The HeART of Laser-Focused Coaching: A Revolutionary Approach to Masterful Coaching

If you're a coach, this is a book you'll want to read with a pen and notebook alongside - to jot down the thoughts and ideas you have for your current clients - and more! There are lots of great examples to illustrate the difference that the Laser Coaching method can make to 1) what the coach focuses on and 2) the outcomes that can be achieved as a result. We know the client's mindset is important, but what about ours? We are encouraged to be more direct (which I love!) and to focus on transformational coaching - as opposed to a pure problem/solution approach. I totally agree that we shouldn't just "believe the client" and should delve deeper into the story and underlying beliefs and assumptions for the greatest impact. And the author helpfully ALSO shares her method to do just that! I love that we are asked questions throughout the book to help us reflect on what we've personally taken away. And we're also asked where it could lead if you implement her laser-focused coaching method! As someone who has been coaching for a number of years, I loved the concepts shared. I agreed with many, AND I have also been given some fresh, extremely practical ideas to try! I thoroughly recommend this book to all levels of coaches, but especially those coaches who have been practicing for a while, or may feel they've got stuck in a rut!

Read the biography above and you’ll know why Marion Franklin is highly qualified to write a book that encapsulates the heart of coaching and shares that heart with wisdom and skill. This book is simply brilliant – it picks up where other books and training leave off. It gives coaches, whether professionally trained or not, the tools necessary to be a true agent for change in their client’s lives. Though the book has a textbook-like depth of information, it’s a fascinating and interesting read. Every bit of information makes so much sense: e.g. how she breaks down the coaching conversation into three parts, yet dissects each part for complete understanding; her encouragement to use silence and themes; her unique way to ask questions and create shifts. These have already helped me to significantly change my coaching perspective and approach. Woven into all this amazing information are actual conversations with her own clients, which are made more impactful because she tells the reader what her thinking process was throughout the conversation. Whether you’re trained or not, a new coach or highly-seasoned one, I fully recommend this book. It is truly worth its weight in gold.

I am a current coaching student and have looked at and/or read many coaching books from a wide variety of areas, evidenced based to different schools of thought. This book is BY FAR the best coaching book I've read out of all of that. It not only distills down the essence of coaching, but then breaks it down for optimal learning. So you're not reading a bunch of theory, or reading a self help focused book and trying to figure out how to not apply it to yourself but as a coach. There are so many gems in this book and it really teaches you how to "laser in" to whatever is really bothering your client, or their true barrier to reaching whatever goals they may have. It goes way beyond just instilling habits as many have written about; in fact, I have personally discovered that habits, while they can be effective, they are more often just another tool in our toolbox and more often it is a secondary strategy, not the first. Marion's book really teaches you how to first figure out what the barriers truly are, and then reach a shift in thinking. Once that shift has happened, then you can deploy your tools to reinforce, like habits or all the other things you can find in other sources and books. This book really is a gem and highly recommend it for beginning to expert coaches - there is also a course on Marion's site and I encourage you to take it, which teaches the book's concepts. I'm going through it now and it really brings the book's contents to life.

The valuable insights provided by Marion Franklin in this book are priceless. If you are looking to go deeper with your coaching and go beyond "the outline or program" provided by many coaching schools, this is the resource for you. Presented in a clear and logical manner that also provides questions to prompt introspection, you will find this book to be a go-to reference to develop a finer coaching edge and then keep it honed. I employ Marion's coaching approach and my coaching quality almost immediately improved many folds. A gift to the coaching world that should be a standard for new coaches.

This book is a game changer for getting to the core for deeper coaching. This is a wise and profound easy-to-use book with best practices any level coach can apply right away. You’ll learn about twenty-five themes that show up in our coaching conversations and what is needed to help your clients make long-lasting change around them. You’ll get a broad range of “how-to” techniques for powerful perspective shifting. You’ll discover seventeen strategies clients subconsciously resort to that hold them back. You’ll find true-life examples and actionable approaches that are life-changing and eye-opening for your coaching, your clients, and yourself too! This is a book you will want to refer to again and again. It’s a jewel! Read it!

If creatures from outer space came upon this world and were handed a ‘Guide to Humans’ it would be this book. Since it would be nice for the world's population to have this kind of crucial knowledge, I implore as many people as possible to purchase this book for themselves or anyone they wish to enlighten to practical and pragmatic, yet wholly transformative information. For those professionals out there coaching clients, this book should be mandatory. An example of one of my favorite techniques in this book: The power of the short-format conversation. Most all emotions, confusion, and decision paralysis can be solved in very short order with the right listener. I’ve experienced major clarity in 30, 20, even 10 minutes with this specific body of work. Can you imagine this kind of power in your life? Acquiring this laser super power to sort through people’s irrelevant stories in order to mine life-changing golden nuggets is a skill worth more than $19.95 and the invested time spent reading this book. Apply her techniques - such as curiously questioning *why* someone is telling you a story vs the *what* of it, or, finding the profound underpinning of beliefs that show up in seemingly insignificant comments and details in conversation - to clients, to coworkers, friends, and family and watch your life simplify and find power. Author Marion Franklin spares us the 'expert, guru' talk usually associated with 'coaching’. She plows through the nonsense of prescriptive advice-giving. Her approach to tearing off clients' blinders is gentle, wrought with genuine tough love, and mastery. She suffers no fools amongst the brain synapses that keep people stuck, and isn't afraid to wield her power of insight and spot-on line of questioning to help someone breakthrough to their goals. She teaches us precisely how to do this. A pioneer not only in laser coaching, Marion Franklin is held in high esteem by insiders, pillars of this industry, and amongst founders of early coaching methodology and standards. Relevant, effective, and untainted by the ebbs and flows of this industry's trends, she espouses the original essence of 1-on-1 guided self-inquiry. She offers access to a new level of awareness and simple techniques for moving people (and ourselves!) beyond challenges and into achieving goals. She shares with us her greatest hits: tried & true, timeless, and as universal as being human. Simple and essential is the work graciously given to us by the author, a true Master. And what important work it is.

In my opinion, this book should be required reading for all coaches, HR managers and team leaders in any field. It covers important foundational topics like how to improve listening and questioning skills then goes into detail about the elements of a masterful coaching conversation. Through various examples, Marion shines the light on how all the pieces fit together to achieve amazing insight and transformational outcomes for our clients. One of my favorite things about this book and Marion’s style of teaching is her straightforward practical approach. There is no fluff here. Every point and example in this book is like a little golden nugget. You will not just get value from your first reading. As you really dig into the material and start putting it into practice, I believe you will find many layers of wisdom packed into each idea and technique. . The included index also makes this book the perfect resource to grab for quick answers to your coaching questions, so you will want to keep it close at hand. In full disclosure, it has been my privilege to have Marion Franklin at my side as my coach and mentor for almost a decade. The HeART of Laser-Focused Coaching encapsulates what she has taught for many years in her full coach training program. It truly reflects her dedication to excellence and her deep desire to help coaches at every level improve their skills and increase their confidence. Whether you are a complete novice or a coach with many years experience, I believe you will find this book to be immensely valuable.

I am ambivalent about this book. Overall, it is a great coaching book and one that I will re-read again to better grasp the concepts and the mindset of getting to the heart of the matter. Getting to the heart of the matter is much better than applying coaching "prescriptions": lists of questions or techniques that make coaching mechanistic and do not solve the deeper-rooted problem or block of the client. But I also had problems with the book. Some passages I had to read again and again. It can be that I was distracted but I at times I found sentences slippery, imprecise or just too general or obvious. Maybe it is because I am just not on the same wave-length with the author. To repeat again -- the intention and the ideas in the book are strong. I was impressed by a demonstration in an early chapter how Laser Coaching or Deep coaching and conventional one differ. Within minutes the former leads to discovering something new and important about the client and the latter just beats around the bush with questions like "How do you want the ideal outcome to look like?" quickly solving the wrong issue. So, my advice to you is to get a sample and see for yourself if the book if for you. I will definitely re-read it some time in the future.

Amazing book on coaching. I like it because its not written for the newbie coach who dose not yet understand the coaching process. Most books waste a bunch of pages explaining what coaching is and the ICF core competencies. This is a great next step for coaches that are actively coaching at some level and need help discerning the deeper issues the client is not initially presenting. This book offers is a breakdown of the structure of a coaching conversation and strategies to get right to the core of the clients story or need. Really, really well done and I found myself constantly picking up the pen to underline and write in the margin. I love books like this which are fresh and offer new ideas and insights. This is a must own for coaches!!

Before I read this book my coaching was very formula-driven. Using the formula did not allow me to be as present with my clients as I wished I could have been. The information in this book changed all that! Now I am much more present, the calls are more fluid and organic, and my clients are learning much more about themselves. I have become much more comfortable and confident in my coaching style. Thank you, Marion, for your no-nonsense approach to coaching. My clients and I are more enlightened because of you and your wonderful book.

If you're a coach, this is a book you'll want to read with a pen and notebook alongside - to jot down the thoughts and ideas you have for your current clients - and more! There are lots of great examples to illustrate the difference that the Laser Coaching method can make to 1) what the coach focuses on and 2) the outcomes that can be achieved as a result. We know the client's mindset is important, but what about ours? We are encouraged to be more direct (which I love!) and to focus on transformational coaching - as opposed to a pure problem/solution approach. I totally agree that we shouldn't just "believe the client" and should delve deeper into the story and underlying beliefs and assumptions for the greatest impact. And the author helpfully ALSO shares her method to do just that! I love that we are asked questions throughout the book to help us reflect on what we've personally taken away. And we're also asked where it could lead if you implement her laser-focused coaching method! As someone who has been coaching for a number of years, I loved the concepts shared. I agreed with many, AND I have also been given some fresh, extremely practical ideas to try! I thoroughly recommend this book to all levels of coaches, but especially those coaches who have been practicing for a while, or may feel they've got stuck in a rut!

Read the biography above and you’ll know why Marion Franklin is highly qualified to write a book that encapsulates the heart of coaching and shares that heart with wisdom and skill. This book is simply brilliant – it picks up where other books and training leave off. It gives coaches, whether professionally trained or not, the tools necessary to be a true agent for change in their client’s lives. Though the book has a textbook-like depth of information, it’s a fascinating and interesting read. Every bit of information makes so much sense: e.g. how she breaks down the coaching conversation into three parts, yet dissects each part for complete understanding; her encouragement to use silence and themes; her unique way to ask questions and create shifts. These have already helped me to significantly change my coaching perspective and approach. Woven into all this amazing information are actual conversations with her own clients, which are made more impactful because she tells the reader what her thinking process was throughout the conversation. Whether you’re trained or not, a new coach or highly-seasoned one, I fully recommend this book. It is truly worth its weight in gold.

I am a current coaching student and have looked at and/or read many coaching books from a wide variety of areas, evidenced based to different schools of thought. This book is BY FAR the best coaching book I've read out of all of that. It not only distills down the essence of coaching, but then breaks it down for optimal learning. So you're not reading a bunch of theory, or reading a self help focused book and trying to figure out how to not apply it to yourself but as a coach. There are so many gems in this book and it really teaches you how to "laser in" to whatever is really bothering your client, or their true barrier to reaching whatever goals they may have. It goes way beyond just instilling habits as many have written about; in fact, I have personally discovered that habits, while they can be effective, they are more often just another tool in our toolbox and more often it is a secondary strategy, not the first. Marion's book really teaches you how to first figure out what the barriers truly are, and then reach a shift in thinking. Once that shift has happened, then you can deploy your tools to reinforce, like habits or all the other things you can find in other sources and books. This book really is a gem and highly recommend it for beginning to expert coaches - there is also a course on Marion's site and I encourage you to take it, which teaches the book's concepts. I'm going through it now and it really brings the book's contents to life.

The valuable insights provided by Marion Franklin in this book are priceless. If you are looking to go deeper with your coaching and go beyond "the outline or program" provided by many coaching schools, this is the resource for you. Presented in a clear and logical manner that also provides questions to prompt introspection, you will find this book to be a go-to reference to develop a finer coaching edge and then keep it honed. I employ Marion's coaching approach and my coaching quality almost immediately improved many folds. A gift to the coaching world that should be a standard for new coaches.

This book is a game changer for getting to the core for deeper coaching. This is a wise and profound easy-to-use book with best practices any level coach can apply right away. You’ll learn about twenty-five themes that show up in our coaching conversations and what is needed to help your clients make long-lasting change around them. You’ll get a broad range of “how-to” techniques for powerful perspective shifting. You’ll discover seventeen strategies clients subconsciously resort to that hold them back. You’ll find true-life examples and actionable approaches that are life-changing and eye-opening for your coaching, your clients, and yourself too! This is a book you will want to refer to again and again. It’s a jewel! Read it!

If creatures from outer space came upon this world and were handed a ‘Guide to Humans’ it would be this book. Since it would be nice for the world's population to have this kind of crucial knowledge, I implore as many people as possible to purchase this book for themselves or anyone they wish to enlighten to practical and pragmatic, yet wholly transformative information. For those professionals out there coaching clients, this book should be mandatory. An example of one of my favorite techniques in this book: The power of the short-format conversation. Most all emotions, confusion, and decision paralysis can be solved in very short order with the right listener. I’ve experienced major clarity in 30, 20, even 10 minutes with this specific body of work. Can you imagine this kind of power in your life? Acquiring this laser super power to sort through people’s irrelevant stories in order to mine life-changing golden nuggets is a skill worth more than $19.95 and the invested time spent reading this book. Apply her techniques - such as curiously questioning *why* someone is telling you a story vs the *what* of it, or, finding the profound underpinning of beliefs that show up in seemingly insignificant comments and details in conversation - to clients, to coworkers, friends, and family and watch your life simplify and find power. Author Marion Franklin spares us the 'expert, guru' talk usually associated with 'coaching’. She plows through the nonsense of prescriptive advice-giving. Her approach to tearing off clients' blinders is gentle, wrought with genuine tough love, and mastery. She suffers no fools amongst the brain synapses that keep people stuck, and isn't afraid to wield her power of insight and spot-on line of questioning to help someone breakthrough to their goals. She teaches us precisely how to do this. A pioneer not only in laser coaching, Marion Franklin is held in high esteem by insiders, pillars of this industry, and amongst founders of early coaching methodology and standards. Relevant, effective, and untainted by the ebbs and flows of this industry's trends, she espouses the original essence of 1-on-1 guided self-inquiry. She offers access to a new level of awareness and simple techniques for moving people (and ourselves!) beyond challenges and into achieving goals. She shares with us her greatest hits: tried & true, timeless, and as universal as being human. Simple and essential is the work graciously given to us by the author, a true Master. And what important work it is.

In my opinion, this book should be required reading for all coaches, HR managers and team leaders in any field. It covers important foundational topics like how to improve listening and questioning skills then goes into detail about the elements of a masterful coaching conversation. Through various examples, Marion shines the light on how all the pieces fit together to achieve amazing insight and transformational outcomes for our clients. One of my favorite things about this book and Marion’s style of teaching is her straightforward practical approach. There is no fluff here. Every point and example in this book is like a little golden nugget. You will not just get value from your first reading. As you really dig into the material and start putting it into practice, I believe you will find many layers of wisdom packed into each idea and technique. . The included index also makes this book the perfect resource to grab for quick answers to your coaching questions, so you will want to keep it close at hand. In full disclosure, it has been my privilege to have Marion Franklin at my side as my coach and mentor for almost a decade. The HeART of Laser-Focused Coaching encapsulates what she has taught for many years in her full coach training program. It truly reflects her dedication to excellence and her deep desire to help coaches at every level improve their skills and increase their confidence. Whether you are a complete novice or a coach with many years experience, I believe you will find this book to be immensely valuable.

