MPWR Coaching

Introduce your business and what you do there.
I do daily operations with the San Antonio Spurs as well as national collegiate scouting. I’m also the general manager of our NBA G League team, it’s a minor league team based in Austin, Texas.
 

What challenge were you trying to address with MPWR Coaching?

Because I’m working in developing young people, specifically in the context of basketball, my leadership skills are required. Not only that, but I also have a staff of coaches and other front-office executives that I work with daily. And what’s more, I’m a father and husband too. I have a lot of people around me who require my leadership. I figured it’d be beneficial to integrate MPWR Coaching’s concepts, principles, and teachings into my life.

What was the scope of their involvement?

MPWR Coaching has provided different learning tools on how to be an effective leader. These tools are picture, mirror, and window — not literally, but in the metaphorical sense. The picture provides a representation of what leadership looks like in reality. It gives a grasp and handle of what is needed in order to bring language to day-to-day familial, and business experiences.

The mirror is introspection. It allows for self-reflection that creates an inventory of a person’s life so they can see areas that need improvement and development as a leader and overall human being.

After someone does the work to develop these skills, the last tool is window. That person can now use the tools as a window to lead, encourage, and ultimately help others. For me, this applies to my reality as a family man, friend, and business executive.

These leadership coaching calls happen through weekly, hourlong Zoom conferences. Although they emulate a college lecture setting, there are discussion opportunities to directly work with the coaches. These discussions can occur day-to-day, or as needed, if we want to talk through some of the tools or work through specific life situations.

What is the team composition?

During each call, there’s a primary and secondary coach present. Eric (Founder and Senior Consultant) is the primary coach and Cody (Executive Consultant) is the secondary one. Usually, the calls have no more than 4–5 individuals. However, other weeks it can be just me, Eric, and Cody.

How did you come to work with MPWR Coaching?

I know one of the owners because he’s a friend of mine. He gave me an example of one of the tools, and I was blown away by how it addressed specific issues I was going through in my life. I asked how I could learn more, and he told me about his coaching leadership group.

How much have you invested with them?

I spend around $500 a month.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement started in May 2019.

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Eric and Cody are both extremely great coaches. They’ve done an excellent job of giving me the leadership tools and language I need to bring to my specific work environment. I highly recommend them.

How did MPWR Coaching perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management has been great. MPWR Coaching’s communication style is very effective. We communicate through video conferencing, in-person meet-ups, and phone calls. They speak clearly and are able to address a number of issues with language and linguistics. They’re compassionate, caring, and very empathetic. Their team is willing to be vulnerable with us, and that always provides a space to be vulnerable with them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re a pretty small company so that allows for the opportunity to form a friendship outside of coaching calls; that’s been beneficial for me personally.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Maybe they could think about how long they want to do each training call. Sometimes, the calls last longer than the weekly allotted time. Perhaps if they think of the content they’re sharing and how much time they’ll actually need — including time for follow-up questions — that could help. This would allow for a more realistic heads-up on how long a call will take even before it starts.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Try to come with open ears and an open mind. Their concepts are simple but very profound. I’d highly recommend them.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a senior director at Pfizer. 

What challenge were you trying to address with MPWR Coaching?

I needed help with coaching on a personal level in the space of leadership skills, especially for emotional intelligence. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

MPWR Coaching sought to develop skills in me as a leader that can be passed onto other leaders — a unique value proposition from my point of view. Their team offers two unique aspects to their coaching. First, they offer coaching via a peer cohort as opposed to one-to-one coaching. Second, the coaching is almost exclusively online. That lets me practice interactions online and on video and interactions and put me in good stead given this period where we’re all working from home.

What is the team composition?

I speak with both Eric (Founder & Senior Consultant) and Cody (Executive Consultant), but mostly Eric.

How did you come to work with MPWR Coaching?

I knew Eric through outside of work interactions. He’s been a strong mentor to me at a personal level, and he then pulled into the coaching cohort to benefit from that. I then got to know Cody through the cohort.

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve spent less than $5,000 on their services. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We have been working together weekly since fall 2019. The partnership is ongoing. 

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Thanks to working with MPWR Coaching, I felt equipped to deliver some leader development within my organization. The vision for the group is “leaders that develop leaders” and I’ve seen that manifested. Personally, I’ve seen my self-awareness, confidence, and assertiveness increase in my leadership style for me. Emotional intelligence (EQ) is a foundation for their coaching, and I’ve seen massive strides in that area. 

I’m looking at ways to engage them more broadly in the organization, especially within the context of developing leaders who develop leaders. Specifically, I’m looking at workshop content, which is larger and broader than a cohort.

How did MPWR Coaching perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been excellent at driving best practice there. Their responsiveness is first-class. I can’t think of any practice that they could improve in coaching sessions. When it comes to scheduling conflicts and setting assignments, I’d give them a 9 out of 10. 

We communicate primarily through email. I have cellphone calls or text once a cohort is established. I’ve also used online booking for the workshop.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It’s the personal connection that MPWR Coaching makes. They show a genuine desire to see both individuals and organizations develop into strong leaders. They also don’t keep leadership lessons just to the workplace: they recognize the balance of personal leadership on one’s work and consider the whole person in their coaching. That for me has been extremely valuable and not necessarily something I’ve observed with other organizations.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’ll probably learn more with more engagements with them, like workshops, etc. On a personal level, however, I’m not sure I can see any area they could improve on.

Any advice for potential customers?

Look at workshops as tasters to the organization. Be open to a dialog to build a personal connection. That’s the easiest way to understand the coaches and their approach.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of a construction company. We do heavy civil industrial work.

What challenge were you trying to address with MPWR Coaching?

I brought MPWR Coaching on when I first started this company, as I was running multiple organizations at once and wanted support around how to lead successfully. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, MPWR Coaching came in to get an idea of our organization and team, as well as some of the challenges we were facing. There was a two-sided interview process, so we could be sure before even beginning the engagement that not only were they a good match for us, but that we were for them as well. 

From there, MPWR Coaching provided me with a great deal of consulting and leadership work, offering practical tools to increase my ability to lead well. One of those tools, the Apprenticeship Square, trains people to grow in their job and act as if they were me, so my employees would have a greater ability to make independent decisions.

What is the team composition?

I have two points of contact.

How did you come to work with MPWR Coaching?

Their president is a mentor of mine from years ago. When he started MPWR Coaching, I knew I wanted the chance to be coached by him again.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $100,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began our partnership with them in July 2017, and the work is ongoing.

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

Internally, we’ve improved drastically as a team. Our communication is more aligned, and we’re all on the same page. The Apprenticeship Square tool was extremely beneficial, as it solved the inefficiency of all decisions being funneled up to me. My team can now feel empowered to make decisions independently in several areas. 

Also, we have a really clear idea of the type of candidate we want when we’re looking to bring on someone new to the team. MPWR Coaching really helped us develop our company values, which has fostered cohesion from top to bottom.

In terms of revenue, we’ve gone from around $8,000,000 annually to about $35,000,000 without changing the makeup of our team, instead growing the capacity of team leaders.

How did MPWR Coaching perform from a project management standpoint?

Their communication is excellent. The team is always willing and able to jump in and help whenever they’re needed. We have regularly scheduled meetings, both individually and with my team as well. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their ability to implement tangible tools really sets them apart. MPWR Coaching doesn’t just come in with ideas, they have practical solutions we can actually use to grow and improve. Then, they guide us through the process of constantly practicing with those tools so they become ingrained in our culture.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing that comes to mind. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Go all in. If you’re going to invest in MPWR Coaching’s help, you have to go headfirst and buy into their system all the way.