Tips & Insights for Top Performance » Book Reviews

We Are All Leaders

admin — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 01:11:49 +0000

We are all leaders. No matter what your role. Who are you leading/influencing?

Book: THE LEADER WHO HAD NO TITLE: The New Way To Win in Business – and in Life
Leaders without a title know that whether they have a title or not, they have power to:
• see opportunity amid crises
• drive positive change
• encourage everyone on their team
• step into the person they’ve always longed to be
You do not need a title to be a leader. You can be a leader and make a difference TODAY, whatever you are doing.
It is in your attitude, approach and perspective.
There is a great summary – read more: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=116652405016576

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN

To Develop Your Effectiveness Is An On-going Process!

admin — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 01:34:36 +0000

To develop your effectiveness and leadership personally & professionally is an on-going process!

John Maxwell’s book – Developing the Leader Within You

Levels of Leadership: (Where are you?)

Position – hired / in an organizational “role”
Permission – lead by focusing on people’s needs and desires — relationships
Production – things are happening/getting done
People Development – Empower others, multiply leaders
Person-hood – people follow because of who you are and what you represent

Obviously, the 5^th level is the highest level of leadership and where a good leader will strive to be.

How do you get people to “follow you because of who you are and what you represent”? It is about authenticity, integrity and character.

Consider:

Are you being real or fake (guarded, protected, superficial, “best face forward”)?
Do you have integrity (do what you say)?
Does your character show up in your day to day? Who would people say you are?

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN

admin — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 02:00:15 +0000

“Be authentic. This breeds trust and credibility. Makes an impact and shows passion. Exploring the truth: Self-inquiry/Self-awareness – Know Thyself ” – Socrates

Book: Servant Leadershipby Robert Greenleaf

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN

Book Review: Traction

admin — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 18:04:05 +0000

The book, Traction, is a fantastic resource for business owners (one person businesses and up) who want to understand the PROCESS side of their business. The tag line for the book is “get a grip on your business”, which is exactly what this book is written to help you do. Guiding you through a process to think through the stages of HOW a business works and apply that to your own business. Like many business books, you are thinking about the parts of your business: vision, marketing, plans, obstacles, etc. But the difference in this book, is thinking about these concepts from a SYSTEMS approach. This is invaluable and the glue that binds many concepts together. Many business owners have many of the ingredients of their business (vision, mission, goals, etc.) but struggle to know how to implement all the elements in a system that is sustainable. The traction concepts help to put it all together in a process that supports the owner to stay focused, clear and positioned to move forward.

The other concept that is naturally developed when you talk about process, is ROLES. This book helps to clarify and identify key roles and players on a business team, especially that of the business owner. Often a business owner is a visionary (idea person/leader) OR an integrator (implementer). This book helps to define the roles and how to make sure all tasks are covered and being addressed. A key part of addressing process and roles is uncovering areas of the business (i.e. marketing, finances, etc.) that are not being approached strategically and then redesigning and aligning them so they are proactive and effective pieces that support the direction and success of the company. While many elements in this book are well known by business owners, this book is an excellent road map to put all the pieces together and in perspective. I love this book as a tool to support business owners to understand, see and sync everyday business concepts in a way that will get your business some true TRACTION.

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN

Book Recommendation: Eat that Frog!

admin — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 17:33:27 +0000

With the new year just around the corner, there are all kinds of intentions floating around. But, be it the cold weather or the less than pleasant tasks involved, procrastination quickly sets in and our resolutions are tucked away, never to become a reality.

If you’re ready to take on your resolutions with intention this year, Brian Tracy’s “Eat the Frog!” is the book for you. In his powerful book on overcoming procrastination, Tracy shares 21 ways to organize, prioritize, and move ahead with any project! If this is the year that you’re serious about your resolutions, I highly recommend that you “eat your frog!”

To order this book, click here.