I am ambivalent about this book. Overall, it is a great coaching book and one that I will re-read again to better grasp the concepts and the mindset of getting to the heart of the matter. Getting to the heart of the matter is much better than applying coaching "prescriptions": lists of questions or techniques that make coaching mechanistic and do not solve the deeper-rooted problem or block of the client. But I also had problems with the book. Some passages I had to read again and again. It can be that I was distracted but I at times I found sentences slippery, imprecise or just too general or obvious. Maybe it is because I am just not on the same wave-length with the author. To repeat again -- the intention and the ideas in the book are strong. I was impressed by a demonstration in an early chapter how Laser Coaching or Deep coaching and conventional one differ. Within minutes the former leads to discovering something new and important about the client and the latter just beats around the bush with questions like "How do you want the ideal outcome to look like?" quickly solving the wrong issue. So, my advice to you is to get a sample and see for yourself if the book if for you. I will definitely re-read it some time in the future.

Amazing book on coaching. I like it because its not written for the newbie coach who dose not yet understand the coaching process. Most books waste a bunch of pages explaining what coaching is and the ICF core competencies. This is a great next step for coaches that are actively coaching at some level and need help discerning the deeper issues the client is not initially presenting. This book offers is a breakdown of the structure of a coaching conversation and strategies to get right to the core of the clients story or need. Really, really well done and I found myself constantly picking up the pen to underline and write in the margin. I love books like this which are fresh and offer new ideas and insights. This is a must own for coaches!!

Before I read this book my coaching was very formula-driven. Using the formula did not allow me to be as present with my clients as I wished I could have been. The information in this book changed all that! Now I am much more present, the calls are more fluid and organic, and my clients are learning much more about themselves. I have become much more comfortable and confident in my coaching style. Thank you, Marion, for your no-nonsense approach to coaching. My clients and I are more enlightened because of you and your wonderful book.

If you're a coach, this is a book you'll want to read with a pen and notebook alongside - to jot down the thoughts and ideas you have for your current clients - and more! There are lots of great examples to illustrate the difference that the Laser Coaching method can make to 1) what the coach focuses on and 2) the outcomes that can be achieved as a result. We know the client's mindset is important, but what about ours? We are encouraged to be more direct (which I love!) and to focus on transformational coaching - as opposed to a pure problem/solution approach. I totally agree that we shouldn't just "believe the client" and should delve deeper into the story and underlying beliefs and assumptions for the greatest impact. And the author helpfully ALSO shares her method to do just that! I love that we are asked questions throughout the book to help us reflect on what we've personally taken away. And we're also asked where it could lead if you implement her laser-focused coaching method! As someone who has been coaching for a number of years, I loved the concepts shared. I agreed with many, AND I have also been given some fresh, extremely practical ideas to try! I thoroughly recommend this book to all levels of coaches, but especially those coaches who have been practicing for a while, or may feel they've got stuck in a rut!

Read the biography above and you’ll know why Marion Franklin is highly qualified to write a book that encapsulates the heart of coaching and shares that heart with wisdom and skill. This book is simply brilliant – it picks up where other books and training leave off. It gives coaches, whether professionally trained or not, the tools necessary to be a true agent for change in their client’s lives. Though the book has a textbook-like depth of information, it’s a fascinating and interesting read. Every bit of information makes so much sense: e.g. how she breaks down the coaching conversation into three parts, yet dissects each part for complete understanding; her encouragement to use silence and themes; her unique way to ask questions and create shifts. These have already helped me to significantly change my coaching perspective and approach. Woven into all this amazing information are actual conversations with her own clients, which are made more impactful because she tells the reader what her thinking process was throughout the conversation. Whether you’re trained or not, a new coach or highly-seasoned one, I fully recommend this book. It is truly worth its weight in gold.

I am a current coaching student and have looked at and/or read many coaching books from a wide variety of areas, evidenced based to different schools of thought. This book is BY FAR the best coaching book I've read out of all of that. It not only distills down the essence of coaching, but then breaks it down for optimal learning. So you're not reading a bunch of theory, or reading a self help focused book and trying to figure out how to not apply it to yourself but as a coach. There are so many gems in this book and it really teaches you how to "laser in" to whatever is really bothering your client, or their true barrier to reaching whatever goals they may have. It goes way beyond just instilling habits as many have written about; in fact, I have personally discovered that habits, while they can be effective, they are more often just another tool in our toolbox and more often it is a secondary strategy, not the first. Marion's book really teaches you how to first figure out what the barriers truly are, and then reach a shift in thinking. Once that shift has happened, then you can deploy your tools to reinforce, like habits or all the other things you can find in other sources and books. This book really is a gem and highly recommend it for beginning to expert coaches - there is also a course on Marion's site and I encourage you to take it, which teaches the book's concepts. I'm going through it now and it really brings the book's contents to life.

The valuable insights provided by Marion Franklin in this book are priceless. If you are looking to go deeper with your coaching and go beyond "the outline or program" provided by many coaching schools, this is the resource for you. Presented in a clear and logical manner that also provides questions to prompt introspection, you will find this book to be a go-to reference to develop a finer coaching edge and then keep it honed. I employ Marion's coaching approach and my coaching quality almost immediately improved many folds. A gift to the coaching world that should be a standard for new coaches.

This book is a game changer for getting to the core for deeper coaching. This is a wise and profound easy-to-use book with best practices any level coach can apply right away. You’ll learn about twenty-five themes that show up in our coaching conversations and what is needed to help your clients make long-lasting change around them. You’ll get a broad range of “how-to” techniques for powerful perspective shifting. You’ll discover seventeen strategies clients subconsciously resort to that hold them back. You’ll find true-life examples and actionable approaches that are life-changing and eye-opening for your coaching, your clients, and yourself too! This is a book you will want to refer to again and again. It’s a jewel! Read it!

If creatures from outer space came upon this world and were handed a ‘Guide to Humans’ it would be this book. Since it would be nice for the world's population to have this kind of crucial knowledge, I implore as many people as possible to purchase this book for themselves or anyone they wish to enlighten to practical and pragmatic, yet wholly transformative information. For those professionals out there coaching clients, this book should be mandatory. An example of one of my favorite techniques in this book: The power of the short-format conversation. Most all emotions, confusion, and decision paralysis can be solved in very short order with the right listener. I’ve experienced major clarity in 30, 20, even 10 minutes with this specific body of work. Can you imagine this kind of power in your life? Acquiring this laser super power to sort through people’s irrelevant stories in order to mine life-changing golden nuggets is a skill worth more than $19.95 and the invested time spent reading this book. Apply her techniques - such as curiously questioning *why* someone is telling you a story vs the *what* of it, or, finding the profound underpinning of beliefs that show up in seemingly insignificant comments and details in conversation - to clients, to coworkers, friends, and family and watch your life simplify and find power. Author Marion Franklin spares us the 'expert, guru' talk usually associated with 'coaching’. She plows through the nonsense of prescriptive advice-giving. Her approach to tearing off clients' blinders is gentle, wrought with genuine tough love, and mastery. She suffers no fools amongst the brain synapses that keep people stuck, and isn't afraid to wield her power of insight and spot-on line of questioning to help someone breakthrough to their goals. She teaches us precisely how to do this. A pioneer not only in laser coaching, Marion Franklin is held in high esteem by insiders, pillars of this industry, and amongst founders of early coaching methodology and standards. Relevant, effective, and untainted by the ebbs and flows of this industry's trends, she espouses the original essence of 1-on-1 guided self-inquiry. She offers access to a new level of awareness and simple techniques for moving people (and ourselves!) beyond challenges and into achieving goals. She shares with us her greatest hits: tried & true, timeless, and as universal as being human. Simple and essential is the work graciously given to us by the author, a true Master. And what important work it is.

In my opinion, this book should be required reading for all coaches, HR managers and team leaders in any field. It covers important foundational topics like how to improve listening and questioning skills then goes into detail about the elements of a masterful coaching conversation. Through various examples, Marion shines the light on how all the pieces fit together to achieve amazing insight and transformational outcomes for our clients. One of my favorite things about this book and Marion’s style of teaching is her straightforward practical approach. There is no fluff here. Every point and example in this book is like a little golden nugget. You will not just get value from your first reading. As you really dig into the material and start putting it into practice, I believe you will find many layers of wisdom packed into each idea and technique. . The included index also makes this book the perfect resource to grab for quick answers to your coaching questions, so you will want to keep it close at hand. In full disclosure, it has been my privilege to have Marion Franklin at my side as my coach and mentor for almost a decade. The HeART of Laser-Focused Coaching encapsulates what she has taught for many years in her full coach training program. It truly reflects her dedication to excellence and her deep desire to help coaches at every level improve their skills and increase their confidence. Whether you are a complete novice or a coach with many years experience, I believe you will find this book to be immensely valuable.

I am ambivalent about this book. Overall, it is a great coaching book and one that I will re-read again to better grasp the concepts and the mindset of getting to the heart of the matter. Getting to the heart of the matter is much better than applying coaching "prescriptions": lists of questions or techniques that make coaching mechanistic and do not solve the deeper-rooted problem or block of the client. But I also had problems with the book. Some passages I had to read again and again. It can be that I was distracted but I at times I found sentences slippery, imprecise or just too general or obvious. Maybe it is because I am just not on the same wave-length with the author. To repeat again -- the intention and the ideas in the book are strong. I was impressed by a demonstration in an early chapter how Laser Coaching or Deep coaching and conventional one differ. Within minutes the former leads to discovering something new and important about the client and the latter just beats around the bush with questions like "How do you want the ideal outcome to look like?" quickly solving the wrong issue. So, my advice to you is to get a sample and see for yourself if the book if for you. I will definitely re-read it some time in the future.

Amazing book on coaching. I like it because its not written for the newbie coach who dose not yet understand the coaching process. Most books waste a bunch of pages explaining what coaching is and the ICF core competencies. This is a great next step for coaches that are actively coaching at some level and need help discerning the deeper issues the client is not initially presenting. This book offers is a breakdown of the structure of a coaching conversation and strategies to get right to the core of the clients story or need. Really, really well done and I found myself constantly picking up the pen to underline and write in the margin. I love books like this which are fresh and offer new ideas and insights. This is a must own for coaches!!

Before I read this book my coaching was very formula-driven. Using the formula did not allow me to be as present with my clients as I wished I could have been. The information in this book changed all that! Now I am much more present, the calls are more fluid and organic, and my clients are learning much more about themselves. I have become much more comfortable and confident in my coaching style. Thank you, Marion, for your no-nonsense approach to coaching. My clients and I are more enlightened because of you and your wonderful book.

If you're a coach, this is a book you'll want to read with a pen and notebook alongside - to jot down the thoughts and ideas you have for your current clients - and more! There are lots of great examples to illustrate the difference that the Laser Coaching method can make to 1) what the coach focuses on and 2) the outcomes that can be achieved as a result. We know the client's mindset is important, but what about ours? We are encouraged to be more direct (which I love!) and to focus on transformational coaching - as opposed to a pure problem/solution approach. I totally agree that we shouldn't just "believe the client" and should delve deeper into the story and underlying beliefs and assumptions for the greatest impact. And the author helpfully ALSO shares her method to do just that! I love that we are asked questions throughout the book to help us reflect on what we've personally taken away. And we're also asked where it could lead if you implement her laser-focused coaching method! As someone who has been coaching for a number of years, I loved the concepts shared. I agreed with many, AND I have also been given some fresh, extremely practical ideas to try! I thoroughly recommend this book to all levels of coaches, but especially those coaches who have been practicing for a while, or may feel they've got stuck in a rut!

Read the biography above and you’ll know why Marion Franklin is highly qualified to write a book that encapsulates the heart of coaching and shares that heart with wisdom and skill. This book is simply brilliant – it picks up where other books and training leave off. It gives coaches, whether professionally trained or not, the tools necessary to be a true agent for change in their client’s lives. Though the book has a textbook-like depth of information, it’s a fascinating and interesting read. Every bit of information makes so much sense: e.g. how she breaks down the coaching conversation into three parts, yet dissects each part for complete understanding; her encouragement to use silence and themes; her unique way to ask questions and create shifts. These have already helped me to significantly change my coaching perspective and approach. Woven into all this amazing information are actual conversations with her own clients, which are made more impactful because she tells the reader what her thinking process was throughout the conversation. Whether you’re trained or not, a new coach or highly-seasoned one, I fully recommend this book. It is truly worth its weight in gold.

I am a current coaching student and have looked at and/or read many coaching books from a wide variety of areas, evidenced based to different schools of thought. This book is BY FAR the best coaching book I've read out of all of that. It not only distills down the essence of coaching, but then breaks it down for optimal learning. So you're not reading a bunch of theory, or reading a self help focused book and trying to figure out how to not apply it to yourself but as a coach. There are so many gems in this book and it really teaches you how to "laser in" to whatever is really bothering your client, or their true barrier to reaching whatever goals they may have. It goes way beyond just instilling habits as many have written about; in fact, I have personally discovered that habits, while they can be effective, they are more often just another tool in our toolbox and more often it is a secondary strategy, not the first. Marion's book really teaches you how to first figure out what the barriers truly are, and then reach a shift in thinking. Once that shift has happened, then you can deploy your tools to reinforce, like habits or all the other things you can find in other sources and books. This book really is a gem and highly recommend it for beginning to expert coaches - there is also a course on Marion's site and I encourage you to take it, which teaches the book's concepts. I'm going through it now and it really brings the book's contents to life.

The valuable insights provided by Marion Franklin in this book are priceless. If you are looking to go deeper with your coaching and go beyond "the outline or program" provided by many coaching schools, this is the resource for you. Presented in a clear and logical manner that also provides questions to prompt introspection, you will find this book to be a go-to reference to develop a finer coaching edge and then keep it honed. I employ Marion's coaching approach and my coaching quality almost immediately improved many folds. A gift to the coaching world that should be a standard for new coaches.

This book is a game changer for getting to the core for deeper coaching. This is a wise and profound easy-to-use book with best practices any level coach can apply right away. You’ll learn about twenty-five themes that show up in our coaching conversations and what is needed to help your clients make long-lasting change around them. You’ll get a broad range of “how-to” techniques for powerful perspective shifting. You’ll discover seventeen strategies clients subconsciously resort to that hold them back. You’ll find true-life examples and actionable approaches that are life-changing and eye-opening for your coaching, your clients, and yourself too! This is a book you will want to refer to again and again. It’s a jewel! Read it!

If creatures from outer space came upon this world and were handed a ‘Guide to Humans’ it would be this book. Since it would be nice for the world's population to have this kind of crucial knowledge, I implore as many people as possible to purchase this book for themselves or anyone they wish to enlighten to practical and pragmatic, yet wholly transformative information. For those professionals out there coaching clients, this book should be mandatory. An example of one of my favorite techniques in this book: The power of the short-format conversation. Most all emotions, confusion, and decision paralysis can be solved in very short order with the right listener. I’ve experienced major clarity in 30, 20, even 10 minutes with this specific body of work. Can you imagine this kind of power in your life? Acquiring this laser super power to sort through people’s irrelevant stories in order to mine life-changing golden nuggets is a skill worth more than $19.95 and the invested time spent reading this book. Apply her techniques - such as curiously questioning *why* someone is telling you a story vs the *what* of it, or, finding the profound underpinning of beliefs that show up in seemingly insignificant comments and details in conversation - to clients, to coworkers, friends, and family and watch your life simplify and find power. Author Marion Franklin spares us the 'expert, guru' talk usually associated with 'coaching’. She plows through the nonsense of prescriptive advice-giving. Her approach to tearing off clients' blinders is gentle, wrought with genuine tough love, and mastery. She suffers no fools amongst the brain synapses that keep people stuck, and isn't afraid to wield her power of insight and spot-on line of questioning to help someone breakthrough to their goals. She teaches us precisely how to do this. A pioneer not only in laser coaching, Marion Franklin is held in high esteem by insiders, pillars of this industry, and amongst founders of early coaching methodology and standards. Relevant, effective, and untainted by the ebbs and flows of this industry's trends, she espouses the original essence of 1-on-1 guided self-inquiry. She offers access to a new level of awareness and simple techniques for moving people (and ourselves!) beyond challenges and into achieving goals. She shares with us her greatest hits: tried & true, timeless, and as universal as being human. Simple and essential is the work graciously given to us by the author, a true Master. And what important work it is.

