I am Bill Murray, the innovation coach and author of Enquire to Inspire, and the founder of CoachingUP, which operates as FifthWhy, LLC here in Wisconsin. I have spent my career asking innovation teams uncomfortable questions instead of handing them answers.
Who I am, and who I’m not
I am an innovation coach, a speaker, and the author of Enquire to Inspire: 20 Questions to Mentor Your Innovation Team to Success, published in December 2023 by FifthWhy, LLC. Through CoachingUP I coach customer discovery and product design teams at startups, corporations, non-profits, and government agencies. One coach, one Wisconsin office. I'm not the comedy actor of the same name.
What I do
I coach teams to find out what their customers actually need, using questions instead of directives. Across 50-plus innovation teams on every populated continent, the opening scene rarely changes: a whiteboard crowded with ideas and not one conversation with a customer to back any of them up. So we go talk to customers. Then we decide what the evidence will let us build.
When was the last time an outside expert told your team what to build and the customer agreed? A consultant hands you an answer. I hand you a better question, because advice has a shelf life and a good question does not. That is the whole method, and it is why teams keep running discovery long after I log off.
How I work
I coach entirely by video call. No travel, no rented conference room, no geography problem. Start with a free 15-minute consultation. You bring the problem, I ask questions, and you leave with at least one thing to try. If it fits, pick a package:
- Quick Focus Session: 30 minutes, $69.99. One stuck decision, worked start to finish.
- Innovation Session: 60 minutes, $99.99. Includes a custom action plan and 14 days of email support.
- The 3-Hour Innovation Plan: $300. Three 60-minute sessions, a complete innovation roadmap, a customer discovery framework, your innovation path documented, and 30 days of email implementation support. The whole thing is laid out on the 3-Hour Innovation Plan page.
All three sit side by side in the packages section if you would rather compare them first.
The book
Enquire to Inspire: 20 Questions to Mentor Your Innovation Team to Success is my 106-page softcover guide for anyone who sponsors, manages, or mentors an innovation team. Twenty questions, one for every stage from forming the team to handing off the work. Read the sample chapter, hear the audio overview, and order a copy on the book page.
Speaking and workshops
Yes, I speak, and I run workshops. Conferences, corporate innovation programs, non-profit and government teams, and the educators who teach entrepreneurship — if your audience builds things for other people, question-based mentoring travels well. Tell me the date, the format, and who will be sitting in the room, and I will tell you what we can get done with them. The contact form is the fastest way in.
How to reach me
Email me at coach@coachingup.us and you will hear back within one business day. I am at my desk Monday through Friday, 9 am to 11 pm Eastern. You can also send the contact form on the homepage, or connect with me on LinkedIn. Ask me something hard. That is the part I like.
Questions people ask before they email me
Is this the Bill Murray from the movies?
No. I am Bill Murray the innovation coach, speaker, and author of Enquire to Inspire, and I have no connection to the actor who shares the name. I run CoachingUP, which operates as FifthWhy, LLC in Wisconsin, and I coach customer discovery and product design teams. Same name, entirely different line of work.
What does an innovation coach do?
An innovation coach guides a team through customer discovery, idea validation, and product development by asking questions rather than issuing directives. I help teams stop guessing what customers want, test assumptions cheaply, and decide on evidence instead of opinion. Unlike a consultant, who prescribes the solution, I build the team’s own capability. The point is that they can run the next discovery without me.
Who do you work with?
I work with startups, corporations, non-profits, and government agencies — more than 50 innovation and customer discovery teams across every populated continent. Founders, corporate innovation leaders, non-profit executives, government program managers, and entrepreneurship educators all come for the same reason: they need to know what their customers actually need before they build. Industry and team size matter far less than a willingness to go ask.
How do I book a session or a talk?
Email coach@coachingup.us or use the contact form to request a free 15-minute consultation. All sessions are virtual: a 30-minute Quick Focus Session is $69.99, a 60-minute Innovation Session is $99.99, and The 3-Hour Innovation Plan is $300. For speaking engagements and workshops, send the same email with your date, format, and audience. I answer Monday through Friday, 9 am to 10 pm Eastern.
Want to talk it through?
Start with a free 15-minute call. Bring the problem; I will bring the questions.