Here's what others have to say...
"Dear Todd: I want to express my gratitude for the relationship that has developed between us. The approach you've taken in my coaching experience has been very beneficial in helping me understand myself and others. Best wishes to you and Baker & Daboll."
K. Grass, President & CEO,
The David J. Joseph Co.
"It was a true pleasure working with you and your team over a period of several months. The professionalism, attention to detail and thoroughness of your firm more than met my expectations as we worked together to evaluate, understand and develop our management team. The knowledge gained has been a real asset in understanding what makes us tick and how to reach our collective potential. All involved regularly refer to many of the skills and tools learned throughout the process and we see this only as a starting point, not a destination. On a more personal note, the one on one coaching was excellent and time well spent as I too learned how to utilize my strengths and recognize my blind spots. Thanks for your efforts and patience. All the best!"
D. Sinkhorn, President & CEO, Crane America Services Inc.
"Tapke Asset Management is a privately owned investment advisory firm with $500 million in client assets under management. We engaged Vivian and Baker & Daboll, LLC when poor internal communications was beginning to impact our ability to evaluate data and make timely decisions. The office environment had become one of individual contractors versus the cohesive management team necessary for success. Through one-on-one coaching sessions with Vivian and her use of and expertise with various assessment tools, I began to have insights into how to better utilize my unique leadership and communication style. We eventually expanded the scope of her engagement to provide some basic evaluation of all team members' communication styles. Our entire team benefited from the engagement through open discussion about communication styles. In our business, one measure of client satisfaction is client retention. If that is true in the consulting business, the fact that we have asked Vivian back for a second engagement should be our best endorsement."
R. H. Tapke, Jr., President, Tapke Asset Management, LLC
"What has been the most useful aspect of your coaching experience" - "Having a sounding board and a new perspective from which to gain insight."
D. A. Fecher, President & CEO, Wright-Patt Credit Union, Inc.
"Through Vivian's insight, business knowledge, experience, coaching expertise, listening, persistence and caring, I began to acknowledge and practice what I knew intuitively was true - the old ways of doing things would not make me successful in the future. I was willing to explore, practice and implement changes to my leadership and management style that I would have resisted in the past, because there was never a doubt in my mind that Vivian was committed to my success and the success of Lucette Crane. It was great and I am a better leader - just ask my staff."
J. Burck, President, Lucette Crane Systems, Inc.
"Baker & Daboll, LLC was selected to provide executive coaching services based on their professionalism, experience, and proven methodology. And the choice to work with the President and CEO of Baker & Daboll, LLC, Todd A. Uterstaedt, was an easy one for me. As early as our first meeting Todd and I struck up a great rapport. Coaching depends on a working relationship based on trust. Todd established a basis for trust in the first five minutes and worked hard for over 6 months to continue to build that trusting relationship. I count him now and will continue to see Todd as my most valued supporter. You just know that Todd is there for you. He gently but purposefully brings you back to action. With such an insightful, skilled and polished coach supported by an incredibly detailed methodology based on your strengths (not your weaknesses) - you cannot help but improve your leadership performance. Todd is a resolute professional and all-round good guy. I am delighted to stand as a reference for the work of Baker & Daboll, LLC in general and Todd A. Uterstaedt in particular."
R. West, Chief Operating Officer,
Sandor Development Company (formerly of Lauth Property Group, LLC)
"Todd, Thank you again for permanently changing the course of my life. I'll always wish that I had been through this coaching experience with you ten to fifteen years earlier in my life. I can only imagine about the opportunities that I could have capitalized on. You're the best and I'm also looking forward to staying in touch. Steve."
S. G. Eppink, Senior Vice President
Construction Operations, Lauth Property Group, LLC
"Dear Vivian, I have been very pleased with the expertise, advice, and quality direction you have brought to Messer and the Health Care Leadership Team. Your ability to capture the current status through our work sessions, create plans for improvement, and develop strategies to achieve has been consistently outstanding. With your help, professionalism and tools we have enjoyed great progress and success in developing a cohesive, effective and professional team. I am grateful to you for all your assistance. I look forward to an opportunity to work together again in the future. "
M. Derr, Healthcare Director, Messer Construction Company
"I really enjoyed meeting weekly with Todd. Todd pushed me and challenged me at a time when I didn't want to necessarily be challenged. However, with Todd's help I feel I was able to address certain areas of my personality and professional approach that were outside my usual style. I'm excited to move forward in my professional career feeling that I have a resource (Todd) that I didn't have before. None months ago I wasn't sure coaching was for me, but I was looking to try something different to learn and grow. This journey of professional self-discovery is having an impact not only in my professional career, but also in my volunteer life as well as my personal life. Thanks Todd!"
