Helping founders and CEOs expand their leadership capacity and successfully navigate the entirety of the business-building process
WHY I PROVIDE UNIQUE IMPACT
I Have Been There
I have founded and been CEO of several companies of size, managed 1,500+ people, raised $150 million+, built teams in every business function, and bought and sold businesses. While I have also extensively studied theory, I have 20+ years of practical CEO experience which I draw upon in coaching.
I Help CEOs Eliminate Limitations
I have spent a lifetime studying “patterns,” including how each person has mental constructs that dictate thought patterns, feelings and actions, which in turn affect relationships and thus ultimately one’s potential for success. Learning how this works enables a CEO to both step outside the limitations of their patterns and understand how to work powerfully with all external constituents. Beyond other, more common CEO skills, this level of mastery is frequently the defining factor of success.
Hard & Soft Skill Development
There are a lot of technical skills to master as a CEO (IQ), but there comes a point in a company’s development where emotional intelligence (EQ) becomes most important. As a team grows and matures, the CEO is confronted by the ultimate variable in execution – people. Understanding how to use interactions with managers and staff to instill maximum engagement, drive, collaboration and desire for excellence becomes a defining competitive advantage.
Anxiety Elimination + Reconnecting with Fun
The journey to success is long and difficult. It is not uncommon for CEOs at some point to find themselves tired, with low motivation and without inspiration or joy. This can easily infect their broader teams. By helping CEOs connect with themselves and their broader purpose more deeply, they find a genuine enthusiasm for their work and for the company, which in turn inspires all those around them.
WHY I COACH CEOS
During my time as CEO, I learned a lot of lessons the hard way. I didn’t have a trusted advisor and at times felt very lonely. I felt as if I was always putting on a show – investors (which included many of my friends) and board members wanted to hear more about solutions than problems, employees didn’t want to see weakness, and bringing anxiety home was a recipe for trouble. At times, I suffered with self-doubt, stress and anxiety. I often put myself last and was prone to work myself into energy deficits where I found it difficult to perform. In a maniacal effort to “prove myself,” I became a workaholic.
It took much of my 40s to understand my emotional patterns and how many of my strengths were also weaknesses. After successfully reorganizing myself (which will always be a work in process), I was able to reconnect with joy and develop a sense of inner peace that made life and work much more enjoyable. After being invited to speak at a venture fund’s annual CEO summit, several CEOs called me afterwards for advice. The experience brought back great memories of my time teaching at Columbia Business School in my late 20s. One thing led to another and I began formally coaching several of them.
I have found great pleasure in helping CEOs get where they want to go. CEOs are a unique type of highly creative people manifesting change in the world. I enjoy the intimate and deeply trust-based relationships that develop along the way, and the opportunity to help CEOs and their companies make a meaningful impact on the world.
I’VE BEEN THERE
Founded and was CEO of Capital IQ, for which I raised $40 million and ultimately sold it to the Standard & Poor’s division of McGraw-Hill for $225 million
Founded and was CEO, then Chairman, of Relationship Science, for which I raised over $120 million (sold to Euromoney/Delinian)
As an investment banker at Lehman Brothers, I worked on several billion dollars of private and public transactions
I have had extensive leadership development training, including as a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum, a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute, a Term Member (and now Life Member) of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a 20-year member of the Young Presidents’ Organization
I was an Adjunct Professor at Columbia Business School for several years, teaching full-credit classes on Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital
I have advised and continue to advise numerous venture funds and CEOs
Started numerous companies from scratch
Raised $150 million+ of dollars from VC funds, corporates, sovereign wealth funds, hedge funds, family offices, celebrities, billionaires and high-net worth individuals
Managed 1,500+ people
Designed and built industry changing products
Built and managed every functional corporate area
Sold extensively to leading global organizations
Managed businesses through many challenges, including dot-com bubble bursting and losing offices in 9/11
Bought and sold multiple businesses
Hold 20+ patents related to software, information and workflow innovation
SELECT TOPICS
SOME OF THE TYPES OF THINGS
MY CLIENTS AND I WORK ON INCLUDE:
MAKING BUSINESS MORE SUCCESSFUL
Resolving conflicts
Improving board dynamics
Raising money
Developing teams
Building culture
Leading effectively
Repeatable revenue
Evolving process
Inspiring others
MAKING LIFE
MORE
ENJOYABLE
Reducing anxiety
Strengthening resilience
Increasing confidence
Doing more in less time
Enjoying a quieter mind
Enhancing relationships
Feeling inspired
Having more energy
Increasing sense of possibilities
(And Everything In-Between)
KEY COACHING THEMES
I HAVE FOUND THERE ARE FIVE MAIN THEMES THAT COME UP IN COACHING:
Tactical Support
There are always time-sensitive issues facing the CEO, and I act as a thought partner – often asking questions to help clarify the issue and the CEO’s desired outcome and action plan. Examples of the types of issues that routinely come up are challenging board dynamics, ongoing team conflict, hiring and firing, financing strategy and litigation matters.
Business Development
There is only one reason an early stage business fails – it runs out of money. Often CEOs have spent so much time finding product-market fit that they don’t engage quickly and deeply enough with building the commercial side of the organization. Business-building is a bit of a beat-the-clock effort to get the revenue line to cross the expense line before cash runs out. And, before that happens, financings need to be put into place in an orderly way. In addition to helping refine the strategy and approach to these matters, I routinely use my 30+ years of relationships to introduce my clients to relevant investors and prospects.
