#Executive Coaching San Francisco Bay

[terryhildebrandtus]

Benefits of Availing Executive Coaching Houston Services

Availing of executive coaching services in Houston is an excellent decision for business leaders, entrepreneurs, and executives. Executive coaching can help you become an effective leader, stay focused on important goals, maximize your team's success, and find long-term solutions to problems in your organization. Whether you are a business owner or an international executive, executive coaching can help you reach the heights of success.

If you are interested in hiring an Executive Coaching San Francisco Bay Area, here are five key benefits to availing of executive coaching services:

1. Gain Strategic Clarity

Successful business leaders know that strategic clarity is essential to achieving optimal outcomes and managing complexity. A Houston executive coach can help you clearly understand your business objectives and develop plans to reach them. An executive coach can help you refine your strategy and ensure that everyone in the organization is on the same page regarding objectives, goals, and plans.

2. Develop Leadership Skills

Leadership development is another critical benefit of executive coaching. An executive coach can help you become a better leader by developing qualities such as managing complexity, being flexible in decision-making, being a good communicator, and understanding the organization's and its employees' needs. An executive coach can also help you sharpen your critical thinking, improve your strategic goal-setting, and better understand the needs of your team and peers.

3. Enhance Your Efficiency

An executive coach can also help you create a work-life balance by finding ways to boost efficiency, creating better systems and policies, and managing time and resources more effectively. By setting measurable goals, assessing performance, and setting SMART objectives, an executive coach can help you drive better results for your business.

4. Embrace and Leverage Change

Facing Change can be difficult and disruptive, but an executive coach can help you understand and embrace different types of Change. Executive coaching can help you manage transitions and find the best way to implement changes with the least resistance from your employees and staff.

  5. Achieve Your Goals

An executive coach in Houston can help you identify your goals, develop a plan to meet them, and hold you accountable for making progress. Whether your goals are short-term or long-term, an executive coach can help you stay focused and motivated, offering you the honest feedback you need to succeed. In conclusion, availing of executive coaching in Houston is an excellent decision for business leaders and executives, providing numerous benefits in clarity, leadership development, efficiency, change management, and goal achievement. Investing in the services of an executive coach will help them reach their full potential and achieve optimal success.

[treuvulieou]

LOMBARDI PARTY ORGANIZATIONOPSYS - TERRY I TO WHOM IT CONCERNS THE NFL NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE

TO WHOM IT CONCERNS OF THE NFL NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE LOMBARDI PARTY , LOMBARDI VINCE Vincent Thomas Lombardi was an American football coach and executive in the National Football League. Lombardi is considered by many to be the greatest coach in football history, and he is recognized as one of the greatest coaches and leaders in the history of all American sports. Born: June 11, 1913, Brooklyn, New York, NYDeceased life ceased : September 3, 1970, Georgetown University- Medical Center, Washington, D.C. Past teams coached: Washington Commanders (Head coach, 1969–1970), MORE Place of burial: Mount Olivet Cemetery, Middletown Township, NJ Awards: NFL Honors - AP Coach of the Year . LOMBARDI SOCIETY AND THE LOMBARDI TROPHY , The Vince Lombardi Trophy is the trophy awarded each year to the winning team of the National Football League's championship game, the Super Bowl. The trophy is named in honor of NFL coach Vince Lombardi, who led the Green Bay Packers to victories in the first two Super Bowl games. Sport football Most wins: Pittsburgh Steelers (6), New England Patriots (6) (Tied) (AFC); San Francisco 49ers (5), Dallas Cowboys (5) (tied) (NFC) First winner: Green Bay PackersAwarded for: Winning the Super Bowl, the championship game of the National Football League First award: 1967 Most recent: Los Angeles Rams (2) A PARTY a social gathering of invited guests, typically involving nutritioning , soft drink beverage quenching , and entertainment , also A formally constituted political group, typically operating on a national basis, that contests elections and attempts to form or take part in a government . HENCE THE LOMBARDI PARTY AS OUR NAME STANDS AS NOT JUST AN NFL SPORTS ORGANIZATION GROUP OR SECT BUT AN ACTUAL PARTY AND BE IT SO IT'S MEMBERS ARE MEMBER OF NFL NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PARTY AND EACH PERSON MATTERS AS MUCH AS THE NEXT BE IT OUR PRIMARY PURPOSE OF FUNCTION IS TO BE MORE ACHIEVING AND THE BEST WE CAN BE THE MORAL VALUE I AM BETTER THAN MYSELF TODAY THAN I WAS YESTERDAY AND I AM ONLY BETTER THAN MYSELF THE AUTOMATIC I AM BATTER THEN MANY , I AM INTELLIGIBLE I AM ABEL AND THERE FOR I AM COMPETENT OTHERS PRONED TO FAILURE ONLY THOSE WHO ARE INCOMPETENT , I HAVE CORE MORAL VALUE AND IT IS THE UNMORAL AND JUSTICE BE DECIDED WITH MORALITY , I AM ETHICAL THOSE WHO ARE UNETHICAL IN THE SIGHT OF ETHICS FAIL TO REACH THE PROFESSIONAL CODE OF ETHICS THERE FOR THOSE LACK ETHICS AND ETHICAL APPROACH . A FOOTBALL PARTY TO END ALL PARTIES AND BEGIN MAKING PARTNERS AND HAVING A SUCCESFUL SAY IN POLITICS AND GOVERING BE IT COACH, OWNER , REPONSORER , STAFF MEDICAL , PROFESSIONAL PLAYER SECURES YOUR SPOT IN THE NFL AND THE LOMBARDI PARTY WHAT YOU DO SAY AND CONTRIBUTES ALLOWS YOU TO BE LOMBARDI PARTY.

FOUNDED WRITTEN BY TERRY I.

BIRTH RECORD MARCH 11 1984 - TERRY LEE HAWKINS JR.

MOTHERS GRANDS SURNAME KAUFFMAN - ( LEE ) SECURED

TERRY KAUFFMAN LEE HAWKINS HAWKINGSON.

REGNALNAME TEREMIAH LEEUS HAWKINOS 1ST .

FOUNDING LOCATION BALTIMORE -311USSSECURED

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ONLINE INSURANCE & BANKING QUOTE INSURED PROPERTY BANKING - 100% EACH PROPERTY BANK 200% EACH PROPERTY %300 PERCENT MYSELF - I AM RESPONSIBLE  ( PRIVATE 400%) RATES FOR BANKING WITH THE KING CONFIRMATION  700% 700%  Banking total 1400% split Secured additional security    Pythagorean numerological computation consists of adding the values of each of its letters in a table (sometimes called pythagorean alphabet). Each of the 26 letters of the alphabet is associated with a number between 1 and 9 (in ascending order) A=1, B=2, …, I=9, J=1, K=2, …, R=9, S=1, … Z=8.   SECURITY - S/O        

Blaze Pascal team Shinobi  or team All PRO Tao THE WAY True Religion Circle Terry Lee Hawkins Jr. Blaze signed with magick Cast/jokingly / 2Cast bred to Cast signed True /  signed Cast - MAGICK/AMEN (5AM5) Terry Lee Hawkins Jr. penname Blaze Pascal signed boop BOOPER (BOOP) OR PERO  BE IT SIGNED CAL313 TEAR’S OR BE IT SIGNED TRU TRUE OR TREU - Pero/s Dragonus or RavenDove True Religion Circle   CREATOR OF TRUE RELIGION CIRCLE AND WITH True Religion ON EARTH signed Terry (True) Boop (BOOPER) OR PERO MAYBE LOKI -( JE SUIS ) I AM THE MISCHIEVOUS ONE I’M NOT bad im just a mischievous that’s all Tao THE WAY True Religion Circle  

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[omnienglishpro]

Elevate Your Career: Top Career Coaching Services in San Francisco

In the bustling and competitive job market of San Francisco, navigating your career path can be challenging. Whether you’re a recent graduate, a mid-career professional, or someone seeking a complete career change, having the right guidance is crucial. This is where Career Coaching services come in. They offer personalized strategies and insights to help you achieve your professional goals.

