Can You Be Easily Proven Wrong?

I despise every aspect of camping. Bad food, uncomfortable sleep, insects, all that preparation. Give me a delightful hotel any day. 

In fact for the last two years I did just that, my husband took my camping loving daughters into the forest while I took our other daughters to a hotel for a different kind of holiday (with pillows, pools, and uninterrupted sleep!)

Until this year I decided to base my opinion on an actual experience rather than what I thought it would be like. 

A recent study showed that 70% of Americans lie about their vacation, the length, location, and joy it brings. So you won’t get that from me here. Camping is a lot of work to prepare and return from but unexpectedly I really loved the trip. 

I was ready to be proven wrong. 

I see this in companies everywhere, the most successful leaders go out and test their opinions and genuinely are open to being proven wrong. 

How you react when you are proven wrong will determine if others will point out when you are wrong in the future. 

We’ve all encountered the boss who very clearly does not want to be told that they are wrong. People then stop pointing it out. 

Do you have people around you who tell you what you need to know or what you think you want to hear?

My nine year old twins and 11 year old are delighted I’m willing to be proven wrong. 

Four days in the forest of Lake Arrowhead I got to see the joys of my daughters learning to carve sticks, make fire, discover new plants and creatures, and get the best workout ever on a giant inflatable lake assault course!

I hope your summer is bringing you as much fun!

Dedicated to growing your business,

Val

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How To Succeed In July With Maximum Results

July might well be filled with fireworks, campfires, and road trips, but for many executives July 1 brings the start of your new financial year, or the start of H2. 

Here’s six ways to make sure July sets off your success for the rest of the year:

Be Thoughtfully Ruthless with your teams Time:

1. Get your team to individually evaluate if they are focusing in the right spot. You can download the Thoughtfully Ruthless Executive Assessment for them here and work through their results with them.2. Delete all reoccurring meetings and start from scratch to design what meetings are needed with minimum people to hit specific goals.

Check the collective energy of your organization:

3. Consider when you last had all of your team in one room together. When I worked with Lance Ralls, the CIO of Belkin to bring his global team together to find new ways to innovate, he immediately gained new ideas that impacted revenue and significant customer service improvements. 

4. Ask your team how you can remove what’s zapping their energy and increase what boosts their energy. You will unlock new capacity in your teams. 

Test if you are truly Thoughtful Ruthless with your Resources:

5. Ask the managers in your organization if they have their best people on your top priorities. 

6. Take the Tolerating Mediocrity Test and set goals for your managers to eradicate mediocrity in their teams. 

Now you can get back to your BBQs and vacations knowing your teams are driving the greatest impact for your customers, shareholders, and investors. 

Happy July!

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/

What Exactly Makes A Presentation Brilliant?

*Are you enthralled or rolling your eyes?

*Are you distracted by your phone or mesmerized?

*Do you feel like someone is reading your mind and explaining just how you feel or do you think they are from another planet?

Most importantly:

*Do you immediately know what you are going to do next?

Not only do I talk at many conferences each year, I also work with executives to prepare them to be brilliant on stage at internal company events or external industry conferences. 

Here’s five ways to make your next talk brilliant:

1. Ditch the slides! You do not need them. Jared Caretesten, CISO at RCH used five letters in his closing keynote. I’m a fan of being concise and his presentation was perfect. He had five letters, A,B,C,D, and E on five slides and shared a lesson for each letter. Memorable and the audience focused on what he was saying, not complex PowerPoint slides. 

2. Decide What Happens Next - what you want your audience to do differently after they have heard you.

3. Tell contagious stories that prompt others to tell their stories. I often tell the story how one of my CEO clients increased their share price by 37% in the first three months of her appointment. That prompts others telling me stories of success or not such great success of their first three months in their new executive role. 

4. Be brilliant at sharing your brilliance. What are you most proud of, how often do you tell the stories of your accomplishments? Too often we hold back, don’t want to appear to be bragging, or opt for being humble when your brilliance will truly help others. 

Now go command your stage!

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/