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN

An Attitude of Thanksgiving…(part 2)

admin — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 18:15:49 +0000

2. Peace. In thinking about relationships and why we are here, the book I have been reading, The Anatomy of Peace, comes to mind. I am not a master of this either, but I seek to grow in my understanding of it. So often we have hearts that war against people and things, people and situations we don’t like, or that we think affect us in ways we don’t like. We judge and lash out – verbally or just in our minds – against these things. While we are doing this we create a lack of harmony for ourselves and others around us, making energy negative and judgments ramped. In our culture we are so used to doing this, we don’t even realize it. It is hard to summarize in a few short sentences, please read the book. It is excellent and you will be surprised how you might THINK you have a heart of peace, but how your heart wars against all kinds of things around you. When your heart is at peace, you can truly be thankful for all the things around you and you can embrace different situations with an openness to learn from them and grow in the moment.

I want to encourage you to stop complaining and fearing a “down economy” and everything that is not what you want…rather, be thankful for the blessings you have been given – whatever your circumstance. Keep a heart of peace in all things – to allow you to maintain a thankful attitude in the upcoming season. Your positive and thankful spirit is a blessing to you and others you touch.

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN

Book Review: Exploring Productivity – Ideas From Industry Professionals on Getting More Work Done in the Workplace

admin — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 18:38:49 +0000

The challenge of staying organized through busy workdays and life is a trial for even the best. There are TONS of books on organization strategies out there with many tips and tricks on how to master chaos and achieve a sense of order in your environment. The challenge is many are filled with concepts to adapt and are more philosophical with prescribed action versus a handbook with steps of HOW to get organized. I found this book, Exploring Productivity… , and like it for its “idiots guide” type approach, making it easy to pick and address an issue versus reading a whole book and feeling overwhelmed with evaluating how you might transform your whole system of operation (which if it gets overwhelming, you will not take any steps to change.) This is a great book to have on the self, easy to read and excellent to reference so that you can address and overcome whatever organizational challenge you may be having THIS week

To order this book, click here.

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN

Book Review: Clear Your Clutter With Feng Shui

admin — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 18:20:31 +0000

Your environment can either support your endeavors or drain your energy. One part of your environment is all of the “stuff” that is around you and this is the book, Clear Your Clutter With Feng Shui, that will help you get a handle on that “stuff!” If you are a hoarder, this book will help you determine both why you like to have clutter around and how to deal with it. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking to streamline their environment and free up energy for the more important aspects of life.

To order this book, click here.

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN

Book Review: Influencer: The Power to Change Anything

admin — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 18:57:17 +0000

The content of this book, Influencer: The Power to Change Anything by Patterson, Grenny, Maxfield, McMillan, and Switzler, makes it an important read. I will say I did not find this book the easiest to read; for me it feels pretty “academic”. However, it is a good book because it is packed with examples of how to understand human behavior and how to act differently to get better results. It talks about emotional intelligence and how our brain works, building social capitol (support and people around you), motivators of people (positive motivation last longer than negative), designing environments to influence the way you want to be, habits for effectiveness, etc. It gives a high level on many areas that are important for being a positive, successful, productive person who is able to impact others and make a difference. To me it pushes the higher level of leadership that is only achieved with intention, focus and discipline. It challenges even the natural leader to consider how they operate and ways to take their leadership / influence to the next level.

For you own copy of this book, click here.

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN

Book Recommendation: The Anatomy of Peace

admin — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 17:54:07 +0000

This book, The Anatomy of Peace, was recommended to me to explore the challenge of dealing with letting go of “identity” that is ego driven (meaning you have to cling to your identity to feel good about yourself – which is really not very healthy). It is a fascinating read…you are drawn into a “class” taught by two master teachers working with a group of parents who have just delivered their rebellious teens to a wilderness camp in hopes of life-changing behavior modification for their kids. The days the parents spend with the leaders help them realize that they are a part of the dynamics and problem. The master leaders help them to understand what is happening and how convoluted perspectives can get over time, as we feel entitled, victimized, etc. They assert that as time passes, we may become unable to face our true faults. We justify our thoughts and actions, seeking blame and scapegoating in an effort to keep ourselves ‘right.’ This cycle is an on-going mess provoking the problems we are trying to solve. It happens everywhere: home, work, relationships, etc.

This book is also written more directly for those in business under the title Leadership and Self-Deception. Either book is a ‘must read.’ And if you are thinking “I don’t have that problem,” you definitely should read it.

To order this book, click here.

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN