Client Outcomes & Testimonials

I worked with George Dow during 2005. George helped guide my transition from a larger company background to a fast growth small/mid-sized organization. George’s assistance was invaluable.

I spent 18 years with General Electric and had experiences with fast growth businesses as President and various Sales and Marketing roles. After a brief stint at G&K Services as SVP, I worked with George to define my unique skill set and the best environment for me to apply my skills. I was extremely fortunate to become the CEO of RTI, a fast growth, dynamic company providing unique cooking oil management solutions to restaurants across the US. RTI continues to grow and thrive as we have created a winning culture, management team and management systems. George helped me find the best position for our company and me.

George led me through both qualitative and quantitative analysis to help guide my transition. In fact, I refer to these tools to this day. But the best feedback and guidance I received from George was the straight talk and revealing conversations. This is where George separates himself as a transition consultant. George is insightful, caring and provides guidance in just the right doses for acceptance and then holds you accountable to achieve results. I highly recommend George.

I have had the luxury/opportunity to work with George Dow twice in the past 5 years. The first time during late 2005 and the second time in late 2008. In both cases George helped guide my transition into bigger roles with more responsibility and commensurately more compensation. He more than helped me land on my feet, he helped me catapult ahead. In both cases, finding the right role in less than 9 months even in a tough job market. George’s assistance was invaluable.

The second time around George’s assistance went well beyond that of your typical senior executive transition consultant. He was more of a life coach to me. In the spring of 2008 I was going through a CEO succession horse race at Capella Education Company, a for profit on-line university, where I was President & COO. I was an internal candidate facing a board level external search with numerous external candidates. It was a very difficult process for me. My expectations and beliefs as to what a CEO was were very different than what the Chairman and founder believed. So much so that I wondered if I really wanted the job at Capella as CEO. Even though he wasn’t engaged to help me at that time, George helped me sort through my possibilities in a very clear, rational way. Ultimately leading to me removing myself as a candidate and as a result leaving Capella. I was so thankful for George’s help that I asked Capella to allow me to use George instead of the outplacement firms they had under contract.

But George’s “life coaching” help went well beyond helping me sort through my CEO candidacy. At the same time as I was leaving Capella I was also in the midst of a separation and divorce. In our sessions together George realized that it wasn’t just about finding a job. I really was going through a life change and he was willing to blend that into his help for me. While George wasn’t the only friend/counselor I relied on during that significant period of transition, his help/advice/counsel were instrumental in me landing on my feet. Now very recently remarried and CEO of another for profit on-line university, I can look back and know with certainty that George truly helped me get to this great place today.

One last thing I appreciated about George. His help, the tools he used, the advice he gave was not cookie cutter. It was geared specifically to my needs. I know for a fact that how he handled my search/transition was different from other clients of George. In fact it was different from the first time to the second. It wasn’t about a particular way but about my particular needs.

One of my early encounters with George was sitting next to him at a Master’s Forum session where we were each given a stack of cards that were intended to help us sort our career interests. Like many other attendees, I studied each card and couldn’t quite decide what to do with it. Not George. He rifled through the deck, quickly assessing his interests and comfortably finishing, while I and others were still pondering. Reflecting back on this experience, I believe George knows himself well enough that he is able to be completely in service to others.

A couple of years ago I asked George to help me think through a consulting business idea that I was pursuing. Over a 6 month period, George helped me build a business strategy through his personal coaching, assessment tools and his list of suggested readings. I gained tremendous clarity that had been missing years earlier during our “card sorting” encounter and this clarity prepared me for a “dream project” that came my way just as George and I were concluding our work together. I initially dismissed the opportunity because it involved setting aside my stated goal of achieving greater professional freedom by working independently. However it was an executive leadership role that would leverage many of my deepest interests and capabilities with a company profile that fit my consulting “sweet spot” – mid-size, high-tech, unique value proposition and with significant potential for greater synergies across locations and business units. I describe it as a project because that’s how George suggested that I consider viewing it. I am almost a year and a half into that “project” now and it has become the most fulfilling professional role in my career. And for now it has displaced earlier independent consulting ambitions.

Throughout my work with George, he didn’t tell me what to do. Through his probing questions and insights we discovered the answers together. I now have a much better awareness of the core elements that must exist in my professional life. I highly recommend his services, especially for mid- to late-career executives who are seeking deeper meaning in their professional lives, with an eye toward a graceful transition to a “portfolio life” filled with meaningful professional and personal diversity. After working with George, I have a much clearer picture of what a “portfolio life” could look like for me and it is not as dependent on my original view of consulting. Someday I may get the consulting itch again, but it won’t be because I am seeking greater freedom. With George’s help, I already have it.

