Watching the organization struggle after Thomas Leonard's death has been very difficult. I stuck around because I wanted to believe CV would find its way back. When I finally accepted that it never would, I knew the divorce was inevitable.

I had already made up my mind when Coaching Insider put out this story a couple of weeks ago, but I somehow felt validated. And it wasn't just the sheer desperation of Dave Buck's responses...it was the comments posted by readers. I realized not only did I agree with many of the more critical comments, I could have written some of them.

(A former CV staffer with whom I still work told me that the commenters should not have been allowed to post anonymously, because she didn't want anyone to think she had written any of them...when indeed she could have, and with good reason.)

I am sad that Dave is so scared to accept the contributions of others...people with real experience in creating and maintaining a successful business of this size. And having an internal structure doesn't mean corporate and boring...it means providing a foundation that allows the wonderful creativity to flow and GROW.

I previously worked for almost three years at a certain company with an amazing reputation for creativity and innovation...and believe me, there was structure in place. And it certainly was not corporate or boring.

For the sake of the business, I hope Dave can learn to step back and focus on what he knows how to do, and bring in other brilliant thinkers who specialize in operations...it's sadly lacking right now, and it's what CV needs most.

I am thankful that I did not quit in anger, as I came close to doing so many times. It was a rational, calm decision, and after giving notice I felt more at peace than I had in years.

I am also thankful for the exposure I had to the work of Thomas Leonard. While I was only at CV for the last six months of his life, I continue to be delighted with the ways I see his genius pop up in different aspects of the world around me.

I am MOST thankful for the wonderful people I have met along the way...I have met some incredible friends and colleagues during the past three years...brilliant, thoughtful, creative people who really make a difference. I am continuing to work with many of them on new projects, and that is very exciting!

I am at peace, and I am finally able to give Sharilyn Horne Business Concepts the attention it deserves.

P.S. You can see some samples of the many projects I worked on for CV over the years in my portfolio. And no, I had absolutely nothing to do with that god-awful home page that is up there now. There seems to be a belief with some people that if you own a piece of graphics software, you are suddenly a web designer. Uh, right.

 CoachVille, Thomas Leonard, life coaching