Hello, Barry? This is the BBC News calling...

I got a call today from the BBC News. And oddly enough, it seemed perfectly fitting, having just completed a morning call with a client in London. But it was not about her. It was about me...or so I thought.

"Hello, Barry?" asked the man with the decidedly British accent. "This is the BBC News calling..."

It seems they wanted to do a piece on Clinton vs. Obama, but with a twist. The BBC wanted to interview an American Life Coach to talk about how one would coach the ultimate loser of the nomination - whoever that would be. Is that a great topic, or what?!

Unfortunately, they wanted the life coach to come to their Washington D.C. office to do the interview ... this afternoon! Sorry, can't get there from here (Chicago) by then. Oh well.

Nevertheless, I thought it'd be interesting to consider - and blog about - how I might coach Hillary or Barack if the situation actually did present itself. And, while the specific questions I'd ask would likely emerge as our conversation unfolded, I'm pretty sure I'd approach the dialogue in this way:

1a. Public "Do" questions - That is, questions to get at what was needed to deal most effectively with the situation publicly today, and moving forward. Yes, they'd be pretty obvious, but when dealing with high-powered coaching clients, it's important to create a safe path before traveling into deeper, more personal, areas of discussion.

• What will be the primary message of your public statement about this?
• What relationships do you need to circle back to - to thank and/or repair?
• What else needs to be mopped up a bit?

1b. Private "Do" questions - These would be similar to 1a-type questions, but would focus more on what the individual needed to do, privately, to turn the page as it were.

• Now that this is over, what do you need to do for yourself?
• What makes that so important for you?
• How can you get more of that for yourself more quickly?

2a. Public "Be" questions - Public figures are identified, in many ways, by what they stand for. Given that, a whole series of questions can be asked about how they want to show up and "be" publicly.

• How important is it to you that your constituents' issues continue to have a meaningful platform?
• From a historical perspective, how do you want your role in this campaign to be remembered?
• What is your message to the American people about the importance of trying, even if you don't succeed?

2b. Private "Be" questions - This is really the heart of coaching, questions designed to help an individual better understand how to stand in the world.

• So, how are you with not having won - as in really?!
• What do you need to feel 'complete' about this and be ready for whatever comes next?
• What are you most proud of for having made happen during the campaign?
• What are your Lessons Learned that made your campaign particularly worthwhile?
• How has this empowered you, as a person, moving forward?

It's hard to say how much any of this would resonate for the non-nominee. It's hard to know how receptive s/he would be to even having this conversation. But I suspect that whoever it would be with, it'd likely be an important conversation for the person to have ... for the good of the the individual ... the Democratic Party ... and the people of the United States of America.

To think it was all spurred by the BBC News calling. Jolly good.

Jolly good, indeed!