From "Hope" to Strategy: Suzi Pomerantz on Treating Coaching Like a Business

In this episode of The Coaching Edge Podcast, hosts Dr. Steve Jeffs and Erwin de Grave sit down with Suzi Pomerantz, MCC and CEO of Innovative Leadership International, to unpack her 32-year entrepreneurial journey—from launching her firm in 1993 to coaching senior leaders across industries and continents. Suzi shares how she turned early ignorance into an asset with the help of a coach, reframed debt as tuition, and learned the disciplines of sales, systems, and client retention.

Her core message: “Hope is not a strategy.” Treat coaching as a business—especially if you serve leaders inside organizations—by taking consistent, intentional action and being ready to pivot. Suzi introduces her practical “hats method” for role clarity (CEO, coach, CFO, sales, even “janitor”) and time allocation. The conversation explores AI’s promise and pitfalls: why it offers cognitive empathy but can’t replace the human presence, heart, and soul that create coaching “magic.” Suzi also stresses integrity in the profession: coaches need coaches, too.

Watch the full episode here: https://thecoachingedgepodcast.com/from-hope-to-strategy-suzi-pomerantz-on-treating-coaching-like-a-business/