Volker Jaeckel of FocalPoint Business Coaching Temecula Valley: Helping Leaders Decide Faster, Communicate Better, and Lead with Confidence
Edition: Excellence in Business Coaching, Strategy & Leadership Development 2026
Volker Jaeckel is an experienced Executive Coach, Business Coach, DISC Behavioral Analyst, facilitator, speaker, and creator of the DAWN Method. With more than 40 years of professional experience across the United States, Germany, and Italy—including over 24 years in executive and CMO-level positions—Volker brings a rare combination of international business expertise, behavioral insight, and practical leadership experience to his work.
As the Founder of FocalPoint Business Coaching Temecula Valley, Volker supports business owners, executives, and leaders who want to make clearer decisions, strengthen their teams, improve communication, and lead without constant second-guessing. His coaching is designed for professionals who have built successful businesses but find themselves overwhelmed by endless decisions, difficult conversations, team challenges, and the growing demands of leadership.
For more than 25 years, Volker has studied and applied DISC behavioral analysis, helping individuals understand how people communicate, make decisions, respond under pressure, manage conflict, and work together. Every coaching relationship begins with DISC because Volker believes that understanding behavior is essential to building stronger relationships and more effective organizations. One of his guiding principles is the Platinum Rule: “Speak to people the way they want to be spoken to.”
His professional background includes international consulting and work with globally recognized organizations such as BMW and Deutsche Post. He has also spoken to audiences of more than 1,000 professionals, contributed to business publications, and authored and co-authored books, including The Digital Dealership and How to Survive and Thrive II, co-written with Joe Foster, Co-Founder of Reebok.
Volker’s work combines behavioral leadership, executive experience, strategic coaching, communication development, team building, and real-world business knowledge. His mission is clear: to help leaders move from hesitation to confident action, create healthier workplace cultures, and build businesses that perform successfully without depending on one individual for every decision.
Through FocalPoint Business Coaching Temecula Valley, Volker continues to empower leaders to communicate with greater awareness, lead with confidence, and create sustainable success through clarity, accountability, and purposeful action.
1. Please share the beginning of your career journey with us.
My career journey began in Düsseldorf, Germany, where I learned the value of hard work at an early age. From the age of twelve, I spent my school breaks helping my father in his carpentry shop. After returning from the war with one leg, my father had retrained as a carpenter. I also helped my mother by finishing her evening office-cleaning shifts whenever she needed rest.
After completing school, I undertook an apprenticeship in sales and marketing before serving four years as a Staff Sergeant in the German Military Police. I later entered pharmaceutical outside sales around the time of German reunification in 1990. Visiting pharmacies and repeatedly hearing, “We don’t need anything,” taught me an important lesson: successful selling begins with understanding the person in front of you before presenting a product.
My foundation in coaching and behavioral leadership began in 1999. As a Key Account Business Consultant working across Germany and Europe, I introduced DISC Behavioral Assessments and talent alignment to organizations such as BMW Deutschland and German Parcel Services. During this period, I also sold and filled seats for Brian Tracy’s keynote sessions and courses, while gaining valuable insight into the FocalPoint methodology.
In July 2001, at the age of 37, I moved to the United States with a suitcase and $1,000. I had no university degree and spoke English with a strong German accent. I approached Williams Auto World in Okemos, Michigan, with a simple proposition: “A German with a German accent should sell your German cars.” The owner gave me an opportunity, and within a short time, I ranked among the Top-20 BMW salespeople in the country.
That opportunity led to more than two decades in the automotive industry. I helped revive a 23-dealership group in Georgia, appeared on the 2009 cover of Dealer Magazine as one of the Top-10 eCommerce and Marketing Directors in the United States, and served as Digital Marketing Ambassador at Cobalt ADP. I published The Digital Dealership in 2014 and delivered a keynote at the Milan Opera in 2018 before an audience of more than 1,000 executives.
During the pandemic, I served as Chief Marketing Officer at Mercedes-Benz of Temecula, where I helped drive 30% market share growth. In 2023, I reconnected with Brian Tracy and FocalPoint. A year later, in 2024, I secured the territory for Temecula Valley, Riverside County, and the Inland Empire, finally opening the practice I had first envisioned more than two decades earlier.