In my opinion, this book should be required reading for all coaches, HR managers and team leaders in any field. It covers important foundational topics like how to improve listening and questioning skills then goes into detail about the elements of a masterful coaching conversation. Through various examples, Marion shines the light on how all the pieces fit together to achieve amazing insight and transformational outcomes for our clients. One of my favorite things about this book and Marion’s style of teaching is her straightforward practical approach. There is no fluff here. Every point and example in this book is like a little golden nugget. You will not just get value from your first reading. As you really dig into the material and start putting it into practice, I believe you will find many layers of wisdom packed into each idea and technique. . The included index also makes this book the perfect resource to grab for quick answers to your coaching questions, so you will want to keep it close at hand. In full disclosure, it has been my privilege to have Marion Franklin at my side as my coach and mentor for almost a decade. The HeART of Laser-Focused Coaching encapsulates what she has taught for many years in her full coach training program. It truly reflects her dedication to excellence and her deep desire to help coaches at every level improve their skills and increase their confidence. Whether you are a complete novice or a coach with many years experience, I believe you will find this book to be immensely valuable.

I am ambivalent about this book. Overall, it is a great coaching book and one that I will re-read again to better grasp the concepts and the mindset of getting to the heart of the matter. Getting to the heart of the matter is much better than applying coaching "prescriptions": lists of questions or techniques that make coaching mechanistic and do not solve the deeper-rooted problem or block of the client. But I also had problems with the book. Some passages I had to read again and again. It can be that I was distracted but I at times I found sentences slippery, imprecise or just too general or obvious. Maybe it is because I am just not on the same wave-length with the author. To repeat again -- the intention and the ideas in the book are strong. I was impressed by a demonstration in an early chapter how Laser Coaching or Deep coaching and conventional one differ. Within minutes the former leads to discovering something new and important about the client and the latter just beats around the bush with questions like "How do you want the ideal outcome to look like?" quickly solving the wrong issue. So, my advice to you is to get a sample and see for yourself if the book if for you. I will definitely re-read it some time in the future.

Amazing book on coaching. I like it because its not written for the newbie coach who dose not yet understand the coaching process. Most books waste a bunch of pages explaining what coaching is and the ICF core competencies. This is a great next step for coaches that are actively coaching at some level and need help discerning the deeper issues the client is not initially presenting. This book offers is a breakdown of the structure of a coaching conversation and strategies to get right to the core of the clients story or need. Really, really well done and I found myself constantly picking up the pen to underline and write in the margin. I love books like this which are fresh and offer new ideas and insights. This is a must own for coaches!!

Before I read this book my coaching was very formula-driven. Using the formula did not allow me to be as present with my clients as I wished I could have been. The information in this book changed all that! Now I am much more present, the calls are more fluid and organic, and my clients are learning much more about themselves. I have become much more comfortable and confident in my coaching style. Thank you, Marion, for your no-nonsense approach to coaching. My clients and I are more enlightened because of you and your wonderful book.

If you're a coach, this is a book you'll want to read with a pen and notebook alongside - to jot down the thoughts and ideas you have for your current clients - and more! There are lots of great examples to illustrate the difference that the Laser Coaching method can make to 1) what the coach focuses on and 2) the outcomes that can be achieved as a result. We know the client's mindset is important, but what about ours? We are encouraged to be more direct (which I love!) and to focus on transformational coaching - as opposed to a pure problem/solution approach. I totally agree that we shouldn't just "believe the client" and should delve deeper into the story and underlying beliefs and assumptions for the greatest impact. And the author helpfully ALSO shares her method to do just that! I love that we are asked questions throughout the book to help us reflect on what we've personally taken away. And we're also asked where it could lead if you implement her laser-focused coaching method! As someone who has been coaching for a number of years, I loved the concepts shared. I agreed with many, AND I have also been given some fresh, extremely practical ideas to try! I thoroughly recommend this book to all levels of coaches, but especially those coaches who have been practicing for a while, or may feel they've got stuck in a rut!

Read the biography above and you’ll know why Marion Franklin is highly qualified to write a book that encapsulates the heart of coaching and shares that heart with wisdom and skill. This book is simply brilliant – it picks up where other books and training leave off. It gives coaches, whether professionally trained or not, the tools necessary to be a true agent for change in their client’s lives. Though the book has a textbook-like depth of information, it’s a fascinating and interesting read. Every bit of information makes so much sense: e.g. how she breaks down the coaching conversation into three parts, yet dissects each part for complete understanding; her encouragement to use silence and themes; her unique way to ask questions and create shifts. These have already helped me to significantly change my coaching perspective and approach. Woven into all this amazing information are actual conversations with her own clients, which are made more impactful because she tells the reader what her thinking process was throughout the conversation. Whether you’re trained or not, a new coach or highly-seasoned one, I fully recommend this book. It is truly worth its weight in gold.

I am a current coaching student and have looked at and/or read many coaching books from a wide variety of areas, evidenced based to different schools of thought. This book is BY FAR the best coaching book I've read out of all of that. It not only distills down the essence of coaching, but then breaks it down for optimal learning. So you're not reading a bunch of theory, or reading a self help focused book and trying to figure out how to not apply it to yourself but as a coach. There are so many gems in this book and it really teaches you how to "laser in" to whatever is really bothering your client, or their true barrier to reaching whatever goals they may have. It goes way beyond just instilling habits as many have written about; in fact, I have personally discovered that habits, while they can be effective, they are more often just another tool in our toolbox and more often it is a secondary strategy, not the first. Marion's book really teaches you how to first figure out what the barriers truly are, and then reach a shift in thinking. Once that shift has happened, then you can deploy your tools to reinforce, like habits or all the other things you can find in other sources and books. This book really is a gem and highly recommend it for beginning to expert coaches - there is also a course on Marion's site and I encourage you to take it, which teaches the book's concepts. I'm going through it now and it really brings the book's contents to life.

The valuable insights provided by Marion Franklin in this book are priceless. If you are looking to go deeper with your coaching and go beyond "the outline or program" provided by many coaching schools, this is the resource for you. Presented in a clear and logical manner that also provides questions to prompt introspection, you will find this book to be a go-to reference to develop a finer coaching edge and then keep it honed. I employ Marion's coaching approach and my coaching quality almost immediately improved many folds. A gift to the coaching world that should be a standard for new coaches.

This book is a game changer for getting to the core for deeper coaching. This is a wise and profound easy-to-use book with best practices any level coach can apply right away. You’ll learn about twenty-five themes that show up in our coaching conversations and what is needed to help your clients make long-lasting change around them. You’ll get a broad range of “how-to” techniques for powerful perspective shifting. You’ll discover seventeen strategies clients subconsciously resort to that hold them back. You’ll find true-life examples and actionable approaches that are life-changing and eye-opening for your coaching, your clients, and yourself too! This is a book you will want to refer to again and again. It’s a jewel! Read it!

If creatures from outer space came upon this world and were handed a ‘Guide to Humans’ it would be this book. Since it would be nice for the world's population to have this kind of crucial knowledge, I implore as many people as possible to purchase this book for themselves or anyone they wish to enlighten to practical and pragmatic, yet wholly transformative information. For those professionals out there coaching clients, this book should be mandatory. An example of one of my favorite techniques in this book: The power of the short-format conversation. Most all emotions, confusion, and decision paralysis can be solved in very short order with the right listener. I’ve experienced major clarity in 30, 20, even 10 minutes with this specific body of work. Can you imagine this kind of power in your life? Acquiring this laser super power to sort through people’s irrelevant stories in order to mine life-changing golden nuggets is a skill worth more than $19.95 and the invested time spent reading this book. Apply her techniques - such as curiously questioning *why* someone is telling you a story vs the *what* of it, or, finding the profound underpinning of beliefs that show up in seemingly insignificant comments and details in conversation - to clients, to coworkers, friends, and family and watch your life simplify and find power. Author Marion Franklin spares us the 'expert, guru' talk usually associated with 'coaching’. She plows through the nonsense of prescriptive advice-giving. Her approach to tearing off clients' blinders is gentle, wrought with genuine tough love, and mastery. She suffers no fools amongst the brain synapses that keep people stuck, and isn't afraid to wield her power of insight and spot-on line of questioning to help someone breakthrough to their goals. She teaches us precisely how to do this. A pioneer not only in laser coaching, Marion Franklin is held in high esteem by insiders, pillars of this industry, and amongst founders of early coaching methodology and standards. Relevant, effective, and untainted by the ebbs and flows of this industry's trends, she espouses the original essence of 1-on-1 guided self-inquiry. She offers access to a new level of awareness and simple techniques for moving people (and ourselves!) beyond challenges and into achieving goals. She shares with us her greatest hits: tried & true, timeless, and as universal as being human. Simple and essential is the work graciously given to us by the author, a true Master. And what important work it is.

In my opinion, this book should be required reading for all coaches, HR managers and team leaders in any field. It covers important foundational topics like how to improve listening and questioning skills then goes into detail about the elements of a masterful coaching conversation. Through various examples, Marion shines the light on how all the pieces fit together to achieve amazing insight and transformational outcomes for our clients. One of my favorite things about this book and Marion’s style of teaching is her straightforward practical approach. There is no fluff here. Every point and example in this book is like a little golden nugget. You will not just get value from your first reading. As you really dig into the material and start putting it into practice, I believe you will find many layers of wisdom packed into each idea and technique. . The included index also makes this book the perfect resource to grab for quick answers to your coaching questions, so you will want to keep it close at hand. In full disclosure, it has been my privilege to have Marion Franklin at my side as my coach and mentor for almost a decade. The HeART of Laser-Focused Coaching encapsulates what she has taught for many years in her full coach training program. It truly reflects her dedication to excellence and her deep desire to help coaches at every level improve their skills and increase their confidence. Whether you are a complete novice or a coach with many years experience, I believe you will find this book to be immensely valuable.

I am ambivalent about this book. Overall, it is a great coaching book and one that I will re-read again to better grasp the concepts and the mindset of getting to the heart of the matter. Getting to the heart of the matter is much better than applying coaching "prescriptions": lists of questions or techniques that make coaching mechanistic and do not solve the deeper-rooted problem or block of the client. But I also had problems with the book. Some passages I had to read again and again. It can be that I was distracted but I at times I found sentences slippery, imprecise or just too general or obvious. Maybe it is because I am just not on the same wave-length with the author. To repeat again -- the intention and the ideas in the book are strong. I was impressed by a demonstration in an early chapter how Laser Coaching or Deep coaching and conventional one differ. Within minutes the former leads to discovering something new and important about the client and the latter just beats around the bush with questions like "How do you want the ideal outcome to look like?" quickly solving the wrong issue. So, my advice to you is to get a sample and see for yourself if the book if for you. I will definitely re-read it some time in the future.

Amazing book on coaching. I like it because its not written for the newbie coach who dose not yet understand the coaching process. Most books waste a bunch of pages explaining what coaching is and the ICF core competencies. This is a great next step for coaches that are actively coaching at some level and need help discerning the deeper issues the client is not initially presenting. This book offers is a breakdown of the structure of a coaching conversation and strategies to get right to the core of the clients story or need. Really, really well done and I found myself constantly picking up the pen to underline and write in the margin. I love books like this which are fresh and offer new ideas and insights. This is a must own for coaches!!

Before I read this book my coaching was very formula-driven. Using the formula did not allow me to be as present with my clients as I wished I could have been. The information in this book changed all that! Now I am much more present, the calls are more fluid and organic, and my clients are learning much more about themselves. I have become much more comfortable and confident in my coaching style. Thank you, Marion, for your no-nonsense approach to coaching. My clients and I are more enlightened because of you and your wonderful book.

As an experienced coach with over 2500 hours this book was incredible. It reinforced many concepts I use in coaching in a powerful way plus added to my knowledge in a thought provoking way. The examples and teaching in this book are applicable to every coaching call. It was an easy read yet so useful. It breaks down coaching so you can see what doesn’t and doesn’t work. I love that it helps me add to my style of coaching not just reinforce one style of coaching. Love the laser focused approach and how it allows me to get deep with my clients from the beginning. The way she explains how to ask questions in life changing for a coach! I have increased my prices because of the confidence that these tools gave me.

I seriously can’t say enough good things about this book. I’ve been coaching for over 15 years and this book has opened my eyes to so many profound ways to become a much more effective and efficient coach. This is a must read for coaches at any skill level. I found myself immediately using the laser-focused methods and was surprised how quickly I could see improved results with my clients. If you only read one book on how to coach, this is that book!

Hats off to Marion! She has encapsulated her many years of experience and so much wisdom as a masterful coach and teacher into this one MUST-HAVE book. Any coach, new or experienced, will walk away with unique tips and approaches to get to the heart of the matter with their clients quicker. That’s Marion’s signature theme – laser coaching. The book is easy to read and is structured for easy take-aways to try and practice. I pick it up often and find I can open to almost any page and get a helpful reminder or ideas on how to move a client forward. Marion even offers an approach to the initial conversation with a potential client, and verbatim coaching sessions where she reveals her thinking behind the questions she asks. I remember a very simple bit of advise from Marion at a conference where she was presenting – simply ask more “what questions.” (This is also in the book, of course.) I tried it and was amazed at the difference it made in my coaching. There are many more simple tips like that one in this book. Thanks to Marion for sharing. Very highly recommended!

Marion's book is one of the greatest gifts to the coaching community, an invaluable resource, that if read and applied, WILL take you to a higher level of coaching and deeper level of being with clients. If you slow down and master the principles in Marion's book you'll be more effective at getting to the heart of the matter in a coaching conversation, quickly, helping to facilitate greater transformation in your clients. This book will fill in the many gaps that coach training schools often seem to leave students with, teaching you the core principles and fundamentals of GOOD, solid coaching. You'll learn how to truly listen to your clients, what to listen for, and from that place ask simple, powerful questions that create shifts in the client. You'll learn to see the big picture in midst of the conversation, how to flow with the client, and get straight to the heart of the issue/challenge that the client is facing. Marion's book goes FAR beyond what coach training schools teach to truly elevate your coaching to the highest level. You'll also have the opportunity to get in the mind of a master coach during a coaching session, as Marion presents two full coaching conversations in the book, as well as her thought process of why she did what she did, said what she said, asked what she asked. That, in itself, is extremely valuable. Bottomline: If you want to be a mediocre coach, there are plenty of other books out there for you. If you want to be a MASTERFUL coach, get THIS book, diligently study it, apply it, and you'll soon find yourself head and shoulders above your peers.

I read this book as a I am looking to become a Master Coach in the near future. I found the author’s insight’s and specific examples to both coaching situations and questions to ask, extremely poignant. After coaching for 15 years (currently at PCC level), I have been following much of the standard coaching practices that I learned in coaching school and through working with other coaches. What sets this book apart is how the author specifically outlines the difference between mainstream coaching and transformational coaching. I found it valuable for me as a road map, designed to take my coaching to the highest level possible. To alter my coaching style from focusing mainly on helping others reach their desired outcomes, but to actually help transform my client’s ability to make shifts that are personally and professionally impactful and permanent by exploring the root cause behind the client’s story. This book is the first book out of the hundreds of coaching oriented books that I have read, which specifically shows the reader the what, where, who and how to become a masterful coach. I loved the book so much that I condensed it down to an outline of book notes that I will refer back to as I prepare for my ICF Master Coaching Certification.