C. Kohn, Administrator, Glendale Place Care Center
"The ultimate outcome of my executive coaching engagement far exceeded my expectations. After working with Vivian for just four short months, I was able to clearly identify my strengths and how to best apply them. I began to understand what issues were holding me back and how to best address them. And I established realistic short and long term goals that now keep me focused. Her positive approach to learning and increased self-awareness allowed me to explore and try different approaches and solutions to my current challenges. Vivian had a unique ability to help me reflect on my past experiences, consider the information gained from assessments, question my concerns and celebrate my previous successes all in a manner that led me to knowing what I needed to do and having the confidence to do it.
I now know I will have a strong and successful Integrative Medicine practice that will greatly improve the quality of life of my patients and have a positive impact on the practice of medicine. Vivian played a key role in helping me finally make that decision."
Dr. J. Sacco, Radiation Oncologist, OHC, Inc.
"I became familiar with the Birkman program through enrollment in MGT 612 (Managing People and Organizations) during the spring semester of 2008 in the MBA program at Northern Kentucky University. As a supplement to the course curriculum, Professor Vivian Kist asked us to complete a Birkman analysis to aid in our understanding of our own leadership traits, as well as supplement an individual SWOT analysis. I strongly recommend that anyone interested in a leadership capacity consider using the Birkman tools. The information I learned will help me to improve my chances of not only being a valued and top-notch employee but also a transformational leader. As a result of the Birkman tools, I have created an action plan to improve my leadership abilities and I plan to continue to fine tune it as my career progresses. As a graduate student, I seek practical and real-life course content that I can apply to my work life. Birkman was one of the most applied and practical areas of learning for me thus far. I will be able to use the knowledge I have gained to help myself into a successful career."
J. W. Fox, Adjunct Faculty, Northern Kentucky University
"Todd was instrumental in increasing my
self-awareness of my strengths and
opportunity areas in managing an organization
of eleven direct reports and significantly
improved my collaboration style within the
Personal Care Leadership Team. The changes
he helped me make around my working style
in five months increased my confidence as a
leader and led to my promotion. I am forever
indebted to Todd for helping me achieve
my goals."
Y. Chavda, Procter & Gamble
"I had a very positive experience with Todd as an executive coach. He is knowledgeable, smart and has a rich range of experiences to draw from. Todd's military background and work he has done with P&G was a great combination to understand the P&G organizational culture and provide leadership examples from his military background. Todd has a great ability to connect, touch, move and inspire you. He is a skilled listener and asks the right questions to make sure his understanding is accurate. Through a series of discussions and assessments I am now more self aware. He took me through steps that led to a perception change on how others view me and increased my effectiveness. I use the tips that Todd taught me daily in my job and with my direct reports."
S. Komarek, Procter and Gamble
"Dear Vivian, Baker & Daboll has given me the tools that I need to be an effective leader by understanding myself and how others perceive of me. I felt my relationship was brilliant in forming building blocks for success on the job."
P. Arellano, ABM, Procter & Gamble
"Professor Vivian Kist introduced the Birkman Analysis in the MGT 612 Spring 2008 class as a supplement to the teaching material. I was thoroughly impressed by the level of detail contained within the Birkman analysis. It provided me with an excellent interpersonal analysis of what my interests, needs, usual behaviors and stress behaviors were. Based on the learning's from Birkman, I was able to positively identify my strengths and weaknesses when working within a team. Further, it improved my negotiating skills to a huge extent. I have seen some highly intelligent people struggle in their careers because of a lack in management capability. It is very important to know about one's strengths and weaknesses to be successful in a business career. This also gives an excellent opportunity for students to help improve their strengths and analyze areas where they are vulnerable when it comes to working in a multi-cultural environment."
J. Kumar, Project Engineer, ZF Steering Systems, LLC
"Vivian is a blessing. It [the coaching] has all been very helpful. Just wish we had more coaching sessions. I loved it! Wouldn't change a thing. Thank you for doing what you do with so much heart. Really great work!"
P. Turk, Senior Vice President of Human Resources, Farmers National Bank
"Vivian is very good and I recommend her highly!"
R. Lawton, Senior Vice President, Chief Lending Officer, Farmers National Bank
"(Describe any changes you have seen in your style as a result of your coaching experience.) - Improved my listening skills, awareness of co-workers, learning style and facilitation skills. - (What specific learning are you applying and how has this lesson improved your effectiveness?) - Facilitation skills. Build consensus. Working on the same priorities as my boss. (What has been the most useful aspect of your coaching experience?) - An understanding of my Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT)."