The background

I first met George after taking some time off post “reduction in force.” My background includes over 25 years in the financial services business were I had the opportunity to have impact in the areas of operations, product development, program management, strategic planning, sales and marketing, and relationship management. Having spent the majority of my career in one industry, leaving it was not easy – I had been fortunate to have worked in a highly entrepreneurial and creative environment where change was embraced and with colleagues that made every day enjoyable. Replacing that was not going to be easy.

The transition (with George as my guide)

As I entered the reinvention lab George provided the input and guidance I was looking for. I had some ideas on what I wanted to do with the “next phase” of my work life and found that George had this incredible approach and thought process to help me understand myself and the alternatives in front of me. George helped me formulate the structure to evaluate my motivations, my strengths, where I found enjoyment and satisfaction, what might hold me back, and asked the tough questions that would allow me to make choices. We assessed possible scenarios, discussed pros and cons, matched that to the vision I had for the future. What I appreciate about George’s approach is that he requires you to own your process – the reinvention lab can be exciting and uncomfortable all at the same time and George provided the right tools, the direct and insightful suggestions, the “hold up a minute” lets talk that idea through a bit more, the alternative way to think about the future, and the motivation along the way. I am pretty sure George knew what I was going to do from the beginning – he is that good!

The landing

Transitioning my skills into a not for profit organization that aligned with my personal beliefs and values as well as my professional experience has been rewarding. I now work for CommonBond Communities – the largest provider of affordable housing with services in the region. As their COO/VP of Organizational Development I have the pleasure of working with creative and energetic people that make an impact everyday in the lives of others. I am learning new things along the way and helping a great organization build it’s capabilities for the future. I am fortunate in my outcome and grateful to George in the part he played in my journey.

I have enjoyed a rich career in the arts (as a musician, teacher, advocate, and arts administrator) and in nonprofit management. Every move was a step up and an exciting new adventure. After nine years as a vice president and chief operating officer of Scholarship America, I faced unemployment for the first time in my life. I was one of the casualties of restructuring under a new administration.

Thankfully, I first turned to George Dow. I had known George for awhile as a friend from church and we had talked about the challenges that appear with new leadership for an organization. We had already started to map some new options for my career. In all my nonprofit jobs, the mission has been core to why I was there. Leaving this position really left an emotional as well as professionally void for me. George understood that and helped me step back and look at the great opportunity that was in front of me to assess my values and skills and see some exciting new directions. He really understood the nonprofit sector and guided me through the many opportunities with positions from CEO to development director. He connected me with the local nonprofit network I had lost touch with during my national work. He helped me evaluate (and finally reject) an enticing offer as VP of development at a small southern college. George stayed with me as I settled into a development position in a small gutsy environmental organization, the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, that was a big drop in salary from a COO of a national nonprofit but the perfect opportunity for me to step back and develop more skills and experience in an area that has proven to be an exciting new direction in my nonprofit journey.

I am now director of development at Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota, a large nonprofit which allows me to use my extensive management skills and experience coupled with the hands-on development skills I acquired at the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy. I enjoy working with a very bright staff for a mission I really believe in. George and I keep in touch as this adventure continues. I couldn’t ask for a better coach and friend.

I am currently the executive director of a large, non-profit outdoor residential school. Before this position, I taught at a university and tribal college out West, and worked for about 16 years as a professional natural resource manager for a federal agency. Because my background is quite different from the other folks I saw listed on the testimonial site, I had some initial reservations about using George as my career consultant. So I called George and expressed my concerns. He was very understanding and assured me that his coaching process is applicable to almost any situation and that he did, in fact, have experience as a career consultant for people in non-profit positions. He is also a lover of the outdoors so I figured he must be a good guy! Thus, George was hired and it was a terrific decision.

I have been in my current position for almost seven years. This is the first non-profit job I’ve ever had. Although I love the mission and people of the organization, the day-to-day routine duties had started to wear on me. The trouble was I didn’t know what else I wanted to do. The conversations I had with George and the exercises he assigned me allowed me to see the patterns in my work life, what I liked about each job and what I didn’t like, where my values lie, etc. These patterns showed me that I’m the kind of person who likes to be creative, start up new initiatives, develop and deliver programs or re-invent something. Challenges and opportunities for growth are very important to me and my current job had become routine. However, because of the poor economy and the fact that I had a deadline for moving on, I was worried that I would take the first acceptable job that came along. George was instrumental in keeping me on track and staying true to my needs and values.