This is the most impactful book on coaching...transformational coaching I've ever read. And I've read a lot! The coaching process is delivered in a logical order, with real-coachee examples, and a bit of humor sprinkled in. By applying the principles in the book, and Marion Franklin's Laser Coach training, my coaching now feels authentic. The coachee gets to the heart of the matter with new, permanent insights that carry across all aspects of life's maneuvering.

I can see how this book would be beneficial to every coach at every level. It is so easy to follow and immediately applicable. There are many principles and examples that make it understandable for applying the concepts. The chapter on themes is comprehensive and will help coaches get to the source and know what questions to ask. The chapter on "Don't believe the client" Is so unique and powerful among other intriguing concepts.

Game-changer! This book so so incredibly dense with rich insights. I was recommended it by my coach and it has changed how I communicate.

I have started reading this book and I love it. The style is very readable and the advice very practical. She works particularly on questions, and when to ask and when NOT to ask, and makes the whole thing about powerful questions very aha! All coaches should read this book - I shall certainly be reading it over and over and taking notes.

Marion's gift to coaching is a treasure trove of best practices. Seasoned coaches are bound to find they have some unlearning to do as they implement these iron-clad approaches to using core coaching skills and competencies. New coaches can do themselves the best favor ever and study this material, so you learn masterful practices from get go, so you start smart and end great. This book is for anyone that wants to develop themselves and enhance their ability to communicate with others in ways that foster peace of mind and the utmost respect.

If you're a coach, this is a book you'll want to read with a pen and notebook alongside - to jot down the thoughts and ideas you have for your current clients - and more! There are lots of great examples to illustrate the difference that the Laser Coaching method can make to 1) what the coach focuses on and 2) the outcomes that can be achieved as a result. We know the client's mindset is important, but what about ours? We are encouraged to be more direct (which I love!) and to focus on transformational coaching - as opposed to a pure problem/solution approach. I totally agree that we shouldn't just "believe the client" and should delve deeper into the story and underlying beliefs and assumptions for the greatest impact. And the author helpfully ALSO shares her method to do just that! I love that we are asked questions throughout the book to help us reflect on what we've personally taken away. And we're also asked where it could lead if you implement her laser-focused coaching method! As someone who has been coaching for a number of years, I loved the concepts shared. I agreed with many, AND I have also been given some fresh, extremely practical ideas to try! I thoroughly recommend this book to all levels of coaches, but especially those coaches who have been practicing for a while, or may feel they've got stuck in a rut!

Read the biography above and you’ll know why Marion Franklin is highly qualified to write a book that encapsulates the heart of coaching and shares that heart with wisdom and skill. This book is simply brilliant – it picks up where other books and training leave off. It gives coaches, whether professionally trained or not, the tools necessary to be a true agent for change in their client’s lives. Though the book has a textbook-like depth of information, it’s a fascinating and interesting read. Every bit of information makes so much sense: e.g. how she breaks down the coaching conversation into three parts, yet dissects each part for complete understanding; her encouragement to use silence and themes; her unique way to ask questions and create shifts. These have already helped me to significantly change my coaching perspective and approach. Woven into all this amazing information are actual conversations with her own clients, which are made more impactful because she tells the reader what her thinking process was throughout the conversation. Whether you’re trained or not, a new coach or highly-seasoned one, I fully recommend this book. It is truly worth its weight in gold.

I am a current coaching student and have looked at and/or read many coaching books from a wide variety of areas, evidenced based to different schools of thought. This book is BY FAR the best coaching book I've read out of all of that. It not only distills down the essence of coaching, but then breaks it down for optimal learning. So you're not reading a bunch of theory, or reading a self help focused book and trying to figure out how to not apply it to yourself but as a coach. There are so many gems in this book and it really teaches you how to "laser in" to whatever is really bothering your client, or their true barrier to reaching whatever goals they may have. It goes way beyond just instilling habits as many have written about; in fact, I have personally discovered that habits, while they can be effective, they are more often just another tool in our toolbox and more often it is a secondary strategy, not the first. Marion's book really teaches you how to first figure out what the barriers truly are, and then reach a shift in thinking. Once that shift has happened, then you can deploy your tools to reinforce, like habits or all the other things you can find in other sources and books. This book really is a gem and highly recommend it for beginning to expert coaches - there is also a course on Marion's site and I encourage you to take it, which teaches the book's concepts. I'm going through it now and it really brings the book's contents to life.

The valuable insights provided by Marion Franklin in this book are priceless. If you are looking to go deeper with your coaching and go beyond "the outline or program" provided by many coaching schools, this is the resource for you. Presented in a clear and logical manner that also provides questions to prompt introspection, you will find this book to be a go-to reference to develop a finer coaching edge and then keep it honed. I employ Marion's coaching approach and my coaching quality almost immediately improved many folds. A gift to the coaching world that should be a standard for new coaches.

This book is a game changer for getting to the core for deeper coaching. This is a wise and profound easy-to-use book with best practices any level coach can apply right away. You’ll learn about twenty-five themes that show up in our coaching conversations and what is needed to help your clients make long-lasting change around them. You’ll get a broad range of “how-to” techniques for powerful perspective shifting. You’ll discover seventeen strategies clients subconsciously resort to that hold them back. You’ll find true-life examples and actionable approaches that are life-changing and eye-opening for your coaching, your clients, and yourself too! This is a book you will want to refer to again and again. It’s a jewel! Read it!

If creatures from outer space came upon this world and were handed a ‘Guide to Humans’ it would be this book. Since it would be nice for the world's population to have this kind of crucial knowledge, I implore as many people as possible to purchase this book for themselves or anyone they wish to enlighten to practical and pragmatic, yet wholly transformative information. For those professionals out there coaching clients, this book should be mandatory. An example of one of my favorite techniques in this book: The power of the short-format conversation. Most all emotions, confusion, and decision paralysis can be solved in very short order with the right listener. I’ve experienced major clarity in 30, 20, even 10 minutes with this specific body of work. Can you imagine this kind of power in your life? Acquiring this laser super power to sort through people’s irrelevant stories in order to mine life-changing golden nuggets is a skill worth more than $19.95 and the invested time spent reading this book. Apply her techniques - such as curiously questioning *why* someone is telling you a story vs the *what* of it, or, finding the profound underpinning of beliefs that show up in seemingly insignificant comments and details in conversation - to clients, to coworkers, friends, and family and watch your life simplify and find power. Author Marion Franklin spares us the 'expert, guru' talk usually associated with 'coaching’. She plows through the nonsense of prescriptive advice-giving. Her approach to tearing off clients' blinders is gentle, wrought with genuine tough love, and mastery. She suffers no fools amongst the brain synapses that keep people stuck, and isn't afraid to wield her power of insight and spot-on line of questioning to help someone breakthrough to their goals. She teaches us precisely how to do this. A pioneer not only in laser coaching, Marion Franklin is held in high esteem by insiders, pillars of this industry, and amongst founders of early coaching methodology and standards. Relevant, effective, and untainted by the ebbs and flows of this industry's trends, she espouses the original essence of 1-on-1 guided self-inquiry. She offers access to a new level of awareness and simple techniques for moving people (and ourselves!) beyond challenges and into achieving goals. She shares with us her greatest hits: tried & true, timeless, and as universal as being human. Simple and essential is the work graciously given to us by the author, a true Master. And what important work it is.

In my opinion, this book should be required reading for all coaches, HR managers and team leaders in any field. It covers important foundational topics like how to improve listening and questioning skills then goes into detail about the elements of a masterful coaching conversation. Through various examples, Marion shines the light on how all the pieces fit together to achieve amazing insight and transformational outcomes for our clients. One of my favorite things about this book and Marion’s style of teaching is her straightforward practical approach. There is no fluff here. Every point and example in this book is like a little golden nugget. You will not just get value from your first reading. As you really dig into the material and start putting it into practice, I believe you will find many layers of wisdom packed into each idea and technique. . The included index also makes this book the perfect resource to grab for quick answers to your coaching questions, so you will want to keep it close at hand. In full disclosure, it has been my privilege to have Marion Franklin at my side as my coach and mentor for almost a decade. The HeART of Laser-Focused Coaching encapsulates what she has taught for many years in her full coach training program. It truly reflects her dedication to excellence and her deep desire to help coaches at every level improve their skills and increase their confidence. Whether you are a complete novice or a coach with many years experience, I believe you will find this book to be immensely valuable.

I am ambivalent about this book. Overall, it is a great coaching book and one that I will re-read again to better grasp the concepts and the mindset of getting to the heart of the matter. Getting to the heart of the matter is much better than applying coaching "prescriptions": lists of questions or techniques that make coaching mechanistic and do not solve the deeper-rooted problem or block of the client. But I also had problems with the book. Some passages I had to read again and again. It can be that I was distracted but I at times I found sentences slippery, imprecise or just too general or obvious. Maybe it is because I am just not on the same wave-length with the author. To repeat again -- the intention and the ideas in the book are strong. I was impressed by a demonstration in an early chapter how Laser Coaching or Deep coaching and conventional one differ. Within minutes the former leads to discovering something new and important about the client and the latter just beats around the bush with questions like "How do you want the ideal outcome to look like?" quickly solving the wrong issue. So, my advice to you is to get a sample and see for yourself if the book if for you. I will definitely re-read it some time in the future.

Amazing book on coaching. I like it because its not written for the newbie coach who dose not yet understand the coaching process. Most books waste a bunch of pages explaining what coaching is and the ICF core competencies. This is a great next step for coaches that are actively coaching at some level and need help discerning the deeper issues the client is not initially presenting. This book offers is a breakdown of the structure of a coaching conversation and strategies to get right to the core of the clients story or need. Really, really well done and I found myself constantly picking up the pen to underline and write in the margin. I love books like this which are fresh and offer new ideas and insights. This is a must own for coaches!!

Before I read this book my coaching was very formula-driven. Using the formula did not allow me to be as present with my clients as I wished I could have been. The information in this book changed all that! Now I am much more present, the calls are more fluid and organic, and my clients are learning much more about themselves. I have become much more comfortable and confident in my coaching style. Thank you, Marion, for your no-nonsense approach to coaching. My clients and I are more enlightened because of you and your wonderful book.

Finally, a coaching methodology that doesn't rely on vague theories, scripted formulas, or canned questions! Master Coach Marion Franklin's Laser-Coaching approach does exactly what it professes to do-teaches coaches how to LISTEN DEEPLY and QUICKLY get to the HEART of what's holding clients back from living their most authentic lives. "The HeART of Laser-Focused Coaching: A Revolutionary Approach to Masterful Coaching" is the book professional life coaches have been waiting for-a MUST READ for both entry level and seasoned coaches. -Cynthia Milas, LMHC

Marion is the mother of life coaching and an engaging storyteller. Her book is a coaching "how to" for coaches or those who want to be better leaders. I love how the book set up; it's easy to follow with great questions for reflecting. On my desk is a hand scribbled note with three questions from the book that I reflect on often- and ask my clients regularly. They always elicit deeper learning, the mindset shifts we need to achieve out goals. Her list of 25 themes is a game changer. Why make the coaching process complicated when Marion is showing you the short cut...the laser approach to getting to the heart of what matters. I've had the pleasure of working with Marion and this is a close second to that experience. Can't recommend her book enough!

An easy read, filled with practical information for coaches, including techniques to help clients and coaches get the most from their time together by staying focused on the client’s most important issues. Both new and experienced coaches will benefit from this book!

If you are in the coaching space, you simply MUST read this book! The HeART of Laser-Focused Coaching is a practical guide to help coaches get to the real issues their coachees are facing--fast! Marion is an excellent teacher, and her teaching style shines through with practicality in this easy-to-read-and-understand book. If you want people to recommend you as a coach, then learn everything Marion teaches and apply it to your coaching business!

This minimalist avid reader gal highly recommends this as one of the best coaching books! I couldn’t stop highlighting text & writing in the margins! A must for your keeper books.

Marion Franklin is one of the most qualified coaches in the coaching field and her explanation of laser coaching is precise, easy to understand and applicable. After coaching for many years, her book bypassed all of my knowledge and helped me focus in on what is truly important in coaching my clients. Forever grateful for her book and her teachings.

What an amazing book! Every single page has powerful tools is gold!! It will challenge you but also will elevate your coaching career. Thank you Marion!

I am part of a book group consisting of 5 coaches. We read this book last month. It totally upended some of how I've been thinking and coaching - and provided me with a new way of structuring sessions and engaging with my clients. Really so very helpful - can't recommend it highly enough. Especially love the "themes" that Marion identifies and encourages us to watch for.

Laser-Focused Coaching simplifies the step by step approach to Coaching by focusing on the client rather than on the apparent problem. As new coaches it is easy to get sucked in to dealing with the "problem" and we often get distracted from what should be the focus of the Coaching process, the client. This book is very helpful in understanding how to take this approach.

It was such a great read - Marion is not only a talented coach but also a great teacher/trainer. She is able to put into words all those instincts and insights that coaches experience and can continue to learn. Highly recommend to anyone who's a coach or just wants to have masterful conversations and relationships!

If you're a coach, this is a book you'll want to read with a pen and notebook alongside - to jot down the thoughts and ideas you have for your current clients - and more! There are lots of great examples to illustrate the difference that the Laser Coaching method can make to 1) what the coach focuses on and 2) the outcomes that can be achieved as a result. We know the client's mindset is important, but what about ours? We are encouraged to be more direct (which I love!) and to focus on transformational coaching - as opposed to a pure problem/solution approach. I totally agree that we shouldn't just "believe the client" and should delve deeper into the story and underlying beliefs and assumptions for the greatest impact. And the author helpfully ALSO shares her method to do just that! I love that we are asked questions throughout the book to help us reflect on what we've personally taken away. And we're also asked where it could lead if you implement her laser-focused coaching method! As someone who has been coaching for a number of years, I loved the concepts shared. I agreed with many, AND I have also been given some fresh, extremely practical ideas to try! I thoroughly recommend this book to all levels of coaches, but especially those coaches who have been practicing for a while, or may feel they've got stuck in a rut!

Read the biography above and you’ll know why Marion Franklin is highly qualified to write a book that encapsulates the heart of coaching and shares that heart with wisdom and skill. This book is simply brilliant – it picks up where other books and training leave off. It gives coaches, whether professionally trained or not, the tools necessary to be a true agent for change in their client’s lives. Though the book has a textbook-like depth of information, it’s a fascinating and interesting read. Every bit of information makes so much sense: e.g. how she breaks down the coaching conversation into three parts, yet dissects each part for complete understanding; her encouragement to use silence and themes; her unique way to ask questions and create shifts. These have already helped me to significantly change my coaching perspective and approach. Woven into all this amazing information are actual conversations with her own clients, which are made more impactful because she tells the reader what her thinking process was throughout the conversation. Whether you’re trained or not, a new coach or highly-seasoned one, I fully recommend this book. It is truly worth its weight in gold.

