Strengthening Individuals, Couples, Families and Businesses

Coaching and Consulting

Professionally I have over three decades experience as a consultant, coach, and mediator. I hold degrees in psychology, social work, applied statistics, focusing on adult development, family and intergenerational relationships and psychological factors in health and illness. My graduate degrees are from the University of Michigan and Columbia University. My love for relationships, including complex relationships, and understanding and describing relationships is expressed in my love for statistics and applied research, and human relationships. Smart clients from both the sciences and creative fields appreciate my ability to not only understand them and the complexities of their work and/or home contexts but to also help them move forward within those complex environments.

Personally I love the outdoors. I'm a skier, hiker, climber, camper. Love ballroom dancing and teach groups and individuals to ballroom dance - including the waltz, salsa, swing and tap dancing. I am a veteran having served in the medical corps, a former marathon runner, and a cancer survivor. I live with my wife and our dog in the Pacific Northwest.

Coaching

I specialize in helping adults, integrate and utilize all aspects of their skills, knowledge and experience. All too often the first half of our life has required us to develop to high capacity one set of our skills or one part of our personality - to the determent of the development of other skills and other aspects of our personality. I work with clients to move toward their full potential in all aspects of their life.

I believe we're each so much more than we know ourselves to be. We need to regularly take stock of and "harvest" who we are and develop and work on a personal life plan to make our "next chapter" our best chapter. As a result of our collaboration clients report change in the following areas:

Being both strong and flexible
Graceful and rigorous
Moving from mostly reacting in selected parts of life to crafting and creating
Moving from an "either or" perspective and habits to a "both and" perspective
Moving from having "both feet in an inner world or an outer world" to having one foot in each
Harvesting the lessons, making peace with, letting go, and moving on
From excelling in work or play to excelling in work and play
From exclusively "outcome" oriented or "process" oriented to both with an emphasis on one or the other as needed and appropriate
Facing challenges and finding opportunities amidst illness as well as health

My set of skills, experience and expertise on coaching at the intersection of work and personal life, especially with exceptional individuals in complex settings is unique. These skills, experiences and education also prepare me for working with family members of family-businesses or family-enterprises around what is sometimes called the "Bermuda Triangle of love, power, money," these family members face. When an illness or health-related trauma is added to this mix expert coaching becomes even more valuable.

Assisting family members understand and excel within these complex dynamics is familiar territory for me.

Mid-life and Second-half Coaching

Part of my practice focuses on issues of mid-life and the second half of life. We often live the first half of our life with the personality and values that were given to us - our so-called "socially or family-authored self." Mid-life and the second half of our life provides a unique opportunity to discover and shape our own personality, choose the values we wish to live this half by, and to find deeper meaning and fulfillment in our work and our personal life. This is coaching work around what's referred to as "self-authoring" or creating our "self-authored self." My goal is to make your life richer and more fulfilling chapter after chapter after chapter.

Prepare for and live well your retirement or "next chapter"
Improve communication and interpersonal effectiveness for improved relationships
Align thinking and action with values and goals for successful mid-life and second half living
Alter or let go of old habits while developing new habits and more effective life strategies for your "next chapter"
Develop greater flexibility and more creativity for the second half of your life
Expand your capacity to collaborate and partner with others toward common work, family, and community goals
Bring out more of the best in yourself and others during illness and health

Finally, as a coach or consultant, I like to form a working partnership with you. I can describe what and why we're doing what we're doing. I help clients come to understand themselves and understand others better and the dynamics of people interacting. Clients end up becoming much more conscious, intentional and effective in their communications and relationships with others and themselves.

I coach and consult with clients in person, via Video Skype, and over the phone, often using all three as circumstances and need require.

TESTIMONIALS

John, I always knew our family, and family businesses in general were complex. I was living it. Now, thanks to our work, I have a much greater idea what is happening in the moment, and more tools with which to steer or guide things. And, especially, with some degree of calmness and, at times, even grace.

Multi-generation Family Business Owner

Thank you so much for teaching me how to survive, even thrive, retaining my own good principles, in the complex and hardball world of research, grants, and talented people. As you suggested, I will be able to pass on my new knowledge and skills to future young talented female scientists.

Health/Medical Research Scientist

John, I don't know who would have been able to help stabilize me through my cancer and surgery, dealing with my Board of Directors, my senior leadership team, and my lovely wife, had I not found you. Thank you for your wise widely experienced consultation.

CEO

John, I'm so glad we began our pre-retirement work over a year before I sold our firm. As you would put it - I was able to harvest and experience and subtly guide so much more through our discussions and the additional lens and awareness you gave me.

CEO/Owner Accounting Firm

John, your guidance was a key in helping our work team get through this crises caused by the terrible illness of one our members.

Work team member, Microsoft Co.

John, I never would have discovered this passion and developed this new career if you hadn't given me the courage and insights to go ahead and take early retirement.

E.L.

Your knowledge of all the dimensions of retirement, coupled with your experience and all your stories, has helped my wife and me know what we're facing in the months ahead. Thank You!

Participant, Retirement Seminar, Boeing Corp.

Dr. John, even though I was old when the aggressive cancer was diagnosed I still had much to do, say and write. Having you, who had lived with your cancer for many years, and your wise counsel, helped me remain close, in-fact, grow even closer to my wife and two grown kids. You were especially valuable as the person I could first express my raw uncensored feelings and thoughts to before sharing them and myself with my loved ones.

Terminally ill writer, husband, and dad

John, I'm now able to deal with work situations that involve conflict with ease. Thank you for your coaching.

B.R.

John, you have helped us understand how to coach our most difficult clients into taking the action and making the changes they need to make to improve their health and make a full recovery.

Physical Therapist, member of consortium of P.T. clinics.

John, you helped me realize that I could take much more control of what happened in my life at work and at home. You helped me create a vision, set higher goals and gave me skills and encouragement in attaining them. I wish I would have found you sooner.

B.W.

John, my brothers and I are close again like we haven't been since early childhood. I can't thank you enough for your careful and effective coaching.

Middle-aged Sister

John, initially my wife and I were afraid of my retirement. We thought we should be looking forward to it - but we didn't know how we'd manage our conflicts and all my free time. Now, we're happily retired, very involved in life and getting along with each other and thankful we had you as our coach.

J & R.

John, the skills you helped me develop around mindfulness, managing my emotions, correcting dysfunctional thinking and developing positive habits of thought have added effectiveness and enjoyment to my work and personal life.

Forty-something executive