Bob McCulloch is a recognized authority in providing strategic guidance and executive coaching for tomorrow’s top business leaders.
Employing a question-based approach and with over 40 years’ experience, he is able to build strong, trust-based relationships with senior-level executives who are looking to move the needle in their careers from good to great.
At a very young age, Bob McCulloch learned that the best answers are those you discover for yourself. From his childhood in north Toronto to his career as a strategic advisor and executive coach, questions have formed the foundation of Bob’s approach. Where are you now? Where do you want to be? What is standing in your way? What opportunities can you seize? The willingness to never stop questioning himself has led Bob to build a career based on integrity, creativity, and sound strategy, all values that he offers each of his clients.
Bob earned a BSc from the University of Toronto and an MBA from the University of Western Ontario before taking a position in sales with IBM. At that point, IBM was at the forefront of innovation and technology, from mainframes through personal computers. Bob took on the challenge of teaching non-technical executives about the technology their companies were installing and how to manage them.
This was a turning point: he learned how to effectively frame difficult, technical topics in language that was manageable and approachable. The ability to communicate clearly and to transform a subject that was completely alien into something usable, too, became another tool in his growing toolbox. His role at IBM was focused now in helping teams work to develop and implement effective strategies.
After 10 years, Bob McCulloch left IBM in order to pursue this newfound passion: facilitating teams as they worked through their own strategies. He joined DMR Group (now Fujitsu Consulting) and focused on strategic planning as well as education and training. From technical skills to management and leadership skills, Bob helped employees and customers throughout Canada, the United States, Europe, and Australia.
In 1989, Bob left DMR and set out on his own. CYOR Inc. focused on helping clients develop business strategy. Always questioning, always seeking to grow, Bob joined three strategy practitioners and formed Johnson Smith International.
The focus here was on high level strategy work, and Bob further developed his personal approach to advising as a facilitator of strategy, rather than as a strategist.
In 2011, Bob went back to school and earned a Certificate in Executive Coaching from Royals Roads University. This became a natural complement to his strategic advisory work. This was supplemented in 2012 by a special course in Team Coaching delivered by Alexander Caillet and Chris Wahl both of whom are on the faculty of Georgetown University’s coaching program.
Bob McCulloch still believes the best answers are those you discover for yourself both as an individual and as a team. This is the single best way to build consensus, commitment, and passion in individuals and organizations. It is the single best way to find the solutions that will work for you on a personal and collective level.
