Coaching Index | Mentor Index | Peer Assistance Index | Peer Resources Home | Contact
Peer Bulletin No. 164 (May 8, 2008)
ISSN: 1488-6774
| The Peer Bulletin is published for members of the Peer Resources Network, and a new issue is available on the first Tuesday of each month.
NAVIGATION TIPS: Selecting "View" in the Table of Contents takes you directly to that article. To return, select "Return to Contents" at the end of each article. Selecting underlined blue text will take you to an external website or initiate an email form. PDF VERSION: This Peer Bulletin is available as a PDF. To download the PDF version, you will need to access the password protected area with your userid and password. If you have forgotten these details, email Rey Carr. FEEDBACK: Please feel free to provide your reactions or comments to the design, style or content of this newsletter as well as suggestions for articles and resources. |
Articles:
• Passing the Baton: Succession Planning for Peer Resources (View)
• They're Playing Your Song -- by Alan Cohen (View)
• Coaches and Money: What's the Financial Reality? -- by Steve Mitten (View)
• Peer Helpers Establish School Health Center -- Lois Charley (View)
News:
• Six Exclusive Offers for PRN Members (View)
• The Peer Bulletin Quiz (View)
• What’s New in Coaching, and Mentor and Peer Programs (View)
• Famous Mentor Pairings (View)
• Champions for Mentoring, Peer Assistance and Coaching (Back again in June)Research and Resources:
• Seven Funding Options Available for Peer, Coaching, and Mentoring Projects (View)
• Sixteen Books Available for Review (View)
• Studies and Resources to Guide Professional Practice (Back again in June)
• Tech Tips (Back again in June)Events:
• Attend any of 185 Peer (View Online), Mentor (View Online) or Coaching (View Online) Conferences and Events
• Access to Previous Issues and Copyright of the Peer Bulletin (View)
• Holiday Greetings (View)
PRN PASSING THE BATON: SUCCESSION PLANNING FOR PEER RESOURCES
I'm searching for an eventual successor for Peer Resources. I've been writing about succession planning and its connection with mentoring for many years, and I know that the time has come for me to walk the talk. After being in business for 33 years, I'm ready to start planning for the transition to retirement, and I want to find someone who will have the passion, commitment, integrity, creativity, and service-orientation Peer Resources needs to continue its leadership and productivity in the future. Succession planning requires a time-span of mentoring and partnering with suitable person(s) to become ready to take the helm at the appropriate time.
I've been reading about and talking to experts about succession planning, and I have a coach and a coaching group made up of other CEO's helping me to think about and prepare for this transition.
One strategy that is often recommended by experts when a company is being readied for a major transition is to maintain a degree of secrecy or confidentiality until the deal has been finalized. I can understand the purpose of such privacy. The executives don't want stockholders, management, employees or others to panic or do anything that could jeopardize the assets or value of the company.
I've seriously considered this secrecy issue. Will making a premature announcement about succession have an impact on whether members of the Peer Resources Network renew their membership? Will the uncertainty associated with succession impact the attractiveness of membership for potential new members? These are important questions because they influence not just the current revenue of Peer Resources, but they also have an impact on future revenue generation.
But such secrecy goes against the integrity and genuineness we value in our relationships with our members, subscribers, clients, suppliers, and colleagues. Therefore, it's important that we not only announce this goal of gradual transition, but also explain the reasons, and provide the assurance of the continuation of the quality and range of services and resources that we provide.
Facing Current Reality
I've come to the point in my life where I have the same passion, commitment, and enjoyment of working in Peer Resources that I've always had, but I no longer have the physical stamina and energy to engage in the creative and innovative activities required to keep Peer Resources in a leadership position. I need to start planning for my own retirement.While I've fully recovered from heart surgery, exercise regularly and enjoy a healthy lifestyle, I am looking ahead to the freedom of retirement. I'd like to spend more time having fun with my wife; I have grandchildren to listen to and play with; I like staying at home instead of travelling to do lectures, trainings and conferences; I have unfinished hobbies calling out to me; and I go the sleep too early each night to keep up with the technological advances that can only add to improving the quality of what Peer Resources provides.
Most importantly, I envision a full spectrum of ideas that could be easily implemented to enhance services. And while such mental activity stimulates my aging brain functions, such creativity has created two dilemmas about making this transition.
Two Potential Barriers to Designing the Future
Resigning myself to eventually letting go of something that I and my two business partners created in 1975 has been a difficult decision, but one that also brought about a great sense of relief. Yet at the same time I feel that I'm missing opportunities.This dilemma is heightened because almost everyday, based on feedback from clients and Peer Resources Network members, and my review of our current status as well as technological opportunities, new ideas occur to me. New ideas that have practical applications for management, Internet effectiveness, product development, or enhanced services. Or other practical applications that someone else has created that can result in new ideas for our members.
I get excited about an innovation or resource and how they could benefit what we currently provide. And I think, "Hey, I'm not going to retire. Instead, I'll work on this idea!" But my health and energy levels as well as family desires limit my ability to capture these opportunities and limit my willingness to take on new projects, contracts, and trainings -- all of which impact revenue.
Realistically, a retirement succession plan fits the future for me. I can still share my ever-growing list of ideas and make suggestions to new management, and I'd like to do so as a mentor, coach or consultant. I know where to look for opportunities and how to think about them in terms of assets, and I'd be glad to teach that ability to others, if desired.
My second dilemma is related to the previous one. Every time I would discuss the potential sale of Peer Resources with my transition team, they would equate the assets of Peer Resources with my presence. They would say that "Peer Resources is Rey Carr." And the corollary: that without Rey Carr, Peer Resources would have little value or would have limited assets.
Initially I did not want to accept this analysis. I thought that my partners and I had built up a set of assets and services that were independent of our particular personalities. But eventually I could understand what the experts meant. And my partners confirmed this view by saying that they typically relied on me to create the ideas and find ways to put our values into practice. (My partners sold me their shares last year in anticipation of their own retirements.)
Our 12 Core Business Principles
But I think equating Peer Resources with "Rey Carr" is really based on a misunderstanding. While it is true that I was the primary architect of this business, most, if not all of what has been created is based on key business principles, not personality. Some of these principles are unique to Peer Resources, but most of them are identical to principles that business leaders acknowledge are associated with great companies. Here is a list of what we consider to be the 12 core business principles that we have committed ourselves to for the last 33 years:
- Practice and demonstrate the key principles associated with peer assistance, mentoring and coaching in all our business interactions with associates, clients, subscribers and suppliers with a particular emphasis on respect, genuineness, integrity, positive regard, inner wisdom, and strength enhancement.
- Demonstrate a commitment to acting as educators through searching for and describing the best resources regardless of source or origin.
- Identify, encourage, and refer to the strengths of our competitors.
- Provide intelligent, useful, well-written, entertaining, credible, and insightful stories as well as objective, arms-length reviews, analyses, and assessments of industry trends, issues and resources for our readers, website visitors, and members.
- Provide state-of-the-art experiential training seminars.
