matched written description 8.9
The presenter was a good communicator 9.2
Instructional methods were appropriate for content 9.1
The session was well paced for the allotted time 9.2
Session met my expectations 9.0

I would be interest in attending a follow-up more advanced session on this subject/topic 9.1

II. PRESENTER(S) KNOWLEDGE OF SUBJECT

Andrea Lee 9.4

How can we improve your educational experience?

·Bring more speakers like Andrea Lee!
·Andrea is amazing! I can be a technology coach…I can do it!
·Presenter seemed tentative about sharing as much as she knows. Thank you for not overdoing the audience participation.
·As heard from Guy Kawasaki, don’t use text in your PowerPoint if it can’t be seen from the back of the room.
·Problems with the temperature in the room.
·Stunning—very provocative.
·Thank you, it was fabulous!
·It’s possible!
·Invite more speakers like Andrea Lee (e.g. engaging, funny, lots of new info to share/case studies,
exercises, homework, inspiration, and creativity).
·Bring online demos and music.
·Take care of temperature in the room!
·Great session.
·Very thought provoking.

Note: These scores are approximately 0.5 points lower than the scores I received last year, when I was part of a panel with Marcy Nelson-Garrison, Michael Bungay-Stanier and Donna Coroa on WOW Products.

I guess more cooks are better in some ways. But my individual score was just about identical and this year's presentation was a more cerebral one (heavier on mindset shifts than nuts and bolts), which I think means less short-term fireworks but more long-term change.

If you weren't at the talk in person, you can still register for the recording of the Encore version we did via teleseminar here.

There is no charge to listen, but I will ask a virtual contribution of you in the form of a comment at the above link after you're done. Just tell me one or all of the following:

(1) what was most useful
(2) what your next (resulting) question is, i.e what didn't I cover, that you'd have liked me to, and
(3) what you're now thinking of doing as a result of listening.

Feel free to report back when you have news of your own coaching electric success.

A personal connection at the ICF tells me they would like to see another proposal from me to speak in Long Beach this October. I'd say yes, but I'd like to know that I'm NOT going to be scheduled in the last slot on the last day again, if they can manage it. And, they need to fix their exhibit hall issues - the hue and cry over that last year was pretty bad, and I'm afraid several longstanding exhibitors will be withdrawing their support. The exhibit hall is the always the toughest thing to pull off at a big conference like this.

Got burning requests for a topic you'd like covered at the ICF? Post, post away...

They say the best defense is an offence, and in this case they were right. I've been tagged in a virtual game of 'You're It' four times, and it's time to stop the madness.

Chris Owen, Carol Ross, Pam Slim and Suzanne Falter-Barns - next time we're in a paintball arena together, better watch your behinds. [Insert wicked grin.]

Seriously though, this is a neat thing in a certain way, this game of tag thing. Someone started it somehow and tagged five people. Those five people told five things about themselves that their blog readers didn't know. And they in turn tagged five people. And so on, and so on.

What I do think is neat is that we're deliberately creating a web within the greater Interweb. I mean, what if I started a Tag, You're It, on a specific topic that I wanted to generate conversation on? What if there was a topic you cared enough about and you wanted a construct through which you could invite people to deliberately generat content? Infuse the web with material?

It's viral-ish because it's rather easy to make 5 points on a topic...and post, right?

Anyway, I'm not a chain letter sort of person, and I'm not even sure what it means to have been tagged four times...what's the etiquette here - do I have to post 20 things about me, and tag 20 people?? Whatever...sparing myself the math, here are five things you thought you wanted to know about me...

(1) I have a small brown birthmark on my left heel. When I get a massage or a pedicure, people always think I've stepped in something, or have something 'stuck on my foot.' My mom used to kiss that spot when she changed my diaper. (Hey, you asked.)

(2) I went to an Anglican all-girl highschool where I took Latin through grade 12. Try as I might, I can't seem to forget the first few lines of the Lord's Prayer in Latin. I still love pleated plaid skirts and l still get shy around guys, after being married to one for 11 years. Parents, never underestimate the impact of 'nurture' on your kids.

