I’m a pattern-based executive coach and entrepreneurial advisor. I got here the hard way.
When I was $600,000 in debt and 60 days away from closing the doors of Diversified Industrial Staffing, I hated everyone and everything — including myself. I felt helpless, constantly fighting a losing battle with my Itty Bitty Shitty Committee.
After hitting rock bottom, I gave up and hired my first executive coach. I had to hold the tough conversations and make the difficult decisions that would turn my business and life around. Looking back, I am grateful that my business collapsed when it did. It happened for me, not to me.
With the help of my coach, I transformed my company into one of the fastest-growing in America — making the Inc. 5000 list 6 times.
With 25+ years as a CEO, I know how lonely and heavy the top job can feel. Most leaders I work with have already tried EOS, Scaling Up, or other frameworks. The systems look good on paper, but they are still stuck — exhausted, overwhelmed, or misaligned. That is not a strategy problem. That is a leadership problem. Here's what changes when the right coaching relationship is in place.
My mission is simple: help entrepreneurs grow themselves so they can grow their businesses. Using reflective inquiry, radical honesty, and lived entrepreneurial experience, I help you regain clarity on who you are and how you lead — and build a business that fuels your life instead of draining it.
I am not your first coach. I am usually your last.
Most of my clients come to me having already done the work. They’ve run EOS or Scaling Up. They’ve read the books, gone to the conferences, hired a coach or two. That’s not a criticism — those things build real capability, and I’d rather work with someone who’s tried. But none of them were built to ask why an intelligent, accomplished person keeps producing the same result through different employees, different processes, and different circumstances. That’s the part I go after, and it tends to be the last part.
I am the author of From Suck to Success: A Guide to Extraordinary Entrepreneurship — an Amazon bestseller used as a teaching resource in forums and workshops across North America.
In their own words
“Todd is a remarkable coach. When he coached me, I was at the ceiling in my career, trying to figure out where to go next. I had a ton of head trash that was clouding my judgement and holding me back. Within one session, Todd helped me get to the root of my issue, bring clarity to my situation, and make the decision I needed to make about where to take my career next. Since that decision, I am more successful and happier than I’ve ever been. I strongly recommend Todd for any business owner, CEO, or Executive who is looking for coaching and/or to increase their performance.”
“Mr. Palmer was able to navigate our complicated company and help us uncover what we really wanted out of our 23 year old business and grow it in that direction. He helped us institute standard business practices without losing our unique business personality. Through his guidance we were able not only to value the mistakes we have made, but also to find humor in the blocks we had placed in our own way. Since then, we have continued to grow another 20% in sales and 100% in our profits. Todd Palmer is an asset. The tools he shares are effective and his practical approach to business is actionable and sustainable.”
“I felt very isolated in my company and in my life. I struggled alone and couldn’t see a way out.”
“I built a job for myself within my business. Instead of working on the business I was working for the business and this meant work consumed my life. I could not determine how my time was spent because I was putting in 60-70 hours a week keeping my business afloat.”
“I had a goal to help my leadership team become self-sufficient and I was struggling with feelings of guilt because they achieved the goal but I was not needed as much.”
“Todd sent me an email saying, "You might be calling control responsibility." That one hit me like a brick. I have a feeling our work together will be very different from any other coach I've worked with before.”
“Todd has done a really good job of reflecting back to me, the root of whatever I am going through and questioning, Why is that? What do you want to do with it? How are you going to address it? Because not addressing is not an option.”
“I have had the privilege of participating in workshops led by Todd Palmer, and it has been an enlightening experience. Todd emerges as a genuine leader, dedicated to assisting fellow leaders in navigating the intricacies of both business and life challenges. His innate ability to disarm biases is truly remarkable, fostering an environment conducive to open dialogue and meaningful growth. His approach is not just about imparting knowledge but also about fostering a deeper understanding and empathy towards diverse perspectives, making him an invaluable asset in any professional or personal development setting.”
In From Suck to Success, Todd uses his own experience in professional purgatory to propel your business upward by embracing Massive Curiosity coupled with Massive Accountability.
Todd Palmer — executive coach, founder of Extraordinary Advisors, and author of the Amazon-bestselling From Suck to Success — has shared his approach to leadership, founder burnout, and turning a business around on these podcasts and shows.
with Govindh Jayaraman
The problem is never what you think it is — finding the real issue beneath the presenting one.
Listen / Watchwith Andrew Warner
Building Extraordinary Advisors and coaching leaders through hard realities.
Listen / Watchwith Josh Elledge
Why an entrepreneur alone is an entrepreneur at risk.
Listen / Watchwith Scott MacKenzie
Growing your business through Authenticity, Transparency, and Vulnerability.
Listen / Watchwith Marcel Schwantes
Why the growth a leader needs is usually on the other side of the conversation they're avoiding.
Listen / Watchwith Penny Pullan
Going from near-bankruptcy to coaching CEOs — the inner work that turns a business around.
Listen / WatchA video conversation on the From Suck to Success framework for entrepreneurs.
Listen / WatchAs a founder, work and life are one and the same. As an entrepreneur and father Todd knows this all too well. Meet with Todd to learn how his personal experience and coaching style can help you design a life that can be turned from a dream to a reality. We look forward to learning more about you and your business!
"Todd does a good job of understanding the business side and pulling that in conjunction with the personal side, with the family side—because relationships transcend all sides. That’s why he sits pretty high on the seat, closest to the head of the table, in the Chris Carsten cabinet."
Read Todd's latest tips on building connection through psychological safety.
Most executive coaching runs an hour every two to four weeks, and there are good reasons for that spacing. But the cadence isn't really the question. The question is who has access to you in the ten minutes before fear, anger, or your need to please somebody becomes a decision.
A Good Operating System Can Solve the Chaos. It Can't Tell You What You Want Your Life To Become Once The Chaos Is Gone.
You Did The Work. They're Still Waiting To See If It Survives The Next Bad Quarter.