My Path

​I’ve been at this leadership thing awhile.

 

I started my career as a counseling psychologist / psychotherapist. As a founding member of a counseling center in Amherst, Massachusetts, I also trained others to become professional therapists. This work evolved into a Leadership and Human Relations consulting and training firm I founded in Boston, where I worked with corporations, healthcare organizations, and educational systems. This then led to my taking the reins as CEO of a struggling multi-national company in Western New York. I ran this company for over 25 years, successfully turning it around, reshaping its culture, helping it become a world-class organization, and eventually selling it in 2014. 

 

The combination of psychology and leadership was a dynamic one - each element complementing and supporting the other. But there was also a third element. One which began much earlier in my life, and one that would ultimately contribute to my leadership journey in a much deeper, more meaningful way.

 

At the age of 15, I was introduced to the wisdom teachings of Taoism and Zen Buddhism by my older cousin who had just spent several years in Japan. This introduction had a profound effect on me. It began a lifelong journey and study of world religions and spiritual traditions - the lessons of which became a major factor in my leadership and my work with others. 

 

In 2014, I was diagnosed with cancer. It was this event that precipitated the sale of my company, as well as my subsequent retirement. For the next 10 years I led a life of simplicity and mindfulness, grateful for every moment, every day. Over this period, a subtle process was taking place. All of the lessons of my life were quietly and gracefully being reorganized, with the most meaningful ones rising to the top, woven into a coherent, unified whole. 

 

This unique convergence - psychology, leadership, and spiritual wisdom - now forms the basis of my work with leaders. It is the synthesis of over 50 years of personal and professional experience. It incorporates the core qualities of wisdom, compassion, and vision - and ultimately leads to a state I call Presence.

 

This is The Way of Leadership. This is the way that I teach and what I offer to others.