(3) My idea of a really fun time is an afternoon of ping-pong followed by a large Papaya & Milk Bubble Tea with pearls. Little did I know that this traditionally Taiwanese drink is supposed to increase the size of your bust, and lots and lots of prepubescent girls in Taiwan drink it religiously for that reason. So thaat's why I was getting those funny looks...talk about a cultural gap.

(4) My three favorite restaurants in the world are (1) 'Sansei' - Japanese Fusion in Kihei, Maui - NOT to be missed (2) Tropika - Asian Fusion in Vancouver, B.C.- also incredible (3) The Cattle Baron, Alberta Beef in Calgary, Alberta - prime rib that you can eat with a spoon.

(5) As firstborn in a Taiwanese family, I was supposed to be an Andrew but ended up with Andrea which ironically means 'womanly' in the original Greek. My two younger brothers are Edward and Irwin. (Guess who still talks about getting the short end of the naming stick?)

As first generation immigrants my parents learned corny rules about the English alphabet like the order of the vowels: A, E, I, O, U, which, it turns out, is what they used to name us...you know, Andrea, Edward, Irwin (A, E, I...but no O, U.) Haha, insert cheesy Asian laughter...no OU, get it?

Yay! That's it, that's five. Does that mean I'm not it anymore?

P.S. One more thing. I have a really good memory too. So if you try to social engineer me with one of the above points, I'll know. Not only that, I'll also know you didn't have anything better to do than read this post containing useless facts about me...and what does that tell me about YOU? ;-)

Would you like to know the latest and "hottest" trends being predicted for coaching in 2007?

On Thursday, January 11th, some of the top coaching "fortune tellers" are coming together for a one-time Coaching Predictions call.

- Will "coaching clubs" continue?

- Will coaching schools continue to multiply?

- Is it "niche or die"?

- Will e-coaching grow?

- Will more people be able to afford coaching?

- Free coaching sessions - in or out?

- Will coaches branch out into other ventures and businesses?

- What societal trends are at play that will impact coaching and how might you piggyback on them?

...and many more conversations you don't want to miss!

Here are the details (it's 100% free to register with the passcode below.)

What: "2007 Coaching Predictions" Open House TeleCall
Date: Thursday, January 11th
Time: 8pm EST (New York)
Cost: No fee

When prompted, enter your passcode: "2007-0109"

Register at:
http://tinyurl.com/y8or4k

P.S. If you can't make it to the live call, be sure to enroll anyway - you'll receive a recording with transcripts after the
call: http://tinyurl.com/y8or4k

As a follow-up to the post on Bob Nardelli below, here are two versions of an alternative coaching quote, for those of you who are now faced with a gap in your web pages.

If these are popular, I'll have a few fresh ones created from time to time. Post your requests if you'd like.

Enjoy. And please take the appropriate steps to save a copy to your own computer before posting at your sites. Due to inevitable bandwidth leaks, we'll be changing the URLs to the above within a week or so.

For PC users, that means right click your mouse on the version of your choice, then click Save As. Can someone post with instructions for MAC users? Thanks.

"Happy New Year; You're Fired."

On January 3, 2007, Bob Nardelli, CEO of Home Depot was fired (Although others say it was an invitation to hit the road.).

His words, at left, have been used frequently in professional coaching circles to bring home the value of coaching.

"Well if HE thinks coaching is worth something, maybe it really is. Where do I sign?"

Amidst considerable controversy over his militaristic management style, blatant disregard of customers and service of same, along with poor stock performance comes an additional surprise.

Next time you're trying to find an orange apron, consider this: Bob's severance package was two hundred and ten million dollars. A lot of hammers, as it were.

But leaving the discussion of executive pay to another blog, may I offer a suggestion that you rethink the use of Bob's quote in your marketing collateral or on the home page of your website. (Google finds more than 200 pages using his words, and there are certainly more than that number posting the graphic.)