N. Mustacich, Operations Manager - 3M Account, PAC Worldwide
"Baker & Daboll was instrumental in the further development of my leadership skills. Sixteen years in leadership positions, and I had never focused as much on understanding what truly motivates an individual as I did with Todd. I expected to improve my coaching skills. I didn't expect to learn so much about myself in the process. Todd challenged and pushed me to look deeper into situations and past my comfort zone. He has an intrinsic value about himself, and always seemed to know when there was something more during our coaching events. I strongly recommend Todd and Baker & Daboll to everyone looking for challenging and exciting executive coaching."
A. Matthew, Director of Construction, IH Suncoast Homes, Inc.
"I had the opportunity to work with Todd for ten months and in that time experienced more personal and professional growth than ever before in my 20 year professional career. Every expectation I had prepared for in my quest to go from a good manager and leader to a senior executive was exceeded by Todd. In fact, my direct reports and the organization's national leadership team have commented on positive professional growth without even being aware of our business relationship. Todd was instrumental in assisting me and the organization in reaching our common, ever changing goals and objectives. Whether short term or long term, his commitment to our partnership was critical to the Ohio Chapter and my personal success. Together we have solidified my future capacity to sustain our rapid growth and to ensure future successes. The Executive Coaching experience enabled me to explore, refine and practice executive level competencies that are critical to my future as an executive leader and without doubt had an immediate impact in every aspect of this complex business, my life, and career. He allowed me to believe I could make these behavior changes sustainable and he also built my confidence by constantly re-enforcing every small victory I achieved along the way. In addition to the resources Todd made available, he also helped me understand myself and how to adapt to any situation I encounter. "
J. Banchy, State Director, Ohio Chapter, March of Dimes
"Working with Vivian as my coach has been interesting and very often eye opening in many ways. Vivian has taken the time to really understand who I am as a manager and a person. With this insight, she was able to help me set long and short-term goals that stretched me, but were achievable using the methods and thought processes taught. Vivian knows how passionate I am about what I do and the direction my career is headed. She continues to fuel the fire that I am driven by with just as much drive."
N. Schmalle, Independent Living Dining Manger, Llanfair Retirement Community
"Todd...your professionalism...certainly helped me present myself in a positive manner that showcased my skills and accomplishments. I just cannot imagine being in any type of transition without your help and support."
R. Majeski, Del Monte
"Vivian has a unique ability to immediately gain trust and openness. She
helped us consider management alternatives that built upon our strengths and
produced the best business results. She coached me and my management team
to a deeper awareness of our leadership styles and how our behaviors
impacted those we led. The result was reduced turnover and improved
productivity. Her previous work experience in Technology allowed her to
relate our work environment and immediately gain creditability with the
team. This same experience allowed her to suggest approaches and solutions
that worked well with our technical personnel. Vivian's coaching truly made
us a better management team."
T. Huddle, Chief Information Officer, Law Firm
"Vivian was the single most important factor in my career growth and
success. Her ability to provide sound direction and advice in a
professional yet personal way contributes to her excellent coaching ability.
Her special characteristics, including honesty and integrity, allowed me to
be open-minded and trusting. Her approach, comforting yet strong, allowed
for me to accept constructive feedback which led to positive change and
results."
L. Oppedisano, Director of Practice Services, Law Firm
"The ability to help others bring out their personal best is an attribute that Todd Uterstaedt has and obviously spends time cultivating'as well as his heartfelt compassion permeating his work, thereby making his connections real."
D. Hoskins, Time Warner Cable
"Todd has a very professional style and superior intellect, but truly, it is his unique ability to connect with A-players and challenge them to achieve greater levels of performance that distinguishes him from that of his peers-Todd challenged me to be honest with myself and reflect upon areas where my perceptions were at odds with the diagnostic results."
C. Richard, Milacron
"Working with Vivian has had a profound impact on both my professional and
personal life. She's made me see that attitude is everything. With her
help and support I was able to identify where I was and where I wanted to
be. We worked on both strengths and weaknesses, positives and negatives,
and in the end I felt as though I'd been given a new future with all the
tools I needed to be a successful manager."
P. Rennick, Manager of Assisted Living, Llanfair Retirement Community
"Todd helped me put things into perspective and started me on a journey of discovering my strengths and weaknesses. Through various different exercises and discussions over a four-month period of time, I realized that I have a great deal of work to do in order to reach the goals I have set for myself."
S. Lent, Knochelmann Service Experts
