How To Stop Your Team From Quitting

Last week I led an event for a leadership team and then their whole division. One particular person stood out. He told me:

"I'll be honest, at the start of this week I was ready to accept one of the many offers I've received from other companies, but after what you created today, it's like my first day at work again, I'm so excited for all the ways I can make a real impact on the business."

Your leadership offsides, retreats, all hands, and company meetings can cause your team to eye roll, nod off, or return those headhunter calls if you aren't Thoughtfully Ruthless about the results and impact you want to create. --not a fluffy team building exercise in sight!

It costs on average 1.5X a persons compensation to replace them. 

Imagine if your next event prevented just one person from quitting ---never mind the additional capacity you unlock when you galvanize your organization. 

Two Years ago, BritWeek hosted my book launch party of Thoughtfully Ruthless. Two awards and thousands of sold copies later, I love to hear how people and companies are using it to create exponential growth. 

I'd love to hear what impact Thoughtfully Ruthless has had on your business and whole life, email me val@valwrightconsulting.com or give me a call, 626 387 7600. 

Dedicated to growing your business,

Val

P.S. I hope you enjoyed this week's VAL-uable Insights, sign up here to get them in your inbox each Monday morning: http://valwrightconsulting.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Are You Brilliant At Demonstrating Your Brilliance?

It isn’t enough that you are brilliant. You perhaps are the world’s best-kept secret, if you have ever thought:
 

“How did they get that job? It should have been me!”
“I just get results, I don’t play the game other executives do.”
“I worked so hard last year, yet I still didn’t get promoted.”

 
How many times have you been shocked when someone you know was promoted, hired into a dream job, or received public recognition for his or her perceived success? In these cases, you are likely witnessing people who are brilliant at demonstrating their brilliance.
 
“There is absolutely no way he should be a CEO, Val. He has jumped companies, never delivered, and can’t possibly be a CEO,” said an executive I was working with. He was telling me about someone he had known for many years—a person who had been a peer and then went on to be a CEO. I told him that the sole reason he was frustrated was because he was seeing someone who was brilliant at demonstrating his brilliance. In fact, the point was that this person could even be masking his inferior brilliance because he was so good at talking about what he thought he was good at.

I created the Brilliance Barometer that identifies the ten ways exceptional leaders demonstrate their brilliance consistently:

1.  Find it easy to talk about results
2.  Share stories that demonstrate quantifiable impact
3.  Concisely communicate
4.  Have a strong positive inner voice
5.  Are great storytellers
6.  Shamelessly speak
7.  Use metaphors and analogies
8.  Appropriately talk about their enviable inner circle of advisers
9.  Are happy to laugh at themselves
10. Share and learn from their mistakes

Which of these come naturally to you?
 
Dedicated to growing your business,

Val

How To Find Executive Events That Are The Perfect Match

Do you find yourself at a conference where you are giving more than you are receiving? Once someone looks at your name badge and sees you are at a big company name, do the requests start flowing for introductions, connections, and possible ways you can help them?

Conferences have to be mutually beneficial, which is why when the executives I work with ask me if they should attend or speak at specific events, I say that they need to be ruthless about finding out exactly who else will be in the room.

Last week I was at the Ascendant Network’s Retail and Digital events in New York where I spoke on The Influence Bullseye last year. What Susan McDermid and her team have created with these events is truly unique. You have to be nominated to join, and have the council approve your application, while the initiation process might seem arduous, the investment is certainly worth it. You get to spend time with your fellow executive peers for candid, thought provoking discussions. You even have the opportunity to have a rapid executive coaching session with experts in strategy, innovation, and leadership while you are there if you choose. If you are a CMO, or executive in retail or digital strategy, let me know if you want to hear more, the next event is in Silicon Valley in October.

If you are unsure whether to attend an event, make sure you speak to other peers who have attended and ask them for their honest take. One of my clients was considering joining the Wall Street Journal CIO summit, and I realized I knew one of the council members, who I called to get their insights. With that feedback, my client decided to join.

Sometimes sponsorship makes sense, you might be a CIO or CFO and there is an event that your company could benefit from sponsoring. I am on the board of Harvest Summit, an innovative field trip that brings together Hollywood, Silicon Valley, and the food and wine industry. This isn’t a functional or industry based event, more of a creative meeting of minds of CEOs and executives to cross pollenate ideas and new innovations. Ask me if you want to learn more or be considered for an invitation.

My final recommendation are with Evanta Gartner events. They have functional based summits that are created by the very CMOs / CIOs / CFOs that they serve. Their governing body dinner the evening prior to the conference allows executives to mingle and meet their peers, then the following day many bring their leadership team to hear topics presented by leaders in their industry. They are regionally based. I’m happy to introduce you to the Evanta team if you want to learn more. 

Ask yourself are you always giving at the executive events you attend and not getting anything in return? If so, it is time to find some new places to hang out!

Dedicated to growing your business,

Val

P.S. I hope you enjoyed this week's VAL-uable Insights, sign up here to get them in your inbox each Monday morning: http://valwrightconsulting.com/newsletter-sign-up/