I am a current coaching student and have looked at and/or read many coaching books from a wide variety of areas, evidenced based to different schools of thought. This book is BY FAR the best coaching book I've read out of all of that. It not only distills down the essence of coaching, but then breaks it down for optimal learning. So you're not reading a bunch of theory, or reading a self help focused book and trying to figure out how to not apply it to yourself but as a coach. There are so many gems in this book and it really teaches you how to "laser in" to whatever is really bothering your client, or their true barrier to reaching whatever goals they may have. It goes way beyond just instilling habits as many have written about; in fact, I have personally discovered that habits, while they can be effective, they are more often just another tool in our toolbox and more often it is a secondary strategy, not the first. Marion's book really teaches you how to first figure out what the barriers truly are, and then reach a shift in thinking. Once that shift has happened, then you can deploy your tools to reinforce, like habits or all the other things you can find in other sources and books. This book really is a gem and highly recommend it for beginning to expert coaches - there is also a course on Marion's site and I encourage you to take it, which teaches the book's concepts. I'm going through it now and it really brings the book's contents to life.

The valuable insights provided by Marion Franklin in this book are priceless. If you are looking to go deeper with your coaching and go beyond "the outline or program" provided by many coaching schools, this is the resource for you. Presented in a clear and logical manner that also provides questions to prompt introspection, you will find this book to be a go-to reference to develop a finer coaching edge and then keep it honed. I employ Marion's coaching approach and my coaching quality almost immediately improved many folds. A gift to the coaching world that should be a standard for new coaches.

This book is a game changer for getting to the core for deeper coaching. This is a wise and profound easy-to-use book with best practices any level coach can apply right away. You’ll learn about twenty-five themes that show up in our coaching conversations and what is needed to help your clients make long-lasting change around them. You’ll get a broad range of “how-to” techniques for powerful perspective shifting. You’ll discover seventeen strategies clients subconsciously resort to that hold them back. You’ll find true-life examples and actionable approaches that are life-changing and eye-opening for your coaching, your clients, and yourself too! This is a book you will want to refer to again and again. It’s a jewel! Read it!

If creatures from outer space came upon this world and were handed a ‘Guide to Humans’ it would be this book. Since it would be nice for the world's population to have this kind of crucial knowledge, I implore as many people as possible to purchase this book for themselves or anyone they wish to enlighten to practical and pragmatic, yet wholly transformative information. For those professionals out there coaching clients, this book should be mandatory. An example of one of my favorite techniques in this book: The power of the short-format conversation. Most all emotions, confusion, and decision paralysis can be solved in very short order with the right listener. I’ve experienced major clarity in 30, 20, even 10 minutes with this specific body of work. Can you imagine this kind of power in your life? Acquiring this laser super power to sort through people’s irrelevant stories in order to mine life-changing golden nuggets is a skill worth more than $19.95 and the invested time spent reading this book. Apply her techniques - such as curiously questioning *why* someone is telling you a story vs the *what* of it, or, finding the profound underpinning of beliefs that show up in seemingly insignificant comments and details in conversation - to clients, to coworkers, friends, and family and watch your life simplify and find power. Author Marion Franklin spares us the 'expert, guru' talk usually associated with 'coaching’. She plows through the nonsense of prescriptive advice-giving. Her approach to tearing off clients' blinders is gentle, wrought with genuine tough love, and mastery. She suffers no fools amongst the brain synapses that keep people stuck, and isn't afraid to wield her power of insight and spot-on line of questioning to help someone breakthrough to their goals. She teaches us precisely how to do this. A pioneer not only in laser coaching, Marion Franklin is held in high esteem by insiders, pillars of this industry, and amongst founders of early coaching methodology and standards. Relevant, effective, and untainted by the ebbs and flows of this industry's trends, she espouses the original essence of 1-on-1 guided self-inquiry. She offers access to a new level of awareness and simple techniques for moving people (and ourselves!) beyond challenges and into achieving goals. She shares with us her greatest hits: tried & true, timeless, and as universal as being human. Simple and essential is the work graciously given to us by the author, a true Master. And what important work it is.

In my opinion, this book should be required reading for all coaches, HR managers and team leaders in any field. It covers important foundational topics like how to improve listening and questioning skills then goes into detail about the elements of a masterful coaching conversation. Through various examples, Marion shines the light on how all the pieces fit together to achieve amazing insight and transformational outcomes for our clients. One of my favorite things about this book and Marion’s style of teaching is her straightforward practical approach. There is no fluff here. Every point and example in this book is like a little golden nugget. You will not just get value from your first reading. As you really dig into the material and start putting it into practice, I believe you will find many layers of wisdom packed into each idea and technique. . The included index also makes this book the perfect resource to grab for quick answers to your coaching questions, so you will want to keep it close at hand. In full disclosure, it has been my privilege to have Marion Franklin at my side as my coach and mentor for almost a decade. The HeART of Laser-Focused Coaching encapsulates what she has taught for many years in her full coach training program. It truly reflects her dedication to excellence and her deep desire to help coaches at every level improve their skills and increase their confidence. Whether you are a complete novice or a coach with many years experience, I believe you will find this book to be immensely valuable.

I am ambivalent about this book. Overall, it is a great coaching book and one that I will re-read again to better grasp the concepts and the mindset of getting to the heart of the matter. Getting to the heart of the matter is much better than applying coaching "prescriptions": lists of questions or techniques that make coaching mechanistic and do not solve the deeper-rooted problem or block of the client. But I also had problems with the book. Some passages I had to read again and again. It can be that I was distracted but I at times I found sentences slippery, imprecise or just too general or obvious. Maybe it is because I am just not on the same wave-length with the author. To repeat again -- the intention and the ideas in the book are strong. I was impressed by a demonstration in an early chapter how Laser Coaching or Deep coaching and conventional one differ. Within minutes the former leads to discovering something new and important about the client and the latter just beats around the bush with questions like "How do you want the ideal outcome to look like?" quickly solving the wrong issue. So, my advice to you is to get a sample and see for yourself if the book if for you. I will definitely re-read it some time in the future.

Amazing book on coaching. I like it because its not written for the newbie coach who dose not yet understand the coaching process. Most books waste a bunch of pages explaining what coaching is and the ICF core competencies. This is a great next step for coaches that are actively coaching at some level and need help discerning the deeper issues the client is not initially presenting. This book offers is a breakdown of the structure of a coaching conversation and strategies to get right to the core of the clients story or need. Really, really well done and I found myself constantly picking up the pen to underline and write in the margin. I love books like this which are fresh and offer new ideas and insights. This is a must own for coaches!!

Before I read this book my coaching was very formula-driven. Using the formula did not allow me to be as present with my clients as I wished I could have been. The information in this book changed all that! Now I am much more present, the calls are more fluid and organic, and my clients are learning much more about themselves. I have become much more comfortable and confident in my coaching style. Thank you, Marion, for your no-nonsense approach to coaching. My clients and I are more enlightened because of you and your wonderful book.

I've been a coach for 18 years and completed many training programs, certifications, etc. Marion Franklin's work is different and definitely "fills the gaps" that I've been working around in one way or another. I will be a better coach having read this book. It's a read then re-read for coaches.

This is an amazing book. I went to another coaching school and had the "formula" and a solid education on coaching but when I went to coach, I would get stuck in a circle, never asking for the agreement and rarely did the coachee have a shift or discovery. This book, followed by Marion's course has changed my coaching forever for the better. And my coaching is complete in 30 minutes! Read it, Learn it and put it into practice. Fantastic Book!

This book was so full of amazing content that I read it twice! A definite must have for any coaches library

Many coaching books go over the formalities of the profession, but here is a book that lays out clearly what it takes to develop mastery in coaching. There was clearly a lot of work that went into this wonderful resource, and I'll be using it for years to come.

This is an outstanding coaching book. It’s clear and simple and easy to follow. Marion provides lots of examples and reflections. It is a teaching book. I have read a bunch of executive coaching book & this is now my favourite. Love it! AE Graham

Whether you're new to coaching or have a thriving practice, Marion Franklin's book will serve you well. With clarity and expertise she guides you through each integral piece of the coaching conversation, leaving you with a renewed sense of why you became a coach.

Very powerful and invaluable. I as a new coach, alway has struggle to get right into the root of clients’ situations while using those “ formulas”. Marion shows us an effective and impactful way of coaching.

Marion Franklin's book is thought-provoking and contains coaching examples that illustrate her main points. Well organized, and easy to follow. As with all coaching books, you'll need to reread and dip into it over time in order to start putting her suggestions into practice!

Not satisfied

Soooooo good.

If you're a coach, this is a book you'll want to read with a pen and notebook alongside - to jot down the thoughts and ideas you have for your current clients - and more! There are lots of great examples to illustrate the difference that the Laser Coaching method can make to 1) what the coach focuses on and 2) the outcomes that can be achieved as a result. We know the client's mindset is important, but what about ours? We are encouraged to be more direct (which I love!) and to focus on transformational coaching - as opposed to a pure problem/solution approach. I totally agree that we shouldn't just "believe the client" and should delve deeper into the story and underlying beliefs and assumptions for the greatest impact. And the author helpfully ALSO shares her method to do just that! I love that we are asked questions throughout the book to help us reflect on what we've personally taken away. And we're also asked where it could lead if you implement her laser-focused coaching method! As someone who has been coaching for a number of years, I loved the concepts shared. I agreed with many, AND I have also been given some fresh, extremely practical ideas to try! I thoroughly recommend this book to all levels of coaches, but especially those coaches who have been practicing for a while, or may feel they've got stuck in a rut!

Read the biography above and you’ll know why Marion Franklin is highly qualified to write a book that encapsulates the heart of coaching and shares that heart with wisdom and skill. This book is simply brilliant – it picks up where other books and training leave off. It gives coaches, whether professionally trained or not, the tools necessary to be a true agent for change in their client’s lives. Though the book has a textbook-like depth of information, it’s a fascinating and interesting read. Every bit of information makes so much sense: e.g. how she breaks down the coaching conversation into three parts, yet dissects each part for complete understanding; her encouragement to use silence and themes; her unique way to ask questions and create shifts. These have already helped me to significantly change my coaching perspective and approach. Woven into all this amazing information are actual conversations with her own clients, which are made more impactful because she tells the reader what her thinking process was throughout the conversation. Whether you’re trained or not, a new coach or highly-seasoned one, I fully recommend this book. It is truly worth its weight in gold.

I am a current coaching student and have looked at and/or read many coaching books from a wide variety of areas, evidenced based to different schools of thought. This book is BY FAR the best coaching book I've read out of all of that. It not only distills down the essence of coaching, but then breaks it down for optimal learning. So you're not reading a bunch of theory, or reading a self help focused book and trying to figure out how to not apply it to yourself but as a coach. There are so many gems in this book and it really teaches you how to "laser in" to whatever is really bothering your client, or their true barrier to reaching whatever goals they may have. It goes way beyond just instilling habits as many have written about; in fact, I have personally discovered that habits, while they can be effective, they are more often just another tool in our toolbox and more often it is a secondary strategy, not the first. Marion's book really teaches you how to first figure out what the barriers truly are, and then reach a shift in thinking. Once that shift has happened, then you can deploy your tools to reinforce, like habits or all the other things you can find in other sources and books. This book really is a gem and highly recommend it for beginning to expert coaches - there is also a course on Marion's site and I encourage you to take it, which teaches the book's concepts. I'm going through it now and it really brings the book's contents to life.

The valuable insights provided by Marion Franklin in this book are priceless. If you are looking to go deeper with your coaching and go beyond "the outline or program" provided by many coaching schools, this is the resource for you. Presented in a clear and logical manner that also provides questions to prompt introspection, you will find this book to be a go-to reference to develop a finer coaching edge and then keep it honed. I employ Marion's coaching approach and my coaching quality almost immediately improved many folds. A gift to the coaching world that should be a standard for new coaches.

This book is a game changer for getting to the core for deeper coaching. This is a wise and profound easy-to-use book with best practices any level coach can apply right away. You’ll learn about twenty-five themes that show up in our coaching conversations and what is needed to help your clients make long-lasting change around them. You’ll get a broad range of “how-to” techniques for powerful perspective shifting. You’ll discover seventeen strategies clients subconsciously resort to that hold them back. You’ll find true-life examples and actionable approaches that are life-changing and eye-opening for your coaching, your clients, and yourself too! This is a book you will want to refer to again and again. It’s a jewel! Read it!

If creatures from outer space came upon this world and were handed a ‘Guide to Humans’ it would be this book. Since it would be nice for the world's population to have this kind of crucial knowledge, I implore as many people as possible to purchase this book for themselves or anyone they wish to enlighten to practical and pragmatic, yet wholly transformative information. For those professionals out there coaching clients, this book should be mandatory. An example of one of my favorite techniques in this book: The power of the short-format conversation. Most all emotions, confusion, and decision paralysis can be solved in very short order with the right listener. I’ve experienced major clarity in 30, 20, even 10 minutes with this specific body of work. Can you imagine this kind of power in your life? Acquiring this laser super power to sort through people’s irrelevant stories in order to mine life-changing golden nuggets is a skill worth more than $19.95 and the invested time spent reading this book. Apply her techniques - such as curiously questioning *why* someone is telling you a story vs the *what* of it, or, finding the profound underpinning of beliefs that show up in seemingly insignificant comments and details in conversation - to clients, to coworkers, friends, and family and watch your life simplify and find power. Author Marion Franklin spares us the 'expert, guru' talk usually associated with 'coaching’. She plows through the nonsense of prescriptive advice-giving. Her approach to tearing off clients' blinders is gentle, wrought with genuine tough love, and mastery. She suffers no fools amongst the brain synapses that keep people stuck, and isn't afraid to wield her power of insight and spot-on line of questioning to help someone breakthrough to their goals. She teaches us precisely how to do this. A pioneer not only in laser coaching, Marion Franklin is held in high esteem by insiders, pillars of this industry, and amongst founders of early coaching methodology and standards. Relevant, effective, and untainted by the ebbs and flows of this industry's trends, she espouses the original essence of 1-on-1 guided self-inquiry. She offers access to a new level of awareness and simple techniques for moving people (and ourselves!) beyond challenges and into achieving goals. She shares with us her greatest hits: tried & true, timeless, and as universal as being human. Simple and essential is the work graciously given to us by the author, a true Master. And what important work it is.

In my opinion, this book should be required reading for all coaches, HR managers and team leaders in any field. It covers important foundational topics like how to improve listening and questioning skills then goes into detail about the elements of a masterful coaching conversation. Through various examples, Marion shines the light on how all the pieces fit together to achieve amazing insight and transformational outcomes for our clients. One of my favorite things about this book and Marion’s style of teaching is her straightforward practical approach. There is no fluff here. Every point and example in this book is like a little golden nugget. You will not just get value from your first reading. As you really dig into the material and start putting it into practice, I believe you will find many layers of wisdom packed into each idea and technique. . The included index also makes this book the perfect resource to grab for quick answers to your coaching questions, so you will want to keep it close at hand. In full disclosure, it has been my privilege to have Marion Franklin at my side as my coach and mentor for almost a decade. The HeART of Laser-Focused Coaching encapsulates what she has taught for many years in her full coach training program. It truly reflects her dedication to excellence and her deep desire to help coaches at every level improve their skills and increase their confidence. Whether you are a complete novice or a coach with many years experience, I believe you will find this book to be immensely valuable.

I am ambivalent about this book. Overall, it is a great coaching book and one that I will re-read again to better grasp the concepts and the mindset of getting to the heart of the matter. Getting to the heart of the matter is much better than applying coaching "prescriptions": lists of questions or techniques that make coaching mechanistic and do not solve the deeper-rooted problem or block of the client. But I also had problems with the book. Some passages I had to read again and again. It can be that I was distracted but I at times I found sentences slippery, imprecise or just too general or obvious. Maybe it is because I am just not on the same wave-length with the author. To repeat again -- the intention and the ideas in the book are strong. I was impressed by a demonstration in an early chapter how Laser Coaching or Deep coaching and conventional one differ. Within minutes the former leads to discovering something new and important about the client and the latter just beats around the bush with questions like "How do you want the ideal outcome to look like?" quickly solving the wrong issue. So, my advice to you is to get a sample and see for yourself if the book if for you. I will definitely re-read it some time in the future.

