Let’s face it Santa is the ultimate servant leader. Here are seven ways to supervise – and, ideally, serve – with the same spirit as the man in the red suit.

1. BE JOLLY

Even when you’ve been up all night. Attitude is everything and you have to inspire others to have a positive attitude. [Read more…]

So this is my dining room table. Lil’ scary, huh? It’s my actual December to do list in 3D form. Which is, unfortunately, how I operate best. Well, it’s how I operate anyway. I suppose best is debatable. I am very visual and very tactile and I seem to need a physical reminder of the tasks before me. The problem is I also have to do things in chunks. And there just don’t seem to be enough chunks of time these days!

What you won’t see in this room or anywhere else in my house yet are Christmas decorations. I know! It’s kind of sad. And I really love decorating for the holidays, so I will, eventually. Soon. But first I am determined to end the year on an organized note, so I simply cannot decorate until some of the projects on the dining room table are complete. [Read more…]

Ever have one of those days where in your mind you knew what you needed to do and were so sure you wouldn’t forget, but next thing you know it’s 5 pm and guess what you forgot? Yep, me too! Like a little too often lately. Like today.

This time of year it’s very easy to get distracted with so much on our minds and on our to do lists before year end at work and with the holidays upon us. Add to this staff that may be in and out more often at this time of year (or working from home!) and it’s a perfect storm for getting overwhelmed and off-track. Santa isn’t the only one who should be making his list and checking it twice!

One of my main functions at The Branch is focusing on our systems and procedures and ensuring our daily actions are driving our bigger goals. It’s my favorite part of the job and it gives me the opportunity to do a lot of training and cheerleading. As a mia culpa to my lateness in this very blog post, I’m sharing with you a team training message I sent weeks ago after returning to work from an extended absence due to illness.

We live in a fast-paced world and the event industry is very hectic at times. I hope this gives you some incentive to slow down and stick to your systems.

TGIF!

~ Christine [Read more…]

It’s hard to believe it was a year ago that Debby and I were coming home from San Jose after an amazing couple of days at Oprah’s ‘Live Your Best Life’ tour. I keep thinking of us all fired up on the plane ride home – papers spread all over our laps – revising our ideal org chart and mapping our dreams for The Branch.

Toots (as I affectionately refer to Deb) and I both love Oprah. We believe in the benefits of self-reflection, self-knowledge and setting personal goals. One of our many bonding moments early on in our friendship was reading and discussing Eckhart Tolle’s A New Earth. Heading to see Oprah and her panel of growth gurus was a dream come true for us. It was beyond exciting to have the chance to hear people like Rob Bell and Elizabeth Gilbert speak – to meditate with Deepak Chopra! I mean! Just incredible. [Read more…]