Products and/or services: Assessments, Training, Coaching and Consulting designed to identify and develop strengths, talents, abilities, functional excellence and emotional intelligence. Assessments include: the CORE Multidimensional Awareness Profile and the CORE Personal Effectiveness Profile, two of the most in-depth, accurate and insight producing assessments on the planet. The focus of our training, coaching and consulting is development of personal and work related skills and abilities, the development of emotional competence or emotional intelligence, and the development of interpersonal or relationship effectiveness. In business applications this includes leadership development, employee effectiveness, communicating and connecting, team building, sales, negotiation, persuasion and customer service. Every program is based around the three most important elements for success in any endeavor, business or personal. Those elements are (1) awareness and understanding of human dynamics (your own and those of others), (2) knowing how to use those dynamics to effect the best outcomes and (3) emotional intelligence. The emotional intelligence (or EQ) factor is extremely important in all areas of life, especially in personal and professional relationships and wise decision-making.

Target market: We work with people individually and in groups. Individually, our market is anyone who is actively seeking personal or professional excellence. This can be an individual that has been working at self-development for a long time without getting the results he/she desires or it can be someone who is highly effective in many areas, but is struggling in one or two areas, such as in relationships, managing employees, or discovering their authentic purpose and mission. We have found that people who are on the right life path (which includes their professional choices) are happier, more satisfied and, ultimately, far more effective at everything they do. They have higher self-esteem, healthier relationships, more successful careers and greater enjoyment of life overall.

Organizationally, our market is businesses that understand the importance of their people and are dedicated to building an environment that fosters loyalty, dedication and high productivity, and helping employees develop to their highest potential. Such organizations realize that when their people are highly functioning, they have relatively few management problems and realize substantial profit margins. Turning average employees into star performers really isn't all that difficult when the right techniques and methods are implemented. But, for that to happen, management must be on board.

The size of the business isn't as important as the attitude. Coaching and consulting is generally done one-on-one or with a manager and one employee anyway, and we make training available even to very small companies by providing workshops at our training facility where we can train one or two employees from several companies. And, of course, we also do training on-site for larger companies.

I decided a long time ago to focus on organizations that understand the importance of attending to the welfare and optimal development of their people. When a company understands the value of its people and supports their growth and well-being, really substantial changes can and do occur through the work we do. And substantial, positive change is what we are all about.

When and why did you join NAWBO? I was aware of the NAWBO mission from having been a member when headquartered in Wichita, KS but had not re-joined when our company relocated to Dallas in 1990. Cynthia Stine invited me to a NAWBO meeting at Spa Atelier in Las Colinas this past March and I found the DF/W members to be friendly, professional and serious about growing their businesses—a winning combination in my opinion—and I knew NAWBO was a must. I joined then and there. Time is a very valuable commodity to me so I am very particular about the associations I join. NAWBO seemed to be well worth the time/money investment and so far I have not been disappointed. The members are wonderful!

Committee involvement: I recently joined a NAWBO Mastermind group and would recommend it to anyone. What a great group of women. They are every one talented, intelligent and so willing to help one another succeed.

Impact NAWBO has had on your business or professional development: I joined NAWBO DF/W just three months ago, so have not yet had the opportunity to meet many members. I must say, however, that the members I have met so far have all been amazing. In just three meetings I have been given several good business leads and made to feel very welcome in this organization.

The best advice you've received: In the short time I have been associated with NAWBO came from Cynthia Stine. She said, "You've got to come to a NAWBO meeting. You're going to love the DF/W group." How right she was!

Advice or strategies: I don't have any advice beyond keep doing what you're doing. As my little grandson would say, you rock! I will share a strategy that I use which has always been beneficial to me and my clients. Not everyone can use it, but in the training/consulting business it has been very useful. I approach every client with just one thing in mind; helping them solve their problems. I never try to sell a product or service in the conventional sense. My approach is one of discovery and I always try to leave a potential client with something of value whether or not they need my products or services at the time we meet. It is possible that they will need help developing their people or solving a problem at a later date or they may know someone else who does and, when I am willing to go the extra mile before the sale, and even where no sale is likely to occur, the perception (and the reality) is that I will do the same when my services are needed.

