Tips & Insights for Top Performance

• 27Apr

  Eight Core Beliefs of Successful CEOs (part 1)

  Career Exploration, Career Fulfillment, Effective Habits, Energy Management, Executives & Leaders, Goal Setting, Human Performance, Leadership Development, Management Skills, Performance & Productivity, Personal Growth, Productivity, Time Management No Comments

  Some of the most successful CEOs in the world were interviewed in order to discover their management secrets.
  The “best of the best” shared the following eight core beliefs.

  1. Business is an ecosystem, not a battlefield.
  Average bosses see business as a conflict between companies, departments and groups. They build huge armies of “troops” to order about, demonize competitors as “enemies,” and treat customers as “territory” to be conquered.
  Extraordinary bosses see business as a symbiosis where the most diverse firm is most likely to survive and thrive. They naturally create teams that adapt easily to new markets and can quickly form partnerships with other companies, customers … and even competitors.

  2. A company is a community, not a machine.
  Average bosses consider their company to be a machine with employees as cogs. They create rigid structures with rigid rules and then try to maintain control by “pulling levers” and “steering the ship.”
  Extraordinary bosses see their company as a collection of individual hopes and dreams, all connected to a higher purpose. They inspire employees to dedicate themselves to the success of their peers and therefore to the community–and company–at large.

  3. Management is service, not control.
  Average bosses want employees to do exactly what they’re told. They’re hyper-aware of anything that smacks of insubordination and create environments where individual initiative is squelched by the “wait and see what the boss says” mentality.
  Extraordinary bosses set a general direction and then commit themselves to obtaining the resources that their employees need to get the job done. They push decision making downward, allowing teams form their own rules and intervening only in emergencies.

  4. My employees are my peers, not my children.
  Average bosses see employees as inferior, immature beings who simply can’t be trusted if not overseen by a patriarchal management. Employees take their cues from this attitude, expend energy on looking busy and covering their behinds.
  Extraordinary bosses treat every employee as if he or she were the most important person in the firm. Excellence is expected everywhere, from the loading dock to the boardroom. As a result, employees at all levels take charge of their own destinies.

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

  Tags: CEOs, Core Beliefs, successful

• 20Apr

  Time Management Quiz

  Business Coaching, Career Exploration, Effective Habits, Energy Management, Goal Setting, Human Performance, Management Skills, Performance & Productivity, Personal Growth, Productivity, Removing Obstacles, Time Management No Comments

  This is an interesting quiz by Mind Tools to help you discover how good you really are at time management.

  http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_88.htm

  Once you complete the quiz, be sure to determine whch area you need to improve on the most and make it a goal.

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

  Tags: goal, Mind Tools, Time Management

• 09Dec

  Run with it

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

  “Let your life come fully and positively to life. You are here on this glorious day, so make the very most of it.

  You have passions and interests, so pursue them. You have dreams and desires, so get busy and fulfill them.

  You have unique perspectives and opinions, so express them.  A magnificent, fascinating universe surrounds you, so experience it.

  There are people about whom you care deeply. So give them your time, your attention, your love and fellowship.

  You’ve already experienced yesterday, so don’t live it again today. This is a day to bring new and interesting and meaningful substance into your life.

  On this very day you have the priceless opportunity to live.  Take that opportunity, right now, and run with it as far and as high as you possibly can.”

  Ralph Marston

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

  Tags: dreams & desires, life, opportunity, passions and interests

• 16Sep

  Making Even More

  Effective Habits, Energy Management, Human Performance, Performance & Productivity, Personal Growth No Comments

  “Strength does not get used up when you use it.
  In fact, it grows.

  Sharing your wisdom with another person does not take that wisdom away from you.
  It actually deepens your wisdom, and makes it even more profound.

  Giving your love does not in any way diminish the love you have.
  It makes your love richer and more meaningful.

  You can speak the truth all day long, and at the end of the day that truth is more plentiful than it was at the beginning.
  You can exercise compassion for month after month, and you’ll end up with even more compassion.

  Some of the most powerful and valuable things in life are the things that never get used up.
  Indeed, those things such as love, integrity, truth, compassion and wisdom become more plentiful the more they’re used.

  As each moment passes, make full, joyous and meaningful use of life’s goodness.
  When you do, you’ll be making even more.”

