What the Media Says About Coaching

"Fettke coaches people on how to get organized, stay on track and achieve goals."

--Contra Costa Times

"Coaching is getting more popular because there is such an overload of information, many people can't keep up with it alone," said Rich Fettke, past-president of the Professional & Personal Coaches Association. He is also on the executive committee of the International Coach Federation. "We need someone to help us clarify what we really want, someone to be a sounding board, someone to hold us accountable to what we really want."

"...the quickly growing wave of coaching relationships that are helping small-business owners improve their business skills, recalibrate their approaches to management, and, often, totally reboot and rebalance themselves as leaders on the job and in the home and community."

"Rich Fettke attributes the popularity of coaches to the changing attitudes in the business world. 'It's getting more popular because of the changing times as we approach the new millennium. I think people are looking for more connection and support, and someone to brainstorm and mastermind with. And the big thing about coaching is it's not telling people what to do. It's about asking the right questions."

--Boulder Daily News

"Oddly enough, the word coaching has assumed an almost contradictory hodgepodge of meaning and practices. "People mix up coaching, mentoring and consulting," says Rich Fettke, president of Fettke Success Development, in Lafayette, Calif., and a spokesperson for the International Coach Federation (ICF), the world's largest association of personal and executive coaches. The differences? According to Fettke, a mentor has the same business experience as the client. A consultant tells clients how to be more effective. And a coach works with the client to reveal and build on his or her strengths, improve performance and enhance quality of life. Today even psychotherapists, escaping the vicissitudes of managed care providers, are calling themselves coaches. "Coaches look at the business side and, at the same time, look to see whether [clients] are working too many hours, examine their time-management effectiveness, their fitness and their life relationships," says Fettke. "A coach can be skilled at coaching, but not as experienced as an executive. As a coach, a big part of my job is to be a resource —to have an extensive database of people I can refer to, so that I can call in a mentor when the client needs one." "

--CIO Magazine, February 1, 2000

"Many independent business owners seek out coaches to help them stay on track as they build their businesses."