- Practice the principles of reciprocity and mutuality.
- Provide the highest quality of service to our members.
- Be open to and respond quickly to suggestions and feedback.
- Assist our members to find ways to save time and money with regards to their professional practices.
- Introduce our members to thoughtful experts and experienced practitioners whose strategies and leadership are worth emulating.
- Whenever possible seek to inspire.
- When uncertain about dealing with any new challenge, refer to our core business principles and determine whether our response moves us closer to or further away from the core principles.
In the 33 years we've been in business, we've always kept true to these principles. They have enabled us to be successful, effective, and debt-free. But we haven't paid sufficient attention to succession, which is common to many colleagues in our fields. Now I'm ready to engage in the planning necessary, and to solicit offers from serious, potential groups or individuals who would like to enter into a relationship to succeed me as future leader of Peer Resources.
The Four Elements Necessary for Succession Excellence
I expect to receive a number of offers, and based on the core business principles outlined above, I've identified four questions that will be used to determine the adequacy of this next phase of life for our company.
- Which successor would be best for our subscribers, associates, members, and suppliers?
- Which successor would be best from a financial standpoint?
- Which successor would be best for my life going forward?
- Which successor do we have the best chance of closing the deal with?
In making the eventual transition to succession for Peer Resources, I'm willing to act as a mentor and coach, if needed or desired, to the offer that satisfies all four of the above questions.
The Core Assets of Peer Resources
Our goal has never been to be the biggest at what we do. Instead, we focused on being the best. I think we've achieved that distinction, and no other company has been able to assemble the same combination of resources. Here's a brief summary of the assets of Peer Resources.
- A fee-based membership network of practitioners, educators, academics, and leaders associated with peer assistance, mentoring, and coaching;
- Highly-ranked and respected Internet domains;
- A catalogue of top-selling papers, training manuals and resource materials along with all necessary copyrights;
- A confidential database of clients, subscribers, members and website visitors;
- A network of nationally certified trainers, and a competency-based certification model;
- A monthly newsletter that has been published since 1991 with complete archives available online;
- Proprietary access to the largest database of research publications in peer assistance, mentorship and coaching;
- The largest online database of annotated research and publications associated with mentoring, coaching and peer assistance;
- A toll-free telephone number transferrable to anywhere in North America;
- A proprietary train-the-trainer, experiential training curriculum for mentoring, peer coaching and peer assistance;
- A proprietary train-the-trainer, experiential training program for First Nations populations;
- Nationally recognized speakers for conferences, meetings, public information, radio and television interviews;
- Experienced leaders to train elementary and secondary students, university students, employees, community members, and senior citizens as coaches, peer helpers, or mentors;
- A network of established authorities and consultants to assist with needs assessments, support building, customized training plans, trouble-shooting, and program development, enhancement and evaluation;
- Up-to-date, non-commercial and advertising-free newsletters on trends, issues, services, and resources of interest to professionals involved with peer assistance, mentoring and coaching;
- Service as an international clearinghouse for all levels and types of peer helping, coaching, and mentoring;
- Active and up-to-date lists of local peer helping and mentor programs in communities all around the world;
- A coaching directory that includes the most up-to-date and complete list of coach training organizations, coaching associations, coaching publications, and professional coaches available online;
- A database of the most complete list of the best mentor program developers and trainers;
- A database of the best peer and mentor program examples from all areas including education, business, community, faith-based, youth and adult sources;
- A proprietary database management system;
- A highly portable business that can be home-based and run by a virtual management team;
- A long history of revenue, profitability and cash flow from trainings, consultations, sale of publications, commissions, contracts, and memberships;
- A steady growth rate;
- A reputable brand name;
- Quality members, clients and suppliers;
- Strong strategic partnerships;
- Goodwill and other intangible assets;
- A debt-free registered corporation;
- A lengthy history of competent management;
- Lean operating costs.
Translating what Peer Resources provides into concrete, specific assets that have business value is a challenging task. What I hope to find in succession planning for the eventual transfer of this business is a person(s) or organization that can continue to develop these assets and create new assets. At the same time I recognize that whoever wants to acquire Peer Resources may have their own vision, ideas, strategies, and goals.
Importantly, I'm willing to accept the fact that succession will mean a significantly reduced or possibly no role for me in the business. At the same time I'm willing to act as a mentor or coach, as needed to assist with the successful transition, and to remain as a consultant to Peer Resources if desired. I have in place my own mentors and coaches to help me make the transition to my next phase of life.
If You Propose, We Might Accept
I'm writing this article partly to alert the membership to the progress of my succession planning and also to determine if any members might be interested in making a proposal to provide the future leadership for Peer Resources. My succession team is willing to review any serious expression of interest from Peer Resources Network members prior to soliciting offers from a wider population. All proposals will be considered confidential, and because some of the operations of Peer Resources are proprietary and some of the financial data of Peer Resources is confidential, in order for full disclosure to take place, we will ask the person or organization to sign our confidentiality agreement prior to such disclosure.To help with making a proposal to become a partner and future successor, note that we are not going to establish or publish an assessed or financial value of Peer Resources. Instead, we are requesting that anyone who would like to make an offer provide:
* reasons for making the acquisition of Peer Resources
* a vision for the future management direction of Peer Resources
* a profile of leadership experience and skills
* confirmation of capability to finance the transaction
* non-binding preliminary valuation range (your offer in the range of $X to $Y)When we receive proposals, we will review and assess each one. Once we have identified a submission that best meets our questions (above), we will move towards the next phase of negotiating a more formal letter of intent. Please feel free to contact me by phone (1.800.567.3700 in North America or 1.250.595.3503 outside North America) or by email at rcarr@peer.ca
I'd like to reassure members that a key criteria in choosing a successor to lead Peer Resources, is the ability and willingness to respond to membership needs and interests, and to continue to provide the same quality of services we have for the past 33 years.
I hope this article may be of benefit as a model to other professionals in coaching, mentoring or peer assistance, as they approach life transitions and their own need for succession planning.
I'd like to be able to keep members informed about the progress of such discussions as reasonably possible using the Peer Bulletin as a way to provide such information. At the same time I'm eager to learn from members about any concerns, comments or reactions they may have to this succession planning announcement. Please feel free to email me at rcarr@peer.ca
References
Brodsky, N. (May, 2008). Street smarts. Inc Magazine, 73-74.Collins, J. (2001). Good to great: Why some companies make the leap and others don't. New York: Harper Collins. Available from Amazon.ca (for Canadian orders), Amazon.com (for US orders), or Amazon.co.uk for international orders.
Heath, C. & Heath, D. Made to stick: Why some ideas survive and others die. New York: Random House. Available from Amazon.ca (for Canadian orders), Amazon.com (for US orders), or Amazon.co.uk for international orders.
McGowan, L., Weigl, C., Wilton, D.L., & Aldridge, K. (2006). Succession planning toolkit for business owners: Leveraging your life's work. Toronto: The Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants.