Amazing book on coaching. I like it because its not written for the newbie coach who dose not yet understand the coaching process. Most books waste a bunch of pages explaining what coaching is and the ICF core competencies. This is a great next step for coaches that are actively coaching at some level and need help discerning the deeper issues the client is not initially presenting. This book offers is a breakdown of the structure of a coaching conversation and strategies to get right to the core of the clients story or need. Really, really well done and I found myself constantly picking up the pen to underline and write in the margin. I love books like this which are fresh and offer new ideas and insights. This is a must own for coaches!!

Before I read this book my coaching was very formula-driven. Using the formula did not allow me to be as present with my clients as I wished I could have been. The information in this book changed all that! Now I am much more present, the calls are more fluid and organic, and my clients are learning much more about themselves. I have become much more comfortable and confident in my coaching style. Thank you, Marion, for your no-nonsense approach to coaching. My clients and I are more enlightened because of you and your wonderful book.

I have the kindle version and it is wonderful. I don’t understand a few of the other reviews. Marion is amazing and the book is FULL of greatness. I love it!!!!

This is the best book on coaching that I’ve ever read. Thank you, Marion

very good coaching book with many case study.

The content is good but I am wondering what the people who designated it Great on Kindle were smoking. It appears to be a straight scan of the print edition, with inexplicable line breaks, extra spacing, and page numbers and chapter titles sprinkled in the text. Incredibly distracting! I downloaded it on different devices and after much tweaking was able to read it. Unfortunately I’m not able to add a screenshot of this travesty. Worst formatted Kindle book I'd ever read.

I have read the above reviews and agree with all of them. Suffice to say, The Heart of Laser Coaching is a must read for any coach that wants to enhance their current skill set. Marion not only tells you what laser coaching techniques are, she takes it further and explains how and sometimes even why you would use them. This book is a wonderful guide for all coaches. The results from using this invaluable set of tools comes in the form of feedback from the client. Marion is not only a skilled coach, but a skilled mentor and writer. As a seasoned coach myself, I strongly urge anyone who is interested in taking their coaching skills to the next level to buy this book, read this book and absorb everything Marion is sharing. Stew Berman, PCC

I appreciate the author’s straight talk and detailed examples of what makes laser coaching so effective. Advocating for taking ‘the fluff’ out of professional coaching conversations, she outlines what makes for effective session. Her case studies are relevant and helpful in understanding the established core competencies of coaching including powerful questions, direct communication and active listening. This is not a heavy read but I suspect I will refer to it often.

I GAVE UP TRYING TO READ THIS BOOK; I COULD NOT FOLLOW THE MATERIAL BECAUSE OF ITS FORMATTING. ***RE-FORMAT THE BOOK PLEASE!!!***

I higher-than-highly recommend Marion Franklin's "HeART of Laser-Focused Coaching". I have both the paperback and audio book. It centers me, and puts me in a mindset of service and discernment. It helps me be a keener, deeper listener; guides to ask questions that cut right through the b.s. to the heart of the matter, right to that point where the person I am coaching grabs the courage to face their truth. It is a masterfully written book, enlightening, fortifying the coach's boundaries while helping hone the art and craft of coaching. The audiobook was my constant companion through 2020. Marion's voice has this soothing, comfortable, encouraging good-energy voice that enhances the wisdom of it all. I'll buy this book for friends again and again for the mere pleasure of knowing the gift I am giving is a gift of continuing, deep learning.

First, let me say that I'm an ICF certified coach who has been practicing for a couple of years. Becoming a truly great coach takes a long time, and lots of client hours are required to master the competencies. Being a new coach, I frequently became frustrated with myself, feeling like I wasn't quite grasping how to truly facilitate a successful coaching session. I read lots of so-called coaching books, purchased webinars, listened to podcasts, and even downloaded those pre-made lists of coaching questions. All of these were a waste of money... until I found Marion's book. Her expertise is spot-on. Her tips are actionable. She has a gift for explaining the coaching process (a very nebulous concept) in an easy-to-grasp way. My coaching improved tenfold when I read this book. I have gotten in the habit of picking it up 5 minutes before a client appointment, opening it to a random page, and reviewing one of the MANY highlights I made in the book. It's the kind of book you'll want to highlight the heck out of... and then pick it up and re-read it over and over and over again. A Must have for every coach. The wisdom in this book is worth thousands of dollars, and I'm grateful Marion shared it with us.

Marion Franklin is renown as a masterful coach and teacher of coaches. In this book, she's captured all of that experience and knowledge as if you were in one of her coaching courses and listening to her wisdom directly. She provides insights into human behavior, themes that show up for different clients, questions to ask and focus on, and helpful tools for any coach (from beginner to master). Highly recommended!

If you're a coach, this is a book you'll want to read with a pen and notebook alongside - to jot down the thoughts and ideas you have for your current clients - and more! There are lots of great examples to illustrate the difference that the Laser Coaching method can make to 1) what the coach focuses on and 2) the outcomes that can be achieved as a result. We know the client's mindset is important, but what about ours? We are encouraged to be more direct (which I love!) and to focus on transformational coaching - as opposed to a pure problem/solution approach. I totally agree that we shouldn't just "believe the client" and should delve deeper into the story and underlying beliefs and assumptions for the greatest impact. And the author helpfully ALSO shares her method to do just that! I love that we are asked questions throughout the book to help us reflect on what we've personally taken away. And we're also asked where it could lead if you implement her laser-focused coaching method! As someone who has been coaching for a number of years, I loved the concepts shared. I agreed with many, AND I have also been given some fresh, extremely practical ideas to try! I thoroughly recommend this book to all levels of coaches, but especially those coaches who have been practicing for a while, or may feel they've got stuck in a rut!

Read the biography above and you’ll know why Marion Franklin is highly qualified to write a book that encapsulates the heart of coaching and shares that heart with wisdom and skill. This book is simply brilliant – it picks up where other books and training leave off. It gives coaches, whether professionally trained or not, the tools necessary to be a true agent for change in their client’s lives. Though the book has a textbook-like depth of information, it’s a fascinating and interesting read. Every bit of information makes so much sense: e.g. how she breaks down the coaching conversation into three parts, yet dissects each part for complete understanding; her encouragement to use silence and themes; her unique way to ask questions and create shifts. These have already helped me to significantly change my coaching perspective and approach. Woven into all this amazing information are actual conversations with her own clients, which are made more impactful because she tells the reader what her thinking process was throughout the conversation. Whether you’re trained or not, a new coach or highly-seasoned one, I fully recommend this book. It is truly worth its weight in gold.

I am a current coaching student and have looked at and/or read many coaching books from a wide variety of areas, evidenced based to different schools of thought. This book is BY FAR the best coaching book I've read out of all of that. It not only distills down the essence of coaching, but then breaks it down for optimal learning. So you're not reading a bunch of theory, or reading a self help focused book and trying to figure out how to not apply it to yourself but as a coach. There are so many gems in this book and it really teaches you how to "laser in" to whatever is really bothering your client, or their true barrier to reaching whatever goals they may have. It goes way beyond just instilling habits as many have written about; in fact, I have personally discovered that habits, while they can be effective, they are more often just another tool in our toolbox and more often it is a secondary strategy, not the first. Marion's book really teaches you how to first figure out what the barriers truly are, and then reach a shift in thinking. Once that shift has happened, then you can deploy your tools to reinforce, like habits or all the other things you can find in other sources and books. This book really is a gem and highly recommend it for beginning to expert coaches - there is also a course on Marion's site and I encourage you to take it, which teaches the book's concepts. I'm going through it now and it really brings the book's contents to life.

The valuable insights provided by Marion Franklin in this book are priceless. If you are looking to go deeper with your coaching and go beyond "the outline or program" provided by many coaching schools, this is the resource for you. Presented in a clear and logical manner that also provides questions to prompt introspection, you will find this book to be a go-to reference to develop a finer coaching edge and then keep it honed. I employ Marion's coaching approach and my coaching quality almost immediately improved many folds. A gift to the coaching world that should be a standard for new coaches.

This book is a game changer for getting to the core for deeper coaching. This is a wise and profound easy-to-use book with best practices any level coach can apply right away. You’ll learn about twenty-five themes that show up in our coaching conversations and what is needed to help your clients make long-lasting change around them. You’ll get a broad range of “how-to” techniques for powerful perspective shifting. You’ll discover seventeen strategies clients subconsciously resort to that hold them back. You’ll find true-life examples and actionable approaches that are life-changing and eye-opening for your coaching, your clients, and yourself too! This is a book you will want to refer to again and again. It’s a jewel! Read it!

If creatures from outer space came upon this world and were handed a ‘Guide to Humans’ it would be this book. Since it would be nice for the world's population to have this kind of crucial knowledge, I implore as many people as possible to purchase this book for themselves or anyone they wish to enlighten to practical and pragmatic, yet wholly transformative information. For those professionals out there coaching clients, this book should be mandatory. An example of one of my favorite techniques in this book: The power of the short-format conversation. Most all emotions, confusion, and decision paralysis can be solved in very short order with the right listener. I’ve experienced major clarity in 30, 20, even 10 minutes with this specific body of work. Can you imagine this kind of power in your life? Acquiring this laser super power to sort through people’s irrelevant stories in order to mine life-changing golden nuggets is a skill worth more than $19.95 and the invested time spent reading this book. Apply her techniques - such as curiously questioning *why* someone is telling you a story vs the *what* of it, or, finding the profound underpinning of beliefs that show up in seemingly insignificant comments and details in conversation - to clients, to coworkers, friends, and family and watch your life simplify and find power. Author Marion Franklin spares us the 'expert, guru' talk usually associated with 'coaching’. She plows through the nonsense of prescriptive advice-giving. Her approach to tearing off clients' blinders is gentle, wrought with genuine tough love, and mastery. She suffers no fools amongst the brain synapses that keep people stuck, and isn't afraid to wield her power of insight and spot-on line of questioning to help someone breakthrough to their goals. She teaches us precisely how to do this. A pioneer not only in laser coaching, Marion Franklin is held in high esteem by insiders, pillars of this industry, and amongst founders of early coaching methodology and standards. Relevant, effective, and untainted by the ebbs and flows of this industry's trends, she espouses the original essence of 1-on-1 guided self-inquiry. She offers access to a new level of awareness and simple techniques for moving people (and ourselves!) beyond challenges and into achieving goals. She shares with us her greatest hits: tried & true, timeless, and as universal as being human. Simple and essential is the work graciously given to us by the author, a true Master. And what important work it is.

In my opinion, this book should be required reading for all coaches, HR managers and team leaders in any field. It covers important foundational topics like how to improve listening and questioning skills then goes into detail about the elements of a masterful coaching conversation. Through various examples, Marion shines the light on how all the pieces fit together to achieve amazing insight and transformational outcomes for our clients. One of my favorite things about this book and Marion’s style of teaching is her straightforward practical approach. There is no fluff here. Every point and example in this book is like a little golden nugget. You will not just get value from your first reading. As you really dig into the material and start putting it into practice, I believe you will find many layers of wisdom packed into each idea and technique. . The included index also makes this book the perfect resource to grab for quick answers to your coaching questions, so you will want to keep it close at hand. In full disclosure, it has been my privilege to have Marion Franklin at my side as my coach and mentor for almost a decade. The HeART of Laser-Focused Coaching encapsulates what she has taught for many years in her full coach training program. It truly reflects her dedication to excellence and her deep desire to help coaches at every level improve their skills and increase their confidence. Whether you are a complete novice or a coach with many years experience, I believe you will find this book to be immensely valuable.

I am ambivalent about this book. Overall, it is a great coaching book and one that I will re-read again to better grasp the concepts and the mindset of getting to the heart of the matter. Getting to the heart of the matter is much better than applying coaching "prescriptions": lists of questions or techniques that make coaching mechanistic and do not solve the deeper-rooted problem or block of the client. But I also had problems with the book. Some passages I had to read again and again. It can be that I was distracted but I at times I found sentences slippery, imprecise or just too general or obvious. Maybe it is because I am just not on the same wave-length with the author. To repeat again -- the intention and the ideas in the book are strong. I was impressed by a demonstration in an early chapter how Laser Coaching or Deep coaching and conventional one differ. Within minutes the former leads to discovering something new and important about the client and the latter just beats around the bush with questions like "How do you want the ideal outcome to look like?" quickly solving the wrong issue. So, my advice to you is to get a sample and see for yourself if the book if for you. I will definitely re-read it some time in the future.

Amazing book on coaching. I like it because its not written for the newbie coach who dose not yet understand the coaching process. Most books waste a bunch of pages explaining what coaching is and the ICF core competencies. This is a great next step for coaches that are actively coaching at some level and need help discerning the deeper issues the client is not initially presenting. This book offers is a breakdown of the structure of a coaching conversation and strategies to get right to the core of the clients story or need. Really, really well done and I found myself constantly picking up the pen to underline and write in the margin. I love books like this which are fresh and offer new ideas and insights. This is a must own for coaches!!

Before I read this book my coaching was very formula-driven. Using the formula did not allow me to be as present with my clients as I wished I could have been. The information in this book changed all that! Now I am much more present, the calls are more fluid and organic, and my clients are learning much more about themselves. I have become much more comfortable and confident in my coaching style. Thank you, Marion, for your no-nonsense approach to coaching. My clients and I are more enlightened because of you and your wonderful book.

The Heart of Laser-Focused Coaching is simply brilliant. Articulate and rich in examples, this book has step-by-step strategies that can be implemented immediately as well as the philosophy behind the Laser-Focused Coaching method. It is a “one-stop shop” for new coaches just learning and advanced coaches who want to sharpen their skills. As a mental health therapist who wants to grow a coaching practice, I am so grateful I found Marion Franklin’s guide to truly masterful coaching. This book will be an invaluable resource for years to come.

Well written, excellent content, very informative. These easy to follow steps will change anyone’s coaching for the better! The themes alone are unique and more helpful than any coach training offers. They help to immediately identify what is going on for the client. Asking powerful questions is now so much easier than ever before. I could see this book helping therapists to ask better questions. Every chapter is filled with excellent descriptive examples which bring the content even more alive. I highly recommend this for any coach at any level - even the most experienced coaches will appreciate deeper, more meaningful coaching after reading the book.

I am a past student of Marion Franklin's Laser Coaching Course and her Mentor calls. Even though I received my certification as a coach before Marion, I came out of her class truly understanding HOW to coach. I had much more confidence after her class than I did when I finished certification. There were several times during her class where I uttered an audible "wow" because it made so much sense and was practical. And NOW her brilliance has been put to pen and paper. If you already are a coach, learning to coach or considering going into coaching, this book is for you! Marion gives you practical examples and ideas. I promise you - you will not regret purchasing this book.

As a Health and Wellness Coaching graduate student, I've read many coaching books. This one is like NONE OTHER. It's brilliantly written by a Masterful coach with tons of information that you won't learn from any other source. Not just more coaching theory, but a practical guide that tells you what to do and how to do it. This book instructs the reader on how to get to the heart of a coaching issue without going in circles and beating around the bush. Laser-focused to help your clients attain true transformation. I have the kindle version but wanted the physical copy as well, to keep on hand and sticky note the heck out of it! Thank you Marion Franklin!

Marion Franklin is not only an excellent coach- but she understands how to teach coaching in a way that is clear, easy to follow and applicable in real time. Her ability to set up partnerships with her clients that are trusting and direct with guidance is so valuable in helping me create more confidence in my work with individuals and teams. I can't say enough about the learning that comes from reading this book. Thank you Marion for all you bring to the coaching community!

