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What our clients are saying
January 06, 2010 There’s no dark side to this moon(ey) Imagine the ideal teacher. Someone who takes the time to first, demonstrate, how something should be done. Someone who then instructs you on the step-by-step process with which to achieve your goal. Someone who allows you to fail, but insists you learn from those failures. And, finally, someone who heaps praise on you for accomplishing the original objective. Art Mooney is the ideal teacher. But, he doesn’t teach in a conventional classroom. Art instructs novices like me on the rudiments of ice, rock and mountain climbing in the Green and White Mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire, respectively. I mention Art because I believe teaching and creating a learning environment in which risk and failure are allowed, is more critical than ever. Why? Because in these brutal economic times, everyone is afraid to think outside the box, take risky decisions or, god forbid, fail. I consider myself something of a teacher. Along with Ed, Ted and other Peppercom leaders, I try to foster an environment in which failure is permitted. Like Art, I try to instruct others by showing them, step-by-step, how a goal can be accomplished. And, like Art, I try to never overreact to failure. I believe the best clients are also great teachers. We’ve had the opportunity to work with many over the years who, as great teachers do, took pains to make sure we understood their business strategy, organizational DNA and subtle cultural nuances. They linked our success to theirs. Tom Martin of ITT and Richard Aldersea of Mercer Delta are two erstwhile client/teacher hybrids who come immediately to mind. Like every other strategic communications firm, though, we’ve also had our share of absolutely awful teachers who were diametrically opposed to the Art Mooney School of Instruction. I recall one who, warning us about her boss, hissed, ‘You get one chance to fail with Beth. Only one.’ Another, more recent, client reminded me of a brutal school teacher in a Dickensian novel. He’d publicly berate team members if he felt they didn’t grasp something quickly enough. Other times, he’d let out long, exasperated sighs on conference calls when we took exception to something he said. Worst of all, he’d claim credit for our successes and throw us under the bus for our failures. Great teachers can make or break a student, or a relationship. Art Mooney, Tom Martin and Richard Aldersea are three ‘teachers’ who infused passion into their instruction, created an atmosphere in which failure was not only permitted but embraced and, finally, energized ‘students’ like me who eventually became their brand ambassadors. Hey, who said life isn’t a circle? Posted By Steve Cody October 2009 Art, I am writing you to tell you how pleased we were with our guide Steve Golden. Right from the beginning all the way to the end of our trip Mr. Golden's professionalism was only matched by his positive patient attitude toward a beginner such as myself. He was constantly aware of my inexperience and patiently led us up the mountain often telling us stories of his climbs and life in general in a way that was relevant to what we were doing. I plan on coming back to the area many times to conduct climbs of Mount Washington and other peaks. Master Prichard and myself both agree when that happens we would like to climb with Mr. Golden again. Job well done. Thank you. Sincerely, Joseph A. Esposito 6th Degree Advanced Head Instructor South Jersey School of Korean Karate July 2009 hey art, it was great to see you last week, and masia and i are hoping to make it up more frequently this coming fall. who knows, maybe the weather will cooperate on a weekend too. i wanted to drop you a line to tell you how impressed i was with rj during the spi course and assessment. i thought his knowledge on the subject matter was superb, and his presentation of the material was excellent. as a teacher, i take opportunities, such as these, where i am the student, to observe and to critique others' teaching styles. i thought rj presented the material clearly, enabling different types of learners to process the skills and concepts well. his open ended questions during the class encouraged us to problem solve rather than waiting for him to bestow all the knowledge upon us, keeping us more engaged. he started the final individual debrief asking us to self-reflect, a vital process for students to perform. he even made a few jokes during the weekends. as much as i tried to maintain the focus on the course and the assessment, toning down some of the joking to prevent putting rj in an awkward situation, the fact remains that rj and i are friends, and everyone knew that. i know from experience what a challenge that can be, particularly when assessments and certifications are involved. rj handled the situation flawlessly - a true professional. he clearly