Peay, T.R. & Dyer, Jr., W.G. (1989). Power orientations of entrepreneurs and succession planning. Journal of Small Business Management, 27, 1, 47-52. (Retrieved March 20, 2008 from http://www.allbusiness.com/management/105881-1.html)
Rothwell, W.J. (2005). Effective succession planning: Ensuring leadership continuity and building talent from within (Third Edition). New York: American Management Association.
"Life is a succession of crises and moments when we have to rediscover who we are and what we really want." ~ Jean Vanier ~
Canadian champion of the disabled and Founder of L'Arche
Biography
Last month’s quiz: "YouTube has become a popular way to make videos available. Virtually anyone can upload a video to this Internet service. Peer Resources created a Mentor Quiz video that shows dozens of famous mentors and their equally famous mentoring partners. This eight-minute movie now appears on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VJYFzYmgko.
"Name the celebrity shown in the last photo in the Peer Resources' Mentor Quiz and receive a month added to your membership. For a bonus three months name the mentor and partner that appear near the end of the Mentor Quiz neither of whom are identified. Send the names to rcarr@islandnet.com before April 30, 2008 and the extra month(s) will be added to your membership in the Peer Resources Network."
The celebrity mentor shown at the end of the Mentor Quiz was Bozo the Clown. The mentor and partner that were shown, but not identified in the Mentor Quiz and appeared near the end of the quiz, are Roy Romanow (mentor and former Premier of Saskatchewan from 1991 to 2001) and Lorne Calvert (partner and Premier of Saskatchewan from 2001 to 2007).
Several members provided the correct answer for the celebrity mentor (Bozo), but no one identified the politicians from Saskatchewan. One eagle-eyed member did point out the mispelling of the first names of two mentors: "Patsi" should have been "Patsy" Cline (mentor to Loretta Lynn) and "Randi" should have been "Randy" Bachman (mentor to Burton Cummings).
This month’s quiz:
In the section on Famous Mentor Pairings in this issue of the Peer Bulletin, a Nobel Prize winning scientist is mentioned as a mentor to Dr. John Wheeler, the physicist who created the term "black holes." A link is provided for additional details about the mentor, and on the link page is a story that describes how the mentor responded to an examination when he was a student.
For an additional month of membership, name the instrument that is mentioned several times in the story. Send the instrument name to rcarr@islandnet.com before May 31, 2008 and the extra month will be added to your membership in the Peer Resources Network.
"If you live your life in such a way that you are always reaching for your highest ideals, you are on a spiritual path whether you realize it or not." ~ Alice Ruddy ~
Irish peer coach
SIX EXCLUSIVE OFFERS FOR PRN MEMBERS
1. StepForth Web Marketing Exclusive Discount Offer
An increasing number of Peer Resources Network members have created websites to describe their services or products. But unless visitors can find the site, the effort and cost of creating a high quality site may not yield expected traffic and revenue.PRN members can increase the profitability of their websites with expert web marketing, and Peer Resources has arranged a special 15% discount with StepForth Web Marketing, a respected leader in web marketing since 1997. This discount is exclusive to our members for their services.
Choose from any service at www.stepforth.com. Here is a preview of the web marketing services available to you at a 15% discount:
Website Audit and/or Consultation: Site wide and page specific recommendations on how to optimize your website including recommendations for long term strategy.
Search Engine Optimization Campaign (SEO): Increase the visibility and stability of your website on the search engines to increase traffic and sales with StepForth’s comprehensive SEO campaigns.
Pay Per Click Campaign Management: StepForth can create, monitor, and improve the return on investment (ROI) for your pay per click campaign(s) on an ongoing monthly basis.
Every service will be tailored using ethical web marketing strategies while getting the results you need. You will also have your own marketing expert to work with because unlike many of StepForth’s competitors, all of StepForth’s services are one-on-one with the experts that actually do the work. Contact StepForth for more information: sales@stepforth.com or toll-free 1-877-385-5526.
2. Submit an Article for the Peer Bulletin
We are eager to obtain articles written by Peer Resources Network members that would be suitable for upcoming issues of the Peer Bulletin. Any member that submits a feature article that is published in a future issue of the Peer Bulletin will receive an extra three months added to his or her membership. To prepare and submit an article, review our style guide at http://www.peer.ca/pscgwriters.html and contact Rey Carr at rcarr@peer.ca
3. CD-ROM with Compass and the Peer Bulletin
As a benefit to members of the Peer Resources Network, we have prepared a CD that contains the three past issues and the current issue of Compass: A Magazine for Peer Assistance, Mentorship and Coaching as well as the past 12 months of the Peer Bulletin. As a bonus we have also included a Who Mentored Who Movie Quiz. This CD is free to PRN members and will be sent by postal mail at no cost to any individual category member or the group leader of any institutional membership. Send requests to rcarr@islandnet.com
4. Two-Year Renewal Offer
Any Peer Resources Network individual or institutional rate member who renews for a two-year period, will receive a 15% discount on the fee for the second year. Renew at http://www.peer.ca/PRN.html
5. Refer a Member
Current Peer Resources Network members who refer another person for membership, and the person becomes a member, will have three months added to their own membership for each person referred. A place is available on the Peer Resources Network application form where a new member can include the name of the referring member.
6. The Ten-Year Emeritus Member
Any Peer Resources Network member who has 10 years of continuous membership will now be granted “Emeritus” membership status. This means no more yearly dues, no more fee notices, no fee increases, and a continuation of all services and benefits. No other organization provides this benefit. (Twenty-two members now receive this benefit.)
~ John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) ~
35th US President
Biography
THEY'RE PLAYING YOUR SONG
Alan Cohen
When a woman in a certain African tribe knows she is pregnant, she goes out into the wilderness with a few friends and together they pray and meditate until they hear the song of the child. They recognize that every soul has its own vibration that expresses its unique flavor and purpose.
When the women attune to the song, they sing it out loud. Then they return to the tribe and teach it to everyone else.
When the child is born, the community gathers and sings the child's song to him or her. Later, when the child enters education, the village gathers and chants the child's song. When the child passes through the initiation to adulthood, the people again come together and sing. At the time of marriage, the person hears his or her song.
Finally, when the soul is about to pass from this world, the family and friends gather at the person's bed, just as they did at their birth, and they sing the person to the next life. When I have shared this story in my lectures, a fair amount of people in the audience come to tears. There is something inside each of us that knows we have a song, and we wish those we love would recognize it and support us to sing it.
In some of my seminars I ask people to verbalize to a partner the one phrase they wish their parents had said to them as a child. Then the partner lovingly whispers it in their ear. This exercise goes very deep, and many significant insights start to click. How we all long to be loved, acknowledged, and accepted for who we are!
In the African tribe there is one other occasion upon which the villagers sing to the child. If at any time during his or her life, the person commits a crime or aberrant social act, the individual is called to the center of the village and the people in the community form a circle around them. Then they sing their song to them. The tribe recognizes that the correction for antisocial behavior is not punishment; it is love and the remembrance of identity. When you recognize your own song, you have no desire or need to do anything that would hurt another.
