Let a Compass be Your Compass

Hey Gang,

I was listening to the radio the other day and heard a song with the lyrics, "Let your heart be your compass."  I thought that was just a nifty idea.  Let your feelings guide you. Feelings are led by emotions and emotions are always very consistent!

I put this theory to a test and went camping!  I threw out the GPS and any navigational tools that I had packed.  I wanted to take a walk and see where my mental state took me.

At first, I was very happy and excited so I decided to hike into the most condensed woods that I could find.  If I was in this good of a mood, can you imagine how delighted I would be to see a cute fuzzy bunny?   Following my heart, I walked deeper and deeper into the wilderness.  I didn't find any adorable animals.  I did find a lot of insects and a hardy patch of poison ivy!

After several hours, fear and fatigue starting to take over, so I decided to switch it up and let anxiety be my compass.  It was at this point that I tried running away from the most condensed trees in the woods.  My feet were constantly getting tangled in vines and the sun was starting to set. It seemed that leaving a forest isn't as easy as walking into it, so I turned full-blown panic into my compass.

Luckily, some nearby school children heard my screams and led me to safety.  As it turned out I was just in a neighborhood park and a playground was only a quarter of a mile away.  I was grateful to get help, although the parents of the children filed a petition to never let me near the playground again.

I do, though, recommend that everyone should try at least once to let their heart be their compass, but maybe keep a smartphone in your back pocket, just in case trouble arises.

Happy Camping!

Cathy Gainer Corporate Trainer

Get Onboard With Cathy Gainer Corporate Trainer

Hey Gang,

As a Corporate Trainer, who neither works for a corporation nor trains people, I like to keep my ear to the ground on industries that I am not employed in.  I have seen a lot of articles lately about onboarding and the importance of doing it correctly.  I don't really know what the term "onboarding" means, but agree that the process is important.

 Here is some of the information that I have gathered: Onboarding has something to do with new people working at a company.  Contrary to my behavior at new jobs, where I walk in and ask, "Where's my desk? Who is in charge of getting me coffee? What exactly does this business do???" some companies have a whole system designed to get fresh employees "on board" to their new surroundings. As an almost-professional trainer, I have thought of some great ways to improve on this mechanism.

First Day of TRAINing - Rather than having onboarding, companies should have, "All Aboarding!"  This is when the hiring manager or HR reps greet employees on their first day dressed like a train conductor.  The employees will hand their offer letters over and the manager or HR rep will punch holes in it like one of  the cartooned Tom Hanks in The Polar Express.  It would be a hoot!  HR could yell "All Aboard...When I say Chugga, you say Choo Choo....Chugga..."

What's more fun for a new employee than dancing and clapping along with the person that they will be reporting to for the foreseeable future?  Good stuff!

Hang Ten on Day One- Another great idea is to have a surfer theme on the first day of employment.  That same manager or HR rep could greet newbies in a sarong and flip flops (which are huge dress code violations) while carrying a surf board over their shoulders. They could greet everyone saying "Surf's up and so is Benefits Enrollment if we don't hurry and get started."

So Boring- Let's face it onboarding isn't always exciting, so my last idea is to embrace the blase. Give each new hire a fidget spinner on arrival, encourage them to check their phones for messages or even watch You-Tube videos.  "This Onboarding is Oh-So-Boring" could be on a banner hung in their new cubicle.

As always, I love training and hope this helps any hiring professional out there!  Also if anyone wants to hire me, just send me an email.  I have my first-day sarong all ready to go!

Cathy Gainer Corporate Trainer

The Power of Loud!

Hey Gang,

As an aspiring life coach and motivational guru, I have observed that good leaders can inspire others by becoming enthusiastic and blaring their voices.  So many jobs I have worked at (prior to being "let go") the bosses walk in and yell, "Alright everyone, let's have a great day!  Those breakfast burritos aren't going to fry themselves.  I can't stay long, my high school starts in 30 minutes."  I love it!  Nothing motivates me more than noisy people first thing in the morning.

Being loud is really the number one rule to effective leadership.  Granted, I have seem some Grouchy Gus's (other coworkers) get annoyed with the management's positive energy. They will roll their eyes or mutter obscenities underneath their breath. (They always get even more irritated when I ask them, "What did you say???"  while the boss is giving us a pep talk.)  I always feel bad for those coworkers and think if hearing someone holler, "Alright! Alright! Alright!  I want you to work hard so I can look good" doesn't motivate you then I don't know what will.

When I start my life coaching business on a full time basis, the first 20 minutes of my lectures will just be me screaming.  I wont limit my bellows just to large groups that I will inevitably have, I will 20-minute scream in smaller groups or even in one-one-one situations.  When you hire Cathy Gainer Corporate Trainer, you will get 110% of my voice at all times.

In the mean time, I must get back to recycling cans so that I can pay for the noise violation codes that the public library keeps fining me for.  They get mad when I try to inspire and motivate other people at the library.  You have to practice somewhere!

HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!!!

Cathy Gainer Corporate Trainer.