  Ralph Marston

   

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

  Tags: love, strength, truth, wisdom

• 02Sep

  What Can a Coach Do For You?

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

  I recently had to do a comparison of coaching and type of candy.
  I picked Jolly Ranchers and my husband Mike wrote this poem about Jolly Ranchers and Coaching…

  There once was a rancher named Molly
  Whose Ranch was OK, but she not so jolly
  The ranch hands were mad, cattle running amuck
  Profit was dwindling, poor Molly was stuck

  Inventory, weather, food for the cows
  Get it all done, she didn’t know hows
  She felt very busy, but spinner her wheels
  It seemed like she was always back on her heels.

  If I could be more productive, get teams to work
  Perhaps the important I’d never more shirk
  I’d love to know just how to win
  To operate my ranch to bring more dollars in.

  She needed a strategy to help her sort out
  All things of import, the rest she’d toss out
  She looked for some help, these topics to broach
  And saw the best was to hire a coach.

  The ranch became a team, all personalities tested
  All working their strengths, while the others, they rested
  When one goal was done another was made
  The progress she saw, she never would trade.

  It just goes to show when life gets a mess
  It hampers your business, and just causes stress
  So take home a lesson from Rancher Miss Molly
  Hire a coach and make your ranch much more jolly!

  Every business owner and executive is just like a rancher… with much to plan and manage.
  If coaching can support you or a rancher you know, e-mail for a FREE sample session!

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

  Tags: Business-Coaching-Services-Leadership-Corporate-Training-Development, Coaching

• 26Aug

  Fulfillment Is Yours

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

  “Fulfillment is yours

  You’ve waited long enough. This is the day to take action.

  The excuses are quite reasonable and understandable, and yet they have brought no value to your life.

  Let go of those comfortable excuses, and step forward into the bright, direct light of achievement.

  The hours in this day will quickly pass no matter what you choose to do with them.

  So you might as well make full use of them to create meaningful value.

  If you’re not sure what to do, take a moment and reach deep inside.

  Remind yourself of the things that mean the most, and do what truly strengthens and supports those things.

  If the disruptions and distractions erode your focus, reach inside again.

  Commit yourself with your actions, over and over, to live true to your highest vision.

  This is your life and today is your opportunity to make a difference.

  Get busy, because fulfillment is now yours to create.”

   

  Ralph Marston

   

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

  Tags: achievemant, excuses, Fullfillment, step forward, this is the day, today is the day

• 19Aug

  Tips and Tricks to Enhance Your Business & Life

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

  I don’t know about you, but this summer has been flying by! As I am working with many of my clients, we are designing what they want for the fall . August is here, a few people may still be trying to squeeze summer activities in before “back to school/work” time! This is a great time to get some work done that is harder to do when people are around and demands of your time are greater. A few months ago we talked about SPRING CLEANING. Now that you have all your cleaning done, it is a great time to assess your environment for maximum productivity in the fall. While this concept may overlap spring cleaning, the focus is on preparing for the fall. An exercise that is great to do this is visiting TOLERATIONS.

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

  Tags: back to school, maximum productivity, spring cleaning, summer, toleractions

• 12Aug

  When my work feels stressful, what can I do to keep myself calm?

  Career Fulfillment, Effective Habits, Energy Management, Human Performance, Performance & Productivity, Personal Growth, Work Environment No Comments

  • Yoga. One year the place where I worked offered lunchtime yoga. It was held several times a week and was one of the best things I did for myself. The deep breathing of yoga and the stretching calms and relaxes your body. I found myself to be slower to frustration, more alert and had an overall increase in health and flexibility. It serves to be effective and helpful for men and women the same.

  • Exercise. Along the same lines as yoga, but more expansive, is general fitness time. Ideally 30 minutes a day will help to release tension and stress from your body and increase your overall energy. When you work out you tend to be mentally sharper, more alert and able to focus. This allows you to get your work done faster and better and therefore remove pressures on you that contribute to stress. The ability to manage your frustration and stay calm is helped with prioritizing regular work outs. Many people find it hard to find the time… so you can challenge yourself by parking farthest out in the parking lot, taking the stairs vs. the elevator, etc. It is hard, but start with 10 minutes a day … there are some great 10 minute work outs to get you in the routine.

