What our clients are saying

As the Founder and CEO of Green Guard Services, I have been working with Charlie Martin at Think Change for the last four years or so. We have been growing at an incredibly rapid pace and Charlie has been able to help my team and I understand the importance of getting some fundamental things in place including our mission, core values, and clear company goals. The importance of putting employees first and building a healthy sustainable culture is a message he reverberates quite often. He has also helped us understand the importance of establishing clear goals, accountability, and alignment throughout the company to support individual and organizational success. It's hard to focus on the fundamentals when you are going incredibly fast but if you don't the wheels will come off. Focusing on the important versus the ``urgent`` is a major focus to sustain healthy growth as well. I would recommend Charlie to any business owner/CEO who wants to be able to grow and sustain high levels of accountability and productivity.

Charlie is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC), certified by the International coach Federation. In addition to his PCC certification, Charlie is also an experienced executive with over 35 years in significant senior executive roles, most of them in the hospitality, travel, transportation and tourism industries. He is also an accomplished author (From Ok to Excellence) and lecturer.
We retained Charlie as the leader of our performance management process within our organization and he made an incredible difference in our ability to get things done. Charlie helped us establish clarity about what we were trying to do. He also helped us to create the system to assure that our corporate goals were visible to our entire team and then helped the team to create their own goals that were aligned with ours to assure that the whole team would win. He also helped the team to understand how their individual contribution tied to accomplishing our company goals.
I believe that having the right performance management system in place, with Charlie's help and guidance, made a significant difference to our company success and it also has allowed me to focus on growing the business while still being able to stay on top of the performance of the team. On a business coaching level, we have worked with Charlie with differing degrees of intensity since 2005, and I have personally known and worked with Charlie in other capacities since 1985.

I worked with Charlie as my executive coach for about a year. When we first met, I was in a very visible position at the corporate office with responsibilities that touched all parts of the organization. I had risen to this position after being promoted 3 times in a short period of time. We started with my goals of being an influential reasonable voice in the organization and navigating the mine field of a rapidly growing company.
As we worked together on a weekly basis, the focus was on my understanding of who I am, and why and where I am headed, and why I am headed there. The ultimate goal was to help me become more effective in using my strengths to the advantage of the company and for my personal growth. Charlie was always focused 100% on me and my goals. His strong corporate background and coaching training gave him the ability listen extremely well and to ask the right questions at the right time; to help me get out of my own way in thinking about some of the issues I was facing. He encouraged me to continue to work on learning more about myself with assessments and reading, which always added value.
As we continued to work together, I was promoted again to the technical lead of our largest test/production site, and subsequently asked to take on more responsibility at that location as site manager. Our coaching relationship changed from in person meetings to a combination of Skype and telephone meetings. Although Charlie and I both preferred to meet face to face, the Skype and telephone meeting continued to be effective. Working with Charlie was very beneficial to me and has clearly been a great investment in my development by my company. It is rare that any of us get the opportunity to have a relationship with
someone who is not judging us, has no hidden agenda, and is there to support us 100% while continually encouraging our growth.

We have worked with Charlie from the later part of 2010 through 2012. He helped us go through the process of clarifying our mission, vision, values, strategy and company goals and then install a performance
management system to make it all work.
Charlie facilitated our annual planning meeting for both 2011 and 2012. We were able to leave our 2012 planning meeting with clear goals, measurement systems and action plans in place through the manager level. We also had plans in place, with deadlines, to establish goals
throughout the rest of the organization before the start of 2012.We decided this year to take the process down to the front line to achieve the engagement of the entire organization.
Charlie's performance management process gets outstanding results if correctly implemented and managed. The system requires clear goals that are aligned from top to bottom, with clear measurement tools and the supporting action plans to make it all happen, followed with the
appropriate recognition and reward systems to reinforce success.

Charlie is insightful, thoughtful and helpful. His passion to drive change is clear, and he is effective. I very much enjoyed and have benefited from working with Charlie and would highly recommend him as a great coach.