"I absolutely believe that people, unless coached, never reach their maximum capabilities." -- Bob Nardelli, CEO Home Depot

Am I alone in wondering what Bob, arguably one of the most high-profile executives to have taken a pro-coaching stand in the media, actually meant by his words? And what would he say about coaching now?

For that matter, I am frankly curious about who's been coaching him.

Bob certainly hadn't spread the coaching-approach very far within Home Depot, if media reports are even slightly accurate. Who knows what was going on behind the scenes, in coaching sessions, or not. Whether he was coachable, or not.

2007 is already unfolding into a year where Coaches take a great leap forward in media exposure, both on television and behind the scenes of successful people proudly 'going public' about their coach.

So when the opportunity to coach a Bob Nardelli comes your way in future, will your tools be both sharp and kind? Your edge ready? Your heart and mind awake?

----

Exercise: Name three people in Hollywood, public office, or otherwise in the public eye that you would LOVE to coach.

Why would you like to coach them and how do you think it would be best to reach them, as a start?

[excerpted from Multiple Streams of Coaching Income, 2nd ed. "Coaching Prime Time" page 222.]

This from Capt Karen Anderson in an email just before the turn of the year:

"A fellow Marine took this photo of me reading your book while waiting to shoot on a range in Fallujah, Iraq.

I'm a reservist finishing up a year of being here and just finished my second book (The Art & Soul of Dancing Barefoot) that I want to market on the internet - I love both of your books.

Moral of the story: When you create something tangible that contains your message - coaching, training, inspiration, how-to or other - you really NEVER know where it might end up, who it might reach or how it might end up looking.

Also, for whatever reason, this photo got big points with hubby. It's always cool when you're hubby thinks you did something hip, especially after 11 years of marriage. ;-)

Thanks Karen, and let us know when YOUR book is done, okay?

"I don't want to be known."

The obstacle many business owners face is this fear of being known, don't you think? And alongside this is its corollary - the fear of not being seen, being invisible and misunderstood. Alas, it's quite the quandary. So what's a coach to do, for a fearful client of this kind, or indeed for themselves?

The below article "The Roots of Self-Consciousness" may be a beginning. It highlights a story from Jane Fonda, and goes on to provide a simple exercise to test the depth of your Authenticity.

Reprinted with thanks to author Lee Glickstein, Founder and President of the powerfully supportive Speaking Circles International which I've found very reliable as a referral to coaching clients seeking personal power from the stage.

Worth reading especially at the Speaking Circles website is Lee's personal story of his first public speaking experience - truly horrifying. Almost as remarkable as the depth of his authenticity now.

----begin article----

A passage from Jane Fonda's autobiography pinpoints the root of self-consciousness. She writes about her first child at 9 months:

It is late at night; I can't get Vanessa to sleep; I am despondent. I am lying on my back on the floor, with Vanessa lying on my chest.

She lifts her head and looks straight into my eyes for what seems like an eternity. I feel she is looking into my soul, that she knows me, that she is my conscience. I get scared and have to look away. I don't want to be known.

This rings like a common recurring scenario for those of us who grew up with self-consciousness. Some of us had the other extreme: our gaze was returned aggressively. Likely we had some of both.

Imagine reliving such a scene over and over again until the pain of not being met (or having our eye space invaded to meet the need of another) brings us to a hiding place deep behind our eyes.

Whether survival depended on shying away from attention or performing to meet expectations, our automatic behavior mechanisms kick in most extremely when all eyes are on us. As a result, some are too terrified to cope at all in front of groups, while others have developed a passable act, even a great act.

Though coming from different directions, neither state allows authentic presence or expansive expression, so the way back to ourselves is fundamentally the same.

To gauge the nature and extent of your authenticity challenge, go to a mirror and simply meet your eyes for a minute. Just breathe and be with yourself. Do you need to smile? Wink? Grimace? Look away?

Are you judgmental? Are you counting the seconds for the time to end?

If doing this exercise in absolute peace with yourself is a challenge, you are not alone, and real authenticity with groups is not possible until you can be at ease with yourself.

If you take at least a minute each day to explore this exercise, and stay with it, you will eventually access self-ease.