Why Career Coaching?

Career coaching provides tailored support that can help you:

Identify Strengths and Weaknesses: Understand your core competencies and areas for improvement.

Set Realistic Goals: Define clear, attainable career objectives.

Develop a Strategy: Create a step-by-step plan to reach your career aspirations.

Enhance Skills: Improve essential skills such as resume writing, interview techniques, and networking.

Navigate Transitions: Whether you’re changing industries or climbing the corporate ladder, career coaches provide valuable support.

Top Career Coaching Services in San Francisco

San Francisco Career Coach Specializing in tech and startup industries, San Francisco Career Coach offers bespoke coaching services. They focus on helping clients find meaningful and fulfilling careers by aligning personal values with professional goals.

Bay Area Career Center Known for its comprehensive career coaching programs, Bay Area Career Center offers workshops, one-on-one coaching, and career assessments. They cater to a wide range of professionals, from those entering the workforce to seasoned executives.

Career Horizons Career Horizons provides expert guidance for career transitions and job searches. Their coaches are experienced in various industries and offer personalized support to help you navigate your career journey.

Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center For those aiming for leadership roles, the Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center offers Career Coaching focused on developing leadership skills and executive presence. Their programs are ideal for professionals looking to make a significant impact in their organizations.

The Benefits of Local Insights

Choosing a Career coaching in San Francisco comes with the added advantage of local insights. Coaches familiar with the Bay Area job market can provide relevant advice on industry trends, key employers, and networking opportunities specific to the region. This local expertise can be invaluable in helping you stand out in a competitive market.

Final Thoughts

Investing in career coaching can be a game-changer for your professional life. With the right support, you can unlock your potential, achieve your goals, and find satisfaction in your career. If you’re in San Francisco and looking to take your career to the next level, consider reaching out to one of these top career coaching services. Your future self will thank you.

Whether you’re striving for a promotion, looking to switch industries, or simply wanting to enhance your professional skills, Career Coaching in San Francisco offers the tools and guidance you need to succeed. Take the first step towards a brighter professional future today.

[packernet]

New Post has been published on https://www.packernet.com/blog/2023/10/24/this-is-what-rebuilding-looks-like/

This is what rebuilding looks like

The current Green Bay Packers are not in the race for a Super Bowl. We have known this for close to one year now, from the great trade that took place in the spring. Their 19-17 loss against the Broncos in Denver on Sunday underscored this matter. There is a chance they might catch fire and vie for a wild card berth or even cause an upset in the wild-card round, though this is highly unlikely.

Led by their new QB Jordan Love, Sunday’s game was basically a battle of two struggling teams. The stage couldn’t have been better arranged for the Packers. It appeared that a substantial 35 percent of the audience was adorned in the team’s distinctive green and gold colors. The Broncos, known for their subpar offense and terrible defense, seemed to present the perfect opportunity for the Packers to capitalize on these advantages right from the opening whistle. However, it didn’t pan out that way.

Lackluster Offense

Just as they had in the preceding two weeks, the Packers’ offense lacked the initial spark they needed. After a strong start in the first six quarters of the season, Love’s performance has steadily declined, save for a standout fourth quarter in the game against the Saints. The display in last night’s game was nothing short of unattractive.

Whatever plays Coach Matt LaFleur is devising for the initial 15 plays of the game are clearly falling flat. This is the same person who’s renowned as an offensive mastermind and someone adept at working with young quarterbacks, right? We are uncertain about the methods or if LaFleur can steer the team in a different direction, but one potential approach would be to inject some motivation.

No complimentary football

Right now, the offensive unit appears to be going through the motions without much enthusiasm, resembling a group of individuals lacking energy and purpose. The sole positive aspect of Sunday’s game was the defense’s ability to limit the Broncos to 19 points. However, they faltered when, with a 17-16 lead in the fourth quarter, they allowed the Broncos to march right down field for the game-winning field goal.

Nevertheless, holding the opposition to 19 points represents successful football, particularly when you possess an offense that is considered below average.

We should not abandon our faith in Love under any circumstances. I believe he will gain valuable experience from this game, especially from his final pass.

This team won’t beat Dallas, Detroit, Philly or San Francisco. They could upset one of the rest of the rabble of NFC teams, but not the top four, who are all clearly a tier above the 2023 Packers.

Expectations for the Packers this year are not very high. We should however acknowledge that we’re just in the sixth week of a long NFL season. That said it’s crucial for the Packers to secure a victory in their next game.

A critical aspect for the Packers is restoring balance to their offensive game. Aaron Jones has been absent for most of the last five games. In his absence, the Packers’ running game has been virtually non-existent. Although he did see some playing time this week, head coach Matt LaFleur’s questionable decision to limit his snaps made it seem like a wasted spot on the game-day roster.

Building for 2024 and 2025

As many pragmatic Packers supporters understand, the team is in the process of rebuilding with an eye toward the 2024-25 season. The primary focus is on addressing salary cap issues and nurturing the potential of recent draft picks to become established talents. In my perspective, this implies that any potential trade executed by the Packers before the NFL trade deadline would likely be oriented towards next year rather than the current season. In other words, it would involve trading existing talent for the promise of future potential.

As you support a season turnaround for them. Remember you can make money by betting on their games by visiting ggbet-24.com/en. GGbet has the most competitive American Football odds you will find anywhere.

[theultimatefan]

New NFL and NCAA Schools Join The Lineup For Second Annual Coach Knapp Stair Climb Initiative

The Coach Knapp Memorial Fund, named in honor of veteran NFL assistant coach Greg Knapp, today announced its expanded lineup of NFL and NCAA teams participating in this fall’s “Knapp Stair Climb.” Launched last fall, the initial project had seven NFL teams and close to 200 coaches, players and staff participating in various forms on game days, easily surpassing the goal of raising $100,000. In honor of Coach Knapp, NFL and NCAA coaches, players, executives and alumni will participate in raising funds and awareness for the dangers of distracted driving at each NFL or NCAA stadium prior to team warm ups.

“It’s been very special to see so many people sign up for the Stair Climb to raise awareness for the dangers of distracted driving and to honor Greg’s legacy. We are so grateful for the groundswell of support from across the NFL and at the college level,” said Charlotte Knapp, co-founder of Knapp Memorial and Greg Knapp’s widow.

The Coach Knapp Memorial Fund designated their first grant to SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions), which funded TextLess Live More events in high schools across the country. TextLess Live More utilizes evidence-informed strategies to reduce technology’s prevalence in young people’s lives – especially behind the wheel, reducing distracted driving rates and deaths. This year, teams will be able to choose which middle and high schools they want these events to take place to create a local impact in their communities.

This year’s initiative will start even earlier in the season, with Head Coach Matt LaFleur leading the Green Bay Packers in taking to the steps of storied Lambeau Field on Sunday, September 24th.

In addition to the Packers, the New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons, New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Rams, Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers, Denver Broncos, and Houston Texans, plus a growing number of NCAA colleges and universities from Division I to Division III have signed on to participate this fall. The initial NCAA list includes the football programs at Sacramento State, Stanford University, Fordham University, The University of Michigan, Caldwell University and Ripon College, with more schools joining on each week.

“Coach Knapp was a mentor and friend. I can only hope that the impact he made on me as a player, I can pay it forward to my athletes, added Bobby Fresques, Sac State Offensive Coordinator/Quarterback Coach and loyal friend. “Through his foundation, his legacy will continue to have a profound effect on Sac State Football.”