Today, my journey continues through FocalPoint Business Coaching Temecula Valley, where I bring together more than 40 years of business, leadership, sales, marketing, and executive experience to help business owners and leaders make clearer decisions, communicate more effectively, and move forward with confidence.
2. Could you highlight the key offerings?
Every engagement begins with a complimentary 20-minute Clarity Call. The purpose is simple: we determine whether I can genuinely help the client and whether the client feels I am the right person to support them. From there, I design a coaching or training program around their specific goals, challenges, and business situation.
My flagship offering is the DAWN Leadership Accelerator, built around the principle: Decide. Act. Win. Now. This six-week program includes six sessions, with cohorts limited to 12 participants. Each participant receives a Professional DISC Behavioral Assessment. The program begins with a Genius Zone audit and a Drain Zone Tax calculation, helping business owners identify how much time they lose each week on tasks below their level of responsibility.
DAWN helps leaders remove those tasks through delegation, automation, or elimination. It also develops emotional intelligence, difficult-conversation skills, and a practical 90-Day Leadership Plan supported by accountability structures. Participants leave with a delegation playbook tailored to each team member, along with a peer cohort that encourages them to follow through on their commitments.
I also offer DISC-over Communication Breakthrough and DISC-over Sales programs. These sessions help teams understand behavioral styles and apply the Platinum Rule: Treat people the way they need and want to be treated. One law firm client trained its appointment setters to identify a caller’s behavioral type through voice, speaking patterns, and communication style. Within four weeks, the firm increased its appointment-setting ratio by 60% and went on to achieve a record year in billable hours.
Another key offering is Sell The Way They Buy, my four-week Top-Performer Sales Workshop based on DISC and behavioral analysis. This program is currently under review by the Mt. San Jacinto College and possibly will launch in Fall/Winter 2026.
For clients seeking deeper transformation, I provide a 90-Day Entrepreneurial Growth Course, premium executive coaching tiers, and Personal Performance Coaching focused on productivity, strategic planning, health, and financial independence.
My Moat Marketing Strategy helps businesses build competitive advantages that cannot be easily copied by competitors. I applied this strategy during the pandemic at Mercedes-Benz of Temecula, where it contributed to 30% market share growth while many competitors remained stagnant.
A major strength of my practice is its boutique and highly customized approach. When a Clarity Call reveals a unique challenge, I create a tailored training or coaching solution around it. These customized programs and learning sessions may extend for four months or longer. In fact, every program in my portfolio began with a real issue faced by a client.
I work with business owners, executives, and management teams, and I believe no two clients should receive the same playbook. My base is the Temecula Valley in Southern California, but my vision is global: to build FocalPoint Business Coaching Temecula Valley into a firm recognized worldwide for practical, behavioral, and results-driven leadership development.
3. What are your long-term goals, and where do you envision yourself in the coming years?
My long-term goal is clear: to become the leading DISC Behavioral Analyst and business coach in the Inland Empire and Southern California. I have already built a strong reputation as a trusted DISC and Business Executive Coach, supported by five-star reviews and client recommendations across Riverside County, the Inland Empire, and Southern California.
This region is one of the fastest-growing corridors in California. New businesses are emerging every week, yet many owners work harder without achieving the progress they desire. I want FocalPoint Business Coaching Temecula Valley to become the first call business owners make when working harder is no longer producing better results.
Speaking is another major part of my vision. Whether it is a stage, boardroom, or classroom, I enjoy helping people gain clarity and take action. After delivering a keynote at the Milan Opera in 2018 before an audience of more than 1,000 executives, I became even more determined to reach larger and more diverse audiences. I have been invited to speak in Germany on business and executive coaching in October 2026 and at an education conference in Phuket, Thailand, in December 2026. From there, I plan to expand my speaking presence across Europe, Asia, and Australia.
I also want to continue investing in the next generation of entrepreneurs and leaders. Through Pitch Ascent at the Murrieta Innovation Center, I coach scientists and medical founders on how to secure investor funding. Participants have already received their first grants, which is a meaningful indication of the impact this work can create. My university engagements at Cal State San Marcos as an Executive in residence and as an Affiliate Coach for the Randall W. Lewis Center for Entrepreneurship at CSU San Bernardino are essential components in the community development I offer, and I believe emerging leaders need practical methods more than motivation, and I intend to keep providing those methods.
