Doug Owen Life Coaching

Real Life Stories

The CEO of a 20-person, venture funded company:

The client had served in general management but had no previous CEO experience. Over several months, we addressed a wide variety of issues, from personal and team performance to relationships with his board and other investors. Combining my business experience with my coaching, I was able to act as a valuable mentor during a difficult period. My client successfully “grew into” his responsibilities as CEO, and a year later masterminded the sale of the company.

A young executive in the hospitality industry:

The client had risen rapidly in a comparatively short time to a position of significant management responsibility in a high-end restaurant business. Although doing well financially, she was working long hours, the rest of her life was "on hold," and she felt "stressed out." She had created several alternative scenarios for herself, but was having difficulty making any changes on her own. However, with coaching help, within a few weeks she had developed an action plan, left her job, and was off on a much more satisfactory course, filled with new energy and enthusiasm!

A graduate student at the University of California:

Although very well qualified, she felt she had not done well in two successive interviews with potential employers. She was feeling increasingly insecure about interviewing in general. We met for three coaching/practice sessions over three weeks, clarified interests and tactics, and conducted several mock interviews. Two weeks later she interviewed with a firm on the East Coast, and was offered the job she sought before she got on the plane to return to California!

The executive director of a non-profit:

On the job for less than a year, the executive director had engineered a remarkable turnaround, raising more money than expected, recruiting an excellent staff, and several new board members. However, she was operating in continuous crisis mode, and morale was suffering. I suggested a “360 review”, requesting confidential input from both staff and board members regarding her performance. I then presented a summary of their comments to the client. Slowly but surely we introduced new behaviors that revived the organization’s confidence in their leader.

A Business Consultant:

This former general manager-turned business consultant really wanted to retire, but could see no way out of a deep and continuing relationship with a major client. He had even agreed to be interim CEO of the client’s company, further cementing his relationship with the firm. Over a period of several months, with my encouragement, he established a relationship with a recruiter, eventually hired a full-time CEO, resigned from the board, and negotiated his severance contract, including a deferred compensation agreement. He accomplished all this while maintaining an excellent relationship with his client, who was quite happy with the new arrangement.

Real Life Stories: