After SIX years running my own business coaching and management consulting firm, even some people that know me really well say they are not entirely sure exactly WHAT I DO.
Given I am a lifelong marketer with branding and communications at my core, this is NOT a good thing. So, today’s blog attempts to answer any questions folks may have about what I do and why I do what I do.
What I DO, and WHY I Do It.
It is my singular goal and life’s remaining ONE TRUE passion to help as many people as I can to find THEIR passion and strengths and combine the two into a successful career.
As for WHY I do this…that’s easy. After spending 23 years in Corporate America helping organizations achieve record profits, I found a greater calling. I had grown tired of toiling away in dysfunctional cultures reporting to people I didn’t respect and being forced to answer to Management teams that I did not trust.
So I chose the career path of going out on my own in 2009.
While every day is a challenge and there are certainly significant highs and lows running your own business, I have never regretted the decision. Has it paid off?
Well, to date I have helped over 12,000 people and coached over 750 organizations.
For some people that means assisting them through career coaching to find their dream job, re-enter the workforce, or match their values, ethics and morals to organizations whose culture they would thrive in.
For Senior level executives and professionals this involves working one on one to carve out a career plan to achieve their goals.
For people looking to go out on their own I provide entrepreneur and start-up coaching to help people plan, launch and grow wildly successful businesses.
For existing business owners, heads of business units and/or leaders of non-profits my work can involve helping them to unleash their people’s collective full untapped potential.
I also provide business consulting, to help organizations improve their sales, become more disciplined and focused and go from “GOOD TO GREAT.”
I accomplish this in a number of ways, from giving motivational talks, to teaching at many colleges and Universities, to one on one and group-based career coaching and business consulting.
It may seem a bit long winded but at the end of the day I enable people from all walks of life to find their passions and strengths, figure out where those two worlds overlap, and leverage that knowledge to help them achieve all of their short and long term career and business goals.
So, if you or someone you know can benefit from any of this, send them my way.
Monthly Archives: October 2014
Organizational Behavior
What the study of organizational behavior tells us about ourselves.
Ever since I began teaching organizational behavior to students at NYU Polytechnic, I have fallen in love with this enlightening field of study.
It combines all of my favorite fields of study, including: effective communications, teamwork, psychology, business ethics (not an oxymoron), cultural diversity, sociology, job satisfaction (also NOT an oxymoron), leadership, social psychology, employee engagement and conflict resolution. OB can teach us all of these things while also providing us with a road map for achieving genuine transformational change and creating world-class cultures. Almost ANY discipline that focuses on how people engage in organizational settings can be studied through the lens of OB.
So, what is Organizational Behavior (OB) you ask?
Organizational behavior is defined as: “actions and attitudes of individuals and groups toward one another and toward the organization as a whole, and its effect on the organization functioning as a whole.” (Businessdictionary.com)
Here’s another great definition of organizational behavior: “investigates the impact individuals, groups, and structure have on behavior within organizations for the purpose of applying such knowledge towards improving an organization’s effectiveness.” (Organizational Behavior. Stephen P. Robbins, Timothy A. Judge)
I use the class to engage students in frank and sometimes intentionally confrontational discussions about those organizations that exhibit truly transformational cultures for lasting success, as well as organizations that struggle to function in today’s fast-paced, constantly evolving global business climate.
For example, check out this list of the best companies to work at for women and minorities, or this list of Top 50 companies for diversity.
Some examples:
• Zappos #1 CORE VALUE: “Deliver WOW Through Service.”
• Disney’s fundamental business imperative: “Create Happiness.”
Since the semester started, we have explored the behaviors of such institutions as Chik-Fil-A, Hobby Lobby, BP, and the New York Police Department. We use OB to discuss how people conform their ethics, values, morals and behaviors to the cultures of the places they work at. I encourage my students to use OB to dive into their own past work experiences, and explore their own personalities as a means of assessing where they would be most engaged and fulfilled working at. I have shared with them the challenges faced by the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs, the Catholic Church, Center for Disease Control, and ISIS.
OB teaches us how to think and act independently, to avoid the trap of failing victim to groupthink (blindly following the herd.)
As a career coach and business consultant, I strongly advise that in today’s global contract workplace EVERY person that wants to achieve career and business success brush up on this critically important and enlightening field as a means of understanding how to transform organizations. Those organizations and individuals that are not CONSTANTLY striving to learn and adapt will go the way of Circuit City, Borders, Bear Stearns, etc. If you have not had a chance to explore this fascinating and enlightening field of study I suggest you do so. It is the single most IMPORTANT topic that I have come across over 20 years spent in Corporate America and 6+ years in management consulting.
A great starting point for reading up on Organizational Behavior
Here’s to your organization’s continued success.