A friend is someone who knows your song and sings it to you when you have forgotten it. Those who love you are not fooled by mistakes you have made or dark images you hold about yourself. They remember your beauty when you feel ugly; your wholeness when you are broken; your innocence when you feel guilty; and your purpose when you are confused.
One summer when I was a teenager I went to visit my cousin and her family in Wilmington, Delaware. One afternoon she took me to the community pool, where I met a man who changed my life. Mr. Simmons talked to me for about ten minutes. It wasn't what he said that affected me so deeply; it was how he listened to me. He asked me questions about my life, my feelings, and my interests.
The unusual thing about Mr. Simmons was that he paid attention to my answers. Although I had family, friends, and teachers, this man was the only person in my world who seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say and valued me for who I was. After our brief conversation I never saw him again. I probably never will. I'm sure he had no idea that he gave me the gift of a lifetime. Maybe he was one of those angels who show up for a brief mission on earth, to give someone faith, confidence, and hope when they most need it.
If you do not give your song a voice, you will feel lost, alone, and confused. If you express it, you will come to life. We attract people on a similar wavelength so we can support each other to sing aloud. Sometimes we attract people who challenge us by telling us that we cannot or should not sing our song in public. Yet these people help us too, for they stimulate us to find greater courage to sing it.
You may not have grown up in an African tribe that sings your song to you at crucial life transitions, but life is always reminding you when you are in tune with yourself and when you are not. When you feel good, what you are doing matches your song, and when you feel awful, it doesn't. In the end, we shall all recognize our song and sing it well. You may feel a little warbly at the moment, but so have all the great singers.
Just keep singing and you'll find your way home.
Editor's Note: This article has been reproduced with the author's permission from Alan Cohen's From the Heart column. Alan is a coach and inspirational speaker, and provides a six-month Personal Mentorship Program (January 1, 2009 to June 30, 2009) that includes weekly teleseminars, personal coaching sessions, in-person seminars, email coaching, a support partner, and online courses. For more information phone 1.800.568.3079 or email: mentorship@alancohen.com. To learn more about Alan's books and other programs go to www.alancohen.com.
~ Alan Cohen ~
Hawaii-based spiritual mentor and coach
Biography
Five-time world squash champion Sarah Fitz-Gerald of Melbourne, Australia is one of the most successful squash players in the history of the sport. She won the World Open in 1996, 1997 and 1998. Although her run was halted in 1999 due to knee surgery, she returned to win the World Open again in 2001 and 2002. Since then she has been playing exhibitions, competing successfully in World Masters chamionships, and providing media commentary for squash events.
Ms. Fitz-Gerald, awarded Member Of The Order of Australia for her services to the sport of squash, is also a mentor to many players, including the current World Women's Champion, 24-year old Nicol David of Malaysia. Ms. David is known for her speed and aggressive style, and she believes much of her success has come from her relationship with Ms. Fitz-Gerald. "Sarah helped me to increase my toughness on the court," she said in a recent exhibition match in Victoria, British Columbia against her mentor. Ms. Fitz-Gerald agreed, saying, "Nicol has a sweet and soft personality that I'm trying to beat out of her a bit."
Very few players, however, could equal 39-year old Sarah Fitz-Gerald's toughness. She tore a calf muscle
during a match and continued to play in a way that wouldn't be noticed by her opponent. "If she'd known I had an injury, she would have dug a bit deeper and I probably would have lost," Ms. Fitz-Gerald recalled. "My opponents have always been tough to play, but travelling the world for matches also presents some challenges. In Qatar I had to play in a borrowed skirt and knickers when my luggage didn't arrive." Overcoming adversity has been an attitude Ms. Fitz-Gerald has cultivated since childhood, and she added, "I hated being a quitter when I was a child. When I tried something once and it didn't work, I'd try it again. I just wanted to be the best I could be."
At the exhibition match in Victoria, British Columbia, played in a four-sided glass court in front of a full house of squash enthusiasts, Ms. David and her mentor wowed the crowd with their abilities, vitality, resilience and aggressive play. The appreciative crowd gave the two world champions a standing ovation at the end of the match.
Dr. John Wheeler, described as the "last titan of physics," called both Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr his mentors. Dr. Wheeler was "a visionary physicist and teacher who helped invent the theory of nuclear fission." He also coined the term "black holes." He was a mentor to dozens of Princeton students who became theoretical physicists, stimulating their imaginations by posing questions, using metaphor to explain principles, and asking them to confront nature. One of this students, Richard Feynman went on to win a Nobel Prize.
A year after Dr. Wheeler earned his doctorate at Johns Hopkins University he sailed to Copenhagen to work with Dr. Bohr who was known as the "godfather of the quantum revolution." Dr. Bohr, who won the Nobel Prize in 1922, shook modern science with paradoxical statements about the nature of reality. "You can talk about people like Buddha, Jesus, Moses, Confucius, but the thing that convinced me that such people existed with the conversations with Bohr," Dr. Wheeler once said. In his autobiograpy, Dr. Wheeler said that black holes teach us that "space can be crumpled like a piece of paper into an infinitesimal dot, that time can be extinguished like a blown-out flame, and the laws of physics that we regard as 'sacred,' as immutable, are anything but."
While he achieved great distinction as a physicist, teacher, mentor and colleague, he also incurred a reprimand from US President Dwight D. Eisenhower for losing a classified document on a train. Ten years later in 1968, however, he received the Enrico Fermi Award from US President Lyndon B. Johnson.
Dr. Wheeler died April 14, 2008 at age 96 of pneumonia in his home in Highstown, New Jersey.
|
"Two things are bad for the heart -- running up stairs and running down people."
