I teach the skills school left out — to executives and teenagers alike.
Reading a room, earning trust, making a decision and following through — the skills that decide who succeeds are the ones no class ever taught. I help people build them, whether they're leading a team or just figuring out who they want to be.
Four audiences. One problem.
Executives. MBA students. Professionals trying to grow a practice. Teenagers. On paper, four different worlds.
But every one of them is wrestling with the same thing: the skills that decide who succeeds — saying what you mean, earning trust, making a decision and following through — are the ones no syllabus ever covered.
The smartest people I work with rarely get stuck for lack of intelligence. They get stuck on the human skills no one taught them.
Here's what coaching executives taught me that I couldn't have learned any other way: I see exactly which skills carry people through a career — and which ones school overvalued. So when I work with teenagers, I'm not guessing. I teach them the things the leaders I coach wish they'd learned at fifteen, while those skills are still easy to build.
Four doors into the same idea.
Pick the one that brought you here.
Coaching & Corporate Training
As a Senior Advisor at Exec-Comm, I coach leaders and train teams at Fortune 100 companies and global financial firms to communicate with clarity, influence, and presence when it counts.
From Wharton MBAs to Teenagers
I teach leadership and managerial communication to MBA and Executive MBA students at Wharton — and real-world life skills to teenagers. The same craft, taught at every age.
Selling Your Expertise
Author of the Wall Street Journal bestseller, and a keynote speaker on communication, leadership, and storytelling for companies, schools, and conferences.
Vana Lab
The venture I'm building today — where real-world experiences help teenagers build the confidence, independence, and follow-through most of us had to learn the hard way.
What people say after working with me.
From Fortune 100 leaders to teenagers — the same craft, taught at every age.
revenue
"I worked with Robert over 10 weeks to hone my messaging for a multimillion-dollar RFP where we were the underdog against much larger incumbents. The feedback from Robert and the Exec-Comm team was crucial to us winning the RFP — doubling revenues within the business unit. Worth all the time and effort; you won't be disappointed with your ROI."
"Robert made a significant impact in a single day. A week after his public-speaking class, I delivered the best presentation I'd ever given to a large group — I really connected with my audience and my message landed."
"Robert's 'Communicating with Impact' workshop kept about 60 experienced new hires enthusiastically engaged all day — constant nodding, laughter, and hands in the air."
"He practiced what he preached — engaging the audience throughout and tailoring his content on the spot. If you're looking for a speaker or coach on communication and leadership, he is among the absolute very best I have seen in my career."
"Even though it was very hard to watch myself speak, it has allowed me to notice where I need practice."
"Mr. Robert was very helpful and always made sure everyone had a say in our discussions and made sure everyone learned something."
"The tips to making decisions under the pressure of the moment helped me because I struggled with that the most. I like how I was able to be specific with my real issues."
Top of Mind.
Reflections on communication, career growth, learning, and leading with intention.
Questions I help people answer.
Whatever brought you here, it probably sounds like one of these.
I teach what I had to learn the hard way.
I started out as an equities trader, left to follow work that actually felt like mine, and have spent two decades since on the skills that decide whether smart people succeed — communication, judgment, trust, and follow-through.
Today I'm a Senior Advisor at Exec-Comm, a lecturer at Wharton, and the author of the Wall Street Journal bestseller Selling Your Expertise. And I'm building Vana Lab — giving teenagers that same head start, years before most of us got it.
Let's talk.
Coaching, speaking, corporate training, partnerships, media, or Vana Lab — tell me a little about what you're after and I'll point us in the right direction.