How To Quickly Use Fewer Words For Greater Results

If a CMO of a complex global $10 billion-plus company can write their strategy on one page, why can’t you? One of the executives I am working with created a paper placemat for her CEO to review her new strategy. All on one page. It enabled her to get her new three-year plan approved in record time, and allowed the executive team to consume her new strategy at the right level without getting lost in the details.

She did it by using the following Executive Team Communication Rules.

Ten rules for communicating to your executive team and board:

1. Start with the headline first. Your audience will ask you for the detail they need next.

2. Do not use a 125-page deck to convey your message.

3. Speak at the right altitude for your audience.

4. Provide your point of recommendation, not your endless debate.

5. Be clear on the intent of your conversation and state it to prevent crossed wires.

6. Don’t use a paragraph when a sentence will do.

7. Don’t use a sentence when one word will do.

8. Don’t use a word when silence will do.

9. Preview key recommendations one-to-one before communicating topics of importance.

10. Recap and summarize what will happen next before the meeting ends.

If you follow these guidelines you will not just improve your influence at the executive level, you will also improve your ability to deliver an impactful presentation.

You can find more communication and influence tips in my book Rapid Growth Done Right here.

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 Be Successful When You Are Exhausted

Danny Green missed a last second game-winning shot on Friday where in game five, the Lakers could have won the NBA finals.

It happens.

The pressure and need to perform when you have been running endlessly around a basketball court doesn’t let up until the final seconds have counted down on the clock.

Sound familiar?

It is Friday night at 7pm, and you thought you had switched off from work and you get “that text” that sends you over the edge.

You’ve been up all night with your sick dog/kid/aging relative and the next morning you have the unexpected resignation / technical crisis / competitor leapfrogging your marketing strategy.

The pressure is on, the cameras are watching, and the social media hounds are going to be tearing you apart in the recap / analysis tomorrow.

So what exactly do you do to improve the probability that you will be successful when you are exhausted?

• First, only talk to people who can really help you. Yes that means cancelling meetings, upsetting people, missing commitments, and having to ignore your 12,503 emails in your inbox. Focus on what matters to get you past your point of exhaustion.

• Second, make exhaustion the exception, not the rule.  You cannot run a marathon with a series of 200 meter sprints just as you cannot continue to work to exhaustion every month of the year.  Outsource your non-core activities at work and in your personal life. Focus only on activities that you are uniquely qualified to do.  Assess if you have the capability and capacity on your leadership team to achieve your goals.  Pace yourself and take time off after your product ships or your deadline passes.

• Third, honestly assess if you are getting the sleep, nutrition and exercise you need.It is easy to get into the downward spiral of unhealthiness.  COD-19 giving you a change in your muscle:body fat ratio is real! - catch it now and change your habits before the holiday season piles on the damage that could easily be corrected right now.

• Finally. find someone who will hold you accountable, even in the last 10 seconds.Best intentions can get lost if you are relying on your own will power.  Set and share your goals with others and ask them to hold you to them. Build an enviable inner circle of advisers who you can call on for advice.  Invest in yourself by hiring an advisor who will accelerate your goals before you get to exhaustion.

What countdown are you currently working against?  How can you maintain your performance until the final bell sounds? Call me today if you want to explore how we may be able to partner.

…hitting the wall of exhaustion isn’t irretrievable. Danny Green might have lost the game on Friday, but the Lakers went on to win the NBA finals two days later on Sunday, that is the power of a strong team behind you.

And of course: LeBron James. Say no more.

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 Implement The Most Powerful 15 Minute Meeting

Anyone else all zoomed /teams’d out right now? I guarantee you that this 15 minute meeting will actually be useful and impactful.

There is a meeting that at first sounds so simple, but is incredibly effective. Julie Bernard, when Chief Marketing Officer at Verve held a 15-minute meeting with the Chief Information Officer every single day.

I interviewed Julie in my latest book Rapid Growth, Done Right, Kogan Page.

Here she describes just how it works: Every morning I have a 15-minute meeting with the head of technology, always a phone call, never a Slack or instant message chat. The purpose is to check in and ensure all is going to plan, that everything is ok, that the team is on track. It is an opportunity for me to understand what I can be doing – anything on my end that can be done to overcome hurdles and remove organizational and/or barriers that are getting in the way of progress. Since so many of my goals are tied to receiving support from the technology teams, it is critical to stay close to them and make sure we are collaborative, cooperative and, overall, watching each other’s back. My team will never ever hear me say, "The technology team is terrible," or that the IT support is appalling. I always emphasize that if they have an issue, they need to be specific so we can resolve it. I am a big believer in upholding the team as a whole and positioning our tech partners honorably.

The reason this works for Julie is that she is implementing what I call Powerful Preemptive Communication. This saves ten times the amount of time it would have taken otherwise. I love the simplicity of Julie’s connection and the ultimate dedication to building the relationship between the technology and marketing teams and taking away friction.

How effective are your technology and creative teams working together?

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/