Fans, athletes, and coaches or anyone interested can also participate wherever is most convenient to them across the country, such as apartment building stairs or a high school sports stadium. Images will be shared on various social channels.

Details on how to get involved individually can be found at https://www.knappmemorial.org/stairclimb. All proceeds will benefit The Coach Knapp Memorial Fund.

[leviathangourmet]

I got my start in journalism writing for the scrappy local community newspapers in San Francisco (The North Mission News/New Mission News), so I have a soft spot for these papers, given their capacity to ask questions the big papers never ask, not take activists' self-interested statements for answers, and report in minute detail what the mainstream papers never notice, or more likely, have too many conflicts of interest to "notice."

Not these papers.  The greatest of them is the Marina Times, and this week, it has not disappointed.

Editor Susan Dyer Reynolds decided to ask why San Francisco is inundated with drug-addicted homeless people, and then she dug deep to find out who was behind it. 

The result is here, starting with this powerful beginning to a long, satisfying cover story:

When CNN announced that former Bay Area reporter Sara Sidner would be coming to delve into San Francisco's lethal cocktail of fentanyl and homelessness, I knew what to expect. For the May 2023 special, Sidner asked people living on the streets why they came to San Francisco to be homeless and got the same answers I've gotten for years: It's easy. Easy to get drugs, do drugs, put up a tent, steal to support your habit — and San Francisco will pay you more than $600 a month for the pleasure. It may not come as a surprise, but cities that offer general assistance payments have more than twice the rate of homelessness as cities that don't. For example, San Francisco and New York City have the highest rates at 10.4 and 10.9 per 10,000 people respectively, while Las Vegas has the lowest (2.3), with Columbus, Ohio, and Indianapolis tied for second lowest. Still, San Francisco's homeless advocates believe money is the answer, with organizations coaching new arrivals to say they're "from San Francisco" while helping them navigate the system. The "nonprofits" themselves complete what has become a billion-dollar industry chasing its own tail, with 59 providers receiving $240.6 million in fiscal year 2019–20, according to the latest audit by the city's budget and legislative analyst.

She found that the system in place to "help" the homeless isn't there to help the homeless at all — it's to perpetuate its own bureaucracy, sounding just like my old editor, Victor Miller, from the New Mission News over drinks at the Fat Chance Belly Dance show one night long ago in the Mission.

She found an ace quote from Willie Brown summing the matter up very well:

When Sidner sat down with former mayor Willie Brown to ask why he believed San Francisco couldn't make a dent in its catastrophic homeless problem, Brown was succinct: "It is not designed to be solved. It is designed to be perpetuated. It is to treat the problem, not solve it."

And unlike CNN, she did the digging to illustrate just what the old political power-broker meant.

She came upon one particular NGO kingpin who stood at the top of the rat-king hierarchy of San Francisco homeless-advocacy NGOs, a character named Jennifer Friedenbach, who serves as longtime executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness, who seemed to be holding the city hostage to the perpetuation of her NGO's interests in keeping homelessness expanding and permanent.

I remember that these guys were feared and powerful even in the early 1990s, when I was reporting the community news.

They've only gotten richer and more powerful ever since.  They not only are light on qualifications other than political clout in their personnel, but also are none too transparent in their federal filings, as well as rather subliterate, Dyer's report notes.

But their crowning achievement seems to be in getting laws passed, and worse still, co-opting wokester billionaires from the Silicon Valley crowd to back them in order to get the government to shell out for more homeless programs. 

I've referred to Friedenbach as "CEO of the city's de facto homeless marketing agency," spending their money on Sharpies and cardboard to make the handwritten signs they hold up at City Hall protests, but her crowning achievement actually goes back to fundraising: "crafting Prop C Our City Our Home, a tax on corporations that pays for homeless housing and will double San Francisco's efforts to address homelessness."

She got one of her minions, a trust fund baby named Christin Evans, to rope in Marc Benioff, the founder of Salesforce, and a Silicon Valley billionaire, to support her proposition to shovel money to NGOs to "solve" homelessness for the voters, which his money managed to do.

One evening while scrolling through Twitter, Evans came across a post from Marc Benioff, the founder and CEO of software company Salesforce, referring to San Francisco as the "Four Seasons of homelessness." Outraged, she tweeted back, "Did @benioff just compare SF's homeless services to a luxury hotel chain? How out of touch can a billionaire be?!?!" Intrigued, Benioff reached out to Evans and the two exchanged private messages. While Benioff attributed the quote to somebody else, Evans saw an opportunity to reel in the CEO of San Francisco's largest employer. By the end of their chat, Benioff supported the measure, despite the fact it would cost his own company millions. He and Salesforce donated a combined $8 million to the campaign (the most ever spent on a local ballot measure so near to election day). Benioff became Prop. C's biggest champion, chastising fellow CEOs for "not caring about homeless people." Even his celebrity friends, comedian Chris Rock and singer Jewel, came onboard, shooting endorsement videos for Evans and COH. "We call her the CEO whisperer," Friedenbach boasted at the time.

That is ironic, indeed.  All that tech expertise to supposedly make life more techy and advanced and efficient, and what it pays for in the end is more bums on the street urinating in people's doorways and criminals breaking into people's cars.

The report goes into how the homeless advocacy groups make money from the city by dipping into its vast pots, supposedly to fix the homeless crisis, and how this money only fuels more homelessness, as well as turns San Francisco into a magnet for bums looking for the state to owe them a living.

It also goes into the junk lawsuits against the city to ensure that Friedenbach's homeless "clients" get free everything, including permanent housing to their specifications, immunity from any law enforcement actions to sweep them out, and freedom to park their cars wherever they like while everyone else pays tickets.  The bums, in fact, consult their lawyers for legal advice on how to squeeze more from the city's offerings.

It's a very well done report that goes into the innards and bowels of how the homeless-industrial complex works, full of compelling storytelling.  Thank goodness the Marina Times was there to expose this, because the big newspapers are never going to spot it. 

Read the whole enlightening report here.

[gomastercoach]

Cognitive-Behavioral Executive Coaching - Thoughts Influence Behavior

I recently spoke with the VP of Human Resources of a San Francisco Bay Area company regarding providing coaching for the company CEO. She asked some very insightful questions to determine fit. She specifically wanted to know how I worked with different personality styles, and my methods for initiating changes in thinking and behavior.

The VP of HR and I spoke about my approach to coaching, and my belief that possessing a psychological understanding of human behavior based on neuroscience and business acumen are important competencies for coaching executives. We also spoke of the need for her organization to create a culture where innovation flourishes.

The VP of HR is interested in partnering with me in helping the CEO to develop his executive presence, judgment and decision-making capability.We further discussed how company executives can benefit by working with a seasoned coach. Know more here ICF Life Coach Certification 

Cognitive Executive Coaching

The primary principle of the cognitive approach to coaching is that the client's thoughts influence their behavior. The executive coach helps the client increase their awareness of their "automatic" thinking. Coaching helps the client evaluate if their view of the situation is helpful, and then helps the client identify more accurate and useful ways of viewing the situation leading to more adaptive behavior. The client's more constructive and expanded thinking about his/her particular situation and goals will lead to desired outcomes.

Behavioral Coaching

A stricter, behavioral approach to coaching is less concerned about the reasons why a behavior developed and instead will focus on identifying the desired behavior by taking a step by step approach to identifying specific actions that will lead to more frequent demonstration of the valued behavior or competencies. Behaviors that are recognized and valued will in effect be rewarded and thereby reinforced.

Thoughts Influence Behavior

As a coach, I'm often asked by executives to be their trusted advisor and a collaborative thought partner. As a thought partner, I help my clients think with greater depth, more clarity, and less distortion - a cognitive process. Coaching is primarily a cognitive method. Cognitive coaching tools are often the essential foundations of many coaches' toolboxes.