established the line between teacher and student and stuck to it. but at the same time, i felt that the other climbers enjoyed themselves (taking into consideration that there was some pressure) because of the environment that rj established as a teacher. thanks again for all your help and generosity, todd August 2009 Art, I wanted to personally let you know what a great time Marisa and I had with RJ over the weekend. We appreciate RJ's focus on safety and his relaxed demeanor makes him real easy to understand and learn from. He covered everything that we discussed prior to the trip, as well as, teaching us new, safer approaches and theories to currently used methods. His methodical approach made it almost impossible to get overwhelmed and he allowed us plenty of practice before putting them to use. On a side note, Marisa and I got engaged on Cathedral Ledge yesterday with help of RJ. It was really special. Thank You Very Much, -- Peter Seaman Golf Shop Manager MDM Golf Enterprises, LLC (203) 281-0670 June 2009 Art, I just wanted to tell you how much my husband David and I enjoyed our rock climbing day with Steve at Rumney. Kudos to Steve--he really made it a great day. You should give him a raise. He was extremely patient, gave us a great intro to rock climbing, and basically spent the rest of the day tailoring the experience to our skill and energy levels. My husband is the type that really loves to push (or be pushed) just to his limits. Steve totally did that; when he had the choice to pack it in for the day or keep going, he basically told my husband "Climb that wall" which was just what David needed to stretch himself a little bit and have a really full day. I definitely got the feeling that Steve read him like a book and knew exactly what to say to motivate him. David had a nice full dinner that evening and was a happy man. Thank you so much! --Sara March 2009 Art, I am emailing to say the presidential traverse was an absolute success. Jim and I were able to get off the trail on Sunday afternoon after hitting the summits of all of them, including Jackson and Webster. It was awesome! I must say the most awesome part of the trip, without any doubt, was Jim. I don't think I have ever met someone in the mountaineering community that has done so much and is yet so humble and kind. This trip was the most rewarding one of its kind for me that I have ever had. I owe that to Jim. His knowledge and his patience are unrivaled. He also let me crash at his apartment the night before and we went over the plans. I cannot tell you enough good things about him. You really have someone great there as colleague as well as a friend, I am sure. I, too, am grateful to now say I can call him my friend. Jim mentioned that you would be traveling out of the country so I hope this email finds you well. I will keep you up-to-date on my Ecuador trip and I will definitely contact you and Jim for future trips. Until then, I continue to recommend you and your company to everyone I know without any reservation. Again, I hope all is well. Thank you very much as well for having such a well run outfit and providing awesome services!!! It's all very appreciated!!! Dana February 2009 Dear Art, My name is Bonnie Vetter, I just returned home from a winter climb that your guides hosted and it was the most incredible experience of my life. I wanted to take a moment to extend my appreciation to Steve Golden, Lisa Farmer and most of all Jim Gagne, these 3 people are amazing! At the age of 50 I have decided to embark upon a new sport, mountain climbing. I am not in the best physical condition and have never climbed ever but needed a new adventure. With Lisa leading the pack and Steve and Jim trailing along side I was able to achieve something I never thought possible, not only because of the technical information they taught us but also the way they motivated me mentally and emotionally. Thank you for their professionalism, I know I have found my next new challenge in life. SEE YOU SOON!!! Sincerely, Bonnie Vetter ~ April 2008 Art, I wanted to echo Ryan's kind words. RJ was a perfect fit for us and was a very humble, patient and talented guy. Although we didn't get to the summit, (therefore I couldn't let Ryan buy a patch), the experience was one we will remember for a long time. We were all working quite efficiently as a tight little crew by Sunday. I know that we all gained winter skills and knowledge of climbing to which we had little to none of before. The journey is always what we remember, not the destination. I hope that RJ had as great a time as we did and we were at least able to entertain him with our constant banter. I too would not hesitate to refer someone to Mooney Mountain Guides and would enjoy doing so. Safe journeys..... Troy Leatherman ~ |
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Mooney Mountain Guides 638 Old Bristol Rd. ~ New Hampton, NH 03256 Phone: 603-744-5853 ~ Contact: art@mooneymountainguides.com |