Everyone hits tough patches of life. And there is a plethora of books and tapes on every imaginable subject. But what most of these books have in common, is they are someone else's idea of how to go about things or what to think about things.

But where there is a lot at stake, such as professional sports or performing arts, coaching is normally a part of the solution. Why? Because it requires a certain expertise to look at the individual, determine their strengths and develop them in whatever way is necessary to achieve success. You just cannot leave the unique qualities of the individual out of the formula.

So in all coaching, I stress assessment-based analysis first, then coaching and training based on those results. We think the answer is inside. And that is where we start.

Once the hard-wired talents are clarified, then we can get artful and strategic about how to utilize them in order to accomplish realistic objectives.

The focus is on identifying strengths, goals and values. We want to clarify the goals and values. Then we want to develop the strengths as necessary to accomplish the goals and we want to get very strategic about deploying them.

All programs involve the Birkman and Gallup Strengthsfinder, drill down exercises, and coaching use of those strengths toward results - the main difference between the Executive Coaching program, the MBA Compass and the College Compass is focus.