However, there is more to coaching than a set of methods - cognitive methods or any other. Executive coaching without engaging the humanistic side of a compassionate and trustworthy coach won't likely get desired results. A coach who ignores the emotions of his clients will miss a crucial element for success.

Coaches who incorporate emotional intelligence and self-knowledge in their leadership development work know that feelings are to be attended to as potential sources of useful information. Emotional self-awareness producing self-knowledge is a foundation for success in life and work. Even the executive coach who uses largely cognitive approaches must incorporate emotional content. After all, emotions are linked to cognition.

Cognitive Coaching Theory

Cognitive coaches believe that your moods are strongly related to, and often triggered by, your cognitions, or thoughts. Cognitions refer to the way you asses a particular situation - your perceptions, mental attitudes, and beliefs. Cognitions include the way you interpret things - what you say about something to yourself.

Cognitive coaching is also informed by what it is not. Cognitive coaching does not attempt to help a client by focusing on the past, uncovering repressed ideas and wishes or aiding in the translation of conscious thoughts into their symbolic meanings.

The cognitive coach does not work changing behavior by rewards and punishments or gradual exposure to anxiety -provoking events. Rather the cognitive executive coach assists clients in identifying errors in their thinking and aiding them in adopting more accurate, useful cognitions. Moreover, the cognitive coach may identify whether there is an absence of accurate, useful realty-based cognitions, even if specific thinking errors are not identified.

[terryhildebrandtus]

Unveiling Leadership Training in Los Angeles, CA

In the bustling city of Los Angeles, where leadership is paramount across diverse industries, the need for comprehensive and impactful leadership training is more crucial than ever. Terry Hildebrandt, renowned for his expertise in executive coaching, extends his influence to provide dynamic leadership training in Los Angeles, CA, and the vibrant community of Montrose.

Navigating Leadership Challenges

Adapting to Change: Explore how leadership training addresses the challenge of navigating constant change, a hallmark of the dynamic Los Angeles business landscape.

Cultivating Resilience: Discuss the importance of resilience in leadership and how training equips leaders to navigate setbacks and uncertainties effectively.

Tailored Training Programs

Industry-Specific Modules: Highlight the versatility of Terry Hildebrandt's leadership training programs, offering industry-specific modules to address the unique demands of various sectors in Los Angeles.

Interactive Learning: Emphasize the interactive nature of the training, fostering engagement and collaboration among participants.

Impactful Leadership in Montrose

Local Relevance: Showcase how the leadership training extends its impact to the local Montrose community, contributing to the growth and success of businesses in the area.

Networking Opportunities: Discuss the networking opportunities facilitated by the training, fostering connections among leaders in Montrose.

Measuring Training Effectiveness

Key Performance Indicators: Illustrate the use of key performance indicators to measure the effectiveness of leadership training, ensuring tangible results for participants.

Feedback Mechanisms: Highlight the incorporation of feedback mechanisms, allowing participants to actively contribute to the refinement of the training curriculum.

Success Stories and Testimonials

Transformational Leadership: Share success stories of individuals who have undergone Terry Hildebrandt's leadership training, showcasing how it has transformed their leadership styles.

Community Impact: Highlight instances where trained leaders have made a positive impact on their organizations and the broader Los Angeles community.

Choosing Terry Hildebrandt for Leadership Training

Expertise in Action: Reinforce Terry Hildebrandt's expertise in action, emphasizing his role in shaping effective and visionary leaders through training.

Commitment to Excellence: Communicate the unwavering commitment to excellence that defines Terry Hildebrandt's approach to leadership development.

Embark on a Leadership Journey

Conclude the blog by inviting leaders in Los Angeles, particularly those in Montrose, to embark on a transformative leadership journey with Terry Hildebrandt. Encourage them to seize the opportunity to enhance their leadership capabilities and contribute to the continued success of their organizations and communities.

[trylonandperisphere]

Katie Sowers makes history as a woman and LGBTQ person when the San Francisco 49ers reach the Super Bowl.

By Jim Buzinski 

January 20, 2020

When the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Green Bay Packers 37-20 to win the NFC Championship Game, it also made offensive assistant Katie Sowers a bit of history — as both the first woman and the first openly gay coach in Super Bowlhistory.

When the 49ers play the Kansas City Chiefsin Super Bowl LIV in Miami on Feb. 2, Sowers will be part of the brain trust trying to win the first title for the 49ers since 1994. “Takin our talents to south beach,” Sowers posted on Instagram Sunday night.

Sowers, 33, is not a diversity hire. Football-obsessed since a young girl growing up in Kansas, she is a former player in the Woman’s Football Alliance and once intercepted five passes in a playoff game, returning three for touchdowns. This is her third season with the 49ers and she has impressed the players with her drive, knowledge and energy.

“She been tremendous,” 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo said last week of Sowers. “Katie was here before I was, but just what she does with the receivers, all the skill positions guys, how she interacts with them. It’s special. She’s feisty, man. Katie is awesome out there. She’ll get after guys … It’s fun to be around.”

At last year’s Pro Bowl, Jeremy Brener of Outsports got the same reaction when he asked star fullback Kyle Juszczyk about Sowers.

“Katie’s been phenomenal,” Juszczyk said. “She’s someone we’ve been able to lean on. If I ever have a question on a route or something, no hesitation and I can go talk to her. She’s a phenomenal asset to our team.”

Sowers credits her mentor, longtime executive Scott Pioli, with getting her on the NFL radar screen when Pioli was assistant general manager of the Atlanta Falcons and he hired Sowers in 2016 as a coaching intern in training camp and then a scouting intern. It was there she met Kyle Shanahan, then the offensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons, and now the 49ers head coach, who hired her in San Francisco.

“Katie did a real good job for us in Atlanta, she’s done a really good job here,” Shanahan said. “She helps [receivers coach] Mike LaFleur out, just with some rotations and she helps our quality control [coaches] out just with all the stuff they have to do. She’s a hard worker, you don’t even notice her because she just goes to work and does what’s asked.”

What I love best about Sowers is that she is aware of and doesn’t try to downplay the fact that she’s an NFL rarity as both a woman and an openly gay coach. When I got a tip in 2017 that she was open about being a lesbian, she responded immediately to my inquiry and answered questions for a coming out story. She is also not shy about posting photos on Instagram of she and her girlfriend.

Sowers was featured this month in an ad for Microsoft that touted her trailblazing nature. And she regularly posts inspirational comments on her social media and has become a sought-after public speaker.

It’s to the 49ers’ credit that they have encouraged her to be public, unlike some teams that never want assistants talking. Her time in the spotlight will grower brighter on the biggest stage in U.S. sports starting next week when the Super Bowl rolls into Miami.

[hirecharterbuses]

A San Francisco Charter Bus is the Best Way to Get Around the City. Experience all the wonderful sights of the Bay Area while riding in style. There are many different ways to get around the San Francisco Bay area, and for groups of any size, a affordable charter bus rental is the most comfortable and convenient way to do it. Many people on family trips or in any type of small group don’t often think about relying on a quality bus rental in San Francisco. A party bus rental near me is ideal for corporate events, such as conventions, seminars, and meetings, but it is also ideal for families for weddings, bachelor parties, reunions, or anything else.

Groups of friends may wish to get together and sightsee around San Francisco, head into the city for their nightlife, or experience some other wonderful unique event. San Francisco Charter Bus has one of the largest fleets in the industry. They have minibuses, party buses, executive minibuses, and coach buses. They can handle groups of up to 4,000 and have, on occasion, transported more than 4,000 people at a time. They also offer immediate billing for convenience and can handle short notice reservations and even changes to an itinerary.

The drivers at affordable party bus rental are some of the safest, most knowledgeable, and friendly in the industry. They have a long record of safe driving, go through intensive background checks, and also go through regular drug testing. This helps to ensure some of the safest trips for everyone who contacts this company.

