Tips & Insights for Top Performance

• 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

• 09Sep
  Effective Habits, Executives & Leaders, Goal Setting, Leadership Development, Management Skills, Performance & Productivity, Personal Growth No Comments

  Leaders develop daily, not in a day.  – John Maxwell

   

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

  Tags: Leadership

• 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

• 01Jul

  Summer Productivity

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

  How can I take care of myself and eat healthier at the office when I have a busy schedule? This is hard to do; a challenge I have as well. Being prepared is the key. PLANS and PREPAREDNESS. So, 1) keep health bars, nuts and fruit at your desk. If you get absorbed in your work it is easy to grab something good for you. 2) keep water at your desk. You have to remember to drink it, but keep yourself hydrated will help you think clearer and the needed potty break will force you to step away for a minute! 3) get some fresh air. Do you know your eyes need a break from computer screens and your body needs to stretch. You will work better if you take a 10 minute break – walk outside, stretch and grab a little healthy snack. 4) have a start time and end time. In the summer people can feel more causal and get into work late and then they have to work late, it becomes a viscous cycle. Know when you have to get to work and have an end time so you can get home for some summer R & R. If you are planning to take off Fridays, what will you adjust Monday through Thursday so you can take off Fridays. Have a plan so you get your work done and have down time to take care of yourself and be healthy. I enjoy working and can get distracted with work and neglect taking care of myself. Healthy snacks that are easily accessible, water, breaks and scheduled work hours are all keys to helping to stay on track!

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

  Tags: eat healthier, Summer productivity, take care of myself

• 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

• 11Mar

  Get over it!

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

  “If you’ve gotten off to a slow start, now is your opportunity to speed up. If you’ve been disappointed by the results so far, now is the chance to make some effective positive changes.

  Negative momentum can be powerful. Yet the moment you commit yourself to a positive perspective, that negative momentum is gone.

  Stop worrying and complaining about the fact that your day, your week, your month or your life has gotten off to a bad start. Use this moment right now to interrupt the pattern and point yourself in a positive, empowered, fulfilling direction.

  Your past has brought you where you are, and yet it does not dictate where you can now go. Make the choice to point all of your life in the direction of your dreams.

  Even though you may have experienced great difficulty in getting started, choose now to be thankful for those difficulties you’ve gone through. Be thankful for the strength they’ve enabled you to build, and make positive use of that strength going forward.

  This time, this moment is different, because now you’re in complete control, and determined to make it great. So no matter what may have happened, get over it, and get going toward the best you can imagine.”

  Ralph Marston

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

  Tags: effective positive changes, negative momentum, positive perspective, Ralph Marston

• 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

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