~ Bernard M. Baruch (1870-1965) ~ |
 |
Sixteen books are now available for review by Peer Resources Network members. In exchange for the review, members receive the book at no cost. For additional details and guidelines for completing a review as well as a list of other books available, go to http://www.peer.ca/bookreviews.html
The books available to PRN members include:
New This Month--->Leadership Coaching for Educators: Bringing Out the Best in School Administrators by Karla Reiss (235 pages, softcover)
How to Become a Coach: What You'll Want to Know about Training Programs, Certification and the Business of Coaching by Sue Bond (87 pages, eBook)
Psychometrics in Coaching: Using Psychological and Psychometric Tools for Development edited by Jonathan Passmore (350 pages, softcover) <---Out for Review--->
The Truth About the Business of Coaching by Lawrence Mortenson (116 pages, softcover)
Mind Your Own Biz: Discover the Secrets to Creating a Successful Coaching Business by Janet Slack (95 pages, ebook)
Your Executive Coaching Solution: Getting Maximum Beneft from the Coaching Experience by Joan Kofodimos (142 pages, hardcover)<---Out for Review--->
EveryDay Epiphanies: Insights for Living with Purpose by Alicia Rodriguez (201 pages, softcover)
Executive Coaching for Results: The Definitive Guide to Developing Organizational Leaders by Brian Underhill, Kimcee McAnaly, and John Koriath (190 pages, hardcover) <---Out for Review--->
Therapist as Life Coach: An Introduction for Counselors and Other Helping Professionals (Revised and Expanded) by Patrick Williams and Deborah C. Davis (242 pages, hardcover)
Positive Psychology Coaching: Putting the Science of Happiness to Work for Your Clients by Robert Biswas-Diener and Ben Dean (258 pages, hardcover)
Good Question! The Art of Asking Questions to Bring About Positive Change by Judy Barber (255 pages, pdf e-book) <---Out for Review--->
Co-Active Coaching: New Skills for Coaching People Toward Success in Work and Life (Second Edition) by Laura Whitworth, Karen Kimsey-House, Henry Kimsey-House, and Phillip Sandahl (305 pages, softcover)
Guiding Doctors in Managing Their Careers: A Toolkit for Tutors, Trainers, Mentors and Appraisers by Ruth Chambers, Kay Mohanna, Andrew Thornett and Steve Field (131 pages, softcover)
Physicians as Leaders: Who, How, and Why Now? by Mindi K. McKenna and Perry A. Pugno (350 pages, softcover)
The Good Mentoring Toolkit for Healthcare by Helen Bayley, Ruth Chambers, and Caroline Donovan (160 pages, softcover) <---Out for Review--->
Business Transformed: Master the 17 Questions that Transform Business by Breakthrough Coach Paul Gossen (121 pages, softcover) <---Out for Review--->
If you would like to receive any of the above books in exchange for providing a review, just email Rey Carr at rcarr@islandnet.com
|
"When I look back, I am so impressed again with the life-giving power of literature. If I were a young person today, trying to gain a sense of myself in the world, I would do that again by reading, just as I did when I was young."
Maya Angelou |
 |
COACHES AND MONEY: WHAT'S THE FINANCIAL REALITY IN COACHING
Steve MittenRecently, I have noticed a lot of misinformation going around on the topic of money and coaching. On the one hand, I see some pretty suspect training schools and various gurus inferring anybody, with little effort or preparation can leap into coaching and make a fortune, instantly. And on the other hand, I see some doom and gloomers, (and a few characters trying to scare coaches into working with them), telling the world that nobody in coaching makes a decent living.
While I suspect it's part of our collective experience that many good people struggle to make a living at coaching, it is not true that coaching is a profession that most people can't make a good living at.
As to the potential upside, the latest ICF sponsored study conducted by Price Waterhouse Coopers (in which some 5,415 coaches in 73 countries participated) showed the average annual income for a full time coach to be $82K, and that part time coaches on average earn $26k a year. In doing some prep work for a presentation I gave at the last ICF conference, I got some help digging through the tons of data that came out of this study. One of the interesting findings was that the average hourly rate reported by executive coaches was $299, business coaches $196, career coaches $161, and life coaches $136 -- not exactly starvation wages by most standards.
As to a distribution of income, another study conducted by Grant And Zackon, which involved over 2,500 coaches and was published in the Autumn 2004 in the International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, showed that 70% of all coaches were charging over $100/hour, 25% were charging above $200/hour and only 10% of the total were charged over $300/hour. (For more data about coaching income, see Rey Carr' article: Coaching statistics, facts, guesses, conventional wisdom and the state of the industry. Available to Peer Resources Network members in the password protected area of the Peer Resources website.)
Coaching is Mostly an Entrepreneurial Business Venture
Despite the evidence that many coaches are doing just fine, it is absolutely true that many coaches do struggle to earn a decent living. One of the frequent messages I share with coaching audiences is that, as an industry, we need to do more to raise awareness of just what it takes to succeed in this young profession. I believe it is a huge disservice to not openly discuss the real challenges people face when they consider a self-employed career in coaching.Over the years I have had so many prospective coaches call to pick my brain on this topic that I finally put up an article on my site covering my best advice and estimates on the time, costs and challenges of a journey into coaching.
It genuinely hurts me to see good coaches and great people contemplate abandoning their dream of coaching for a living. However, no matter how much information we get out there - on the need for potential coaches to acquire the basic financial/marketing/entrepreneurial survival skills -- it is a sad fact that a high percentage of all small businesses do fail. The figures generated by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics typically show that a full third of all Professional and Business Services fail in the first two years. And when you see how quickly coaching is growing around the world this adds up to a lot of struggling people.
Anyway, the point is that there is a start up curve and a risk of failure for any new business. Also, not everyone is cut out to be a self-employed professional, and there are currently few opportunities for coaches to let someone else do the marketing for them. If you want to be among those that succeed in this vocation, you have to take responsibility and get prepared. No one else, not the training schools, your coach, or the coaching industry as a whole, can be of much use to you if you do not approach this journey with realistic expectations, sufficient reserves of time and money, and a commitment to learn the key business and coaching skills.
Barriers to Coaching Business Success
Maybe I have seen a few two many clips of Dr. Phil, berating his guests but I agree with one of his mantras, you really can't change things that you don't acknowledge. So, in service of raising awareness, and in hopes of minimizing the suffering of those who are called to coach, here is my list of the actions that have the most negative impact your ability to make a decent living as a coach:
- Get no training, or sign up with the cheapest, unaccredited school that will train you in a matter of weeks, via DVD, and promise you a quick path to success.
- Fall in love with the coaching skills, spend all your time and money learning them, and never think about, or budget anything, to learn the basic business and entrepreneurial skills.
- Jump into coaching with an all or nothing approach, without researching, or budgeting for, how long it will take and how much it will cost you. (Longer than you expect and far more than the cost of tuition.)
- Wait until you have finished all your training, all everyone else's training, and gone on to get two or three PhDs before you believe you are finally competent enough to begin to coach.
- Never attempt to find an ideal client group (niche) and thus waste a lot of time and effort on ineffective, unrelated, marketing initiatives directed at people who cannot afford you or are too stubborn to get any help with their problems.
- Attempt to sell this new generic service called "coaching" - that very few people really understand or want - as opposed to finding an existing need which can be better solved through coaching.
- Never do anything to proactively manage your stress, so you will always be at level 1, reacting to the circumstances in your life instead of creating from them.
- Never grow as a human being, or develop a daily reflective practice, so you remain stuck in your habitual reactions, wresting with your shadow or pain body, and never grow in self awareness.
- Never aspire to master the coaching skills or seek a reputable independent credential that establishes your competence in the marketplace.
- Try to do it all by yourself, instead of connecting to colleagues (free coaching circles, ICF chapters, using this network, hiring your own coach, etc.) for the support, information and shortcuts you will need.
- Try to reinvent the wheel as relates to finding out what works for marketing coaching services so you can fall into the very same potholes that all the coaches ahead of you have, and quit when you get discouraged. (And you will get discouraged dozens of times along the way.)
- Price your services on your fears and insecurities, as opposed to actually doing the marketing work to see what other professionals charge, or what your clients actually use the service for and can afford.
- Believe you need to be some kind of business whiz with a Harvard MBA to coach anyone in organizations or small businesses.
- Offer only one solution, 1 to 1 coaching at one price level, so you only have one offering on the shelves of your virtual store.