With 24/7 customer service, complementary bottled water for all guests upon request, and much more, there are few other bus companies serving San Francisco that can meet San Francisco Charter Bus for their top shelf service, support, convenience, and affordability. They can be contacted by phone at (877) 243–4717 or by visiting their website.

[maturemenoftvandfilms]

Mike Holmgren Born: June 15, 1948, San Francisco, CA Height: 6′5″ (1.96 m) Physique: Stocky/Husky Build

Michael George Holmgren is a former American football coach and executive, most recently serving as president of the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League. Holmgren began his NFL career as a quarterbacks' coach and later as an offensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers, where they won Super Bowl XXIII and XXIV. He served as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers from 1992 to 1998, appearing in two Super Bowls, and of the Seattle Seahawks from 1999 to 2008. Prior to his career in the NFL, Holmgren coached football at the high school and collegiate levels. He's been married since 1971 with four children.

Mike Holmgren just does it for me. If I were to be the #1 draft pick in NFL draft, I wouldn’t mind if the Cleveland Browns draft me. Hell, I'd be hoping for it. I wouldn't care if my career goes nowhere and didn't win a championship. I'd be spending my time trying to fuck Mike. What? Like none of you wouldn’t be thinking the same thing.

[leviathangourmet]

When CNN announced that former Bay Area reporter Sara Sidner would be coming to delve into San Francisco’s lethal cocktail of fentanyl and homelessness, I knew what to expect.

For the May 2023 special, Sidner asked people living on the streets why they came to San Francisco to be homeless and got the same answers I’ve gotten for years: It’s easy. Easy to get drugs, do drugs, put up a tent, steal to support your habit — and San Francisco will pay you more than $600 a month for the pleasure.

It may not come as a surprise, but cities that offer general assistance payments have more than twice the rate of homelessness as cities that don’t. For example, San Francisco and New York City have the highest rates at 10.4 and 10.9 per 10,000 people respectively, while Las Vegas has the lowest (2.3), with Columbus, Ohio, and Indianapolis tied for second lowest.

Still, San Francisco’s homeless advocates believe money is the answer, with organizations coaching new arrivals to say they’re “from San Francisco” while helping them navigate the system. The “nonprofits” themselves complete what has become a billion-dollar industry chasing its own tail, with 59 providers receiving $240.6 million in fiscal year 2019–20, according to the latest audit by the city’s budget and legislative analyst.

When Sidner sat down with former mayor Willie Brown to ask why he believed San Francisco couldn’t make a dent in its catastrophic homeless problem, Brown was succinct: “It is not designed to be solved. It is designed to be perpetuated. It is to treat the problem, not solve it.”

Whether Sidner edited the piece purposefully or not, it was apropos that Brown’s comments followed an interview with Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness (COH), where she’s spent the last 25 years presenting herself as an expert on the subject.

What are Friedenbach’s qualifications? She doesn’t really have any. Her vague résumé includes a lot of fundraising and, prior to COH, serving as director of the Hunger and Homeless Action Coalition of San Mateo County. Her skill set, as thin as her résumé, touts “a long history of community organizing, working on a range of poverty-related issues including welfare rights, housing, homeless prevention, health care, disability, and human and civil rights.”

COH is also opaque in their 990 filing, required by the IRS to verify that nonprofits should keep their tax-exempt status. It’s no secret the IRS rarely audits these forms, particularly for smaller organizations, but 990s should provide an overview of nonprofit revenue, expenses, assets, and liabilities, as well as sum up the group’s mission, indicate who sits on its board of directors, and state the highest-paid employees’ pay. The COH mission statement tells you what the rest of the 990 will look like (and that they need to hire a copy editor). “Our vision of our city is where housing is a human right where homelessness is only ever temporary and dignified and where those are forced to remain on dignified and where those are forced to remain on…” it rambles and repeats. (And yes, those are the exact words.)

For 2021, COH lists salaries, other compensation, and employee benefits as $487,511 with 10 people receiving the title “Individual Trustee or Director,” but the only salary goes to Friedenbach (a paltry 50,340 for the listed 40-hour workweek). So, where did the other $437,171 go? Your guess is as good as mine.

I’ve referred to Friedenbach as “CEO of the city’s de facto homeless marketing agency,” spending their money on Sharpies and cardboard to make the handwritten signs they hold up at City Hall protests, but her crowning achievement actually goes back to fundraising: “crafting Prop C Our City Our Home, a tax on corporations that pays for homeless housing and will double San Francisco’s efforts to address homelessness.”

IT STARTED WITH A TWEET TO MARC BENIOFF

Friedenbach and her allies were vocal critics of the tech industry setting up shop in the shadow of California’s Silicon Valley, (which stretches south from Palo Alto to San Jose), often making tech workers the boogeymen in social media posts blaming them for gentrification and evictions — that is, until they saw an opportunity to make millions from that same industry.

In 2018, COH drafted a plan to raise $300 million a year for “homeless services” by increasing gross receipts taxes 0.5 percent on San Francisco businesses making more than $50 million annually. They chose Christin Evans, a longtime homeless activist who runs several hobby businesses in the Haight district and whose parents own a $12 million home in the city, as their unlikely spokesperson. Evans, often described by detractors as a “trust fund baby,” seemed an unlikely choice, but it paid off for COH in more ways than one.

One evening while scrolling through Twitter, Evans came across a post from Marc Benioff, the founder and CEO of software company Salesforce, referring to San Francisco as the “Four Seasons of homelessness.” Outraged, she tweeted back, “Did @benioff just compare SF’s homeless services to a luxury hotel chain? How out of touch can a billionaire be?!?!”

Intrigued, Benioff reached out to Evans and the two exchanged private messages. While Benioff attributed the quote to somebody else, Evans saw an opportunity to reel in the CEO of San Francisco’s largest employer.

By the end of their chat, Benioff supported the measure, despite the fact it would cost his own company millions. He and Salesforce donated a combined $8 million to the campaign (the most ever spent on a local ballot measure so near to election day). Benioff became Prop. C’s biggest champion, chastising fellow CEOs for “not caring about homeless people.” Even his celebrity friends, comedian Chris Rock and singer Jewel, came onboard, shooting endorsement videos for Evans and COH. “We call her the CEO whisperer,” Friedenbach boasted at the time.

It took a couple of years to wind through a court challenge from the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, but in June 2020 the funds were released. Swelling to $600 million by 2022, the city spent only a quarter of that amount.

FRIEDENBACH’S CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

According to SF.gov, the Proposition C oversight committee “Our City, Our Home” (OCOH) makes sure spending from the fund is “fair and accountable,” however, OCOH is one of the least transparent city programs I’ve seen — and that says a lot. While Friendenbach has claimed for decades that COH doesn’t take city money, they’re taking money from OCOH in the form of a $250,000 grant. Friedenbach also sits on the committee that doled out the grant, and sources tell me it is Friedenbach who “runs the show.” The website’s word salad, riddled with typos, says COH earned the quarter of a million dollars because they “prepared testimony and trained presenters to testify before City Budget decision-makers, both in the Office of the Mayor and the City’s Board of Supervisors.”

In May, when I questioned Friedenbach on Twitter about what appears to be an egregious conflict of interest, she abruptly deleted her Twitter account.

So how is the money being spent? That has Friedenbach written all over it, too. OCOH budgeted $390 million for “permanent housing” and just $53 million for “shelter and hygiene.” Friedenbach is an adamant proponent for “permanent housing,” but she has never offered a plan for what that looks like in the real world.

Even if anti-housing supervisors like Dean Preston suddenly approved $400 million worth of units on an abandoned Nordstrom parking lot, and even if the city could buy existing properties or build new ones in a Barbie Dream House timeframe on steroids of say, five years, are taxpayers on the hook in perpetuity while the now formerly homeless live rent free?

