Too Many Trees

January 2025 Cohort

September 2024 Cohort

September 2025 Cohort

It takes a different mindset to succeed as an executive. I have coached over a hundred executives to greater success over the past five years, and discovered three mindset shifts that are shared by executives from startup CXOs to directors at big-tech companies. 1) Results, not effort. You get judged by the results you create through others, not by how hard you worked. 2) Risk, then reward. Playing it safe slows down your career growth. 3) Clarity, then focus. You can't do it all, so you have to ruthlessly prioritize.

How to Unlock Your Executive Potential

In this chapter from my book, You Have A Choice: Beyond Hard Work to Meaningful Impact, I lay out the themes that drive my coaching approach: -- Change means letting go.-- How are you the problem?-- The only thing you control is your next action. -- You have a choice. I'd love to send you a PDF of that chapter so you can get a sense of who I am and how I think before you sign up for my course.

You Have A Choice introduction

​Succeeding as an executive requires a completely different mindset than what brought you success early in your career. 

Eric Nehrlich 

Become a More Effective Executive

Sr. Director of Product Management & GM

Chief of Staff. Scaled Operations. 

Senior Manager

Senior Managing  Director, Product Development

Early in your career:-- You are rewarded for working harder and independently solving problems.-- You earn more credibility by knowing more and demonstrating domain expertise.-- You get more scope (and promoted!) by taking on more with a “can-do” attitude. But that all changes as an executive:-- You build and lead teams and systems to solve problems rather than do the work yourself.-- You ask questions of the experts to manage trade offs across different domains.-- You decide on the top strategic priorities to address, and deliver results through others by mobilizing and coordinating people across different functions and perspectives. What’s particularly difficult about this transition is that nobody prepares you for it; you are expected to just figure it out. I’ve had many clients come to me in frustration that they are no longer exceeding expectations as they once were, and I’m the first person to tell them that their job has changed. I’ve also had clients who feel stuck and can’t figure out what is keeping them from reaching their next level of leadership. This class is designed to share the secrets of this transition with a wider audience. This course is for you if you feel stuck in your career, wondering what you need to do differently to reach the next level. Perhaps you are a senior individual contributor or a front-line manager who keeps getting passed over for the next promotion with feedback about being more strategic, or having more presence or influence. In this course, you will learn how to:-- Develop the presence to walk into board meetings and command respect.-- Effectively influence a broader range of stakeholders by speaking to their interests.&nbsp;-- Create a roadmap towards your ideal job rather than just climbing a ladder that others define.-- Design an inspirational vision so you can ask for the help you need to create it.-- Increase your trust in your resilient capacity to handle difficult situations and conversations.-- Articulate the values and principles that guide your decision making.-- Design structures and processes to scale your leadership in alignment with your values.-- Focus on what really matters and say no to everything else. The material in this class is based on my personal experience working with the top leaders of Google as the Search Ads Chief of Staff, as well as coaching over a hundred clients to greater scope and promotions. Scroll down for testimonials. How you will get the most value:This is not a sit back and listen course. We will have active discussions in class, and I will expect you to experiment with putting what we discuss into practice between sessions. The more you engage, the more benefit you will get. This course is not for you if you expect me to hand you the answers. The real value of the course will be in your reflection and engagement between our live sessions. As I say to all of my coaching clients, "Nothing changes because we talk. Your life will change when _you_ change your life." Bonus material:-- A free copy of my book, You Have A Choice: Beyond Hard Work to Meaningful Impact-- Video recording of all live sessions via the Maven platform-- A private Slack group to connect with your cohort and share insights between sessions and after the workshop completes.&nbsp;-- Discounted 1:1 coaching sessions with Eric

Being effective as an executive requires embracing new mindsets and skills

Course syllabus

The classes will be structured as 1 hour of content and live coaching from Eric and Q&amp;A, and an optional 30 minutes of group coaching where you can get advice on your particular situation. Sept. 4, 11, 18, 25, Oct. 2

Live class sessions on Thursdays

Between sessions, I expect students to practice the skills we discuss, applying them in their day-to-day professional interactions. I will also challenge them to experiment with changing their default behaviors and responses to certain situations, to help them develop new skills.

Weekly practices and experiments

Course schedule

You're a senior IC or front-line manager wondering what you have to do differently to get to the executive level.

Your performance feedback no longer celebrates your expertise and effort, and instead focuses more on strategy, influence, and presence.

You are working harder and longer but falling further behind. Doing more isn't sustainable so you need to find a new way to get things done.

This course is for you if: 

What you’ll get out of this course

Changing your mindset will allow you to generate results from your organization without you being directly involved. By learning how to align your team behind your vision and values, you will understand how to lead hundreds of people with a unified purpose.

How to scale your leadership to create greater team and company impact

Develop the presence to walk into board meetings and command respect.

Increased confidence and executive presence.

Success as an executive depends on working cross-functionally with other leaders to deliver company results. I will help you build the skills to effectively influence a broader range of stakeholders by speaking to their interests.&nbsp;

Greater influence across the leadership team. 

Learn to co-create a collaborative vision of what needs to happen, secure commitments to that vision from relevant stakeholders, then hold them accountable to help you create it.

How to deliver on complex projects through influence and persuasion rather than control.

By understanding your own triggers and limiting beliefs, you will increase your resilient capacity to handle difficult situations. I will help you develop the key skill of accepting people and circumstances as they are, rather than as you wish they were.

How to better handle difficult conversations, including political conflict, while remaining calm. 

Instead of climbing a career ladder defined by others and anchoring on external metrics like title and compensation, you will look inward to understand what motivates and energizes you. Then, you will create a <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/creating-work-you-want-eric-nehrlich-hv2ue/?trackingId=8FGSN37KQ6uJu4EG5HEB7A%3D%3D" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">roadmap towards a more meaningful and satisfying job</a>.

A path for continued career growth without working unsustainable hours.

Grow Your Executive Influence and Get Things Done

Eric Nehrlich

Former Engineer turned Google Chief of Staff, now an Executive Coach

Learn what drives success for executives, and use your insights to craft communications that grow trust.

Create Rapport with Executives

Get more headcount and budget by translating what you do into the numbers executives present to the finance team.

Build Powerful Business Cases

Once you show you understand what brings executive success, you will gain greater independence to focus on what matters.

Earn More Autonomy

Become an Executive in 2025

Executive Coach, ex-Google Chief of Staff, Author of You Have A Choice

If you keep doing what you're doing, you'll get the same results. Look for the next quantum leap, and go after it.

How to plan 2025 to dramatically accelerate your career

Executives think differently about risk to create more impact. Embrace uncertainty to raise your ambition.

Big leaps require greater risk.

More scope means more work. You need a plan for what you'll stop doing, or you'll end up burning yourself out.

You can't do it all, so what will you choose to do?

​Succeeding as an executive requires a completely different mindset than what brought you success early in your career.

How your job changes when you transition into leadership.

Your work is no longer about doing things yourself, but leading others to get the work done through communication.

How to operate differently to succeed as an executive.

It is difficult and uncomfortable to let go of what previously brought you success, and start over as a beginner.

Too Many Trees

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