- Don't keep track of how you spend your time and money each week, and have no idea how long you have to launch your practice before you run out of money.
- Don't have goals for your practice and have no idea how much time you must market each week to achieve the number of new clients you want.
- If you are not getting any clients from your current marketing efforts, keep doing what you have been doing until you run out of money.
- If you are not getting the results you want, believe it is because of your inherent incompetence, or unworthiness, and shrink away from the world as opposed to trusting we have all gone through the same thing, (and we all have our fair serving of incompetence and insecurities), and ask for help.
- Coach just for the money, never treat your clients - your brothers and sisters - as the great gifts and teachers they are, and never be grateful that coaching is giving you an opportunity to be of service to the world, every day.
A good measure of struggle and even the occasional business failure does not mean you are a bad coach or a bad person. It is often simply the price you pay to learn how to be self-employed. I know many great coaches who are struggling to make it through their first few years. I know many good coaches who have to transition into coaching while keeping their day jobs. Many other good coaches have had to go back to work part time when their coaching business took longer to get off the ground than they had hoped for. Failure in business is not failure in life. Usually you learn a ton from it, and come back wiser and stronger.
If you are called to do this work, my hope would be that you find the information you need to succeed as a coach with the minimum amount of struggle. And even if it takes you 2 or 3 years, or 2 or 3 attempts, to find a way to earn a good living doing what you love, I hope you can keep going.
This work is important and the world needs you.
About the Author:
Steve Mitten, B.ApSc, CPCC, MCC, is a highly experienced Master Certified Life and Business Coach and former president of the International Coach Federation. He frequently volunteers his time, ideas, and support to encourge coaches to excel in their work with clients. In 2007 he was selected as the Coach of the Year by Coaches Canada. To learn more about Steve and his work, visit his website and blog at www.acoach4u.com.
Steve Mitten
Canadian Coach of the Year, 2007
Biography
PEER HELPERS ESTABLISH A SCHOOL HEALTH CENTER
Lois CharleyThe City of Riverbank is a growing community in the heart of California's agricultural Central Valley. Since the beginning of the 2006-2007 school year, Riverbank High School has been developing its vision for a new school health center. The school is poised to become a leader and example in the movement to expand school health centers in the Central Valley. Many of California’s Central Valley communities face a serious lack of access to health care services. A greater proportion of adolescents lack health insurance in the Valley than in the state as a whole. Teen birth rates are well above the state average as are the rates of sexually transmitted infections. School health centers are a promising approach to addressing these adolescent health issues.
“We are in a suburban and rural setting, and we have only one or two primary health providers in our community. Many of our students and their families do not have ready access to transportation to get to the adjacent community of Modesto where most health care providers operate,” explained Riverbank High School principal, Ken Geisick. “We find that simple medical appointments keep students out of school for an entire day. In some cases, high school students are expected to provide day care (thus missing school) while parents take younger children to appointments in Modesto.”
What makes the school health center start-up effort unique at Riverbank High School is that it has been a student-driven effort. It began when school Social Worker, Nancy Perez, developed a peer helper program to organize and mobilize students to improve school climate. An early project of the Step-By-Step Peer Program was a student survey, which demonstrated the multiple health and social issues that concerned students. Specifically, obesity, teen pregnancy and alcohol and drug abuse were the main problems that students wanted help coping with. The peer helpers began to envision a center where all these issues could be addressed.
Once students clearly expressed their need and desire for a school health center, the school administrators quickly supported the effort. Nancy Perez explained that “I have had the opportunity to hear first hand from youth the struggles they are faced with daily due to lack of access to health care. When the youth speak of how problems and challenges would be alleviated if they could have direct access to medical care, I can relate to the hope they hold for a school health center.”
Principal Geisick added, “Providing onsite health care for adolescents will increase the likelihood that high school age students will access the health center for medical appointments, medical education and prevention.” Once Riverbank High School students, staff and administrators agreed on the concept of a school health center, they began researching models and involving the community in the consideration. Mr. Geisick and Ms. Perez reached out to the California School Health Centers Association for more information and technical assistance on school health center start-up. CSHC Field Coordinator Hector Lara provided Riverbank students with information about installation, partnering with medical providers and financial planning. “There are almost as many models for school health centers as there are school health centers! CSHC helps schools navigate the sometimes confusing process of opening a new site and helps schools find the model that best fits their community,” said Mr. Lara. Riverbank High School students then presented their survey findings, research and ideas to the Riverbank Community Collaborative where the idea of the health center was well accepted.
Principal Geisick emphasized that they “intentionally engaged members of the community and the Riverbank Unified School Board from the very beginning.” The peer group made presentations to a variety of groups so that parents understood that this is a student driven project. “We have a very supportive team that has been meeting at the guidance and direction of our Healthy Start Coordinator, Esther Rosario. We have maintained open channels of communication with our School Board, city, and community, which helps overcome and address some of the challenges involved in starting a school health center,” Nancy Perez said.
In April 2007, CSHC invited the Riverbank students to testify in Sacramento before the Senate Education Committee about their budding start-up process. This testimony supported SB 564 (Ridley-Thomas), which would help fund school health centers. The students formally stated what they had found and had been working on over the past three months. Janette Ruiz, a Riverbank student, described her experience in Sacramento by saying that “The Senators saw that we really wanted a health center on our campus, and maybe they were a little surprised about that.”
Maria Garnica said that testifying in Sacramento was amazing. She explained “I got to see how the world around me works and how a small school can make a difference in a community. It’s not just larger cities making those differences!” In May 2007, CSHC’s Hector Lara introduced Riverbank High School students and staff to the school health center at Edison High School in Stockton. Riverbank students and staff toured the school health center and saw how it supported the needs of the high school student population.
This past August the Riverbank Unified School Board passed a resolution to allow the school district to engage in negotiations with Golden Valley Health Centers to start a school health center at the high school. Riverbank High School is continuing its effort to open a new school health center. Soon the students and community may have a new location to access health care. This process has created some tremendous changes in the Step-by-Step participants at Riverbank High School. The original group of seven students has grown by approximately 20 more students. The students have had the opportunity to identify a need and shepherd a concept through a process, which has been enormously empowering for them.
Social worker Nancy Perez is particularly impressed by the transformation she has seen in the students. She said, “The Step-By-Step participants constantly describe and demonstrate growth in many ways ranging from their individual self-esteem, to feelings of empowerment, and understanding the importance of having a voice within their community. The commitment I see coming from these students is immense, and the skills and experiences they are developing throughout this process is priceless. They are learning how to express in very articulate and organized ways their needs and opinions, and they understand the importance of gathering facts and information to support their arguments.