George also really helped me nail down my interviewing skills as well. I learned how to do a needs assessment based on what the employer was looking for, and anticipate and be ready for the hard interview questions. My interviews went really well thanks to George’s coaching and I ended up choosing between two excellent positions. I chose the job that would challenge me more and allow me to grow and stay true to myself. Before I met George, I might have chosen the other one because that position was familiar, comfortable and “safe”. I would have been comfortable but not happy! My new position is the associate director of a natural resource center at Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, CO. This position involves everything I loved about my other jobs without the things that bogged me down. It’s a great fit for me. Thanks, George!

I “grew-up” in the traditional financial services world. My first step was as a financial advisor for Thrivent Financial (formerly Lutheran Brotherhood) in Philadelphia, PA from 1988 – 1998. I did very well as an advisor and carved out a unique niche working with multigenerational families (youth and adults). In 1998, I was recruited to the corporate office where I served as vice president of marketing and communications from 1998 – 2002. Suffice it to say I enjoyed the role and learned a great deal. When the merger was announced in 2001, I served on the corporate transition team. It was a fascinating experience, but I knew I wanted to get back to my roots – focusing on multigenerational money issues.

That’s when I met George Dow – it was part of my transition package from the corporate sector to the new and exciting world of being an entrepreneur. George really helped me zero in on my true strengths and was a great sounding board during the writing of my first book, Prodigal Sons and Material Girls: How Not to Be Your Child’s ATM. The next important step in the process was to develop a business plan for my new company: Share Save Spend LLC.

One of George’s outstanding strengths is his ability to connect people of like interests and business acumen with a goal of helping each person realize their specific business and life goals. With George’s help and guidance I was very fortunate to connect with other leaders in transition. That small leadership group of like minded entrepreneurs served a critical role as I launched my new company.

George is a terrific coach, mentor and organizer! He helped me see the big picture of possibilities when it was tough to see beyond tomorrow. Today, Share Save Spend has really hit a growth curve, even in a rather tenuous economic environment. George’s ability to coach me through a significant life transition and launch a new venture speaks volumes of how he will approach your unique situation – with care, concern and open and honest feedback.

Little did I know that when I decided to leave The Pillsbury Company at the ripe old age of 27 and go with a new market research consulting firm, that it would be a lifetime commitment. Custom Research Inc. (CRI) was started in 1976 and I was part of the original seven people who started with the firm (three partners and four of us who were employees). After an exciting and successful career as part of the Leadership Team at CRI which included winning the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, and functioning as the EVP in charge of Client Services, my job was suddenly eliminated in 2006. The Partners, wishing to retire, had sold CRI to a German company (GfK) and GfK eliminated my function in Minneapolis, replacing it with a person already on board in New York.

I was set up with Right Management to handle my outplacement and job transition. Since I had been in the same career all of my life, and with the same company for the majority of it, I wanted to take some time to determine what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I was 56 years old, my third child was just finishing her last year of college, and my husband and I felt we had some flexibility in what we required for income.

The counselor at Right Management was leading me towards a more traditional outplacement, looking for a position similar to what I had. I knew that was not what I wanted, but wasn’t quite sure how to proceed. I then attended a Career Transition workshop put on by George Dow and was completely inspired. The workshop helped me to think about this time of my life in sections—work life, family life, and volunteer life. I knew exactly how I wanted to proceed and what I wanted to do.

Working with George, I set up a market research consulting business with a partner, went on the Board of the Alzheimer’s Association and began volunteering with the Jeremiah Program, and started spending a day a week with my daughter and grandchildren. The three parts of my life are fully in balance and I couldn’t be more fulfilled. The recession has had a small impact on my business but I am learning to live with the financial uncertainty, which to me is worth the tradeoff for the flexibility and balance in my life! I really credit my transition to George. He gave me the inspiration to create a balanced life and the confidence to pursue my dreams.

My career life began 30 years ago at Dayton’s Department Stores where I was hired as a management trainee. Incredibly, my career with Target Corporation lasted 28 years with the majority of my experiences in merchandising (buying) roles. My final position with them was as the VP of Product Development for the Home categories. After I left Target I took a year off to spend more time with my family, get my house in order and travel. When I was ready to “get serious” about my next move I was fortunately connected with George Dow through Right Management.

George is a great listener and extremely perceptive. He patiently listened to my personal and professional story and helped me form concrete objectives from those experiences when I was the happiest and most successful. George did not subscribe to a “one size fits all” approach to my transition, and let our session topics flex to fit my situation. He showed compassion and understanding, and at the same time held me accountable to make progress and stay on track! George’s approach to include the “whole me” in our discussions proved to be extremely helpful as my goal for this next stage in my life was to have a balanced blend of time for myself & family, time for my professional development, and time for community service. He counseled me on all three components and helped me define goals and limits to guide my decisions.

