Why Clients Choose Me
Why Me?
I’ve been working in business for more than 30 years. Over that time, I have built a lot of products. I enjoy it, but it’s not my favorite thing. I prefer building people.
I started my first company at the age of 17. I was supposed to be in High School but that wasn’t working out for me.
A few years later I moved to New York City. I worked on Wall Street for a while. After that I got a job in a Madison Avenue advertising agency. I enjoyed creative people and client service and stuck around those kinds of places for a long time.
I became a manager for the first time around the age of 24. It was around this time I noticed UPS putting their URL on the side of their delivery trucks. I thought this was a questionable move, and that nobody would know what they were for.
I joined a product design firm that had merged a web agency with a motion graphics studio. It was a dodgy outfit, for sure. I became CTO of that company and before long I was leading multi-million dollar projects.
I was pretty terrified. The people who I worked with at this company were the most talented I have ever met. Looking back, I think we were all suffering from impostor syndrome. I can confess this now — nobody was faking it more than me.
Over ten or so years we grew Schematic to over 400 people. We made a lot of mistakes. WPP bought the company and it became their flagship digital arm. I think in my client service career I worked on over 1,000 engagements for the web, mobile and other digital platforms. At its height I was leading a team of around 100 people.
I eventually left and in 2011, I joined a tiny startup called Typekit. It was almost immediately acquired by Adobe. This was as the Creative Cloud transition was accelerating and just about to achieve escape velocity. It was a very exciting experience.
Adobe concentrated its typographic teams under the Typekit leaders. I became General Manager of the combined team of about 50. I was with this team for a little less than a decade as it evolved from a startup to a corporate center of cloud excellence. I learned a lot during this time.
As General Manager, I was responsible for all Adobe font products and technology. I left Adobe in 2019 to start Business Letters and the Safe @ Work community. Since then I’ve split my time between coaching, writing, and some product and people management jobs.
From 2021 to 2022 I led a product management team at FreshBooks. In 2022 I became a senior product leader for Amazon, where I led a product management team. I left Amazon in 2023 and became CEO of Type Network.
The most important lesson that I’ve learned in my travels is this: The essential characteristic of a great leader is the desire to improve.
What does career coaching do?
Career coaching pairs you with an expert who is highly motivated to help you achieve your career goals. Career Coaches work with different kinds of clients: some are looking to move into a new role, and some are looking to develop skills in their current role.
A good career coach is somebody who has many years of expertise working in your field. They can offer you expertise specific to your career progression that you can trust the way you would a mentor.
Sometimes, career coaching is useful for people contemplating some kind of a transition. I work with people who are changing careers, returning from a career break, or who have grown dissatisfied with their current path.
We’ll ask the question “What do you want to do?” Coaches help clients understand details about jobs, roles, employers, compensation, benefits, and the career progression ladder for different professions. Information that is specific to your specific career can be hard to find on the internet. A coach who has personal experience can accelerate your learning.
Coaches can also help you develop your resume and profile. A coach with extensive experience as a hiring manager has a very good sense of what employers see when they look at your resume. They’ll also know about how things work in companies doing the hiring and can help you look “behind the curtain” to see how things work in the mind of a hiring manager.
A good coach can help you prepare for interviews. There are different ways to do this. I find writing assignments to be a very helpful, low-stress way to make sure a candidate is ready to tell their story. I also often do mock interviews, rehearsals, and preparation of PAR/STAR format anecdotes.
Many clients aren’t looking for a new job but want to hone their skills for their current role. The majority of these clients arrange for coaching to be paid for by their employer. Most employers will pay for coaching if asked, even if there isn’t a formal program.
I work with many clients on people management and leadership skills. We talk about how to motivate and inspire people, measure and manage their performance, have effective 1:1 and team meetings, and many other topics.
Any aspect of your professional development can be supported by a good relationship with a coach.
I welcome all clients.
More than half of my clients are women and people of color. I especially enjoy trying level the playing field on behalf of the marginalized but very powerful communities.
I encourage anyone from an underrepresented community to get in touch with me. If I can make it easier for you to become my client, I will.
I’m a proud if slightly disappointing member of the LGBTQIA+ community. Clients from the rainbow are so welcome here. 🏳️🌈
Speciality in Type
Through my work at Adobe and my many relationships in the Type industry, I’ve cultivated a sub-speciality in Type. These are a few of my clients:
I coach Type design clients on business topics. I help them run their businesses more smoothly. Talk with me and we can discuss how I can help you make your business work the way you want it to.
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Chat with me
Whatever it is you’re going through, you don’t have to do it alone. You can book a chat with me with no obligation. Click here to check my availability and book a free introductory consultation.