The next step is to allow words to arise and be spoken into your eyes in the mirror without compromising the ease.

Then, do the silent gaze with a partner, followed by one minute turns as you allow words to arise easily with your partner.

This path of Relational Presence--whether practiced in the free home study program or accelerated in professionally facilitated Speaking Circles, is all about naturally reversing our earliest experiences of not being met and honored eye to eye.

The good news is that it's all we need to get the ball rolling toward accessing our inherent ease and power with groups and in the world.

----end article----

How authentic are you? Do you change 'selves' when different people are looking?

What tools or exercises do you use to excavate the real you, or 'get naked' with your clients?

I love me a good metaphor. And this one is quite lovely. If you aren't using metaphors already in your coaching conversations, consider it vigorously.

Tip: Use metaphors that your clients relate most to.

Are they a sailor? Talk about the direction of the wind and the shape of the sails.

Do they produce films? You have a wealth of gems to draw upon - the hero, the journey, more.

When all else fails, everyday things like food, families, love and the human body can do the trick wonderfully. hese are the things of great coaching sessions, in my book.

So read on and enjoy this one, which was new to my repertoire, with thanks to Tessa Stowe of SalesConversations.com.

The article itself is targetted towards anyone who has to sell something to someone - whether that be in a business or personal context. (Borrowing money from the bank to buy a house is an exercise in personal sales, and don't let anyone tell you different!) But the metaphor can be applied to most anyone.

Take a look for yourself.

----begin article----

Are you a thermometer or a thermostat?

Do you react to what happens or do you control what happens? The answer to this question will, to a large ‘degree’ (pardon the pun), determine your success at selling.

Do you react to what happens around you?

And does this dictate how you feel and what you do? Do you act like a victim with your mood and feelings dependant on others and their mood and feelings? Do you feel you have no control over your destiny?

You may think this has no impact on selling as, in a sales conversation, you’ll make sure you say all the right things.

No one will ever know how you feel except you.

Wrong.

You may say all the right things, but you will be radiating your feelings whether you’re aware of it or not.
Your potential client will feel where you are at. They will feel that you are a thermometer. It is impossible for you to hide it.

If you are a thermometer and you react to everything around you, how does it make you feel? Not confident? Out of control? Frustrated?

If you’re like this, what does it convey to a potential client? That you're not in control? That you are not confident?

If a potential client picks up that you’re not in control or confident, they will start to doubt you can deliver the results you say you can. They will also perceive you as high risk. They will feel that you will always have a “reason why” you couldn’t do this or that for them as things are "out of your control."

On the other hand, suppose you are a thermostat and you control what happens. You take 100% responsibility for how you feel and how you respond to what happens around you.

If you’re like a thermostat, how does it make you feel? Confident? In control?

If you’re like this, what does it convey to a potential client? That you're in control? That you are confident?

If a potential client picks up that you are confident and you take responsibility and can control outcomes, they will start to feel confident that you can produce the results you say you can. They will start to see you as lower risk.

So how do you move from being a thermometer to a thermostat? I have two tips for you.

Tip # 1
Decide now and declare now that you are the master of your own destiny and that you write the script for the play of your life.

Declare it, know it, feel it. For 30 days in a row, say an affirmation like “I am 100% responsible for how I choose to feel and how I choose to respond to events.” The magic ingredient for making affirmations work is to say them with LOTS of feeling.

Tip #2
Set an objective, a clear intention, for each sales conversation and structure the conversation accordingly.

You can even declare your objective/intention to your potential client at the beginning of the conversation. At the end of the conversation, debrief with yourself to see if you achieved your objective, and if not, why not. Get into the habit of doing this with every sales conversation.

If you follow these tips and move yourself from being a thermometer to a thermostat, not only will your sales increase but your whole world will change for you in many ways. Try it and see.

Tessa Stowe teaches small business owners and recovering salespeople 10 simple steps to turn conversations into clients without being sales-y or pushy. Her FREE monthly Sales Conversation newsletter is full of tips on how to sell your services by just being yourself. Sign up now at www.salesconversation.com.