Rick Olson                                                  517-673-6846 cell
525 Judd Road                                            Toll free number – 866-373-1627
Saline, MI 48176                                        Fax number – 800-794-1346
734-944-0794                                              E-Mail: olson@peakeffectiveness.com

I am now focusing most of my attention at running for State Representative for the 55th Legislative District in Michigan. See my campaign website.

Experienced and Knowledgeable, Ready to Serve as Your Voice for Jobs

Attorney, Washington State Legislature -1981-1983
Attorney, Governor’s Office – 1983-1984
Attorney, Washington State Bar Association - 1978-1997
Passed the Michigan State Bar Exam, July, 2009
Stanford Law School Graduate, 1978
Michigan State University Graduate, 1970
Certified Financial Planner - 1984-1989
Private Business Manager – 15 Years
Public School Business Manager – 7 Years
Agricultural Loan Officer 1991-1994
Corn Grower Cooperative President
Agricultural Economist – 1970-1975
Washtenaw County Republican Executive Committee

As a Business and Executive Coach, I also help high-performing business owners, executives and professionals to achieve the results that they really want in their personal and business lives more quickly and easily. Through his coaching, his clients develop their potential, enhance their effectiveness and performance and achieve their goals. Rick’s goal is enable his clients to lead happier personal lives and more rewarding business and professional lives.

Rick has applied his extensive academic background (B.S. from Michigan State; M.S. from University of California, Davis; Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School; and an “all but dissertation” in the Education Administration Ph.D. program at Michigan State University) to a lifetime of getting results in the fields of finance, law, business management, and prior to beginning his coaching practice, school administration. An arm’s length list of workshops, seminars and programs attended demonstrates his passion for personal and leadership growth and development. Corporate positions held include President, Vice President of Finance, Chief Financial Officer, Business Manager, Owner, and more, primarily in new businesses or organizations categorized as “small to medium size”. Rick lives in Saline with his wife of 38 years.

Coaching Experience and Training
-CoachU Training, an ICF Accredited Certification Program
-Target Training International Certified Professional Behavioral Analyst (CPBA)
-Target Training International Certified Professional Values Analyst (CPVA)

Professional Memberships
-Professional Coaches Association of Michigan (PCAM), Founding Member
-International Coach Federation (ICF)

 The Rest Of The Story – “The Perfect Life" (Microsoft Word file)

Why Partner with Rick Olson?

1.My clients are attracted to my bottom line orientation - supporting my clients to achieve the results they want.

2. At the same time, they want to know that my methods work, and are not based on some business or industry fad or “pop” psychology, but rather are based on solid, science based, credible research results. My coaching practice is based on:

• The huge research base of Dr. Martin Seligman’s work in the area of Positive Psychology, as in “Learned Optimism” and “Authentic Happiness”, as well as Brain Research and Cognitive Coaching.
• A solid theoretical base, but I emphasize “praxis”:
  

• A doing, an acting or action, often in connection with business affairs (conventional Greek usage).

• Performance or application of skill: the practical side and application of something such as a professional skill, as opposed to its theory

• Practical application or exercise of a branch of learning.

• Practice: translating an idea into action,

“There is nothing as practical as a good theory.”  However, theory, without action, accomplishes little. Here is where a coach helps. As the table below shows, research has documented that although knowledge and understanding come fairly easily, application in daily practice (where the rubber meets the road), it is not until you add coaching and/or professional dialogues to the theory, demonstrations and practice and feedback before it actually happens. Most people simply need that support.

 3.My vast experience in multiple settings allows me to bring multiple perspectives to our coaching relationship, allowing insights to occur, often resulting in major breakthroughs.

4.I have gone through many of the struggles you may be experiencing. You might as well learn from someone else’s mistakes.

My Coaching Process: What does a typical coaching relationship look like?

The coaching process typically begins with a FREE conversation, usually by phone, during which the coach and the client jointly assess the individual’s current opportunities and challenges, define the scope of the relationship, identify priorities for action, and establish specific desired outcomes. A tentative frequency, times and dates, and length of subsequent coaching sessions is agreed upon. (I do some coaching face-to-face, but more frequently by phone at regular times convenient to you.)

A typical schedule may be three 30 minute telephone sessions per month. (Many clients report, however, that it feels like the coach is sitting on his/her shoulder all week supporting their everyday efforts.)

Depending upon your needs and circumstances, I may suggest certain assessments (such as DISC or the “Optimism Test”) to be conducted which may help the coaching process. Quality assessments provide objective information to you that can enhance your self-awareness, as well as awareness of others and their circumstances, provide a benchmark for creating coaching goals and actionable strategies, and offer a method for evaluating progress. (The DISC is also extremely helpful in learning how to communicate with others better to better influence or relate to them better.) Other preparation for the first coaching session may also be requested, to enable us to effectively and efficiently use our time in the coaching sessions.

Subsequent coaching sessions may be conducted in person or over the telephone, with each session lasting the previously established length of time. The goal of each session will often be for you to commit to complete specific actions that support the achievement of your personally prioritized goals prior to the next session. You will usually report during the next session your success in completing those actions.

Between sessions, there may also be short “check in” telephone calls or e-mail communication.

The coach may provide additional resources in the form of relevant articles, checklists, assessments, or models, to support the individual’s thinking and actions. A variety of concepts, models and principles may be incorporated into the coaching conversation to increase the individual’s self-awareness and awareness of others, foster shifts in perspective, promote fresh insights, provide new frameworks for looking at opportunities and challenges, and energize and inspire the individual’s forward actions.

Coaching incorporates an appreciative/strengths based approach. This approach is grounded in what’s right, what’s working, what’s wanted, and what’s needed to get there. Using this approach, the coach models constructive communication skills and methods the client can utilize to enhance personal communication effectiveness. This approach incorporates discovery-based inquiry, proactive (as opposed to reactive) ways of managing personal opportunities and challenges, constructive framing of observations and feedback in order to elicit the most positive results, and envisioning success as contrasted with focusing on problems. This approach is simple to understand and employ, but its effects in harnessing possibility thinking and goal-oriented action can be profound.

Note that as your financial coach, I may:

· Challenge what you say, ask you if what you are saying is really true, or the whole story. I will not avoid the uncomfortable questions, but if at any point you do not want me to go there, just stop me in the moment.

· Offer advice, opinions, or suggestions or make a request of you to take action toward your desired outcome. You are always free to accept or decline what is offered or requested, as you take the ultimate responsibility for action.

The duration of the coaching relationship varies depending on the individual’s personal needs and preferences. Factors which affect the length of time decision include the type of goals sought, the ways the client likes to work, the frequency of the coaching sessions, and the financial resources available to support the coaching. Clients should probably be willing to commit to a minimum of three months of coaching for any significant goal, and many coaching relationships last over a year.

I require no binding commitment, however, and you may choose to terminate our coaching relationship at any time, with or without reason. After all, I work for you. In fact, I offer a 100% guarantee or your money back during the first 30 days of our coaching relationship – no questions asked.

On the other hand, if you as a client consistently do not complete the action steps you have agreed to, or it appears that a constructive coaching relationship cannot be maintained, I reserve the right to discontinue our relationship, as I want to work with people who want to achieve results – just as you do!

Our coaching relationship is designed to provide you with a greater capacity to produce results and a greater confidence in your ability to do so. It is intended that you do not leave coaching with a perception that you need to rely on me in order to produce similar results in the future.