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meet dr. André
From physics to jazz...
Son of a cook/scullery-maid single mom in class-ridden 1950s England, at the core André is an inventor, somewhat of an anarchist, and a traveler. His microphone (the C-ducer) became the mic of choice for icons in the entertainment industry: Frank Sinatra, Dave Brubeck, the Moody Blues, Abbey Road Studios, Music City Music Hall, Sidney Opera House ... the list goes on. His medical instruments, (invented when he was a research physicist) helped make ultrasound imaging safer.
His belief in his inventions motivated him into entrepreneurship after which he went 'back to school’ to achieve a Ph.D. in Social Psychology with a focus on creativity. Social psychology fed André's passions for understanding and helping people through his coaching.
Understanding diversity: The key to great coaching
Why is an appreciation of diversity important in your coach?
On the one hand the similarities between one person and another are far greater than the differences. On the other hand, it is the differences that define us, individually and as a culture. These differences can add a great deal to our lives if we embrace them. Too often one group is fearful of the other's differences and attacks them because of their life style, skin color, belief systems, cultural practices. Having lived and worked in 7 different countries, with different cuisines, languages and religions, I believe these diversities all add to our cultural richness ...... but only if we embrace them.
Creativity ... the source of social evolution?
In 2011 André published Embracing the New Era* in which he describes creativity in a totally new way; in particular what encourages people to be creative and what undermines creativity. His model explains many anomalies from why brainstorming doesn’t really work to why highly creative people have a higher rate of psychological problems than others.
Creativity is very important to our lives and can even be thought of as the root of our social evolution (having opposable thumbs does not, after all, explain how we invented the iPhone!) From our decision making processes to our overall well being, creativity should be a significant component in our lives and, thus, a component of the coaching experience.
André now lives in Reno and plays lots of music – flute, piano and guitar particularly, and has a jazz group. He is also a published photographer, enthusiastic grandfather of three, and long term meditator. As well as writing dozens of social-scientific papers and book chapters, André was also a journalist for many years.
* ISBN-10: 1452848289 ISBN-13 : 978-1452848280