  • Mental perspective. Consider your perspective. Are you caught in blaming, judging, demanding, etc.? In leadership the posture of “the buck stops here” is an effective way to shift to solutions vs. passing blame. If you look at the situation, focus on the opportunity or personal challenge, it will help you to master it and get through it faster.

  • Environment. Keep relaxing things in your environment. Candles, soft music, relaxing pictures, soft colors, lavender diffuser, etc.

  • Count. The basic “count to 10” can be useful. Sometimes you are so frustrated you say something you regret. A hurtful word can be forgiven, but the “mark” of the word said is always there.

  • Fresh air. If things are stressful, go outside. I even do this at my home office. When I feel in a rut, stressed or challenged, I take a 10 minute break and go outside and sit on our front porch rocking chairs (there is something therapeutic about rocking too). A little change of scenery can help.

  What would help you? Think about what things help you relax and integrate those in your space so you are prepared the next time you are feeling a little exasperated!

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

  Tags: calm, exercise, relax, stress, yoga

• 05Aug

  What is the difference between good stress and bad stress?

  Effective Habits, Energy Management, Performance & Productivity, Personal Growth, Productivity No Comments

  To me, bad stress “runs” you in a way you don’t want to be run. It brings out the “ugly” attributes of you and results in feeling nervous and tense.  You feel overwhelmed and drag as you have to force yourself to push through the stress. When you have this kind of stress, you want to break the cycle, even though whatever you will have to do to stop the chain of reaction will increase your stress short term. Often this is a result in getting “caught in the urgent” and more and more becomes urgent and it does not stop until there is a major event (i.e. heart attack, you get fired, your spouse refuses to deal with you anymore, etc.)

  Both good and bad stress can be out of your control, and put some pressure on you to move forward. Good stress however can be an accountability to drive you to get things done (i.e. a deadline and means to get a project done), and also supports you to stay focused and on task. When you have good stress and you can properly prioritize and move forward with needed decisions and actions.  There is likely a thin line between good stress and bad stress, in that too much good stress might be the tipping point to bad stress. 

  Much of life is how we choose to respond to it. When we choose to be overwhelmed by our stress it piles up and becomes bad stress. When you deal with each challenging situation that comes up and push through it, it can be a good stress that is a catalyst for new opportunities versus if you procrastinate and avoid, it can be a breeding spot for future bad stress.   So whatever the stress, break it down into bite size bits and get it done and keep moving!

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

  Tags: less stress, stress, stress - frustration - overwhelmed - peaceful life

• 15Jul

  When my work environment feels stressful, what can I do to relax me?

  Business Coaching, Effective Habits, Energy Management, Performance & Productivity, Productivity, Work Environment No Comments

  If you have a cluttered, boring or uninspired work environment it makes it more difficult to be there.

  1) Set your “stage” for work. What inspires you, what relaxes you, what brings you joy? Decorate your office with some “art”… some people put motivational quotes or passages, pictures of family, certificates of achievement, photos of their WHY (i.e. working hard to save for retirement at the beach), etc. Having these inspirational pieces make your office more enjoyable to be at and help you to relax. Music, smells (i.e. candles), sounds (i.e. fountains) can also help to make a more relaxing environment. Think about the most relaxing place you enjoy going and try to bring in a few of those attributes to your office space.

  2) Keep your office space neat and organized. While some people believe they work better in their piles, it has been studied and proven that piles create more stress, take more of your time looking for things and result in reduced productivity. All of this is related to stress. When you can get things done efficiently, not only do you work at a high performance level but you finish your work quicker. So keeping your office neat and organized will get you out of there sooner and reduce your stress while you are in it.

  3) Cluttered space is a combination of the two challenges above. It is important to ‘weed” through your stuff and get rid of things. In today’s digital world with a good computer file system and a strong back up system, you can reduce the paper you have. There is a book on Feng Shi and Clutter that tells the cost of clutter in your office and home… just saving things that can be recycled requires you to have more space, more heating/sq. ft. expense, etc. Clutter can make you feel like you have more to do and make it more difficult for you to “finish” tasks as you get distracted with clutter that you touch trying to complete a task. It is a great practice to at least ONCE a year empty your office and sort as you put it back, returning only things that are needed.

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

  Tags: relax, stress, Work Environment

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