Editor's Note: This article has been reproduced with permission and from the March, 2008 edition of the National Association of Peer Programs' Members Update newsletter. We are grateful to Lois Charley, the Executive Secretary for the National Association of Peer Programs (NAPP), for permission to include this article. The NAPP is a member-based organization that helps adults establish, train, supervise, maintain and evaluate peer programs. The NAPP also holds an annual conference. This year the conference will take place in San Diego from June 22-27. For more information about the conference or the NAPP, visit their website at www.peerprograms.org
Mickey Mantle (1931-1995)
American baseball player and mentor
Biography
FUNDING AVAILABLE FOR PEER, COACH AND MENTOR RESEARCH PROJECTS
This month a variety of funding opportunities are listed that have the potential to support peer, mentoring and coaching projects. Writing a proposal for any of these grants and awards can be a daunting task. A recent article in The Scientist (Vol. 21, Issue 1, Page 71) focused on “Ten Ways to Write a Better Grant,” and can be accessed at http://www.the-scientist.com/article/home/38046/
(1) The Foundation of Coaching describes itself as a "nonprofit, noncommercial, independent resource for coaching research, education, practice, and communication." The Foundation provides research grants to pay for research expenses, including travel (but not research time or living expenses). Proposals are accepted twice a year (June 1 for consideration in July and December 1 for consideration in January). To be considered for a research grant, the proposal must meet five criteria: align with the mission of the Foundation; make an important contribution to the coaching field; be independent of any particular coaching organization; exhibit qualifications to act ethically; and be co-sponsored with in-kind of matching funds provided by another source. The review process typically takes several weeks, and researchers do not have to be affiliated with an academic institution. For more information about the Foundation, its mission, and a research grant application form go to: http://www.thefoundationofcoaching.org/
(2) Public Health Doctoral Dissertation Research Grants are available from Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Up to $35,000 per dissertation is available for doctoral candidates’ research costs. Research that scientifically examines the roles that mentoring, coaching or peer assistance can have in health promotion, disease prevention, injury and disability prevention, and health protection will be eligible for funding. Applicants must be citizens of the United States, and applications are due in August of any year. More information is available at: http://tinyurl.com/3xdl6j
(3) Mentoring Children of Prisoners: Caregivers Choice is a program to increase the number of children with a parent in prison in the USA to have access to mentors. The program is unique because it gives the child's caregiver the power to choose the best mentoring program to meet their needs and the needs of the child. All the mentoring programs included for review by caregivers must meet standards for safety and quality.
Mentoring programs that become part of the Caregivers Choice pool can access funding to serve more children, tap into US federal funds, define their participation level, improve recruitment of children of prisoners, and benefit from the latest training and tools. Programs must apply to participate and meet quality standards, and each program will receive $1,000 in four installments over a 12-month period, linked to key milestones in the mentoring relationship.For more information and an application form, go to www.mentoring.org
(4) Michigan State University Extension, 4-H Youth Development has received a grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service through the Michigan Community Service Commission, to support the development, operation and expansion of planned youth mentoring programs across the state of Michigan. This grant provides for 60 full-time AmeriCorps members to be placed in MSU Extension sites and community-based organizations statewide to provide full-time service in the area of planned youth mentoring. For an investment of only $4,750 per member, an organization can receive the services of a full-time AmeriCorps member for one year. Member start dates for the 2008-09 program year are October 1 and October 15, 2008. Applications from interested organizations are due by June, 30 2008. Those selected to receive a member(s) will be notified no later than July 20, 2008. For more information contact: Molly Frendo, Associate Program Leader, 4H Mentor Michigan Initiative, Michigan State University Extension, 160 Agriculture Hall, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48823; Tel: (517) 432-7606; email: frendo@anr.msu.edu
(5) The U.S. Deparment of Education will provide funding for models of exemplary, effective, and promising alcohol and other drug abuse prevention on college campuses, including those using peer assistance, mentoring and coaching as a way to influence prevention. The funders are also willing to recognize colleges and universities whose programs, while not yet exemplary or effective, show evidence that they are promising. The estimated average award size is $143,000. The deadline for submission is May 19, 2008. Additional information is available online.
(6) The Reader's Digest Foundation Make It Matter Grants is a program that honors individuals who are taking action and giving back to their communities in a significant way. Each month Reader's Digest magazine will profile an individual who has made a significant contribution to his or her community, through peer assistance, peer mentoring or other informal ways on helping, and provide a financial contribution. A form for making an application is available at http://www.rd.com/makeitmatter.do
(7) The Staples Foundation for Learning has as its mandate to teach, train and inspire people from all walks of life by providing educational and growth opportunties. Proposals that include teaching, training, or inspiration are encouraged. Applications can only be submitted online between June 2 and June 16 for funding that will start in September, 2008. Requested amounts for funding can be up to $25,000, but most grants awarded by the Foundation are in the $5,000-$25,000 range. Eligible organizations must have non-profit tax exempt status in the USA. Applications and additional information are available at http://www.staplesfoundation.org/foundhome2.html.
~ Audry Hepburn (1929-1993) ~
British actress
Biography
WHAT'S NEW IN THE COACH, MENTOR AND PEER WORLD
1. Coaching Training Organizations Added to the Peer Resources' Coaching Schools List
The Ford Institute for Integrative Coaching is led by Debbie Ford, this organization runs two highly experiential, tele-class and in-person combined training programs: Blueprint Coaching Training Program and Spiritual Divorce Coaching Training Program. The Blueprint training includes four modules leading to certification and licensing. One of the modules focuses on the key distinctions between the Integrative approach and the ICF core competencies and includes feedback and direction from an experienced mentor coach. The tuition for the Blueprint course is $7995 if taken as a package.
The Spiritual Divorce training is a series of telecourses and in-person events (in San Diego), and is designed to assist clients to "transform their pain into power" and guide individuals through a "heart-opening coaching model." The course is based on Debbie Ford's book, "Spiritual Divorce: Divorce as Catalyst to an Extraordinary Life." Tuition for this course is $2800 plus a $300 intensive fee. For more information contact: Admissions Advisor, Debbie Ford Productions, PO Box 8064 La Jolla, California 92037; (800) 655-4016.
Harvard Coaching and Positive Psychology Initiative is located at the Harvard Medical School's McLean Hospital, this program of seminars, tutorials and supervision is directed towards developing an academic foundation of coaching psychology. The emphasis is on coaching research studies associated with the healthcare and medical world. The Initiative will include an annual conference, a research laboratory, a task force, a journal, and an education program for staff and interns at the McLean Hospital. Contact: Coaching & Positive Psychology, Harvard Medical School, McLean Hospital, 115 Mill Street, Belmont, Massachusetts 02478; Tel: (617) 855-3921; email: carol_kauffman@hms.harvard.edu
Coach Academy Texas provides an NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) coach training and certification program. The program integrates ICF core competencies with NLP principles. At least one of the faculty members is a International Coach Federation (ICF) Master Certified Coach (MCC). Other faculty members are expert NLP trainers and practitioners, business executives and professional coaches. The program includes 130 hours of in-person classroom training (exceeding current ICF certification requirements for both the ACC and PCC designations), typically completed in 7-10 months. The focus is on practical coaching skills, ICF certification preparation, and the latest NLP concepts for coaches.