This book has been my go-to resource as I add more and more value to my coaching clients. I come back to this book over and over again. Every time I do, I become a better coach. If you’re a coach like me who continuously works to improve, definitely pick up a copy and keep it close by. Thank you, Marion Franklin!

This is a superb book that has substantiality altered my approach to coaching. With the principles in mind, just today, I had the most impactful coaching session of my career.

Very helpful book for growing as a coach. It's clear and direct; full of ideas and frameworks that when applied will take coaching to the next level. Marion shares many helpful examples that illustrate the concepts. Definitely recommend!

I appreciate the experience and thoughtfulness brought to writing this book. The book has expanded my thinking on coaching and has provided me some ideas for moving forward. Excellent resource for coaches.

This is a great book for coaches who would like to enhance their coaching skills due to the practical tips as well as the questions adressed to the reader at the end of each chapter. I have the Kindle version and it works and looks just fine.

If you're a coach, this is a book you'll want to read with a pen and notebook alongside - to jot down the thoughts and ideas you have for your current clients - and more! There are lots of great examples to illustrate the difference that the Laser Coaching method can make to 1) what the coach focuses on and 2) the outcomes that can be achieved as a result. We know the client's mindset is important, but what about ours? We are encouraged to be more direct (which I love!) and to focus on transformational coaching - as opposed to a pure problem/solution approach. I totally agree that we shouldn't just "believe the client" and should delve deeper into the story and underlying beliefs and assumptions for the greatest impact. And the author helpfully ALSO shares her method to do just that! I love that we are asked questions throughout the book to help us reflect on what we've personally taken away. And we're also asked where it could lead if you implement her laser-focused coaching method! As someone who has been coaching for a number of years, I loved the concepts shared. I agreed with many, AND I have also been given some fresh, extremely practical ideas to try! I thoroughly recommend this book to all levels of coaches, but especially those coaches who have been practicing for a while, or may feel they've got stuck in a rut!

Read the biography above and you’ll know why Marion Franklin is highly qualified to write a book that encapsulates the heart of coaching and shares that heart with wisdom and skill. This book is simply brilliant – it picks up where other books and training leave off. It gives coaches, whether professionally trained or not, the tools necessary to be a true agent for change in their client’s lives. Though the book has a textbook-like depth of information, it’s a fascinating and interesting read. Every bit of information makes so much sense: e.g. how she breaks down the coaching conversation into three parts, yet dissects each part for complete understanding; her encouragement to use silence and themes; her unique way to ask questions and create shifts. These have already helped me to significantly change my coaching perspective and approach. Woven into all this amazing information are actual conversations with her own clients, which are made more impactful because she tells the reader what her thinking process was throughout the conversation. Whether you’re trained or not, a new coach or highly-seasoned one, I fully recommend this book. It is truly worth its weight in gold.

I am a current coaching student and have looked at and/or read many coaching books from a wide variety of areas, evidenced based to different schools of thought. This book is BY FAR the best coaching book I've read out of all of that. It not only distills down the essence of coaching, but then breaks it down for optimal learning. So you're not reading a bunch of theory, or reading a self help focused book and trying to figure out how to not apply it to yourself but as a coach. There are so many gems in this book and it really teaches you how to "laser in" to whatever is really bothering your client, or their true barrier to reaching whatever goals they may have. It goes way beyond just instilling habits as many have written about; in fact, I have personally discovered that habits, while they can be effective, they are more often just another tool in our toolbox and more often it is a secondary strategy, not the first. Marion's book really teaches you how to first figure out what the barriers truly are, and then reach a shift in thinking. Once that shift has happened, then you can deploy your tools to reinforce, like habits or all the other things you can find in other sources and books. This book really is a gem and highly recommend it for beginning to expert coaches - there is also a course on Marion's site and I encourage you to take it, which teaches the book's concepts. I'm going through it now and it really brings the book's contents to life.

The valuable insights provided by Marion Franklin in this book are priceless. If you are looking to go deeper with your coaching and go beyond "the outline or program" provided by many coaching schools, this is the resource for you. Presented in a clear and logical manner that also provides questions to prompt introspection, you will find this book to be a go-to reference to develop a finer coaching edge and then keep it honed. I employ Marion's coaching approach and my coaching quality almost immediately improved many folds. A gift to the coaching world that should be a standard for new coaches.

This book is a game changer for getting to the core for deeper coaching. This is a wise and profound easy-to-use book with best practices any level coach can apply right away. You’ll learn about twenty-five themes that show up in our coaching conversations and what is needed to help your clients make long-lasting change around them. You’ll get a broad range of “how-to” techniques for powerful perspective shifting. You’ll discover seventeen strategies clients subconsciously resort to that hold them back. You’ll find true-life examples and actionable approaches that are life-changing and eye-opening for your coaching, your clients, and yourself too! This is a book you will want to refer to again and again. It’s a jewel! Read it!

If creatures from outer space came upon this world and were handed a ‘Guide to Humans’ it would be this book. Since it would be nice for the world's population to have this kind of crucial knowledge, I implore as many people as possible to purchase this book for themselves or anyone they wish to enlighten to practical and pragmatic, yet wholly transformative information. For those professionals out there coaching clients, this book should be mandatory. An example of one of my favorite techniques in this book: The power of the short-format conversation. Most all emotions, confusion, and decision paralysis can be solved in very short order with the right listener. I’ve experienced major clarity in 30, 20, even 10 minutes with this specific body of work. Can you imagine this kind of power in your life? Acquiring this laser super power to sort through people’s irrelevant stories in order to mine life-changing golden nuggets is a skill worth more than $19.95 and the invested time spent reading this book. Apply her techniques - such as curiously questioning *why* someone is telling you a story vs the *what* of it, or, finding the profound underpinning of beliefs that show up in seemingly insignificant comments and details in conversation - to clients, to coworkers, friends, and family and watch your life simplify and find power. Author Marion Franklin spares us the 'expert, guru' talk usually associated with 'coaching’. She plows through the nonsense of prescriptive advice-giving. Her approach to tearing off clients' blinders is gentle, wrought with genuine tough love, and mastery. She suffers no fools amongst the brain synapses that keep people stuck, and isn't afraid to wield her power of insight and spot-on line of questioning to help someone breakthrough to their goals. She teaches us precisely how to do this. A pioneer not only in laser coaching, Marion Franklin is held in high esteem by insiders, pillars of this industry, and amongst founders of early coaching methodology and standards. Relevant, effective, and untainted by the ebbs and flows of this industry's trends, she espouses the original essence of 1-on-1 guided self-inquiry. She offers access to a new level of awareness and simple techniques for moving people (and ourselves!) beyond challenges and into achieving goals. She shares with us her greatest hits: tried & true, timeless, and as universal as being human. Simple and essential is the work graciously given to us by the author, a true Master. And what important work it is.

In my opinion, this book should be required reading for all coaches, HR managers and team leaders in any field. It covers important foundational topics like how to improve listening and questioning skills then goes into detail about the elements of a masterful coaching conversation. Through various examples, Marion shines the light on how all the pieces fit together to achieve amazing insight and transformational outcomes for our clients. One of my favorite things about this book and Marion’s style of teaching is her straightforward practical approach. There is no fluff here. Every point and example in this book is like a little golden nugget. You will not just get value from your first reading. As you really dig into the material and start putting it into practice, I believe you will find many layers of wisdom packed into each idea and technique. . The included index also makes this book the perfect resource to grab for quick answers to your coaching questions, so you will want to keep it close at hand. In full disclosure, it has been my privilege to have Marion Franklin at my side as my coach and mentor for almost a decade. The HeART of Laser-Focused Coaching encapsulates what she has taught for many years in her full coach training program. It truly reflects her dedication to excellence and her deep desire to help coaches at every level improve their skills and increase their confidence. Whether you are a complete novice or a coach with many years experience, I believe you will find this book to be immensely valuable.

I am ambivalent about this book. Overall, it is a great coaching book and one that I will re-read again to better grasp the concepts and the mindset of getting to the heart of the matter. Getting to the heart of the matter is much better than applying coaching "prescriptions": lists of questions or techniques that make coaching mechanistic and do not solve the deeper-rooted problem or block of the client. But I also had problems with the book. Some passages I had to read again and again. It can be that I was distracted but I at times I found sentences slippery, imprecise or just too general or obvious. Maybe it is because I am just not on the same wave-length with the author. To repeat again -- the intention and the ideas in the book are strong. I was impressed by a demonstration in an early chapter how Laser Coaching or Deep coaching and conventional one differ. Within minutes the former leads to discovering something new and important about the client and the latter just beats around the bush with questions like "How do you want the ideal outcome to look like?" quickly solving the wrong issue. So, my advice to you is to get a sample and see for yourself if the book if for you. I will definitely re-read it some time in the future.

Amazing book on coaching. I like it because its not written for the newbie coach who dose not yet understand the coaching process. Most books waste a bunch of pages explaining what coaching is and the ICF core competencies. This is a great next step for coaches that are actively coaching at some level and need help discerning the deeper issues the client is not initially presenting. This book offers is a breakdown of the structure of a coaching conversation and strategies to get right to the core of the clients story or need. Really, really well done and I found myself constantly picking up the pen to underline and write in the margin. I love books like this which are fresh and offer new ideas and insights. This is a must own for coaches!!

Before I read this book my coaching was very formula-driven. Using the formula did not allow me to be as present with my clients as I wished I could have been. The information in this book changed all that! Now I am much more present, the calls are more fluid and organic, and my clients are learning much more about themselves. I have become much more comfortable and confident in my coaching style. Thank you, Marion, for your no-nonsense approach to coaching. My clients and I are more enlightened because of you and your wonderful book.

I loved the book! And the Kindle version is excellent. I reference it all the time from my phone and it works. A real useful, down to earth gem.

This book is a full course in 277 pages. I am BLOWN AWAY!! One read through isnt enough... I’m pretty sure this needs to become the coaching Bible. SO WELL WRITTEN! Thank you!!!

His is an extremely valuable resource for coaching. I will be implementing this into my coaching practice. I highly recommend this book.

Out of the box, yet doable skills that can be practiced. I’m excited to go deeper with my clients. Thank you for sharing your insights and expertise!

With clear steps and explanations to the underlying foundations, Laser Focus Coaching helped me become a better coach for my teenage children and even myself.

As a mentor coach myself, I've found The HeART of Laser-Focused Coaching to be the single most useful book I've ever found on how to coach to best advantage with clients. Having taken a rigorous course on mentor coaching from Marion Franklin, I've found that her book covers much of the territory from her course in direct, clear language with many illustrative client coaching examples. If you're a coach looking for distilled coaching skills and overview, this is the book for you!

I have read many books about coaching since my diploma in executive coaching, back in 2017. This book is by far the best one. What makes it so? You might ask. What I most value is the application. You go from reading the book to applying these concepts almost immediately, and you can see the impact on the coaching process right away. For example, Marion outlines 25 coaching themes and specific questions to explore them. Then she provides clear examples of how those themes show up in conversations and what a masterful coach would ask vs a less experienced coach. Beyond the robust inquiry process and the articulation of the themes, I love the whole person approach. The book reminded me that I don't have to believe my clients' stories. Instead, it critical to be curious about who is struggling and why. As coaches, focusing on the problem doesn't help the client beyond the surface level. Marion's book is a masterfully written invitation to get to the heart of the matter, where we can genuinely help the client see the world differently.

Though targeted to coaches, this book is a great took for anyone looking to have more meaningful and connected conversations. For coaches, it is a holy bible or information, frameworks (and lack thereof), and experience. It explains and clarifies many mispractices in the industry and provides a more holistic experience for both coach and client.

An amazing resource for both new and experienced coaches. A must have 'how to'

Marion Franklin is highly qualified to write a book that encapsulates the heart of coaching as she was a student of Thomas J. Leonard, the founding father of professional life coaching. If you're a coach, this is a book you'll want to read with a pen and paper alongside - to jot down your thoughts and ideas for your current clients. IMHO this is the best coaching book for experienced coaches and Marion's knowledge helps you understand the client's themes and the coaches mindset. Direct communication is explained and focus on transformational coaching - as opposed to a pure problem/solution approach is promoted. I totally agree that we shouldn't just "believe the client" and should delve deeper into the story and underlying beliefs and assumptions for the greatest impact. And the author helpfully shares her method to do just that! I recommend this book to all levels of coaches, but especially those coaches who have been practising for a while, or may feel they want to elevate their coaching to a new level. Marion is a master coach who wants to share her mastery with everyone. Welcome to her club.

If you're a coach, this is a book you'll want to read with a pen and notebook alongside - to jot down the thoughts and ideas you have for your current clients - and more! There are lots of great examples to illustrate the difference that the Laser Coaching method can make to 1) what the coach focuses on and 2) the outcomes that can be achieved as a result. We know the client's mindset is important, but what about ours? We are encouraged to be more direct (which I love!) and to focus on transformational coaching - as opposed to a pure problem/solution approach. I totally agree that we shouldn't just "believe the client" and should delve deeper into the story and underlying beliefs and assumptions for the greatest impact. And the author helpfully ALSO shares her method to do just that! I love that we are asked questions throughout the book to help us reflect on what we've personally taken away. And we're also asked where it could lead if you implement her laser-focused coaching method! As someone who has been coaching for a number of years, I loved the concepts shared. I agreed with many, AND I have also been given some fresh, extremely practical ideas to try! I thoroughly recommend this book to all levels of coaches, but especially those coaches who have been practicing for a while, or may feel they've got stuck in a rut!

Read the biography above and you’ll know why Marion Franklin is highly qualified to write a book that encapsulates the heart of coaching and shares that heart with wisdom and skill. This book is simply brilliant – it picks up where other books and training leave off. It gives coaches, whether professionally trained or not, the tools necessary to be a true agent for change in their client’s lives. Though the book has a textbook-like depth of information, it’s a fascinating and interesting read. Every bit of information makes so much sense: e.g. how she breaks down the coaching conversation into three parts, yet dissects each part for complete understanding; her encouragement to use silence and themes; her unique way to ask questions and create shifts. These have already helped me to significantly change my coaching perspective and approach. Woven into all this amazing information are actual conversations with her own clients, which are made more impactful because she tells the reader what her thinking process was throughout the conversation. Whether you’re trained or not, a new coach or highly-seasoned one, I fully recommend this book. It is truly worth its weight in gold.

I am a current coaching student and have looked at and/or read many coaching books from a wide variety of areas, evidenced based to different schools of thought. This book is BY FAR the best coaching book I've read out of all of that. It not only distills down the essence of coaching, but then breaks it down for optimal learning. So you're not reading a bunch of theory, or reading a self help focused book and trying to figure out how to not apply it to yourself but as a coach. There are so many gems in this book and it really teaches you how to "laser in" to whatever is really bothering your client, or their true barrier to reaching whatever goals they may have. It goes way beyond just instilling habits as many have written about; in fact, I have personally discovered that habits, while they can be effective, they are more often just another tool in our toolbox and more often it is a secondary strategy, not the first. Marion's book really teaches you how to first figure out what the barriers truly are, and then reach a shift in thinking. Once that shift has happened, then you can deploy your tools to reinforce, like habits or all the other things you can find in other sources and books. This book really is a gem and highly recommend it for beginning to expert coaches - there is also a course on Marion's site and I encourage you to take it, which teaches the book's concepts. I'm going through it now and it really brings the book's contents to life.

The valuable insights provided by Marion Franklin in this book are priceless. If you are looking to go deeper with your coaching and go beyond "the outline or program" provided by many coaching schools, this is the resource for you. Presented in a clear and logical manner that also provides questions to prompt introspection, you will find this book to be a go-to reference to develop a finer coaching edge and then keep it honed. I employ Marion's coaching approach and my coaching quality almost immediately improved many folds. A gift to the coaching world that should be a standard for new coaches.

