Teach Me How to Fish

There's an old Japanese saying that if you give a man a fish he will eat for a day, but if you teach him to fish he will eat for a lifetime. The theory behind personal coaching is similar. By showing someone new career paths, you help them to make a better life. And to kick off Coaching Week, a once-a-year event when the coaching industry comes together to offer pro-bono lectures, book signing and manuals, Janice Caillet (nee Gersten) invited a few friends up to the Cabana Room at The Sagamore on Monday, February 5th, for some cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. Hosted byCoachingCircles.com and sponsored by Coach Certification Institute and Executive Coach Academy, the room had a calm, centered feel to it, not the typical dissipated frenzy of dotcom gatherings.

I was greeted by Janice, who some of you may remember from Total NY days, and her baby girl. Her husband, organizational psychologist and executive coach Alexander Caillet, was nearby greeting guests and playing host. Over in one corner, by the huge platters of cucumber with brie and liverwurst sandwiches, Turm F's Christian Schaumann was chatting with Inside Solutions' Ronit Herzfed. She was telling us about how she's working with filmmaker Ken Wilber on his next project. On the other side, closer to the platter of cookies, was Earthweb's new Chairman Jack Hidary. Jack just stepped down from his CEO role and is enjoying his time by going to DAVOS in Switzerland and offering the company his expertise in an advisory role. Centrally situated Judy Burger, who's been using coaching as her management style for over 10 years, and Marie Forleo, a personal coach and certified yoga therapist for two years now, were chatting about the industry and how it's grown. Executive Coach Academy's Jeremy Robinson has seen the field grow during the last 15 years. I-Recall's Anselm Spoerri came over to tell me that he just sold his company, which he was rightly pleased about. Before leaving, I chatted with Todd Cherches of SpireMedia, who recently went into consulting, but will remain involved in the company.