I also offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee on everything I do. If I don't deliver everything I say I will, I don't believe I deserve to get paid. The no-risk guarantee makes doing business very safe and simple. I think any business that can offer a no-risk option should do it. I know many people who have failed to buy a company's offering because there was no guarantee of satisfaction and no willingness to demonstrate ability before money changed hands. I have rejected many proposals myself where the vendor was unwilling or unable to demonstrate his or her ability to provide what I needed prior to requiring payment for services. People are programmed to avoid risk and to seek value so anytime you can create a no-risk environment and guarantee value much of the initial resistance disappears.

What brings you joy in your work? Seeing people make huge, positive changes that both they and I know will forever impact their lives, both personally and professionally. That's especially true when a client has been searching for many, many years and has come to a place of frustration because they still haven't "arrived" in spite of all the work, and then they are handed the missing piece and they are suddenly off and running. That happens all the time in the work I do. I love that! I also love going into organizations where the managers and/or employees are struggling, and don't have a clue as to why, then sorting out and healing that dynamic so everyone understands one another, and begins communicating, cooperating and working together as a real team. Job satisfaction increases dramatically when that occurs and productivity goes through the roof.

What brings you joy in your personal life? Or What are your interests/hobbies? My joy comes from family, friends, reading and writing. My passion in life is to change the human dynamic that was observed by Henry David Thoreau when he wrote "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation". I address that in several ways; by living my own life authentically, by building healthy, loving relationships, and by doing work that feeds my soul and genuinely changes lives.

My interests revolve mainly around improving the human condition. My only hobby outside of that arena is gardening. It keeps me close to nature. I love reading and writing too, but I don't see those activities as hobbies. Yet, they are not my primary business either. Reading tends to be research related and writing is a sideline activity that allows me to expand my quest to minimize the "quiet desperation" syndrome that permeates so much of the world. I have written one book to date, "Who's got the Compass? . . .I Think I'm Lost!, and have contributed to another, The Productivity Path. I have several others in progress, which I work on in my spare time.

Charity support: I support several charities, including one I founded, The Foundation for Positive Change. I support the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, The Cancer Foundation, PBS Public Television, and Disabled American Veterans through donations. I support the Foundation for Positive Change through donations and the work I do to improve the human condition for families, couples and individuals who are in crisis for one reason or another and cannot afford the necessary interventions. I have a doctorate in psychology and my daughter and partner, Gina Morgan, is a certified grief counselor. Between us, we have 42 years of experience in helping people improve their lives and relationships and we have some of the best tools on the planet to guide us, so there is a lot we are able to do.

Other organizations: the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, International Association of Coaches, National Association of Seminar Leaders, and the Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce.

Book recommendations: I am an avid reader and have read a lot of good books, but I highly recommend Emotional Intelligence and Working with Emotional Intelligence, both by Daniel Goleman. The primary assessment we use, the CORE Multidimensional Awareness Profile, accurately measures EQ and predicts where an individual will be highly effective and where they are likely to struggle, and from the data we have collected over the years, the numbers of people who have high levels of EQ across the board are very small. Yet, dramatic improvements can be made in this area through awareness and simple training techniques. Emotional competence (EQ) is the number one predictor of success in every arena so its importance cannot be overstated. These books are real eye openers and are filled with researchable information. They don't provide an accurate assessment of EQ, but for anyone who wants one, the best there is exists right here in Dallas through Peak Potentials.

Please make a connection with NAWBO D/FW member Sherry Buffington today:

Sherry D. Buffington
Peak Potentials, Inc.
3214 Belt Line Rd Suite 434
Dallas, TX 75234-2399
972.488.1765 tel
sdb@coremap.com
www.coremap.com