Kathryn’s Home Office

Meet Kathryn Mayer, CEO of executive coaching firm KC Mayer Consulting, Inc.

I first met Kathryn Mayer in 2007, a few months before she and her husband made a lifestyle shift, from a dark, pre-war one-bedroom on Manhattan’s Upper West Side to a larger, brighter newly renovated luxury condo in a landmark building in Midtown.

I love working with clients preparing to move, as the act of packing-up and moving-out provides a unique opportunity to think fresh about every day needs. In Kathryn’s case, I was more excited, as Kathryn runs her business from home. This move meant that Kathryn – for the first time since company launch – would have a designated office from which to run her firm.

Kathryn and I did a Home IQ in her old space. She articulated these professional goals:

• • To increase productivity
  • To not clutter up the new office
  • To make a space that’s appealing, functional, and efficient

As we began to Maeve’s Method her desk, we further refined her goals:

• • To put books around me because they inspire me
  • To hide all the binders because they don’t inspire me
  • To have a success board that is in front of me that motivates me
  • To put my tennis photos near by as they inspire me

A few months, later Kathryn and her husband made their move. On her own, she set up the new office using Maeve’s Method to guide her along. I stopped in one day to help her refine systems and found her in amazing shape:

The move forced me to get rid of stuff I didn’t need and organize stuff that I did. Lots of little things added up: I downsized to one jar of pens. I organized the supplies and files into Like Things. My new desk is clearer than the old one – I can actually work on it.

I was equally thrilled to find Kathryn in a sea of mirrors, bright lights and color. Kathryn confidently combined her style – to be surrounded by memorabilia and inspiration items – with my ideas on how to best to display visuals so they support – rather than detract from – a professional environment. Kathryn shared her reflections on the process:

What stuck with me most [from Maeve’s Method] was the idea of welcoming in inspiration areas. I have to accommodate a lot of reference materials – there’s no getting around that. Some are visually fun, and some are not. You helped me to comfortably mix-and-match.

She also shared what kept her moving forward as she set up her new space:

I was motivated by the opportunity to finally have a real office. We moved from smaller space to a bigger one that is functional. My past office was a make-shift space – this was custom-designed. I was an active participant in the design.

And her biggest take-away:

I feel great in this space. It’s functional and it’s me. I feel eager and ready to get to work in the morning.

Click through Kathryn’s journey below ↓ Enjoy!

Best,
Maeve