The Most Important Question To Answer This Summer

Summer is simply magical. 

We might be in the final rush of graduations, school musical performances, booking vacations, but come June, the magic of summer arrives. 

Lazy mornings, exciting travels, new adventures, and memories that you will retell for the next several decades. 

Or does it?

Do you dread summer starting because you haven’t yet made plans, schools out means crazy camp schedules and kid entertainment options or family reunions you would rather not attend?

The most important question to ask yourself this summer is:

Did I create memories and impact?

Skip forward to September and imagine you are looking back on your summer. What impact do you want to have made in your whole life, not just your work life?

What memories do you want to create with friends and family?

Summer is the perfect time to be Thoughtfully Ruthless with your time, energy, and resources. Download your free executive Assessment here and you can use the summer to create more hours for those memories, or find new ways to protect yourself from burnout. 

Summer is the perfect time to reset how involved you are with your team. My bet is they want you to be LESS involved than you are today saving you hours. 

Summer is the perfect time to prioritize friends time. Friends are those who you choose to be with, so have to fill you with energy not drain you. 

Summer is the perfect time for trying something new. I’m daring to do real camping this July. (Not even glamping, real camping) wish me luck. 

Summer is the perfect time for creative projects. I have a CEO client who has just decided to start painting again after a decade hiatus. 

Summer is the perfect time to give back, adopt a new cause as a family. 

Summer is the perfect time to try new ways of living. We have “boss days” where in turn a daughter is the boss for the day. She decides everything that day from where we go, what we do, what and when we eat, and what happens when arguments happen. It’s highly entertaining and incredibly freeing to not have to parent for a day! —some of my clients implement this in their team where they let a team member make the decisions for a day. 

What are you going to experiment with this summer?

Cheers to beautiful memories and a summer of impact. 

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/

Do You Know And Believe Just How Amazing You Are?

Only one in 10 people knows just how amazing they are and can talk about it clearly and concisely.
Mark Cuban is one. You only have to watch him when he enters a bidding war on Shark Tank, confidently telling the spotlighted entrepreneur that he is the only one who can help with that person's business because of his knowledge of technology, or that his past accomplishments in their industry will catapult their success. It is no surprise he has invested the most money, closed the most deals, and experienced the most success (with 27 of the 28 companies doing well).
 For many, it doesn't come naturally to talk about what you are great at, but anyone who can't is likely missing out. In my prior corporate life I interviewed and promoted many executives for creative, technical, and leadership roles at Microsoft, Amazon, and BMW. I met thousands of brilliant people, but those who stood out were those who were brilliant at demonstrating their brilliance.
Before you start thinking about how you can be as bold as Cuban, first you have to know who you are and what you want to be known for.
Here are four ways to discover how amazing you are:

• Describe in one sentence why you are unique.

• Pick three distinct traits that set you apart from your peers.

• List your five proudest accomplishments.

• Record 10 of the sound bites you are known for.

I’ve asked thousands of executives the above four questions and it does not come easily for many, but the results are worth it.  
Last week on stage during my keynote talk, I asked 600 CEOs and executives at Ingram Micro’s Trust X Alliance to share one of their proudest business achievements with their fellow executives. The room exploded with animated story telling, though many admitted afterwards it didn't come with comfort or ease.
 The full set of answers usually require some thought and reflection. Take some time with this exercise; you may even have to ask others for feedback, especially on the sound bites you are known for. This becomes the Thoughtfully Ruthless Leadership Voice that you want to be recognized for; once you've created it, you can determine how to portray it to those around you.
 If you don't know the unique value you have to offer, how will you represent it to others, and how will people remember you? Once you do know your unique value, you can determine how much of this shows up in what you say and where you play.
I’d love to hear your 1,3,5, and 10 above - the first 10 to reply I’ll give you personalized feedback on how to use it for maximum impact.
I’m going to be in London June 18-20, do you know someone I should meet? - I love introductions.

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/

How To Get A Fully Staffed Team

Imagine your life if you were at 100% headcount with zero open roles to hire for.

It might seem as far fetched as winning the lottery but it is closer than you think and just as valuable!

It is easy to get distracted with delivering and responding to your CEO/Board/Customers demands which seem desparately important right now but nothing is more of a priority than filling your open roles. Here are five ways to rapidly do that:

1. Make sure the ball is not in your court

Consider all of your open roles you are hiring for, are others relying on you to send them information, make a decision, or make progress? - It is time to return the serve and make sure that the ball isn’t in your court to avoid preventable delays. 

2. Don’t rely on your recruiters to recruit for you

Every recruiter I have ever met is ridiculously overloaded. Business leaders have unrealistic expectations about what their recruitment teams can actually do for them. You have to take ownership for hiring key roles yourself, or provide the right capacity and capability for your recruitment teams.

3. Tell your network who you are looking to hire

Last week I launched The Wright Exchange, an invite only executive community event bringing together CEOs and Senior Executives. An unexpected bonus of the event was the spontaneous referrals and recommendations executives were giving each other for their open roles. Are you letting your network know who you want to hire?

4. Spend 50% of your time hiring

As unthinkable as this is, if you have a direct report opening on your team, you need to prioritize 50% of your time preparing, assessing, and interviewing candidates for that position. You won’t get fast traction without it. 

5. Temporarily over invest in your hiring pipeline

One company I worked with was desperately under resourced and their open roles were severely impacting their ability to deliver their revenue goals. I showed them how their hiring pipeline couldn’t even keep them up with their usual attrition levels, never mind the new roles they wanted to hire. We calculated the company had to invest seven figures to hit their hiring plan. Which they approved, we implemented, and they hit record profit levels that year because they had hit their hiring plan showing a 9x return on investment. Is your hiring pipeline dehydrated and costing you money?

You make choices every day where you spend your time and so does your team. How can you refocus today?

I'm going to be in London week of June 17 speaking at three Gartner Evanta Executive Summits for CIOs, CISOs, and CHROs - know someone who would like a ticket - or someone I should meet when I am that side of the pond? - I love introductions!

I am also going to be in Savannah, Seattle, Palo Alto, New York, and Phoenix over the next few months - let me know if there is someone I should meet in any of those cities.

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/