Founder of Microsoft
Bill Gates
Everyone needs a coach. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a basketball player, a tennis player, a gymnast or a bridge player. We all need people who will give us feedback. That’s how we improve.
— From his TED Talk
Global Leaders
What Successful Leaders Say About Coaching
In a world where decisions race and responsibilities multiply, the greatest leaders and creators have chosen to have someone beside them who listens, questions, and illuminates the hidden corners. These are their testimonies, in their own words.
Former CEO of Google, Chairman of Alphabet
Eric Schmidt
When John Doerr first suggested I get a coach, I resisted. I said, “I’m an experienced CEO, why do I need a coach? Is something wrong?” But I learned later that a coach sees what you cannot see, and gives you a perspective you cannot give yourself. The best advice I ever got was: find a coach.
— From Trillion Dollar Coach
Founder of Amazon
Jeff Bezos
Worked for years with the legendary coach Bill Campbell, known as “the Trillion Dollar Coach” because his executive clients led companies whose combined value exceeded one trillion dollars.
Legendary CEO of General Electric
Jack Welch
Relied on coach and strategic advisor Ram Charan at pivotal moments of his leadership, and considered his presence a cornerstone of his biggest decisions.
Former CEO of Procter & Gamble
A.G. Lafley
His coach was Peter Drucker, the spiritual father of modern management and the man who founded management science as we know it today.
Media Leader and Entrepreneur
Oprah Winfrey
Nobody makes it alone. Behind every successful person is a network of helpers, mentors, and coaches who listened when others were still talking.
Harvard Surgeon and The New Yorker Writer
Atul Gawande
A twenty-minute discussion with my coach yielded more to think about and act on than I had gotten in the previous five years. And since I started working with a coach, my complication rate has gone down.
— From his essay “Personal Best” in The New Yorker
Stanford GSB · 2013
⅔
of CEOs work without an outside advisor
Field research with 200+ CEOs and board members
Stanford Graduate School of Business Study (2013)
Nearly two-thirds of CEOs around the world do not receive any outside leadership advice, yet nearly 100% of them reported they would be open to it. “Loneliness at the top” is not a poetic phrase — it is a reality for top leaders.
Conclusion
From Bill Gates to Jeff Bezos, from Jack Welch to Oprah Winfrey… the common thread among the modern era’s greatest wealth builders and influencers is not intelligence, capital, or luck — but their conscious decision not to walk alone. Coaching is not a luxury for the weak, nor a cure for the failing — it is what the strong choose when they realize that staying at the top is harder than getting there.
For over two decades, I have walked alongside decision-makers on their journey toward clearer, deeper, more consequential choices. I am not here to teach you what you already know — I am here to help you see what you could not yet see.
— Dr. Abdullah Alqefari
Sources & References
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TED Talks — Bill Gates
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The New Yorker — “Personal Best” by Atul Gawande (2011)
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Stanford GSB — 2013 Executive Coaching Survey
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Harvard Business Review — “What Can Coaches Do for You?” (2009)
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Trillion Dollar Coach — Eric Schmidt & Jonathan Rosenberg
Success is not a coincidence — it is the result of precise strategic planning, a clear vision, and professional execution.
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