Why Do I Do This Work?
(Or, as I was once asked: “What right do you have to do this?”)
I bring a unique blend of experience and knowledge to the executives and teams I coach.
After receiving my MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management and a brief stint in public accounting with Arthur Andersen, LLP, I joined my father, mother, and uncle in the Rochester area Pepsi-Cola franchise. After my father’s sudden death, I assumed leadership and steered the company through a period of significant growth in sales and profitability. I was also elected to the Board of Directors of the Clinton’s Ditch Canning Cooperative, a production/purchasing venture formed by 17 franchise owners. In 1974, at the age of 30, I was elected president of this $25 million dollar organization.
This hands-on leadership experience is complemented by extensive education in psychology, family and organizational systems, conflict management and spirituality. I’ve conducted hundreds of workshops and seminars for leaders, being careful to merge theoretical concepts with the tangible realities of the business world. I have extensive training in both conflict resolution and facilitation. My coaching philosophy and style are also strongly influenced by four years invested in working with ex-offenders in an intensive rehabilitation program.
- BSBA, Georgetown University (1966)
- MBA, Northwestern University (1968)
- MA, St. Bernard’s Institute (1978)
- Member, Family Firm Institute since 1989. This is an international consortium of professionals serving family-owned businesses
- Extensive additional study through The Center for Family Process, National Training Laboratories Institute, the Bowen Center for the Study of the Family, the Symposium on Self Management and Emotional Process in Business, and the Mennonite Conciliation Service
- Member of the Greater Rochester Metro Chamber of Commerce and former Board Member of the Small Business Council, School of the Holy Childhood, Catholic Family Center, and Nazareth Academy of Rochester
What I Do…
- I ask questions – thought-provoking, assumption-revealing, insight-producing questions.
- I help you untangle complex issues, spot new options, sort out possibilities, and sharpen your focus.
- I help you unlock the passion that sparks energy in you, and shed light on the fears that inhibit you and wear you down.
- I don’t give ordinary answers. In fact, I rarely give answers. I help you find your own answers, answers that resonate with your unique spirit.
- I help you sort out what is most important to you and help you fashion a life that is balanced as you wish it to be.
What I do is rooted in:
- The significant changes I’ve been invited and/or pressed to make in my own life and leadership experience.The conviction that personal responsibility is a cornerstone for effective living.
- A resolute belief in the fundamental goodness of people.
- An acceptance that lasting growth and change will inevitably involve discomfort, and
- A commitment to BE AWAKE to life moment by moment.
There are risks involved in working with me:
- You may initially not like what you see in the mirror I hold up for you.
- Routines may be threatened – the ones that are comfortable but damaging to you and others.
- You may need to let go of false pride.
- You may resent my inquisitive, sometimes challenging style.
There are benefits in working with me that are difficult to replicate:
- You may find an energy and freedom you’ve never experienced in a work context.
- You may revive a sense of vision and passion that has faded over the years.
- You may learn to connect more effectively in the relationships that matter most to you, at work and in the rest of your life.
- You may see more possibility and more goodness in yourself than you’ve been willing to acknowledge.
Frank Staropoli 