We can’t turn on the tv, email or social media accounts over the past few weeks without hearing about the coronavirus. I was coaching my Girls on the Run team yesterday when I heard that the Governor of Ohio was shutting down all public schools for the next three weeks. There was a feeling of panic and heaviness in the air. In my own house, we have been contemplating for days whether we still take our vacation that was planned for next week. All of this got me thinking about how we handle …
Birthday Reflections
My youngest daughter, Dylan, turns 3 today. For her birthday, we are retiring her crib and tonight she moves into her big girl toddler bed. It's an exciting day in the Riffert house. Neither of my girls ever climbed out of their cribs at night, so we kept them in there as long as possible. I liked knowing (with a fair degree of certainty) that they were contained and safe. They are fiercely independent little girls and, to me, there was a sense of comfort knowing they wouldn't get out of …
Leave Your Footprint
“Don’t be in such a hurry to move onto the next thing. Make sure you linger long enough to leave your footprint.” Years ago, I had a boss impart those words of wisdom on me. At the time they went in one ear and seemingly out the other. I was 27, working at PepsiCo and newly appointed into a General Manager role. I had been successfully “climbing the corporate ladder” to that point with a new role every 2 years. At that point, my focus was largely on increasing my responsibilities and …
Anything, Not Everything
One of my fellow coaches likes to say, “Anything is possible. Everything is not.” I often get asked about how you “do it all”; especially as a business owner and mom of very young kids. The honest answer is…you don’t. This question really comes down to two things: time management and prioritization. You have make choices. You choose every single minute of every single day what the priority is and what you are going to spend your time on. I always have a running “to do” list and throughout …
Lessons From the Playroom
There is a sign hanging in my daughters’ playroom that I look at every time we go in there; my girls are 1 and 3, so we are in there quite often. It is entitled Superhero Rules and I bought with the hope it inspires strength in my girls. However, each time I look at it I keep thinking about how so much of it relates back to things I talk with my clients about. Here is how the superhero rules apply to business too: Be Brave – Take risks. Dream big! Take chances and do the things others are too …
Stinky Feet
On my recent flight to a conference in Vancouver, a nicely dressed and very polite father and son were seated next to me. Upon boarding, the father looked at me and said about his son, “My apologies for his lack of personal hygiene”. Apparently, the father thought his 12-year-old son was a little rank. The two took their seats with the son sitting next to me. I didn’t notice the boy’s presumed lack of deodorant. Its what happened next that got me. The father took off his shoes and instantly …