As founder and leader of Coaching the Global Village, the economy is a powerful influence to the organization meeting its goals. Like our ‘for-profit’ businesses, our entrepreneurial skills are called upon more in a downturned economy.

CGV’s purpose is to use coaching to create innovative solutions to pressing global challenges. CGV partners with Non Government Organizations, (NGOs) to incorporate professional coaching skills into their work to reach target outcomes. CGV has designed a training curriculum to bring the ‚Äö√Ñ√∫coach approach‚Äö√Ñ√π to NGOs to enhance their ability to draw out the wisdom and motivation of their constituents, employees and ultimately the countries that they serve. In 2008, we successfully completed three pilot training programs with wonderful organizations.

While many non-profits are vying for the same money and time, I am very grateful for the generosity of our funders. Without the initial grant from The Foundation of Coaching and the Harnish Family Foundation, CGV would not be this far along in living my original vision.

As any young non-profit builds its visibility, there are concerns that our troubled economy will compel corporations and individuals to be less mindful of those in need. As coaches we know the value of the ‘coach approach’ but remain cognitive that in a downturned economy, non-profits must make sure their services (or better known as their ‘hero-behavior’) is in line with their financial resources.

At CGV, we are diligently building unique collaborations with other organizations that will keep our mission active and alive. To learn more about our work at CGV, please visit www.coachingtheglobalvillage.org.

For profit or not, how are you preparing for this economy?

As an industry, since most coaching is done by telephone, think of how many “office visits” we are saving and car miles that are reduced – thereby saving lots of electricity and gasoline while reducing pollution.

Although I recognize face-to-face contact is important in coaching and marketing your business, but even that reduces the environmental impact because much of marketing can be done electronically; and networking in most instances is done locally.

Coach training at the Institute for Life Coach Training, www.lifecoachtraining.com,
(both basic and advanced) is done over the phone, allowing people to switch from commuting to work each day to an exciting profession where they can live green each and every day!

Within a month, I signed up for Coach U, bought my first computer,
hired my 2nd coach ( My first coach lived on her boat in the Virgin Islands in 1995)
and I was looking for a new way to use my talents.
By March of 1997…

I was a full time coach and trainer with Coach U.
Moved into my new house in Palm Coast, Florida.
Closed my psychology practice and was going full time into coaching.
Sandy Vilas, President and Owner of Coach U was at my house the day I moved in. We were going to a coach seminar in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida together.

Thomas Leonard was making some audio tapes to sell, called Laser Coaching and I was selected for a coaching session with him. I distinctly remember doing the interview in my empty house and the acoustics were very surreal….like being in a studio.

I told Thomas my background as a psychologist and that I wanted to get busier as a coach…to find my niche. He coached me to go with the obvious. What I knew was psychology and who I knew were therapists. He asked me what would stop me from specializing in coaching other therapists and create special training for therapists transitioning to Coaching or adding coaching to their business.

Later that year I started doing coaching groups with therapists and had several interviews with professional newsletters and journals. In 1998 I started Therapist U (later to become Institute for Life Coach Training) specializing in training therapists and other graduate degreed helping professionals to transition to coaching.

I have now trained over 2500 worldwide and have several international satellite offices.

I had several other interactions with Thomas in classes, think tanks, and in person at events and his Purple Bus tour around the country.

Thomas was a genius and a creative soul. His influence reaches across time and space even today!