Dennis McGough’s Path to Coaching Success
Former Sam’s Club Competitive Market Development Manager Has Recruited and Trained Entrepreneurs for Farmers Insurance for 13 Years – And In 2009 Launched Growth Coaching Systems
In “Characteristics of Highly Successful People,” the provocative chapter Dennis McGough penned in the 2013 book “Change Agents: The World’s Leading Experts Reveal Their Secrets for Successfully Changing the Status Quo to Help Their Clients Lead Better Lives and Run Better Businesses,” the veteran business coach and mentor mentions a key philosophy that one of his own mentors imparted to him many years ago: “A person that desires to do more and know more will find success.”
Dennis McGough
Having realized that it was the things that successful people do and the things they know that make all the difference, McGough has dedicated his multi-faceted career to doing just that – trying to do more and to know more every day. McGough attributes the foundation of his success recruiting and training entrepreneurs for Farmers Insurance since 2001—and the concurrent growth of his company, Growth Coaching Systems, since 2009—to working with powerful coaches and mentors throughout his career.
Rising Through the Ranks at Sam’s Club
Starting out gathering carts in the parking lot, McGough worked his way up in the organization to become a Competitive Market Business Development Manager, recruiting, managing, training and developing thousands of employees and managers. Driven by a strong sense of vision, passion and purpose, his role was to go into various markets in Houston and other cities in Texas and “build” Sam’s Clubs where Costco warehouses were opening. He was in charge of managing the entire operation, “from groundbreaking ceremony to grand opening.”
Mentors Who Shaped McGough’s Leadership
McGough launched his career with Farmer’s as a Reserve District Manager and learned the ropes with the help of a family friend, David Bourland and another key mentor, Rocky Hudson. His goal was to have unlimited income potential and the opportunity to utilize his creativity to add value to what was already a great opportunity. The ultimate success he achieved with Farmer’s, due in part to his positive experiences with these coaches, would later inspire a much re-printed recent quote that has become synonymous with McGough’s own philosophy as he mentors hundreds of others.
McGough participated in a feature article in Forbes magazine called “America’s PremierExperts® Presents: Forecasts & Strategies for the New Year and beyond.” He and other leading experts were asked for their “top tips on health, wealth and success to help you thrive in the New Year and beyond.”
The Importance of Being Coachable
McGough responded: “Be coachable. Success comes from accountability through coaching. Coaches empower you to develop and define a personal and professional vision of success, usually greater than that which you are capable of developing yourself. However, you cannot personally be accountable to your own vision. If you want to succeed quickly, allow a coach to hold you accountable to your defined vision.”
McGough has shared his mentoring expertise and philosophy on ABC, NBC, FOX and on CBS affiliates across the country as an expert guest on “The Brian Tracy Show.” In 2011 and 2012, he was honored at both Championship and Toppers Achievement Clubs and is currently ranked in the Top 1% of District Managers/Business Coaches in the nation.
Innovative and Personalized Team Building
Bucking the typical means of recruitment in which District Managers would recruit eager salespeople to be agency owners, McGough built his diverse teams based on each member’s personality type. Realizing that sales people aren’t usually the best equipped to be natural managers, he identified three key types: managerial, technical and sales and relational.
Founding Growth Coaching Systems
In 2009, McGough launched his own company, Growth Coaching Systems, to share the wisdom of the teachings he brings to his role at Farmer’s with budding entrepreneurs and business people across the country. His branding tag line reflects the organization’s goals and founding philosophy: Helping clients lead BETTER lives and run BETTER businesses.
McGough’s idea to start Growth Coaching Systems grew naturally out of the many referrals he had from Farmer’s Insurance agents who became successful under his tutelage. Starting with Sugarland Gymnastics, one of the fastest growing training facilities in the country, McGough has coached people in a wide variety of other industries, including real estate and sports. He has also mentored tennis coaches and other business coaches – once again having the opportunity to embody the core “accountability through coaching” philosophy.
Former Sam’s Club Competitive Market Development Manager Has Recruited and Trained Entrepreneurs for Farmers Insurance for 13 Years – And In 2009 Launched Growth Coaching Systems
In “Characteristics of Highly Successful People,” the provocative chapter Dennis McGough penned in the 2013 book “Change Agents: The World’s Leading Experts Reveal Their Secrets for Successfully Changing the Status Quo to Help Their Clients Lead Better Lives and Run Better Businesses,” the veteran business coach and mentor mentions a key philosophy that one of his own mentors imparted to him many years ago: “A person that desires to do more and know more will find success.”
Dennis McGough
Having realized that it was the things that successful people do and the things they know that make all the difference, McGough has dedicated his multi-faceted career to doing just that – trying to do more and to know more every day. McGough attributes the foundation of his success recruiting and training entrepreneurs for Farmers Insurance since 2001—and the concurrent growth of his company, Growth Coaching Systems, since 2009—to working with powerful coaches and mentors throughout his career.
Starting out gathering carts in the parking lot, McGough worked his way up in the organization to become a Competitive Market Business Development Manager, recruiting, managing, training and developing thousands of employees and managers. Driven by a strong sense of vision, passion and purpose, his role was to go into various markets in Houston and other cities in Texas and “build” Sam’s Clubs where Costco warehouses were opening. He was in charge of managing the entire operation, “from groundbreaking ceremony to grand opening.”
McGough launched his career with Farmer’s as a Reserve District Manager and learned the ropes with the help of a family friend, David Bourland and another key mentor, Rocky Hudson. His goal was to have unlimited income potential and the opportunity to utilize his creativity to add value to what was already a great opportunity. The ultimate success he achieved with Farmer’s, due in part to his positive experiences with these coaches, would later inspire a much re-printed recent quote that has become synonymous with McGough’s own philosophy as he mentors hundreds of others.
McGough participated in a feature article in Forbes magazine called “America’s PremierExperts® Presents: Forecasts & Strategies for the New Year and beyond.” He and other leading experts were asked for their “top tips on health, wealth and success to help you thrive in the New Year and beyond.”
McGough responded: “Be coachable. Success comes from accountability through coaching. Coaches empower you to develop and define a personal and professional vision of success, usually greater than that which you are capable of developing yourself. However, you cannot personally be accountable to your own vision. If you want to succeed quickly, allow a coach to hold you accountable to your defined vision.”
McGough has shared his mentoring expertise and philosophy on ABC, NBC, FOX and on CBS affiliates across the country as an expert guest on “The Brian Tracy Show.” In 2011 and 2012, he was honored at both Championship and Toppers Achievement Clubs and is currently ranked in the Top 1% of District Managers/Business Coaches in the nation.
Bucking the typical means of recruitment in which District Managers would recruit eager salespeople to be agency owners, McGough built his diverse teams based on each member’s personality type. Realizing that sales people aren’t usually the best equipped to be natural managers, he identified three key types: managerial, technical and sales and relational.
In 2009, McGough launched his own company, Growth Coaching Systems, to share the wisdom of the teachings he brings to his role at Farmer’s with budding entrepreneurs and business people across the country. His branding tag line reflects the organization’s goals and founding philosophy: Helping clients lead BETTER lives and run BETTER businesses.
McGough’s idea to start Growth Coaching Systems grew naturally out of the many referrals he had from Farmer’s Insurance agents who became successful under his tutelage. Starting with Sugarland Gymnastics, one of the fastest growing training facilities in the country, McGough has coached people in a wide variety of other industries, including real estate and sports. He has also mentored tennis coaches and other business coaches – once again having the opportunity to embody the core “accountability through coaching” philosophy.