Then there’s the Field of Dreams analogy “If you build it, they will come” — after San Francisco houses the estimated 4,400 people now on the streets, what happens when more show up?

If it’s starting to sound like Friedenbach doesn’t really want to solve this issue, there’s more: In September 2022, COH helped seven homeless individuals file a lawsuit alleging San Francisco violated their rights by “punishing residents who have nowhere to go” when removing tents and belongings from public spaces, with the goal of forcing the city to spend billions more on “affordable housing and other resources.”

U.S. Magistrate Judge Donna Ryu later agreed, granting an emergency order based on “evidence” presented by COH that the city regularly violated its own policies when clearing people from encampments without offering adequate access to shelter, which, in California, is illegal.

In July, San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu fired back with a motion in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California refuting allegations made by COH. “Instead of working through minor issues with the city, Plaintiffs have spent months unjustifiably painting San Francisco as a violator of people’s rights. Despite the superficial heft of Plaintiffs’ nearly 400-page filing, their factual assertions fall apart.” Chiu wrote. “Since the injunction was issued, the Plaintiffs have not identified a single instance of San Francisco citing or arresting someone under any of the enjoined laws. Unhoused people regularly refuse the city’s offers of shelter. For example, one plaintiff has been offered shelter multiple times, including an offer to live in an individual ‘tiny home’ cabin, which is typically considered a preferable shelter placement. But the plaintiff said he would have to check with his lawyers and then eventually refused the shelter space.”

The Robinhood of homelessness and her merry band of activists are also responsible for an appeal against the city over so-called “poverty tows,” which they claim hurt low-income individuals, and the California Court of Appeal recently agreed. Towing cars that have accrued unpaid parking tickets without a warrant is a common practice in many cities, including San Francisco, where “legally and safely parked cars with five or more unpaid parking tickets” were towed if the owner didn’t respond within 21 calendar days of issuance. Knowing the Friedenbach playbook, however, this is just another tactic to ensure the homeless living in cars and RVs can remain parked wherever they choose, legally or not — even in front of your home or business.

To many of her critics, Friedenbach is nothing but a fraud, sitting on the oversight board of OCOH, created by legislation she was instrumental in passing, while accepting a $250,000 grant for her own nonprofit to prepare testimony and train presenters to influence decision makers. OCOH is pushing millions toward Friendenbach’s pipe dream of “permanent housing for all” at the same time COH is suing the city for not offering enough shelter.

With conflicts galore, it’s time for Friedenbach to step down from OCOH. It’s also time for officials to stop listening to Friedenbach about the homeless crisis — after 25 years of big talk, her lack of success is visible each and every day on the streets of San Francisco.

[strongislandsuperfan]

The Ghost of the UFL

With the rise of alternative football leagues beginning to take shape and gain traction, many are fascinated with what these alternative leagues have to offer, in terms of talent, team locations and what will separate them from the dominance of the National Football League. Also, we see many fans losing faith in a proud, American sports league that, unofficially, owned a day of the week. 

As we witness the fast-growing rise of Alliance of American Football (AAF), the long-awaited comeback of the XFL (debuting in 2020), the perseverance of the Arena Football League (which no matter how many times they go bankrupt, they still find a way back) and the emergence of The Indoor Football League, The National Arena League, and other leagues beginning to take shape, I can’t help but to be haunted by cringeworthy mistakes of alternative leagues.

Now, mind you, I want these leagues to succeed, as long as they are wise enough to learn from past mistakes of others who have tried and have impressively failed.

I will not bore you with antidotes and ill-fated stories of the 1980′s catastrophe known as The United States Football league. In fact, I give them a pass, based on the fact that they debuted 2 years before I was born and on the simple fact that they were just a mirror reflection of the failed glitz and glam of the decade of excess, cocaine, bad business decisions and the fascinating, money-driven enigma that is currently our commander-in-chief. Instead, I will focus on the most recently failed and forgotten United Football League. 

In case you have forgotten or never heard of them, The United Football League was the last league to try to directly compete with the NFL, beginning their season during the spring of 2009. The idea was to first, “soft-launch” the league with games on Thursday and Friday nights and eventually hold their own as a developmental league. A similar plan that mirrored the likes of the Arena Football League.

Unlike the first year of the XFL, the games were actually pretty exciting. From a marketing standpoint, they seemed to do everything right. They even had a TV deal going, with possible web streaming of live games as well. 

For the UFL’s first season, the markets chosen were New York City, Las Vegas, Orlando, and San Francisco. The league had a short schedule (6 games), with 3 home games in the same stadium in only one of their selected cities, Las Vegas. Not to mention that the San Francisco team (affectionately named the California Redwoods) had the worst attendance in the league.

The UFL was unable to secure a solid deal for a stadium within New York City, forcing the league to have them play one home game each in Hartford, Connecticut, on the campus of my alma mater, Hofstra University, located in Long Island, and in New Jersey. 

In addition, one of the games for Orlando’s team was played at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, in part because of shared ownership that year with the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team. This partnership faded the following year in 2010. 

Oh and if I didn’t mention this, the names of the respective teams (I tried not to laugh) from the season debut:

The Florida Tuskers

New York Sentinels

Las Vegas Locomotives

The California Redwoods

The Florida Tuskers finished 2009 with a 6–0 record. The Las Vegas Locomotives were next at 4–2, the California Redwoods were 2–4, and the Sentinels were last at 0–6. The Locomotives played the Tuskers in the 2009 UFL Championship Game; the Locomotives won the title thanks to a field goal in overtime.

After the first year, expansion came, with new teams debuting in Omaha, Nebraska and Virginia Beach, Virgina, the New York Sentinals relocating to Hartford, Connetticut, the California Redwoods moving from San Francisco to  Sacramento, and of course failed bids for other cities such as: 

Austin, Texas

San Antonio, Texas

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Salt Lake City, Utah

Portland, Oregon

Los Angeles, California

Louisville, Kentucky (<---this city made the most sense, in my opinion)

Columbus, Ohio

Jackson, Mississippi (<-----yes, you read that right. Its not a typo.)

As well as international markets considered in London, Mexico City and Monterrey.

The UFL folded in 2013, with lawsuits from players, coaches, and staff for not being paid their salaries by league owners. Business licenses expired, marketing failed as the league made a dismal effort in trying to engage an audience, and of course, the executives simply stopped paying the league’s bills (and clearly stopped caring).

The ownership lost or settled most of the lawsuits against them in 2014.

So, with all that being said, why focus on the failure? I’ll put it this way, many football fans, including me, are fed up with the pettiness, over-blown controversies, the “stand or kneel” for the anthem debate, players trying to do their best Ike Turner imitation & somehow feel victimized when they’re banned from the league, referees who look like they couldn’t give a fair call during a little league baseball game  and of course, Roger Goodell. 

We are dying for an alternative, especially when the hype dies down after Super Bowl Sunday. We want innovation. We want players to be safe. We want to see small market cities finally get a shot at taking on a franchise that they can get excited about. We want old school, smash mouth, gridiron football. We don’t want gimmicks. We don’t want jerk-off billionaires that are completely out of touch with the fanbase, as well as with the players. 

If the AAF, XFL, AFL, NAL and any other league is going to learn a lesson from the most recent failure of the UFL, might I suggest the following advice:

-Be smart with your money, in terms of marketing, contracts and PAY YOUR PEOPLE!

-Have a balance of glitz & glam with grit and blood. Understand, fans miss the days of beautiful footwork and swift movement, courtesy of Walter Payton and Barry Sanders. However, because I am a child of the 80′s and a proud 3rd generation New York Giants fan, we also miss the days of bone-breaking, cranial shattering, hard-hitting action, courtesy of Sir Lawrence Taylor.

