Executive Coaching | Dr. Earl R. Smith II

Of Course … The Tragic Mistake – Part Two: Designing the Fix

Executive Coaching, Venture Capital Comments Off

Apr 102010

Dr. Earl R. Smith II
Managing Partner, The Federal Circle
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
Dr-Smith.com

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Prior articles in the series:

Of Course … The Tragic Mistake – Part One: Diagnosis

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Towards the end of my session with the CEO, she asked me to propose an engagement focused on fixing the problems which we had been discussing. “Help me drive the ‘of course’ beast off the field,” was the way she put it. Such requests should not be approached, let alone complied with, lightly. From the first in this series you will remember that it was the CEO herself who was the major facilitator of the difficulties – it was her tendencies that were at the root of the problems. Her plea was far more personal than those that might underlie a typical consulting engagement. Continue reading “Of Course … The Tragic Mistake – Part Two: Designing the Fix” »

Of Course … The Tragic Mistake – Part One: Diagnosis

Executive Coaching, Venture Capital Comments Off

Apr 092010

Dr. Earl R. Smith II
Managing Partner, The Federal Circle
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
Dr-Smith.com

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Many of my engagements begin with a phone call from an investor. Most often they are concerned that the company they funded is in real trouble and/or is teetering on the brink. These can be melancholy calls because there is often little for me to do but conduct a postmortem – to figure out what went wrong and help the investor and entrepreneurs avoid making the same mistake a second (or third) time. Continue reading “Of Course … The Tragic Mistake – Part One: Diagnosis” »

Wondering Why?

Executive Coaching, Personal Growth, Thought Pieces 12 Responses »

Jan 122010

The CEO's Handbook - Volume One
Notes for a Thinking Chief Executive On Amazon Kindle From Smashwords - All Formats

Dr. Earl R. Smith II
Managing Partner, The Federal Circle
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
www.Dr-Smith.com

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Many of my coaching engagements begin with a focus on the kinds of questions that a client has been asking themselves. It may seem strange at first to suggest that it is the question rather than the answer which is important; but that is the case more often than not. The seminal indicator that this is the case is the ‘why’ question. Continue reading “Wondering Why?” »

Executive Coaching Means Putting Your Key People on Their A-Game

Executive Coaching, Leadership, Life Coaching, Personal Growth Comments Off

Dec 212009

The CEO's Handbook - Volume One
Notes for a Thinking Chief Executive On Amazon Kindle From Smashwords - All Formats

Dr. Earl R. Smith II
Managing Partner, The Federal Circle
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
Dr-Smith.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The last decade has seen a major shift in attitude towards executive coaching. Ten years ago the most likely engagement would have been with a client who was having serious problems. Organizations tended to hire executive coaches when one or more of their people was either having or causing serious problems. Many would wait until things had progressed to such a state that damage control was the only option. In those days, executive coaches were, more often than not, crisis managers. But things have really changed. Continue reading “Executive Coaching Means Putting Your Key People on Their A-Game” »

Some Unexpected Benefits of Coaching

Executive Coaching, Personal Growth Comments Off

Dec 102009

Dr. Earl R. Smith II
Managing Partner, The Federal Circle
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
Dr-Smith.com

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Many of my coaching clients first approach me with a specific need. They want to mitigate a particular behavior, break through a barrier or make a change that has long been needed. We do focus our work on that need and, initially, meeting those needs takes up most of our energy. But very soon they come to realize that there are many, unanticipated benefits that flow from working with a first-rate coach. Here are just a few my clients have identified: Continue reading “Some Unexpected Benefits of Coaching” »

Charting the Course for Change

Executive Coaching, Personal Growth, Thought Pieces Comments Off

Dec 072009

Dr. Earl R. Smith II
Managing Partner, The Federal Circle
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
Dr-Smith.com

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Most of my coaching clients come to me with some sort of change in mind. A very few are responding to a general feeling of dissatisfaction. Most want to change something about themselves or their lives. The depth and detail of understanding that they have is one the early indicators of what kind of progress we are going to be able to manage. The more they have come to realize that a change is necessary, the better the progress we will be able to make. Continue reading “Charting the Course for Change” »

Your Life as a Work in Progress

Executive Coaching, Life Coaching, Personal Growth, Thought Pieces Comments Off

Dec 062009

The CEO's Handbook - Volume One
Notes for a Thinking Chief Executive On Amazon Kindle From Smashwords - All Formats

Dr. Earl R. Smith II
Managing Partner, The Federal Circle
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
Dr-Smith.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One of the first steps in my mentoring engagements is to have the client begin to understand that their life is a work in progress. The deeper we get into it, the more detailed that understanding becomes. Then there is the recognition that life is a process which begins at birth and continues until death. But recognition is only the first step. It is an important one to be sure, but the best comes after that. We can begin to focus on the value of each of us and the positive impact that we can have on the lives of others. Continue reading “Your Life as a Work in Progress” »

Getting the Right Personal Vision

Executive Coaching, Life Coaching, Personal Growth, Thought Pieces Comments Off

Dec 062009

Dr. Earl R. Smith II
Managing Partner, The Federal Circle
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
Dr-Smith.com

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Lots of advice is available. The common mantra is ‘get a personal vision’. But the truth is that you already have one. Sure, it may be out of focus and counterproductive. But you do have one. Many would call it your ‘self image’. It is how you decide what you will do and what you will not do. This self image sets your expectations. It holds your private vision of you in the world. It is there with you when you wake up every morning and as you go to sleep each night. So, the question is not whether you have a personal vision. The question is ‘do you have the right personal vision?” Continue reading “Getting the Right Personal Vision” »

Mergers & Acquisitions: Thinking About Selling – Part II: Working Through the Emotions

Advisory, Executive Coaching, Venture Capital Comments Off

Nov 232009

Dr. Earl R. Smith II
Managing Partner, The Federal Circle
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
Dr-Smith.com

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Most founders think that the process of selling their company is the most difficult – but that is not the principal reason that companies do not transact. Unfortunately, many founders discover much too late that they are the reason.

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The closing table is no place to finally come to terms with the fact that you are about to sell your interest in a business that you may have spend years building up. It is no place to come to terms with the fact that tomorrow morning you will wake up and either have no place you have to be or nowhere near the authority over the people you built into a team. Coming to terms with the facts of life may mean that: Continue reading “Mergers & Acquisitions: Thinking About Selling – Part II: Working Through the Emotions” »

Making the Possible Probable

Executive Coaching, Personal Growth 6 Responses »

Sep 272009

Dr. Earl R. Smith II
Managing Partner, The Federal Circle
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
Dr-Smith.com

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When you awake each morning, the day presents you with literally thousands of possibilities. Human existence is chocked full of possibilities. But the important questions is, what is probable? And the more important question is, how can you make the right possible things probable – how can you select the right probabilities from all those possibilities? This is one of those areas when more education can be a real liability.

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Executive coaching my way leads me to work with highly educated and literate people. Most of my clients have a Master’s degree. In some ways, working with these people is a joy. For example, they have been trained to understand and work with complex ideas. Their grasp of the language is such that conversations about complex ideas are possible. Continue reading “Making the Possible Probable” »

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