Tips & Insights for Top Performance

• 17Jun

  Personal Growth is KEY to Leadership!

  Business Coaching, Effective Habits, Executives & Leaders, Leadership Development, Performance & Productivity, Personal Growth No Comments

  John Maxwell Leadership INVENTORY:

  A. What tools are you using to raise your level of leadership and, in turn, your effectiveness?
  Check out: The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership John Maxwell
  B. Rate your leadership on a scale of 1 (low) to 10 (high) and discuss how you assess your effectiveness.
  C. Using this same scale, rate the top 3 people in your organization.
  D. Are you willing to invest the time to educate yourself to become a better leader?
  E. Do you believe that developing your leadership skills will increase your effectiveness?
  F. “The one thing you need to know about leadership is that there is more than one thing you need to know about leadership!”
  G. Some laws will expose weaknesses you may not have ever realized you had. Some laws you may already practice. All are tools to help you achieve your purpose and dreams.

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

  Tags: Leadership, Personal Growth

• 03Jun

  You see what you look for…

  Business Coaching, Effective Habits, Human Performance, Performance & Productivity, Personal Growth, Productivity, Removing Obstacles No Comments

  Perspective in life is one of those amazing and fun topics. The mental games and shifted perspectives we make our reality is fascinating. How often do you hear people say “business is really bad”, “no one is buying anything right now”, “there are no jobs out there”, “everything is so expensive”, ….. If you look for that, you will find things to support your story and your perspective.
  Try this. Go look in a parking lot full of cars. What do you see? Just make a mental note of your observations.

  Now go back and notice the antennas on the cars. While there may be less cars with antennas today, I would get you did not notice the antennas the first time you looked.. As you look again, do you see the antennas?

  What we look for is what we see and it becomes our reality. Notice your story and your premises that you are caring on life, people and work. Are they really what you want to be focusing on? Are they what you want to be seeing? In order to see something different, you have to look for something different.

  Try to put your premises and stories about others and the world away today, and see what “new” things you notice and see. (my favorite filter is to “put the best construction on everything” as you do that, how does your reality change?)

  While everything in life is not positive and a “bowl of cherries”, there is little value that comes from griping, complaining and excuses. Look for the opportunities and silver linings, there is usually one there.

   

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

  Tags: perspective, Reality

• 27May

  Focus and Purpose

  Business Coaching, Effective Habits, Energy Management, Human Performance, Performance & Productivity, Personal Growth, Productivity, Removing Obstacles, Time Management No Comments

  “Effort alone does not create achievement. Somebody can put forth a lifetime of effort and not have much to show for it.

  What counts is focused effort in the service of a meaningful purpose. Get that, and you’re really getting somewhere.

  Just being busy is not going to make you successful. Instead of merely using up time, find a way to create real, desirable value with the time you have available.

  Don’t comfort yourself with being aimlessly busy. Challenge yourself to get meaningful results from your time and effort.

  Outstanding achievement and disappointing mediocrity are both built from the same twenty-four hours in each day. The difference is not one of time or even effort, but of focus and authentic purpose.

  As long as you’re making the effort, as long as you’re using up resources, as long as you’re spending the time, make it all count. Make a habit of doing what really matters, and you’ll enjoy a life that’s really great.”

  Ralph Marston

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

  Tags: achievement, effort, focus, living our purpose, purpose

• 08Apr

  Top Reasons Why Businesses Fail. By Source: Jessie Hagen, U.S. Bank

  Business Coaching, Executives & Leaders, Performance & Productivity, Work Environment No Comments

  General Business Factors              

  • 78% – Lack of a well-developed business plan, including insufficient research on the business before starting it. 
  • 73% – Being overly optimistic about achievable sales, money required and about what needs to be done to be successful.
  • 70% – Not recognizing, or ignoring, what they don’t do well and not seeking help from those who do. 
  • 63% – Insufficient relevant and applicable business experience.

