As a certified business coach with FocalPoint Business Coaching, George McCaughan draws on his business experience as a president and CEO to help other business leaders achieve their goals. He and his wife, Leslie, live in Ponte Vedra.
What are some of the services you provide as a certified business coach?
Some of the services are one-on-one coaching, group coaching, training (executive management and sales people), strategic planning, behavioral assessments, workshops and exit planning (succession planning). The key to these services being successful is listening to my clients’ needs and designing the program so their needs will achieve their desired goals faster than if they did it on their own.
How did you become a coach?
I first became a coach during the summers in college, coaching football, basketball and tennis at a boy’s camp in the mountains of North Carolina. I continued to refine my coaching approach as I rose in the managerial ranks while at International Paper. When I became CEO/president at a privately held company in Memphis, I quickly realized that coaching was much more effective than “old school" micro-management practices.
How does your own extensive background in business inform your work as a coach?
Having been in the seat of CEO/president, I have experienced the woes of leading an organization through the deepest industry recession. On the flip side, I experienced the fruits of putting together an outstanding team of people coupled with the proper systems so that we could achieve record profit levels and customers’ satisfaction scores after we recovered from the Great Recession. Additionally, I successfully executed on a succession plan for the sale of the business that I had created a few years previously. These invaluable lessons instill trust in my clients that their coach “has been in their shoes” and knows what it takes to be successful from actions and not just words recited from the internet.
What are some of the common characteristics of someone who would benefit from business coaching?
One typical sign is a business owner who is consistently working 60-plus hours per week and only seeing marginal business improvements as his/her personal life is deteriorating. Another is an owner who is extremely skilled in their particular trade (dentist, plumber, chiropractor, etc.) but struggles with the business concepts and thus does not achieve the level of success they initially desired.
What are some of the challenges that today’s business leaders face and how can coaching help overcome them?
Information overload, multiple competing priorities and an all-time high level of employee disengagement. Attempting to solve these issues by multi-tasking only makes matters worse. Effective business coaching will identify the key focus points which drive the greatest return to achieve the desired goals. A wise philosopher probably said it best: “We can do anything, but we cannot do everything.”
What brought you to the First Coast?
I moved from Memphis to marry my lovely wife, Leslie!
How do you enjoy spending your free time?
I enjoy spending time playing golf, cycling, working out, hiking, watching Ole Miss football in the fall and walking along the beach and traveling with my wife. Leslie and I believe in giving back to our community, so we enjoy volunteering together for various events and organizations.