This book is a game changer for getting to the core for deeper coaching. This is a wise and profound easy-to-use book with best practices any level coach can apply right away. You’ll learn about twenty-five themes that show up in our coaching conversations and what is needed to help your clients make long-lasting change around them. You’ll get a broad range of “how-to” techniques for powerful perspective shifting. You’ll discover seventeen strategies clients subconsciously resort to that hold them back. You’ll find true-life examples and actionable approaches that are life-changing and eye-opening for your coaching, your clients, and yourself too! This is a book you will want to refer to again and again. It’s a jewel! Read it!

If creatures from outer space came upon this world and were handed a ‘Guide to Humans’ it would be this book. Since it would be nice for the world's population to have this kind of crucial knowledge, I implore as many people as possible to purchase this book for themselves or anyone they wish to enlighten to practical and pragmatic, yet wholly transformative information. For those professionals out there coaching clients, this book should be mandatory. An example of one of my favorite techniques in this book: The power of the short-format conversation. Most all emotions, confusion, and decision paralysis can be solved in very short order with the right listener. I’ve experienced major clarity in 30, 20, even 10 minutes with this specific body of work. Can you imagine this kind of power in your life? Acquiring this laser super power to sort through people’s irrelevant stories in order to mine life-changing golden nuggets is a skill worth more than $19.95 and the invested time spent reading this book. Apply her techniques - such as curiously questioning *why* someone is telling you a story vs the *what* of it, or, finding the profound underpinning of beliefs that show up in seemingly insignificant comments and details in conversation - to clients, to coworkers, friends, and family and watch your life simplify and find power. Author Marion Franklin spares us the 'expert, guru' talk usually associated with 'coaching’. She plows through the nonsense of prescriptive advice-giving. Her approach to tearing off clients' blinders is gentle, wrought with genuine tough love, and mastery. She suffers no fools amongst the brain synapses that keep people stuck, and isn't afraid to wield her power of insight and spot-on line of questioning to help someone breakthrough to their goals. She teaches us precisely how to do this. A pioneer not only in laser coaching, Marion Franklin is held in high esteem by insiders, pillars of this industry, and amongst founders of early coaching methodology and standards. Relevant, effective, and untainted by the ebbs and flows of this industry's trends, she espouses the original essence of 1-on-1 guided self-inquiry. She offers access to a new level of awareness and simple techniques for moving people (and ourselves!) beyond challenges and into achieving goals. She shares with us her greatest hits: tried & true, timeless, and as universal as being human. Simple and essential is the work graciously given to us by the author, a true Master. And what important work it is.

In my opinion, this book should be required reading for all coaches, HR managers and team leaders in any field. It covers important foundational topics like how to improve listening and questioning skills then goes into detail about the elements of a masterful coaching conversation. Through various examples, Marion shines the light on how all the pieces fit together to achieve amazing insight and transformational outcomes for our clients. One of my favorite things about this book and Marion’s style of teaching is her straightforward practical approach. There is no fluff here. Every point and example in this book is like a little golden nugget. You will not just get value from your first reading. As you really dig into the material and start putting it into practice, I believe you will find many layers of wisdom packed into each idea and technique. . The included index also makes this book the perfect resource to grab for quick answers to your coaching questions, so you will want to keep it close at hand. In full disclosure, it has been my privilege to have Marion Franklin at my side as my coach and mentor for almost a decade. The HeART of Laser-Focused Coaching encapsulates what she has taught for many years in her full coach training program. It truly reflects her dedication to excellence and her deep desire to help coaches at every level improve their skills and increase their confidence. Whether you are a complete novice or a coach with many years experience, I believe you will find this book to be immensely valuable.

I am ambivalent about this book. Overall, it is a great coaching book and one that I will re-read again to better grasp the concepts and the mindset of getting to the heart of the matter. Getting to the heart of the matter is much better than applying coaching "prescriptions": lists of questions or techniques that make coaching mechanistic and do not solve the deeper-rooted problem or block of the client. But I also had problems with the book. Some passages I had to read again and again. It can be that I was distracted but I at times I found sentences slippery, imprecise or just too general or obvious. Maybe it is because I am just not on the same wave-length with the author. To repeat again -- the intention and the ideas in the book are strong. I was impressed by a demonstration in an early chapter how Laser Coaching or Deep coaching and conventional one differ. Within minutes the former leads to discovering something new and important about the client and the latter just beats around the bush with questions like "How do you want the ideal outcome to look like?" quickly solving the wrong issue. So, my advice to you is to get a sample and see for yourself if the book if for you. I will definitely re-read it some time in the future.

Amazing book on coaching. I like it because its not written for the newbie coach who dose not yet understand the coaching process. Most books waste a bunch of pages explaining what coaching is and the ICF core competencies. This is a great next step for coaches that are actively coaching at some level and need help discerning the deeper issues the client is not initially presenting. This book offers is a breakdown of the structure of a coaching conversation and strategies to get right to the core of the clients story or need. Really, really well done and I found myself constantly picking up the pen to underline and write in the margin. I love books like this which are fresh and offer new ideas and insights. This is a must own for coaches!!

Before I read this book my coaching was very formula-driven. Using the formula did not allow me to be as present with my clients as I wished I could have been. The information in this book changed all that! Now I am much more present, the calls are more fluid and organic, and my clients are learning much more about themselves. I have become much more comfortable and confident in my coaching style. Thank you, Marion, for your no-nonsense approach to coaching. My clients and I are more enlightened because of you and your wonderful book.

This is one of the best coaching books I’ve read, it’s a complete resource and valuable for coaching professionals in search of excellence for themselves and more importantly, their clients. Marion Franklin has written a definitive book for experienced coaches and those new to the profession. Quite enjoyable is the easy-to-read, conversational style but don’t let that fool you as the depth of knowledge make this a leading coaching resource. The book has 17 chapters each featuring real-life client situations with good, better and best strategies for coaches to assess and learn from, so be ready to highlight as she shares her coaching secrets like learning to understand why is this important to the client and how to clearly and softly deliver the message. Chapter six, “Don’t believe the client,” is unconventional and perhaps my favourite chapter as it challenges coaches to dig deep and suss out the truth versus accepting the client’s perception that there is only one version of their truth. Creating opportunity for growth, each chapter ends with reflective questions to further hone the coach’s skills. Christine Culbertson (Boyle) CPCC, ACC

Before I bought this book I knew it was going to be something special and it didn’t disappoint. Marion Franklin is a truly masterful coach who demonstrates in this book the real power of coaching when it is done properly. Her book took me back to my own coach training over 20 years ago and reinforced so many of the great principles of good coaching and so much more. Her laser focused coaching information and tips are practical, in depth, no fluff and what good coaching that gets results is really all about. I consider this book the best investment any coach, whatever their training, could make in service to their clients.

I got a great deal from this excellent book. Marion has the knack of making the concepts easy to digest. So many useful and practical ways to approach coaching. Thank you.

This is one of the top books I have read as a Coach. It's practical, insightful and truly helps you bring laser focus to your coaching.

If you're a coach, this is a book you'll want to read with a pen and notebook alongside - to jot down the thoughts and ideas you have for your current clients - and more! There are lots of great examples to illustrate the difference that the Laser Coaching method can make to 1) what the coach focuses on and 2) the outcomes that can be achieved as a result. We know the client's mindset is important, but what about ours? We are encouraged to be more direct (which I love!) and to focus on transformational coaching - as opposed to a pure problem/solution approach. I totally agree that we shouldn't just "believe the client" and should delve deeper into the story and underlying beliefs and assumptions for the greatest impact. And the author helpfully ALSO shares her method to do just that! I love that we are asked questions throughout the book to help us reflect on what we've personally taken away. And we're also asked where it could lead if you implement her laser-focused coaching method! As someone who has been coaching for a number of years, I loved the concepts shared. I agreed with many, AND I have also been given some fresh, extremely practical ideas to try! I thoroughly recommend this book to all levels of coaches, but especially those coaches who have been practicing for a while, or may feel they've got stuck in a rut!

Read the biography above and you’ll know why Marion Franklin is highly qualified to write a book that encapsulates the heart of coaching and shares that heart with wisdom and skill. This book is simply brilliant – it picks up where other books and training leave off. It gives coaches, whether professionally trained or not, the tools necessary to be a true agent for change in their client’s lives. Though the book has a textbook-like depth of information, it’s a fascinating and interesting read. Every bit of information makes so much sense: e.g. how she breaks down the coaching conversation into three parts, yet dissects each part for complete understanding; her encouragement to use silence and themes; her unique way to ask questions and create shifts. These have already helped me to significantly change my coaching perspective and approach. Woven into all this amazing information are actual conversations with her own clients, which are made more impactful because she tells the reader what her thinking process was throughout the conversation. Whether you’re trained or not, a new coach or highly-seasoned one, I fully recommend this book. It is truly worth its weight in gold.

I am a current coaching student and have looked at and/or read many coaching books from a wide variety of areas, evidenced based to different schools of thought. This book is BY FAR the best coaching book I've read out of all of that. It not only distills down the essence of coaching, but then breaks it down for optimal learning. So you're not reading a bunch of theory, or reading a self help focused book and trying to figure out how to not apply it to yourself but as a coach. There are so many gems in this book and it really teaches you how to "laser in" to whatever is really bothering your client, or their true barrier to reaching whatever goals they may have. It goes way beyond just instilling habits as many have written about; in fact, I have personally discovered that habits, while they can be effective, they are more often just another tool in our toolbox and more often it is a secondary strategy, not the first. Marion's book really teaches you how to first figure out what the barriers truly are, and then reach a shift in thinking. Once that shift has happened, then you can deploy your tools to reinforce, like habits or all the other things you can find in other sources and books. This book really is a gem and highly recommend it for beginning to expert coaches - there is also a course on Marion's site and I encourage you to take it, which teaches the book's concepts. I'm going through it now and it really brings the book's contents to life.

The valuable insights provided by Marion Franklin in this book are priceless. If you are looking to go deeper with your coaching and go beyond "the outline or program" provided by many coaching schools, this is the resource for you. Presented in a clear and logical manner that also provides questions to prompt introspection, you will find this book to be a go-to reference to develop a finer coaching edge and then keep it honed. I employ Marion's coaching approach and my coaching quality almost immediately improved many folds. A gift to the coaching world that should be a standard for new coaches.

This book is a game changer for getting to the core for deeper coaching. This is a wise and profound easy-to-use book with best practices any level coach can apply right away. You’ll learn about twenty-five themes that show up in our coaching conversations and what is needed to help your clients make long-lasting change around them. You’ll get a broad range of “how-to” techniques for powerful perspective shifting. You’ll discover seventeen strategies clients subconsciously resort to that hold them back. You’ll find true-life examples and actionable approaches that are life-changing and eye-opening for your coaching, your clients, and yourself too! This is a book you will want to refer to again and again. It’s a jewel! Read it!

If creatures from outer space came upon this world and were handed a ‘Guide to Humans’ it would be this book. Since it would be nice for the world's population to have this kind of crucial knowledge, I implore as many people as possible to purchase this book for themselves or anyone they wish to enlighten to practical and pragmatic, yet wholly transformative information. For those professionals out there coaching clients, this book should be mandatory. An example of one of my favorite techniques in this book: The power of the short-format conversation. Most all emotions, confusion, and decision paralysis can be solved in very short order with the right listener. I’ve experienced major clarity in 30, 20, even 10 minutes with this specific body of work. Can you imagine this kind of power in your life? Acquiring this laser super power to sort through people’s irrelevant stories in order to mine life-changing golden nuggets is a skill worth more than $19.95 and the invested time spent reading this book. Apply her techniques - such as curiously questioning *why* someone is telling you a story vs the *what* of it, or, finding the profound underpinning of beliefs that show up in seemingly insignificant comments and details in conversation - to clients, to coworkers, friends, and family and watch your life simplify and find power. Author Marion Franklin spares us the 'expert, guru' talk usually associated with 'coaching’. She plows through the nonsense of prescriptive advice-giving. Her approach to tearing off clients' blinders is gentle, wrought with genuine tough love, and mastery. She suffers no fools amongst the brain synapses that keep people stuck, and isn't afraid to wield her power of insight and spot-on line of questioning to help someone breakthrough to their goals. She teaches us precisely how to do this. A pioneer not only in laser coaching, Marion Franklin is held in high esteem by insiders, pillars of this industry, and amongst founders of early coaching methodology and standards. Relevant, effective, and untainted by the ebbs and flows of this industry's trends, she espouses the original essence of 1-on-1 guided self-inquiry. She offers access to a new level of awareness and simple techniques for moving people (and ourselves!) beyond challenges and into achieving goals. She shares with us her greatest hits: tried & true, timeless, and as universal as being human. Simple and essential is the work graciously given to us by the author, a true Master. And what important work it is.

In my opinion, this book should be required reading for all coaches, HR managers and team leaders in any field. It covers important foundational topics like how to improve listening and questioning skills then goes into detail about the elements of a masterful coaching conversation. Through various examples, Marion shines the light on how all the pieces fit together to achieve amazing insight and transformational outcomes for our clients. One of my favorite things about this book and Marion’s style of teaching is her straightforward practical approach. There is no fluff here. Every point and example in this book is like a little golden nugget. You will not just get value from your first reading. As you really dig into the material and start putting it into practice, I believe you will find many layers of wisdom packed into each idea and technique. . The included index also makes this book the perfect resource to grab for quick answers to your coaching questions, so you will want to keep it close at hand. In full disclosure, it has been my privilege to have Marion Franklin at my side as my coach and mentor for almost a decade. The HeART of Laser-Focused Coaching encapsulates what she has taught for many years in her full coach training program. It truly reflects her dedication to excellence and her deep desire to help coaches at every level improve their skills and increase their confidence. Whether you are a complete novice or a coach with many years experience, I believe you will find this book to be immensely valuable.

I am ambivalent about this book. Overall, it is a great coaching book and one that I will re-read again to better grasp the concepts and the mindset of getting to the heart of the matter. Getting to the heart of the matter is much better than applying coaching "prescriptions": lists of questions or techniques that make coaching mechanistic and do not solve the deeper-rooted problem or block of the client. But I also had problems with the book. Some passages I had to read again and again. It can be that I was distracted but I at times I found sentences slippery, imprecise or just too general or obvious. Maybe it is because I am just not on the same wave-length with the author. To repeat again -- the intention and the ideas in the book are strong. I was impressed by a demonstration in an early chapter how Laser Coaching or Deep coaching and conventional one differ. Within minutes the former leads to discovering something new and important about the client and the latter just beats around the bush with questions like "How do you want the ideal outcome to look like?" quickly solving the wrong issue. So, my advice to you is to get a sample and see for yourself if the book if for you. I will definitely re-read it some time in the future.

Amazing book on coaching. I like it because its not written for the newbie coach who dose not yet understand the coaching process. Most books waste a bunch of pages explaining what coaching is and the ICF core competencies. This is a great next step for coaches that are actively coaching at some level and need help discerning the deeper issues the client is not initially presenting. This book offers is a breakdown of the structure of a coaching conversation and strategies to get right to the core of the clients story or need. Really, really well done and I found myself constantly picking up the pen to underline and write in the margin. I love books like this which are fresh and offer new ideas and insights. This is a must own for coaches!!

Before I read this book my coaching was very formula-driven. Using the formula did not allow me to be as present with my clients as I wished I could have been. The information in this book changed all that! Now I am much more present, the calls are more fluid and organic, and my clients are learning much more about themselves. I have become much more comfortable and confident in my coaching style. Thank you, Marion, for your no-nonsense approach to coaching. My clients and I are more enlightened because of you and your wonderful book.