   Financial Factors              

  • 82% – Poor cash flow management skills/poor understanding of cash flow
  • 79% – Starting out with too little money.  
  • 77% – Not pricing properly – failure to include all necessary items when setting prices           

   Marketing Factors           

  • 64% – Minimizing the importance of promoting the business properly.
  • 55% – Not understanding who your competition is or ignoring competition.
  • 47% – Too much focus and reliance on one customer/client.          

   Human Resource Factors

  • 58% – Inability to delegate properly – micro-managing work given to others or over delegating and abdicating important management responsibilities.
  • 56% – Hiring the wrong people – clones of themselves and not people with complementary skills, or hiring friends and relatives.         

  So, what brings people to coaching is to have a strategic partner to THINK IT THROUGH. Your family is not neutral and does not necessarily have the ability to give constructive feedback. You boss, up-line or co-worker are also not neutral and may have the same blindside that you do. Your friends only want to hear so much about your work and few are willing to spend hours planning with you. The most common misconception of coaching is that its for people who are struggling and need help. While coaching can help these people too, We are not talking about people who NEED help. In order to be successful everyone needs to stop, think it through and plan. 

  What do you need to think through? What do you need to plan? Take time today to evaluate your business and needs. Consider where you might be at risk and what you want to design to support you to be strategic, proactive and successful!

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

  Tags: Top Ten, Why Businesses Fail

• 01Apr

  Push Your Edge

  Business Coaching, Effective Habits, Energy Management, Goal Setting, Performance & Productivity, Personal Growth No Comments

  What is your edge? Edge is the line between where you are great and where you can grow. You are already successful and effective in many parts of your performance. Your edge is your opportunity to take it up a notch. A true performer is always doing this. While you may “rest” between “pushes”, in your life of personal development you never really “arrive”. It is a journey that will always have a new opportunity to grow into.

  So, have you thought about your edge lately? As you develop and as your situation changes, new edges present themselves. Stop and consider, what edge have you been working on? Have you mastered it? Why or why not? What do you need to master it or if you are done, what are you ready for now? Sometimes our edge is something we want and sometimes it is something we need. You might not like your edge, but your edge when developed will support you in greater synergy and effectiveness with your task at hand. Here are some areas to help you consider what your next level might be.

  Is your edge to:

  • Understand your strengths and passions to minimize weaknesses
  • Develop strong personal, professional or team productivity skills
  • Learn effective communication skills
  • Acquire better time management to maximize effectiveness
  • Receive customized training to address personal and business needs
  • Create a solid vision of where you are headed
  • Flesh out a clear strategic plan to achieve objectives
  • Foster the ability to create and keep measurable goals
  • Utilize accountability structures to promote forward momentum
  • Achieve balance in life to maintain priorities and reduce stress
  • Develop the aptitude to achieve results that inspire and motivate

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

  Tags: find SYNERGY in your life, Personal Development, synergy and effectiveness, Your edge

• 25Mar

  The Benefits of Coaching

  Business Coaching, Career Exploration, Career Fulfillment, Effective Habits, Energy Management, Executives & Leaders, Goal Setting, Performance & Productivity, Personal Growth, Time Management, Work/Life Synergy & Balance No Comments

  VISION – MOTIVATION – FOCUS – CLARITY – ENERGY – SPEED – PRODUCTIVITY – RESULTS – SUCCESS - and more.. What could you do with this?

  VISION. You will have a clear idea of where you want to go and how to get there. Often we know the end result, but do not see what it takes to get there. This is critical for your success. You cannot do what you cannot see first. Coaching will ask you questions to make sure your vision is strong.

  MOTIVATION. You will know what you really want and understand your unique values and motives to keep you moving forward. Stop procrastinating, delaying and putting off because of fears, perfectionism and doubts.

  FOCUS. You will be able to operate with clear priorities, doing what is most important things which will allow you to excel In the midst of ‘urgent’ demands and busy chaotic schedules and lives.

  CLARITY. Each coaching session deepens your learning about how you work and think. Coaching also prepares you for action and supports you in getting crystal clear on the steps to take. By work with a coach, you will get a helicopter perspective so that you can return to your business and navigate quickly because you have taken time to assess where you are going. You will be able to see what is right in front of you and developed a plan to forge ahead.