Leadership Development
While perhaps leadership comes more naturally to some than to others, there are a great deal of practical leadership techniques that can be learned. For example, once a company grows beyond the tireless individual effort of the founder, or a tight-knit group of early-employee utility players, a more multi-dimensional understanding of leadership becomes critical to a company’s success. Leaders must be able to inspire a growing (and potentially geographically disparate) group of people and create a unifying culture. Cultivating these people skills are essential to a leader’s ability to unlock the power of any team.
Management Team Building & Process
To be an entrepreneur, to some extent you must think at a very imaginative, crystal-castle-in-the-sky, high level. It can be hard to shift back and forth from that to very rudimentary blocking and tackling. While it is nice to think “I will hire people to do that,” it is the CEO who needs to drive (and monitor) the development of systems and processes. Excellent organizational structures get laid brick by brick, and it is ultimately the CEO’s job to ensure that every brick gets laid excellently. Whereas it is impossible to personally monitor each laid brick, systems and processes ensure this is being done effectively at scale.
Personal Development & Self-Mastery
Each person’s primary “instrument” is themself. It is critical to master orchestrating oneself in order to be effective in orchestrating a broader team and business. The CEO is the “operating system” of the company and can either grow quickly to create space for the company in their wake or can be the bottleneck. Often, the strengths that enable a CEO to drive to initial commercialization become weaknesses as the company scales. Advancing as a CEO requires learning new ways of being rather than just doubling down on old habits. Through coaching, we can initiate a great deal of self-discovery – and the resulting self-knowledge and self-control become extraordinary sources of power to drive the business (and one’s life) forward successfully.
HOW I DO IT
There has to be a good fit, as I tend to think a lot about my clients and their problems. I meet with each CEO once a week (via video conference when not in person), ideally at the same time each week. This creates a “metronome”-like effect, setting a cadence that the CEO can carry through to the management of their business. While the earliest stages of a business are super-hectic, I typically get involved right around the time the business needs to start operating as a “system” to grow effectively in a coordinated way. Typically, we will address any pressing issues and pulsate between leadership development, management development, business development, and personal development topics as the flow of subject matter invites.
Outside of the weekly meetings I make myself available to clients as necessary. Whenever there are critical activities – such as financing rounds, strategic transactions, and board conflicts – I am there.
RECOMMENDATIONS
When we first started working together, I was unsure how to tackle my Series A financing. Neal laid it out for me perfectly — the mechanics, the toolkit, even how manage my emotions/energy — and I was able to fly through it and landed a Tier 1 VC investor with ease (with 3 other terms sheets to boot). Through the years, Neal has been a key partner to me on questions of strategy, leadership, and life. He's helped me organize my work/mind/emotions so that I can perform at a high-level, but also put my work down without worry - which has led to a richer family and personal life. Oh, and along the way, he helped me sell the business for nine figures, representing an extraordinary revenue multiple. That said, even if nothing had come of my company, my time with Neal would have been absolutely worth it. I am a far better CEO and leader because of the things I've learned with Neal.
CANADA
TECH CEO
One of my investors introduced me to Neal, and at first I resisted the idea of having a coach. I often felt lonely as a CEO, but I really didn’t think I needed anyone’s help. I was so wrong. Working with Neal has turned out to be a transformational experience for me. I had no idea what it could mean to have a regular time and place and trusted advisor with whom to discuss the never-ending flow of amorphous problems every business encounters. Neal has helped me resolve many types of complex situations, including complicated board relationships, difficult financings, challenging personnel, and various inter-personal issues. In helping me evolve the business, Neal has also been incredibly generous with his relationships, introducing me to many investors, clients and partners. I no longer feel that loneliness because I know Neal is there to help whenever I need him.
KOREA
TECH CEO
Immediately upon our starting to work together, Neal helped me resolve a board issue that was a source of tremendous stress. He guided me through my entire Series B financing, and also introduced me to numerous investors and potential clients. I used to carry a great deal of anxiety with me all the time, and Neal has helped me discover the root causes and make great progress in nearly eradicating it. This has led to better personal and working relationships as well as a sense of peace I had not known possible. Neal also was instrumental in my building an array of systems that help us manage the business, which have been invaluable in attaining and maintaining 3x annual growth. I find my sessions with Neal to be fun and I always leave them feeling lighter and more relaxed.
ISRAEL
TECH CEO
Neal helped me identify a certain rigidity in my thinking that I didn’t know was there. On an unconscious level, I had been comparing certain people to an ideal which ultimately constricted the organic evolution of those relationships. Adopting a more supple, flexible approach has had a significant, positive impact my relationships, both business and personal. Neal spent a great deal of time with me on these matters, including over many weekends. Getting to the bottom of things involved discussing many private matters, which I felt comfortable sharing with Neal because he earned my trust through consistently showing up with his time, attention and care. I always enjoy my talks with Neal and leave each one with a meaningfully enlarged perspective. Working with Neal has made me more confident than ever that I can create anything I want in business and in life.
EAST COAST
TECH CEO
I started working with Neal at a low point in my CEOship. Sales were down, cancellations were up, employee problems were everywhere and I was on the verge of running out of money. I was stressed and exhausted. Neal helped me work through everything methodically, and now we are growing at a rate of 100%+. I am also learning to do it all in a less stressful, more joyful way. That that was even possible came as a complete surprise. Talking with Neal is one of the highlights of my week.
MIDWEST
TECH CEO
When Neal got involved with me and my company, my investors were nervous and I was nervous. We were missing our numbers and didn’t have a financing plan. Neal helped me quickly understand how to build and manage our sales pipeline and team. He helped me craft my financing story and pitch materials, and even introduced me to the investor that anchored the round with $10 million. Also, Neal helped me work through various analyses that resulted in us changing to a much more profitable pricing model. Today we are a high-growth company selling to many of the largest companies in the world.