For me, success is not measured only by business growth, recognition, or international reach. It also means being present for my partner, Snowwhite, my sons, Max and Ethan, and my own health and well-being. A full calendar has little value without a full life behind it. My vision is therefore to build a globally respected coaching practice while remaining grounded in purpose, family, service, and a healthy, meaningful life.
4. Who has been the most significant source of inspiration in your life?
My parents have been the greatest sources of inspiration in my life. As I mentioned earlier, I grew up working in my father’s carpentry shop and helping my mother by covering her evening office-cleaning shifts. What stayed with me was not simply the work they did, but the way they carried themselves while doing it.
My father returned from the war with one leg, yet he continued building with his hands every day. My mother worked an evening job without complaint while managing the responsibilities of family life. Neither of them gave lectures about resilience. They demonstrated it through their actions. Watching them taught me one of the most important principles I still live by:
Never, never, never give up.
Another major influence in my life has been Brian Tracy. I first encountered his work in Germany in 1999, when I was selling and filling seats for his keynote sessions and courses while learning the FocalPoint method. His teachings on clarity, time management, discipline, and personal responsibility gave structure to many of the instincts I had developed through experience.
More than two decades later, I reconnected with Brian Tracy and FocalPoint. Today, I coach through the system he built. Few people have the opportunity to turn an early source of inspiration into their daily professional work. I am fortunate to have done exactly that, and I never take it for granted.
My family continues to inspire and motivate me every day. My partner of fifteen years, Snowwhite, serves at a nonprofit Children’s Museum, reflecting the importance of service and contribution. My sons, Max and Ethan, are both my motivation and my pride. They remind me that the value of my work extends far beyond business results, recognition, or financial success. Ultimately, it is about creating a meaningful life and making a positive difference in the lives of others.
6. What were the most challenging obstacles you’ve encountered in your career?
One of the greatest challenges of my career began when I arrived in America just two months before 9/11. I had a suitcase, $1,000, no university degree, and a strong German accent. Nobody was waiting for me, and I had to create my own opportunity. Instead of allowing my accent to become a disadvantage, I turned it into my pitch: a German with a German accent should sell German cars. That decision helped me earn my place on the sales floor.
The experience taught me a lesson that has stayed with me ever since: an obstacle, when examined closely, often contains an advantage.
Earlier setbacks reinforced the same belief. In 1995, I opened a sportswear shop in Germany that stocked Reebok products. Following my divorce in 1997, I had to close the business and rebuild my life. In 2002, I planned to open a coaching practice with Brian Tracy’s organization covering the Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin tri-state area. Then my son, Nicholas, passed away at just four months old.
That loss changed everything. I placed the coaching plan on hold and remained in the automotive industry for the next two decades. Nicholas continues to be one of my greatest sources of inspiration. His life reminds me that, no matter how painful the circumstances, we must continue moving forward.
I chose to turn that unexpected detour into an education. Every dealership turnaround, marketing budget, leadership challenge, and process problem I encountered became valuable experience that now informs my coaching practice. The challenges I faced in business helped me understand the real pressures that owners, executives, and leadership teams experience every day.
The hardest test came in 2022, when sepsis brought me within two hours of death. Recovering from that experience changed the way I view time, priorities, and unfinished work. It reminded me that life is too valuable to postpone the work we are meant to do.
In 2023, I reconnected with Brian Tracy and FocalPoint. In 2024, I secured my territory and opened the practice I had promised myself I would return to years earlier.
I have learned that resilience is a decision we make before we need it. Setbacks will come, but how we respond to them determines the direction of our lives. My guiding principle remains the same:
Never, never, never give up.
Editor’s Note
Volker Jaeckel’s journey is a powerful reminder that resilience is built through action, experience, and an unwavering refusal to give up. From humble beginnings in Germany to global executive leadership and business coaching, he has transformeJd every challenge into a lesson that now helps others lead with clarity and confidence. Through FocalPoint Business Coaching Temecula Valley, Volker continues to turn real-world experience into meaningful growth for business owners, executives, and emerging leaders.
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