-Although I’m not wild about, “soft launches”, please don’t be in a rush to throw everything at football fans in one shot. History needs to be written and if your league is as bigger and better as you are trying to show dogmatic NFL fans, then let the talent speak for itself. Sometimes, the best things take the most time.

-Billionaire owners and ownership groups must be in tune with their audience. Let the fans have a voice. Don’t be the James Dolan of the football world. 

-Please, give small market cities a chance. I can name at least two cities (Louisville, Kentucky and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma), that not only have an audience that can be engaged, with the right marketing, but they are long overdue for a franchise that they can get behind. 

-We are tired of leagues debuting with these new, “innovations”, that the so-called experts try to come up with. We could care less about changing the tuck rule, the no kickoff rule, the intentional grounding penalty and so on and so on. Just play some freakin’ football! 

-Do not try to out-do the NFL. They are what they are. Just stick to what makes your league unique and please, don’t debut in the fall. NFL and NCAA College football clearly own this time of the year. Just let it be....until Roger Goodell does or says something stupid and really loses his audience. 

-Lastly, No more gimmicks! Although I would have to say, the engraved highlight of the XFL was Rod Smart’s brilliantly named jersey:

That is all.

[contrabassconversations]

Turbocharge your audition skills with the San Francisco Academy Orchestra

videos, photos, and more available here

For classical musicians, learning how to audition effectively is critical. So much is riding on the line when you take an audition.

You’ve spent months preparing the music.

You’ve booked a flight and hotel, turned down gigs. You’ve invested an incredible amount of time and emotional energy into this event.

Then what happens? For so many musicians, they get nervous, flub a couple of notes, and then watch in panic as everything spirals downhill. Finding ways to simulate the audition experience is key to developing these skills.

In my 2016 book Winning the Audition, I took advice from over two dozen professional orchestra musicians and wove it into a book that covered practice techniques, mindset, overcoming adversity, and other key skills.

More recently, I had the pleasure of being a “fly on the wall” for one of the San Francisco Academy Orchestra’s monthly mock auditions. This is a super-cool part of an innovative new program, and it is a great new way for people on the verge of a career to get that “final finish” to make it into a professional orchestra job.

About the San Francisco Academy Orchestra Program

This string-focused orchestral training program puts emerging professionals alongside San Francisco Symphony members, rehearsing and performing side-by-side throughout the year. This program was launched by Andrei Gorbatenko in 2000 and features faculty members from the San Francisco Symphony and Opera as well as various guest artists.

More recently, the Academy also launched an intensive, one-year Artist Diploma Fellowship that focuses on developing those skills critical to orchestral performance. The program offers weekly lessons, group excerpt classes, master classes, and mock auditions in addition to the side-by-side rehearsal and performing with San Francisco Symphony members.

A Look Inside the Mock Audition Process

I arrived a half-hour early for the Academy’s December 2019 mock audition and sat down with mock audition coordinator Joy Fellows. Joy is a violist in the San Francisco Opera as well as the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra. She also teaches viola through the Academy. Prior to that, Joy was a member of the Saint Louis Symphony and the Indianapolis Symphony.

Why Mock Auditions Help

Joy and I chatted about auditions in general and developing the process of centering, a concept popularized in the orchestral world by performance coach Don Greene. Deliberate practice toward centering to center yourself in the moment to accomplish the task at hand is key.

Dealing with the stress of an audition experience is a challenge for sure. Everyone has slightly different mechanisms for coping with these moments. Unfortunately, there isn’t one “magic bullet” that will universally address the panicky feeling surrounding an audition.

For more people, it’s eating a banana before the audition. Others moderate their caffeine intake, and some incorporate beta blocker medication.

Everybody is slightly different, and playing mock auditions is a great way to “practice the audition” and learn how to cope with these audition-specific challenges.

Common Audition Preparation Mistakes

Not having truly practiced the entire audition list is one of the most common preparation missteps that Joy has observed. Getting every excerpt to the same level is critical for an audition. Often, a player may focus so much on one of the more unfamiliar or challenging excerpts that they neglect the rest of the list.

Time management, planning, and being really organized and specific about your preparation will help tremendously with moving all of the excerpts to where they need to be in terms of preparation.

Recording yourself is an essential tool for audition preparation. For Joy, she would start recording herself every few days about three weeks prior to the audition. She would then listen back and take a lot of notes on how things were going and what work needed to be done next.

Taking notes like this is great because it reveals what really needs work. Focusing on just those spots identified in the last recording ensures that the focus is being directed toward what actually needs to get done.

This kind of preparation is great for calming the nerves. Because you’ve put so much thought and effort into what you’re doing, you’re less likely to be distracted in the audition itself.

Ideally, Joy wants to be performing the whole list for a variety of different people about a week before the audition. Family, friends, and colleagues are all great candidates for this. The experience of playing an audition list in front of another human is incredibly powerful, and most audition winners credit this as on off the keys to their audition success.

The goal is to get your worst possible performance and your best possible performance as close to each other as possible. Los Angeles Philharmonic bassist David Allen Moore refers to this as “your floor and your ceiling.” In audition preparation, we aim to raise our floor as close as possible to the level of our ceiling.

The Structure of the San Francisco Academy Orchestra Auditions

Mock auditions for the San Francisco Academy Orchestra are held at the Drew School in San Francisco. This private school in San Francisco‘s Pacific Heights neighborhood has a great auditorium and numerous warm-up rooms located below it.

The screen is set up across the stage, with mock audition “candidates” entering from a separate door on the left. The mock auditioners are divided into two rounds of A and B groups, and one group warms up as the other listens and writes comments.

I floated behind both sides of the screen, checking out the experience from both the committee and player perspective. It was great to see how different people warmed up and conducted themselves during the mock audition.

  Several people were playing off of an iPad Pro, which I’ve also embraced as my music reading device. Others had a stack of parts and were jotting down notes and rearranging the music for their mock round.

Each candidate played a series of 4-5 short excerpts from the standard audition repertoire. Though nerves play a role in pretty much every actual or mock audition, all the candidates seemed quite composed. This is a good indication of the positive effect that doing regular mock auditions has on these artist diploma students.

There’s also tremendous benefit in listening to and receiving comments from musicians that don’t play your instrument. Violinists listen differently than bassists, for example—and vice versa.

Everybody behind the screen, including both mock auditioners and faculty members like Joy and Andrei, took notes. Everybody put their notes into piles for each candidate at the conclusion of each round.

The whole process was professional, seamless, and well-executed. I wish I had been put through a similar process back when I was studying!

Academy Members are Winning Auditions

After the mock audition, we all headed over to Andrei’s place for their annual holiday party. It was a ton of fun and great way for faculty and fellows to relax and spend time together.

I chatted with Andrei about the origins of the academy and the more recent development of its artist diploma program.

For nearly twenty years, the Academy program has given young professional musicians to work alongside members of the San Francisco Symphony.

Six years ago, former San Francisco Symphony Assistant Principal Viola Don Ehrlich and Andrei came up with the idea for the Artist Diploma program. This program serves as a response to the ever-increasing music tuition costs, this program is designed to be efficient and focus on the essential skills for obtaining employment in an orchestra.

The program consists of: weekly lessons group excerpt classes master classes mock auditions side-by-side rehearsal and performing with San Francisco Symphony members

The results have been remarkable.

Academy Fellows have recently won auditions or have been awarded contracts with the following orchestras:

Pittsburgh Symphony Dallas Symphony Rochester Philharmonic St. Louis Symphony Calgary Philharmonic Annapolis Symphony Philharmonia Baroque Austin Symphony Santa Barbara Symphony California Symphony Santa Cruz Symphony Berkeley Symphony Monterey Symphony Oakland Symphony Marin Symphony Santa Rosa Symphony Symphony Silicon Valley Stockton Symphony Sacramento Philharmonic San Jose Chamber Orchestra

Many of them have also been called to sub in the San Francisco Symphony, San Francisco Opera and San Francisco Ballet Orchestras.

