What is your earliest memory from childhood of something that you really enjoyed doing?

It's not, perhaps, a question senior business people in Bradford often make time to ask themselves.

But one man, who is bringing a ground-breaking method of executive coaching to the district, believes it might just have a big impact on the bottom line.

Tim Anderson is the sole UK licensee for the Crystal-Barkley life/work design coaching scheme. He is based in West Yorkshire where he is currently working with a host of senior business people.

His one-to-one coaching is based on the model developed by former US Army intelligence officer John Crystal and his partnership, formed in the 1980s, with Nell Barkley.

It differs from other executive coaching systems by asking the individual to look well beyond the workplace and into his or her own lifestyle for clues to how they can better themselves and their businesses.

Clients are typically asked to start by telling the story of 12 incidents which they enjoyed, including their earliest memory. It could be anything from playing toy cars to a trip with the Scouts. The aim is to establish things the individual is good at and also what he or she enjoys doing.

From these memories, a list of skills is developed before a similar process is used to discover a set of personal goals.

Mr Anderson admitted that during the sessions - which can last for several days - he often had to combat a degree of scepticism but insisted the results were impressive.

And he said the best way to improve performance was by building on people's strengths rather than trying to overcome weaknesses.

"It really helps people to see what they are about and what skills they should be developing so they can make better use of them," he said. "People spend too much time analysing the bad things they do rather than looking at what they are good at.

"Storytelling is a very good way of getting a really positive view of yourself. Success is all about playing to your strengths."

The former executive with finance giant KPMG said the coaching was an established success in the United States but was only just beginning to catch on in the UK. He is targeting leading individuals in mid-sized Bradford firms.

Mr Anderson said there was a tendency for managers to lose sight of their own goals because they were forced to do other things due to the pressure of the company's needs.

"Often the people I work with are in family businesses and they may be second-generation management who have come into the role due to the pressure of the family," he said. "This gives them a chance to really assess themselves and their role in a company."