The following excerpts originally appeared in the March 2000 issue of Fast Company magazine.

"It takes a strong stomach to listen
to how other people see you."

by Tony Schwartz

• So what are we to make of this plethora of personal coaches who've suddenly swarmed the corporate landscape, promising to help executives organize their lives, orchestrate their careers, and define their dreams?

• The concept of tutoring goes back to ancient Athens.  The term "mentoring" comes from Homer's The Odyssey, in which the character Mentor was a tutor to Telemachus.  And who would deny the enormous value of a good coach in sports--both as a teacher of technical skills and as a source of inspiration?
  
  So why not take advantage of good coaching to gain a competitive advantage?  Why not use objective outside counsel and support to help you develop the communication, time-management, self-management, and interpersonal skills necessary to perform on today's corporate playing field--where the pressures have never been higher and the rules are constantly changing?

• ...take stock of your own behavior and its impact on others.  Ask yourself, What patterns from your past and in your current personal life get played out at work--and are they serving you well?  If not, what are your key strengths, and are you using them to their best effort?  Finally, is what you're doing aligned with your deepest values--and with your company's mission?