Let's put it all into perspective: U.S. has an unemployment rate hovering at just above 5% level (although much higher in ethnic populations). Iraq has an unemployment rate in 75% range.

How on earth do they live?

We are all aware of difficulties of being out of work -the financial pressures, emotional trauma, ruin of so many marriages and families, and overall cost to society. The effects of unemployment on personal dreams of success wreak havoc with self-esteem and self-confidence of those without work. In a society that glorifies money, power, and celebrity above all else, have-nots carry taint of failure and view themselves as losers. They can no longer compete with their peers, keep up with Joneses, or live lifestyle to which they have aspired for so long.

But if 3 out of 4 of your neighbors, family, and friends are jobless, equation changes. You may live in poverty, unsure of when next meal will materialize, but just about everyone else is in same boat. Begging, bartering, and haggling over exchange of meager basics becomes standard lifestyle. Aspirations of success are tossed aside for more immediate goal of survival. It is few individuals who actually have work and a regular income who are aliens in crowd.

In an economy devastated by war, magnified by an ongoing insurgency, what does much-touted western world's democracy mean: freedom to starve?

Most athletes are young, open to improvement, eager to learn and anxious to receive what a coach can provide. For athlete, there is a defined season and something tangible to compete for. Feedback is automatic, immediate, and specific; and athletes can easily change coaches and/or teams. Employees, on other hand, aren’t as emotionally committed. When have you seen an adult cry or rant and rage when a goal was not achieved? For employees, feedback and performance are hard to quantify. Work goes on; there is no end and often only vague scorecards. Lastly, employees do not demand corporate coaching or search critically for performance improvement. Without belaboring point or making value judgments, suffice it to say that two have different values and motivations. However, these differences do not change what constitutes effective coaching behaviors.

The application of CMOE’s Eight Step Coaching model may differ, but concepts will not. All coaches for example, need to create a supportive, trusting relationship (Step One). Further, all coaches need to create internal motivation or initiate a desire to pursue a more effective course of action (Step Two).