Faculty

In addition to Andrei, the Academy the faculty consists of:

Dan Carlson, violin David Chernyavsky, violin Melissa Kleinbart, violin Matthew Young, viola Joy Fellows, viola Amos Yang, cello Charles Chandler, bass

Auditioning From the Violinist Perspective

I also spoke with San Francisco Symphony violinist and Academy teacher David Chernyavsky about the program while at the holiday party. David moved to the Bay Area in 2009 and has been involved with the Academy for the last decade.

David works on a weekly basis with the Academy fellows in the Artist Diploma Program, concentrating on the audition repertoire needed to prepare them for real-life auditions.

David has observed that, surprisingly, many string players leaving school have not focused enough on orchestral repertoire and training for taking auditions.

During the past few decades in the United States, the requirements to get a job have shifted more toward successful execution of orchestral excerpts. Before that, there was more of an emphasis on solo repertoire. For example, auditions in the 1960s might have consisted of a concerto movement and some orchestral sightreading. This is quite a different setup compared to today’s audition process.

There are multiple levels on which people are listening to excerpts. Take the first page of the violin part of Don Juan, for example. The challenge is that this is an orchestral part, so you have to keep in mind that you have to play it as if you were in the first violin section. This means that you cannot play too virtuosically. You have to play more rhythmically.

On the other hand, you have to sound good playing an orchestral part alone. In as section, you are playing with up to 20 other people, while in an audition you are playing this tutti part as a solo instrument.

The main objective is to not rush and have a strong sense of rhythm and tempo.

Executing a Mozart concerto is a different skill set. David likes to tell his students to imagine singing it, or to imagine a soprano singer singing this music. A lot of people try to play Mozart concerti with short articulations, making a lot of accents and with a dry approach.

David finds Mozart concerti to be much more appealing with a song like approach to the line and phrasing. This can be a bit counterintuitive due to all the articulations in the part, but in the end it sounds more flowing and cohesive with a songlike approach.

Charles Chandler on the Academy experience

San Francisco Symphony bassist Charles Chandler and I chatted about the San Francisco Academy experience in our 2017 interview. Here’s Charles on his experience working with the Academy students:

“It’s mostly graduate students, and it’s a program that costs a lot less than going to a conservatory. You have an experience of playing in orchestra, but most importantly take lessons, and actually all of the teachers are members of the San Francisco Symphony there.

You get to work with them on a one-on-one basis, and in a orchestra class setting as well. it’s great—it’s really great. I really enjoy it. The students have all been fantastic players and students, and I feel like I’ve learned a whole lot from them, frankly!”

Thoughts from the students

Finally, I chatted with current San Francisco Academy Orchestra students Michael Minor and Yu Chen Liu.

Prior to her time with the Academy Orchestra, Yu Chen Liu attended the San Francisco Conservatory, where she studied with Scott Pingel for her master’s degree. Yu Chen loves the city of San Francisco: the people, the lifestyle, and the weather. She has gotten a lot of the monthly mock auditions (this was her 12th for the program), the studio classes, and the orchestral experience.

Mock auditions are one of Yu Chen’s favorite aspects of the program. She records herself every time, and she can hear the improvement from audition to audition each time she listens to the recording. Each time, she can hear herself getting better, not only technically, but also in how she reacts to the pressures of the mock audition experience.

Michael Minor is another former San Francisco Conservatory student, and he’s enjoying the training he’s getting with Charles and the warm, open approach he takes to music making. Getting to play with the Academy Orchestra is an inspiring experience, and having Andrei, a fellow bass player, as a conductor has been a rewarding experience.

Mock auditions are also a favorite part of the program for Michael. Playing in front of peers can be a scary experience, and these regularly scheduled mock auditions go a long way toward normalizing this process.

Learn more about the Academy

Andrei spends much of the academic year touring the United States, listening to auditions for the Academy, working with university ensembles and speaking with students.

Visit the San Francisco Academy website for more information, and follow along with them on Facebook for the latest updates.

Check out this episode!

[brothermarc7theatre]

“The Great Leap” show #785

Anytime sports and theatre are combined in a compelling fashion, I’m game! Lauren Yee’s exciting new play, The Great Leap, is well at home in San Francisco. Taking place between 1971 and 1989, The Great Leap tackles what it’s like for an American college basketball team to take on a Chinese university basketball team. Not just a sports play, the dialogue allows for discovery to give way in providing social commentary on governments, nationalism, pride, and saving face. The four-person ensemble portrays the characters involved with this infamous University of San Francisco vs. Beijing University drama, giving nuance, comedy, and dramatic flair to Ms. Yee’s poignant script. With Lisa Peterson at the helm, her excellent direction is highlighted by her ability to showcase the dramatic tension which comes with racial tension and athletic competition. The Great Leap is, bar none, a slam dunk of a production!

(Tim Liu (Manford); Photo credit: Kevin Berne)

Tim Liu delivers an energetically sound performance as Manford, the star basketball player at the center of the play. Mr. Liu exudes youthful determination and likable cockiness as the all-star high school basketball player at San Francisco’s Galileo High School. Manford’s stakes are at a peak as he is graduating soon and wants the opportunity to make it straight to the pros at any cost, even if it means skipping his prep classes to travel with the USF team to Beijing for the internationally-televised game. The hype of this match-up is motivation enough for Manford to pull all out all the stops, including taking on the USF coach, Saul, outside the front door of his apartment. Playing the bombastic Saul is Arye Gross, who delivers an exceptional performance between his 1971 buffoonery and foul language-laden coach and 1989 defeated divorcee who is circling the drain on his career as a collegiate coach. The scene Mr. Gross and Mr. Liu share outside the apartment is incredibly vulnerable, granting the audience access to Saul’s more genial, ghost-in-the-closet side.

(Arye Gross (Saul) and Tim Liu (Manford); Photo credit: Kevin Berne)

BD Wong is strong in monologue and scene as Wen Chang, the Beijing University coach. Mr. Wong plays the polite Chinese coach with all the comedic enthusiasm the role calls for, while also maintaining a depth that privies the audience to the skeletons in Wen’s closet. With one big reveal that this reviewer shall not ruin, Mr. Wong sets up the pay off with a gravitas that is beyond crafting, but purely instinctual with perfect cadence. Ruibo Qian delivers a wonderfully charming performance as Manford’s “adoptive” cousin, Connie. Though not blood-related, Connie and her family take responsibility for Manford, mistakes and all. Ms. Qian has the privilege of donning Meg Neville’s most 80’s-tastic costumes which, though comedic by today’s fashion context, are perfectly retro for 1989.

(BD Wong (Wen Chang); Photo credit: Kevin Berne)

Ms. Yee infuses the textual slow burn in how her plot points develop, a task which Ms. Peterson’s staging is well-equipped to handle, both in the athletic and dramatic entities. Danyon Davis’s movement coaching is polished and incredibly executed, as the foursome engages in a basketball drill-style dance around Mr. Liu’s Manford when the game of focus is in play. Yi Zhao’s lighting design has the right flare and dynamic variance to propel the more intimate moments forward while giving a pounding excitement to the more fast-paced scenes.

(L, going Clockwise: BD Wong (Wen Chang), Arye Gross (Saul); Ruibo Qian (Connie), Tim Liu (Manford); Photo credit: Kevin Berne)

You have until March 31st to capture a ticket to this gem of Bay Area theatre. Local playwright, local actor, and local professional theatre have come together to entertain and inform in a way that is relatable to audiences of all tastes and interests. Leap over to A.C.T.’s Geary Theatre and catch The Great Leap before the shot clock runs out!

Details:

The Great Leap runs through March 31st

Geary Theatre, American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco

www.act-sf.org