I ultimately set up my own consulting firm which has allowed me to set my own hours and choose projects that match my personal interests and passions. George guided me through this process as I hired an accountant, lawyer, and negotiated my first contract. I also took on an executive leadership role within my congregation and his insights of “church life” were extremely valuable as I contemplated this decision. This past year I’ve been fortunate to have landed a part time contract with a major Canadian retailer. The projects have been fun and extremely rewarding! They have been accommodating with my schedule so I still had time to manage that balance to include my family and community I was looking for.

I will always be grateful for the opportunity I had to meet and work with George. He helped me negotiate the land of “transition” which was quite foreign to me as my entire career was within one corporation. Each meeting was a productive step forward toward defining and reaching my goal. I truly feel my life has been transformed and George’s extensive experience, optimistic outlook and realistic approach was just what I needed to help me in this journey.

Profession Background

After receiving my MBA from the University of Notre Dame, in 1974, I began my professional career at Supermarkets General Corporation in New Jersey, where I progressed from store management to district management to corporate management.

In 1979, I moved to Green Bay, Wisconsin as Director of Business Planning for ShopKo Stores, a division of Minneapolis-based SuperValu Inc., eventually becoming Vice President of Marketing, responsible for Marketing, Advertising, Distribution, Real Estate, & Store Construction. In 1989, I was asked to join the parent corporation (SuperValu) as Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategic Planning, responsible for Corporate Strategy, Mergers & Acquisitions, Consumer Research, Site Location, and the International Division.

In 1997, I joined Best Buy, Inc. becoming Executive Vice President of Corporate Development, responsible for Corporate Strategic Planning, Marketing Research, Real Estate, Store Construction, Site Development, Mergers & Acquisitions, & Consumer Relationship Management.

I was terminated in September 2002. I was 52 years old, at the time.

Transition

As part of my termination package, I was supplied outplacement with Right Management. There I was introduced to George Dow, who became my counsel.

George immediately began assessing my background, skill set, mindset, including my goals and ambitions. He then began offering me with a conceptual construct of what life options I may want to consider, around a career, community & personal activities … a ‘portfolio’ approach to life.

George listened intently. He was sensitive, objective, supportive, and realistic in his evaluations & guidance of my ambitions & goals. George’s approach was a genuine back-and-forth dialog, collaboration. We were discussing my life: where it had been, where is currently was, where it was going, and, most importantly, where did I wanted it to go.

It was obvious right from the beginning that George’s vast experience with executives in similar (& different) circumstances provided him with a large number of real world examples & case studies of individuals, who took the next steps, not simply to successful career moves, but more to a holistic satisfaction of ones life ambitions & goals. George’s counsel was everything to my developing options and ultimately making choices.

As it became clearer where I wanted to be heading with my career & life, George introduced me to a support group of four individuals with similar objectives. George moderated us.

In my case, as well as others in the group, I was looking to ease-into-retirement…a retirement that would include personal pursuits (travel, writing); community give-backs, and some transitional employment. Again, George & I, individually and as part of our group of five, discussed the various options available to me (i.e., re-employment, teaching, professional volunteering, consulting, authorship). It resulted in my concluding that approximately 5 years of consultancy would ease me into the portfolio I desired.

As a result, I & two former Best Buy associated became partners, starting-up a consulting company, Retail Masters, in 2003, which immediately began obtaining clients. Our two largest contracts had us employing anywhere from 10 to 20+ employees, and provided me with an annual, mid-six-figure income, as well as warrants (stock options) from our clients. As part of my plan to ease-into-retirement, after the five years of retail consulting, I resigned from my consultancy, last year, to pursue the rest of the life portfolio, George & I designed.

Current Status

George & I, and the rest of our support group, still meet every year (at least twice), for 8 years now, to monitor each of our portfolio plans & progress. Currently, I’m in process of writing two books, one business and one a fictional biography. Who knows if they will ever get published, but I’m doing what I enjoy. My wife and I travel extensively around the world during the course of the year, we play doubles tennis weekly, and we spend 5 months of the year in our home in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, to get away from MN’s winters. I can, without a doubt, say my life would have been gravely different if it wasn’t for George’s insight and counsel. I would have undoubtedly, prematurely jumped back into the work force without considering what I really wanted to do and what I could afford to do, with the rest of my life.

George’s intelligence, experience, and empathy were and are crucial to my portfolio decision making. George has seen it all and can bring these observations to bear on a successful executive life transition. I could not have been as successful and happy without George’s counsel.

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