Participants receive support from mentor coaches throughout the program via in-class and teleconference methods, and the classroom model is built on the "present, demonstrate, practice" approach. Guest speakers are included throughout the program. Courses are available in Dallas, Chicago, and Austin. A unique element of their website is that they provide a chart that compares their training program with the programs of ten other coach training schools. The cost of the full program is $8,295. Consult their website for more detailed program and curriculum information along with current dates and payment options. Additional contact information: 6107 Jereme Trail, Dallas, Texas 75252-7900; Tel: (972) 733-9963; Fax: (972) 733-4228; info@coachacademytexas.com
The Coaching Institute was established in Australia in 2003 by Sharon Pearson and focuses on neurolinguistic programming (NLP) in both the life coaching and business coaching areas. They offer a Certificate IV in Life Coaching and a Diploma of Life Coaching. They describe their program as "accredited;" their website as being "ranked in the top three sites in Australia and the world;" and that they are "the most accredited life coaching school in Australasia. (Note: this school appears to use the term "accredited" as equivalent to what North American's would call "certified.")
Coaching courses focus on core competencies of coaching, ethics, success principles, rapport building skills, SMART & GROW models of coaching, coaching proficiencies, marketing, and personal development. Participants in life coach training receive a pre-learning pack, an intake weekend, engagement in year-round telecourses, group mentoring, individual mentoring, business building classes, CD's and DVD's. To achieve the Certificate IV in Life Coaching, participants must take core courses, write a knowledge paper, provide a business plan, present testimonials from two clients, participate in a skills assessment, and complete a book review.
To achieve the Diploma in Life Coaching participants must complete courses, complete assessment papers in each course, provide testimonials from clients, produce a product with $500 of receipts from sales, deliver an executive coaching initiative, and deliver a seminar/talk/public speech. Persons who wish to apply for ICF credentials can use the course work from TCI as part of the portfolio application method. TCI has also developed a franchise system for its graduates. For further information contact TCI, 335 Ferrars Street, South Melbourne 3205, Victoria, Australia; Tel: 1800 094 927.
2. The Latest Credible Coaching Resource
Another option for the latest published material about coaching is Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research & Practice. This journal is published twice a year in both online and print versions. A sample Table of Contents is available online. The journal is published by Routledge Taylor & Francis Group and the Association for Coaching (IAC). A one-year subscription appears to be $US49.00 for the print version and $US157.00 for the online version. Confirmation from the publisher of these prices (which seem reversed) was not forthcoming at press time. IAC members receive the journal as part of their membership fee. Potential manuscripts for the journal should be sent to both editors: Dr. Carol Kauffmann (carol@coachingpsych.org) and Dr. Tatiana Bachkirova (tbachkirova@brookes.ac.uk). Topics and themes vary for each issue.
3. Mentoring Programs added to the Peer Resources' Mentor Programs List
Mantri (pronounced as "Man-Three") is a Sanskrit word and means a minister, wise man, a counselor, a trusted advisor and a mentor. (Think of Alexander the Great and his "Mantri" Aristotle.) In addition to Sanskrit, the word has similar meaning and connotation in other languages such as Malay, Indo-China, and Arabic cultures.
At www.iMantri.com, users search through profiles of individuals registered with the site to find a mentor, or they can use a proprietary matching engine that hinges on a competency assessment. The engine also factors in use preferences, such as location.
Not all mentoring on the site is free. Professional coaches who register with the site usually charge a fee. iMantri can connect with other corporate applications, such as an Intranet, through API-based Web services. (Source: CIO Magazine, March 15, 2008.)
4. Peer Programs added to Peer Programs List
Peer Support Services for Abused Women provides support, resources and referrals to women and children affected by domestic abuse. Trained volunteers facilitate community-based peersupport and act as peer mentors in cooperationwith the participants. Since1993 this organization has served thousands of women and children and helped them to embark on new, violence-free lives. They are funded by donations. Contact: 301 - 501 - 18th Avenue SW, Calgary, Alberta T2S 0C7; Tel: (403) 234-7337; email: info@pssaw.org
Teens for Humanity supports peer programs, youth violence prevention, campus wide prevention education campaigns, mediation, and youth recovery outreach. They train peace leaders, peer helpers, and peer mediators. Contact: Dr. Jennica Jenkins, 2350 Sunset Blvd 170-241, Rocklin, California 95765; Tel: (916) 747-3799; email: jennica@teensforhumanity.org
~ James Tiberius Kirk (2233 to ?) ~
Youngest Starfleet Captain in history, and saved Earth from alien onslaught
Biography
Previous issues of the Peer Bulletin are available in HTML and PDF versions, and are located in the password protected area of the Peer Resources web site. A userid and password are required to access previous issues. Members who prefer to read the Peer Bulletin in this format can go to the password protected area: http://www.peer.ca/Projects/Peer_Resources_Network.html#bulletin
If you want to reply to any of the items in this current issue of the Peer Bulletin, send your reply to the e-mail address listed in the item or to: rcarr@islandnet.com
The Peer Bulletin is distributed once a month by e-mail only to members of the Peer Resources Network. All articles in the Peer Bulletin are written by Rey Carr unless otherwise indicated.
All content in the Peer Bulletin is covered by copyright held by Peer Resources. Permission to reproduce or redistribute any items within the Peer Bulletin is given only to members of the Peer Network. When material is reproduced or copied it should include the following acknowledgment:“Reproduced with permission by Peer Resources Network member (insert your name). Membership in the Peer Resouces Network is available from Peer Resources at www.peer.ca/PRN.html.”
Purchase of books or other resources through links in the Peer Bulletin that connect with Amazon.ca, Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk yield commissions to Peer Resources. All commissions are donated to a local charity for homeless youth.
In different articles, observant readers might notice slightly different spellings of the same word, such as “counseling” and “counselling” or “behaviour” and “behavior.” Choice of spelling is determined by the preference used in the country of the author. Other spelling mistakes are to encourage readers to respond to the Editor of the Peer Bulletin.
The Peer Bulletin is a members-only publication of Peer Resources, 1052 Davie Street, Victoria, British Columbia V8S 4E3.
ooopo
Happy Mother's Day (May 11th)
"The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness."~ Honore de Balzac ~
ooopo
Happy Victoria Day in Canada (May 19th)
"Great events make me quiet and calm; it is only trifles that irritate my nerves."
~ Queen Victoria ~
oopo o
Phoenix spacecraft expected to land on Mars (May 25th)
"Space flights are merely an escape, a fleeing away from oneself, because it is easier to go to Mars or to the moon than it is to penetrate one's own being."
~ Carl Gustav Jung ~
Happy Memorial Day in the USA (May 26th)
"We have a Veteran's Day and Memorial Day, but we don't have a day for the troops that are fighting right now."~ Alexandra McGregor ~
"When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking."
~ Sherlock Holmes ~
ooopo Happy Mental Health Month
"Love, joy, and peace cannot flourish until you have freed yourself from mind dominance."
~ Eckhart Tolle ~
If the path be beautiful, let us not ask where it leads. (Anatole France, 1844-1924) The number of PRN members who have accessed this issue of the Peer Bulletin:
