Testimonials

A selected few correspondences from leaders we have worked with...

"David Thomson gave our strategic planning process a “boost” with positive energy, ideas, insight and expert facilitating. Throughout the project he worked collaboratively with our leadership team – listening as well as advising. David did his research and took the time to understand our organization, our culture, and our needs. His excellent grasp of economic developments, business trends, consumer attitudes, and interpersonal dynamics brought depth to the process. David will motivate you to challenge assumptions, achieve clarity and give your plan a good workout! We look forward to working with him in the future."
Juliana Laing
Director, Executive and Corporate Affairs
CERTIFIED GENERAL ACCOUNTANTS ASSOCIATION OF BC

"Mountain Equipment Co-op recently embarked on a two-year project to map out a longer term vision of how we could be a force for positive change in the marketplace. The outcome of this project was the clear articulation of three goals that will focus on encouraging Canadians to be more active, conserving wild places, and substantively reducing our overall environmental footprint. The project outcomes were clear and inspiring - thanks largely to the superb guidance and advice provided by the Coast Consulting team of David, Charles and Tim."
Peter Robinson, CEO,
Mountain Equipment Coop, Vancouver

"...Your work with the Astral Media Group Council was outstanding. The executive team left the retreat with renewed enthusiasm for collaborating more strategically across the business, and for further strengthening our brand. Your practical approach helped us understand the 'why' of synergy and the behaviors and beliefs that support it. I see more leadership coming from our senior team on coordinating across our businesses. Your facilitation was superb -- high energy, good insights into the dynamics of both our business and our team. Your thorough preparation paid off -- thanks!"
Louis Ryan
Vice President, e-Business and Strategic Planning
Astral Media Group, Montreal

"My Executive team and I have worked on a number of occasions with the Coast Consulting Group. In particular we found Ian Thomson extremely helpful in developing sessions that fostered a much stronger team chemistry within our senior management ranks, and indeed, within our own Executive Committee. I personally found Ian to be very knowledgeable and professional, and a delightful person altogether. His knowledge of organizational dynamics and team chemistry is most impressive and he certainly added substantial value to our organization."
Arthur Soler
Director, Americas Confectionery, Cadbury Schweppes
Past President, Cadbury Chocolate Canada Inc.

"... I have had the distinct pleasure of seeing how your work has contributed to the personal and group success of executive teams, in helping the members have conversations they wouldn't normally have, develop new skill sets and creative plans, all leading to a new level of success. This work transcended different cultures and languages, and the flexibility and customer responsiveness, demonstrated consistently, both in design and implementation, was superb ...."
John Adams
The World Bank, Washington DC

"I'd like to say that the Cognitive Model you shared with us has played an instrumental role in my development ever since. I have used it to gain insights into my behavior, move toward abundance, and improve communication skills. I have also presented the cognitive model to my team, the executive team, and recently as a part of a leadership development program. Each time it has generated an amazingly profound response. I have found the tool to be very
simple and powerful."
John O'Donnell III
Manager, Boeing-Rocketdyne Division, Los Angeles

"Bringing together a productive session is more demanding today than ever, and Ian Thomson provided wise counsel from the first strategy session through to the immediacy of the workgroup itself and, importantly, the follow up. All this helped me immensely in my role as co-chair of a particularly challenging one-day session, and the task was handled professionally at every step by Ian."
Rick Antonson
President & CEO, Tourism Vancouver

"David worked with us over a period of several months as we prepared for a directors' meeting and retreat. We benefited both from his pre-session research and from his facilitation skills during the retreat. He brought concrete examples from elsewhere and helped us to arrive at a board philosophy for the Board members. He was adept at constructively testing our ideas against the goals we had set for ourselves so that we could fully assess them. His knowledge of the non-profit world and governance issues is a real asset. I would happily recommend David Thomson to any group."
Lori Williams
Director and Past-President, Sierra Legal Defence Fund

"WOW! That was effective. The practice/role-play demonstrated that we can do it right but will take some effort and practice. Good confidence builder. David Thomson is inspiring as a facilitator. Thank you!"
Leadership Development Training, Seattle

"The Coast Consulting Group worked with us from the start in Canada and France to develop and implement a highly successful experiential component of our AXA University Global Leadership Program. This innovative and highly impactful initiative ultimately reached 3500 business leaders from around the globe. The adaptability of your approach and tools, and the ability to translate across cultures and languages allowed us to make the most of them throughout the training design. Ian, David and John were responsive and enjoyable to work with. Thanks!"
Madeleine Chenette
Partner, SECOR Consulting, Montreal

"The Coast Consulting Group has assisted Oceans Blue in the strategic delivery of 2 international projects, both of which engaged key industry players to raise performance standards while nurturing mutual respect. It has helped us avoid many common stakeholder meeting pitfalls through highly collaborative design and professional facilitation. Coast Consulting has served us well, to guide our work and allow it to become internationally respected for creating a problem-solving, safe environment."
Coralie Breen
President, CEO, Oceans Blue Foundation
Environmentally Responsible Tourism

"I wanted to thank you emphatically for taking the initiative to set this up. That was, by far, the most helpful and relevant 360 training session I've ever attended. I'm confident I can take much of what I learned (and re-learned) to this round of review. Thanks Again ... for helping to make Creo a superb place to be!"
Peter Baker
Creo Inc., Vancouver

"It was a great time of reflection and growth. I came in as a real skeptic but I've learned a lot. Exceptionally well organized. The benefits are too many to list. I believe that these will be some of the most useful ideas I have ever developed in a session."
Cargill, Colorado

"Ian is the best facilitator I have encountered in recent memory. He is bright, articulate, introspective and I think, an 'old soul.' I appreciated the respectful yet effective style he employed to bring out what was in the group."
Cargill, Iowa

"David Thomson has been an invaluable resource to our Board over this past three years as we have journeyed to become a more effective, accountable and focused team. One of his many strengths as a facilitator and coach lies in his ability to bring together both a deep knowledge of governance issues with a breadth of "real life" Board experience. He makes it simple, real and understandable.
"Dave's guidance -whether helping our new Board members up the learning curve quickly or by providing coaching to the entire Board on our roles and responsibilities as Directors - has been key to our own growth."
Cynthia Dyson
Director, Better Environmentally Sound Transportation
Chair, Board Development Committee

"Went way beyond my expectations. I felt the group worked work more closely together. The facilitator was helpful, enthusiastic, and invigorating. This was productive especially for senior management - we should repeat next year. I am hopeful that the frankness we started at the meeting will continue."
Conference Board of Canada, Ottawa

"This session had more helpful ideas throughout the day than any other session I have gone to in years."
Creo Inc., Vancouver

"This was the single most powerful transformative experience of my mid/late life careers"
Leadership Program participant, 2002

"David was very sincere, very congenial, a great facilitator. He was smooth, thorough, fair, engaged gave clear and unambiguous definitions of the role of the Board as a governing body."
Board development workshop 2002

"David had a good match of leading and listening. He was clear, even-handed, fair and covered topics completely."
Board Governance development workshop, 2002

"Inspiring, motivating, introspective, rewarding, tiring but fulfilling. I would not have expected to conquer 30 year-old fears and follow through on my intentions. I found out things about myself that I never anticipated. It was very powerful."
Cargill, Minnesota