  ENERGY. You will find yourself working at your optimum potential. Why? When you are operating in line with your values, life just simply comes together in an easy way. Coaching will give you with the encouragement, momentum, and natural dynamics to operate more efficiently and effectively. You cannot get more hours in the day, but if you have more energy, you will get more done and feel great!

  SPEED. You will be more effective. Through planning and strategizing, you will be able to eliminate ineffective methods and enhance those methods that are most natural to supporting you in reaching your goals quicker.

  PRODUCTIVITY. You will simply get more done. Coaching will keep your goals clear and in line with your vision. Next, it ensures that what you are doing is important to furthering the bottom line, not just want is urgent, easy or obvious. Then, the regular accountability provides a structure that will keep you moving forward, so you can really get it all done.

  RESULTS. Through regular coaching and consistent follow-up, you will increase your bottom-line results. Profits. Clients. Personal Passions. Weight Lose. Whatever your objective is, coaching is a strategic partnership to support you in getting what you want as quickly as possible. If you are ready and motivated, you can actually double what you accomplish in a period of time.

  SUCCESS. You will be more successful. Through keeping focused on what you want, the goals and the plan, coaching helps you keep the big picture in mind while you implement the small steps. While focusing on the goals, coaching monitors the balance in your whole life, so you are not distracted with life pulls but have all the elements of your life complimenting your actions. Before you know it, your goal is complete!

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

  Tags: Business Coaching, CLARITY, Coaching, ENERGY, focus, motivation, Productivity, RESULTS, SPEED, SUCCESS, VISION

• 04Mar

  Daily Affirmations to Get You Moving

  Business Coaching, Effective Habits, Goal Setting, Law of Attraction Principles, Performance & Productivity, Personal Growth No Comments

  Here are a few daily affirmations to read for 30 days to get yourself in a positive forward moving direction.

  • My goal is … (insert)

  • Be consistent, doing activities that support your goal. I need to …..

  • See the gap between your goals and the activity you are doing to get there. I will close the gap by….

  • Know what you are going for. What will I do today to move closer to my goal?  Today, I will….

  • Know the difference between “billable/productive” work and “busy” work. What counts today is…

  • Have a dream and know what you can do to reach it. I will be one step closer if I….

  • Help others get what they want; in return you will get what you want (be selfless and giving)(givers gain). I will help someone today by…

  • Be positive and focus on what IS possible. Remember we attract and get what we focus on. I am focused on….

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

  Tags: daily affirmations, forward moving direction, Positive

• 25Feb

  INTERVIEWING TO SEE IF A CAREER IS RIGHT FOR YOU…

  Business Coaching, Career Exploration, Career Fulfillment, Effective Habits, Goal Setting, Performance & Productivity, Personal Growth No Comments

  If you have a career in mind that you might like to work in, check out your assumptions first. People who work in the career know what it is really like and can share their experience. Even if they are disgruntled with their career, they can provide good information as they share their highs and lows. Different things bother different people. What they might think is the worst part of their job, might be what you are looking for. Interviewing is a priceless way to determine if a job is a good fit for you. JUST DO IT. Many people don’t want to bother someone with these questions, but many people are happy to share. They are talking about themselves and most people don’t mind helping another person out. Take a risk and contact a few people who are doing the job you think you would like to have. It is worth your time.

  Here are some things you might ask them:

  • How long have you been working in this career?
  • Why did you get into it?
  • How did you get to where you are today (education to career advancement)?
  • What training did you have before employment and what training have you had since to keep yourself fresh?
  • What skills are most important for this job?
  • What do you love and what do you hate about this job?
  • What are the opportunities out there? Is it a tough market for this work or lots of opportunity and room for growth? How so?
  • How has this career / work field changed since you have gotten in it?
  • What does a typical day look like for you?
  • What does the salary look like for this career – starting, mid and advanced?
  • What would you recommend I do to learn more about this career (read, class, person to talk to, website, etc.)?
  • Who do you think is a good fit for this career and is successful?
  • Who do you see trying to do this career but it is not a good fit? Why is it not a good fit? What do they move to?
  • What other jobs are like this career but a little different? How are they different? Have you considered those? Why or why not?
  • What experience is needed or helpful to have before working in this line of work?
  • If I were interested in this work, how would you recommend I get started (networking, connections, training, education, etc.)?
  • What titles do people in this line of work have?
  • Where does your company and companies that you work for recruit from (where do they find their people?)
  • What organizations do you belong too?
  • What books and magazines and RSS feeds do you read?

