About me - the short version

About me - a slightly longer version

Why should you choose me to be your coach?

What I offer as a coach

What I offer from my business career

About Red Kite

HERE’S THE SHORT VERSION

I’m over 50, I’m married with 3 great kids, I live just outside Birmingham in the West Midlands. Before becoming a coach, I had a successful 20 year career in marketing, having reached Board positions in both client and agency businesses.

In 2001 I decided it was time for a change and abandoned my ‘velvet rut’ to seek a new life. After a short spell running my own marketing consultancy, I ‘found’ coaching and since then I have not looked back. I am now happier and more fulfilled than at any time in my life. I love what I do and I know that coaching really can make a difference at an individual, corporate and even global level.

If you are looking for a coach for either private or business coaching and you’re prepared to make a real commitment to bring about the changes

you want for your life
– then give me a call on +44 (0)121 350 7900

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AND HERE’S A SLIGHTLY LONGER VERSION

1954 to today – how did I get here?
 
Frighteningly quickly to be honest – and I have a feeling the second half (I have always been an optimist!) is going to go even quicker.
 
So here’s a quick recap of the first half of my life.
 
Nice middle class boy grows up in leafy suburbs of Surrey, goes to Kingston Grammar School, does OK and then goes to Liverpool University to take sensible commerce degree – having first got some travelling out of my system in my ‘gap year’ although I don’t think they called it that then, probably just ‘taking a year off’ which is kind of strange because it was in that year off that I found out what I was about, so it was more like a ‘year on’ than a ‘year off’.
 
And after ‘Uni’, I fell into the world of work, not in a very committed way; in fact it wasn’t until 4 years after graduating that I got my first ‘proper’ job with Ford Motor Company. It was while I was at Ford in London that I discovered ‘marketing’ or ‘people’ as I liked to see it – it was people and their behaviour in response to brands and advertising that drew me into a career as a marketer. A career that was to last the next 21 years – taking me far closer to the top than I had ever thought possible. It was a fun career, full of stress, excitement, variety and rewards
– I learned a lot about people and a lot about myself.
 
And it was this knowledge of who I was that led me to quit the lucrative world of marketing in 2001, by then I was the Deputy MD of the European division of a global marketing agency – I had had enough – I had gone as far as I wanted to – further in many ways – and it was time for a complete change – I needed to get my life back and set off in a new direction.
 
It was nearly 18 months after I quit the marketing agency world that I discovered ‘life coaching’ and I can remember the elation at reading the ‘Co-Active Coaching’ book by Whitworth, Kimsey-House, Sandahl and finding myself in every page. Within days I had signed up for the CTI Fundamentals course and now 4 years later I am actually running those courses! If you had told me I would have been doing that 4 years ago I would have told you you're mad..

I can honestly say that dreams do come true if you really want them to and are committed to making the tough choices that are needed along the way.

Whilst some people my age are contemplating retirement and more time on the golf course, I am like a young kid setting out on my first career. But this time my career has chosen me – I am both very lucky and very privileged to find myself here. I love what I do and I know that I have the potential to make some waves in the coaching world and make an impact on people’s lives at a time when there is a real need for change in the way we create our future and our childrens’ futures.

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My training has been with The Coaches Training Institute (CTI) a truly inspirational coaching organisation – you can find out more about them at www.thecoaches.com
In addition to completing the wonderful Intermediate Training Programme (that I now train), I have also completed and passed the CTI Certification programme that qualifies me as a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC).
I have also completed a 10 month Leadership Development programme in California, run by a specialist division of CTI called Co-Active Space – you can find out more about this unique programme at www.coactivespace.com

More recently, (late 2006, early 2007) I have continued my learning and development through the excellent programme called 'Oganisation and Relationship Systems Coaching' - a programme designed for coaching relationships; be they in the work place or personal. Couples, teams, boards - wherever there is more than one person there is a relationship - and this course enables me to coach in these areas as well as one on one coaching.

And the latest chapter in my journey as a coach has been to become a trained facilitator for 'Team Diagnostic's coaching - an excellent assessment tool that looks at how teams perform and how they can improve that performance. I am a BIG fan of this work and invite you to coontact me to find out more about how this Team coaching tool can help you if you are responsible for a team - the link to the 'Team Coacing International' site (the people who created this work) go to

www.teamcoachinginternational.com

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WHY SHOULD YOU CHOOSE ME TO BE YOUR COACH?

Well that really depends on what you’re looking for – here’s what I know about what I have to offer you – you need to decide if I’m right for you – and indeed I need to decide if you’re right for me. That’s why the FREE sample session is such a good idea– you can try before you buy.

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WHAT I OFFER AS A COACH

A big heart, a sense of humour and a love of life

The ability to create safe space in which to play

Courage to go anywhere and do whatever it takes

A belief that we really can make a difference

A successful track record as a coach

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WHAT I OFFER FROM MY BUSINESS CAREER

The knowledge and experience of what it takes to grow a business

Board Director – International experience

Successful Client and Agency marketer

First hand experience of all the stresses and strains of senior management

Experience of mergers and culture change

The ability to know when to get out!

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ABOUT RED KITE

Lots of people ask me why Red Kite?

And the simple answer is that I love kites and I love the colour red!

To me life is all about – colour, vitality, the outdoors, blue skies, having fun.

Imagine what it would be like to be a kite on a blustery summer’s day!

Kites only fly when there is enough wind

They have to be anchored to the ground to fly

When the wind drops they come crashing out of the sky
and they soar majestically back up again with the next gust

They are a wonderful metaphor for life

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