Charlie is an exceptional coach that will keep you focused on behaviors which lead to the results you want. He does a great job of holding you accountable while working around your foibles and quirks. He is a superb coach that I heartedly recommend.

Charlie assessed the management team of one of our portfolio companies, quickly and effectively identifying key strengths and weaknesses of the senior team. He used a number of tools and techniques, combined with years of operating experience, to give an overall profile of the individuals and the team collectively. His analysis and conclusions were spot on. He was insightful, efficient, respectful but persistent, great to work with and good value. I would highly recommend him to anyone wishing to assess their team or pursue individual career coaching.

It is my pleasure to write a recommendation for Charlie Martin. I have had the unique experience of having Charlie as a client and then ultimately being a client of his. Charlie was instrumental in helping my partner and I to develop a plan to take our business to the next level. Charlie is a consultant/coach that will ask the right questions, listen intently, and then deliver suggestions and strategies that will send your business into high gear.
I would recommend Charlie to anyone looking to advance themselves, their team and their business to all new heights.

I read his book, I took some personal sessions with Charlie, and my business and personal focus has never been better. Thanks Charlie.

My work with Charlie Martin, an experienced Executive Leadership Coach, over the last few years has been insightful and meaningful. His insight was extremely valuable throughout my career and most relevant in my role as Director of Human Resources at a rapidly growing technology based company. His support developing my leadership skills and advice on how to develop leaders has been especially valuable. His wisdom designing a highly productive workforce has proven accurate and necessary for any company to sustain in today?s market. If you are in a leadership role and want to develop a workforce that is highly productive and engaged I highly recommend reading his book ?From OK to Excellence?. You will find his blog www.fromoktoexcellence.com very interesting and you can access his book there as well. The best way to experience what Charlie has to offer is to engage him as your Executive Coach. He will have a positive impact on achieving your metrics. I wish you a very successful rest of the year!

I began working with Charlie as my coach as I was finishing my last class toward my Ph.D. in Leadership. My next step in the process was to complete my dissertation. Charlie and I worked together over of a period of around 18 months. Charlie did a great job of helping me identify priorities, provide structure, and then held me accountable for executing on the action plan to complete my research, write my dissertation, and get it approved. Charlie is a great listener and was able to hear what I was and wasn't saying. His coaching was the key factor in achieving another one of my dreams, becoming a Ph.D. I highly recommend Charlie as a coach for anyone wanting to achieve big goals. Col. Marianne S. Waldrop, USMC, (Ret.), Ph.D.

Charlie is an experienced executive coach that has decades of experience in the business world. His broad based experience allows him to hone in on client objectives and add measurable value towards the achievement of long term goals. He is an exceptional listener, has strong intuition, and always holds his clients accountable for taking action. Charlie has personally served as a business coach, mentor, and friend. I would highly recommend him to anyone seeking both personal and professional advancement.

Charlie's moniker The Clarity Coach perfectly describes his immense talent as an executive coach. Working with Charlie has been one of the best business decisions I've made. His guidance and intelligent approach to truly helping you be the BEST you can be goes beyond measure. Charlie has a truly productive way of drawing out what's holding you back from the success you're trying so hard to achieve. If you're looking for clarity in your life and your career, Charlie is your answer!!

I had the immense privilege of having Charlie as a mentor while I was pursuing my MBA at Cal State San Marcos, while I was also working. During that time, Charlie helped me navigate the added pressure of a full course load, with the requirements of a full time job. Charlie is one of the best listeners I have ever met. His ability to sift through the details of our conversations to help me pinpoint proactive actions I could take to help better myself as a leader were impeccable. Charlie made me feel like he came to our meetings full of compassion and wisdom. I am someone that is constantly running from one thing to the next, Charlie helped me to take a quick moment to breathe, observe, and plan a conscious path forward. I look forward to every meeting with Charlie and value his skill at asking the right questions to help me focus on my goals. He helped me through two promotions and a new job search and helped me find the confidence to pursue roles that I really have a passion about.