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

  Tags: career, interviewing, picking a new career

• 18Feb

  PICKING A NEW CAREER….

  Business Coaching, Career Exploration, Career Fulfillment, Goal Setting, Performance & Productivity, Personal Growth No Comments

  Did you know most people today will work SEVERAL careers in their lifetime. Working in 3-5 different careers is becoming the new norm. While traditional employment would have a person work one career in maybe 3-5 companies max, today, people not only work for several employers but are CHANGING fields as they progress in their professional life. So, are you ready for a change???

  How do you research new careers?…Here are a few questions to ask yourself about a new career you are thinking about.
  • Does this career/job use my strengths (reference your Strengths Finder 2.0 strengths)?
  • Does this career/job match my personal values (if you don’t know what these are, schedule a free coaching sample session)
  • Does this career match my employment needs (salary, location, hours, skills, etc.)?
  • Do I need new or more schooling or training for this career? What options will this education give me?
  • How saturated is this field? Is it growing and increasing in demand or on the way out?
  • How long will it take me to make myself “marketable” for this career/job?
  • Talk to 3-5 people working in this field…does this job match my “assumptions and premonitions” about it?
  • How much capital ($$) will it cost for me to transition (schooling, certifications, can I work and school or do I need to quit my job and just do school, etc.)?
  • What kind of network and relationships do I have to get into this field (networking is everything in today’s job search)?
  • How much time will I need to spend on honing and developing my skills for this new career?
  • What will moving into this new career give me?
  • What are the downsides of this new career? How much will that affect me?
  • What benefits does this new career have? How will that help me?
  • What does “success” in this career look like to me? In order to be “successful” in this new career, what will it take?
  • Am I willing to pay the price (time, dollars, energy, work…) to make this happen?
  • Am I running from an old career or CHOOSING a new career?
  • List why this career is a good fit?

  Don’t guess or be spontaneous in your career changes, be planned and intentional.

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

  Tags: picking a new career, professional life, traditional employment

• 04Feb

  Why do people act the way they do? The Dynamics of Personalities

  Business Coaching, Effective Habits, Executives & Leaders, Performance & Productivity, Personal Growth, Work Environment No Comments

  There are several tools out there for understanding your personal style. Many are similar, but offer a unique perspective on different facets of your personality. The Strengths Finder Assessment, The Myers-Brigs, The DISC Personality, Keirsey Temperament, The Shape Personality, Authentic Happiness Questioner, and Jung Typology Test, are a few.

  One CORE assessment on understanding behavior and personal style however is the DISC. If you are interested in purchasing this assessment, please e-mail me (cost: $25).

  What makes the DISC different is that it has 4 distinct styles that are consistent for people across ages and generations. While other assessments help you to understand YOU and YOUR STYLE, the DISC helps you to understand you and as your learn the DISC, you begin to understand others and why they act the way they do. This is relevant with co-workers, boss-employee relationships, marriages, children, friends, etc. It is helpful for reducing conflict, being more productive and having stronger communication and relationships across the board.

  In my February Newsletter, I have written an article that offers a snap shot of what the DISC traits are.  D for Drivers, I for the Influencers, S for Steadiers, and C for the Conscientious.

  With the knowledge of your personality you can better understand how you work with others and understand how they work and why they work that way. Understanding both sides, you can then formulate a strategy of how to maximize your personality traits to contribute to others, work well with them and enjoy your relationships.

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

  Tags: Authentic Happiness Questioner, DISC, Dynamics of Personality, Jung Typology Test, Keirsey Temperament, Strengths Finder Assessment, The DISC Personality, The Myers-Brigs, The Shape Personality

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