Book Of The Week Winner: Words That Work

Lioness Magazine just announced Words That Work as their book of the week.

You can read the full interview here. My favorite question they asked me was who the book is for and why people should read it. Here’s my reply:

If you’ve ever replayed a pitch, a meeting or a conversation back and wished you could have a second take at what you said, this book is for you. Too many times, it’s easy to get caught up in preparing precise presentation slides or detailed spreadsheets without spending the time to plan and practice exactly what you will say and how you will say it.
Words That Work is full of quotes and scripts that tell you just what to say to get the results you’re looking for with your board, your investors, your team and your peers. It deconstructs the power of language and gives you tools you can immediately use to communicate your personal and company purpose that will deliver you profitable growth.

Take a moment today:
Ask yourself if you are having candid conversations with your teams about the most-difficult-often-avoided topics…

…it’s easy to be too cautious and hold back, when the opposite is needed
…it is easy to avoid rather than face conversations that need to be had
…it’s easy to form habits of avoiding and placating situations when sometimes you have to agitate
…it’s easy to do this if you create your own “truth telling norms” with your team and peers about just how candid you can be with each other and how you will go about sharing your candid feedback.

Are your truth telling conversations happening at the right moment with the relevant people?

Chapter One of Words That Work gives you the tools and techniques you need to create a truth telling culture around you. You can download it here.

Send me back your reflections from any of the tools shared in Chapter One before the end of June and I’ll share some personalized advice for you.

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/

Read These Top Three Stories In The WSJ Today

I love Sunday mornings with a pot of coffee, listening to British radio station Soul Central Radio, and the real paper version of the Wall Street Journal. (Online scrolling just doesn’t cut it for me…)

As I mentioned last week, I’ve just completed seven days of travel for technology conferences, private leadership retreats, brand strategy development, and acquisition integration. 

I took an extra day to myself before flying home and sleeping for ten hours straight. So Sunday morning was even more meaningful when I got to enjoy the cool California morning and read these thought provoking pieces. 

Each could have been featured alone in this week's VALuable Insights as its own topic but I couldn’t pick between them so you get the rapid version of each!

YES I know these are behind a paywall but I really do recommend you subscribe and get the old school style paper delivered to your door each morning. It’s worth it. 

Should Mayo Have A Purpose?

• Love this particularly as I have been working a lot lately with Chief Marketing Officers on brand strategy and how companies can define who they really are (and how much their customers and employees really care!)

• Terry Smith, one of Unilever’s largest shareholders gave my favorite quote.

• It supports my belief that you can’t pretend to have a purpose or reason for being that is made up or doesn’t deliver return on investment for your shareholders.

• This article is packed full of examples where chasing a purpose for the sake of a marketing campaign is a waste of time and money!

Why Social Media For Making Connections Isn’t All Bad According to Those Younger Than Me

• Reed Hoffman has the 10th Edition of the book he co authored out The Start Up of You, and offers some interesting insights into those younger than me (or is it younger than I? My British / American grammar confuses me no end these days…but you get the point.)

Where Peloton Went Wrong and Can’t They Fix it?

• Peloton executives must have whiplash from the speed they have gone from superhero to villain and back again so many times in the last few years.

• The deconstruction of the events of their Rapid Growth certainly will feature in a future new edition of Rapid Growth Done Right as an example of what not to do during Rapid Growth!

• This fascinating case study is unfolding before our eyes as we peddle, run, and meditate through endless classes…

• I’m sure the PR shot of the executive team breaking ground on the new Peloton Factory doesn’t fill everyone with the optimism and hope that it once did!

If you want to read more about how creating a Company Purpose that isn’t based on marketing fluff or nebulous claims check out Words That Work, Kogan Page, 2022, to learn more or text / email me and we can talk live!

…I’ll be in Europe in July, and traveling very sporadically in June and August, so if you are thinking of a strategy retreat, conference, workshop, or event let me know now so you get your preferred dates on my calendar for 2022 and 2023!

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 Enjoy Being Back Traveling For Business Again

Carlsbad, Austin, and Houston this week.

This is actually a record for me even in pre-pandemic times. Three events in six days with three different companies. Keynote talks, strategy retreats, board retreats, brand development, and executive team performance is my focus for the next week. 

I've heard a lot from executives lately about the tension of stress and joy of returning to business travel. Mainly stemming from feeling like untested expectations are unrealistic. When actually failing to reset habits is the true cause. 

Here's how to handle returning to business travel…

• Preparation Yes, it is going to take you far longer to pack and you will forget things but nothing that instacart or online delivery in your country can’t solve….

• The real preparation you need to do is with those who work with you. Let them know how to contact you and who to talk to in your absence.

• It is unrealistic to expect that those traveling can keep up with the deluge of texts, IM’s, Slacks, and emails. Cover their back. Help them out. Set rules for what to expect when from those traveling again. There won’t be the immediate responses that we have all grown accustomed to.

• Reality Check Don’t go back to your old travel schedule. Travel will never be the same…Customer visits will never be the same… Conferences will never be the same. Ask everyone. How can we do this differently?

• Customers are looking for new ways to interact. Customer Advisory Boards are the new powerhouse, do you have one? Let me know and I can share work I have been doing that transforms how your customers view you.

• Building in fun Nope, I don’t mean cheesy team building. I mean laughing till you cry, hugging people ( if you both like to hug), being sarcastic if that’s ok in your country and company culture and finding ways to laugh at yourself. Work doesn’t have to be annoying and tedious and some of the toughest work assignments are made easier when you get to laugh along the way.

• Find a common thing you and your team like to do together. Whether that is eating, sight seeing, Learning about the history of the city you are visiting or helping a local good cause.

• We all have a lot of catching up to do. So whether you love or hate going out with those you work with, perhaps it is time to adopt some new habits.

Dawn Ringstaff, VP of Channel at Area 1 Security is a great role model for adopting new habits. As we say talking before 400 technology leaders gather for the Women of The Channel event tomorrow. Dawn shared how she has recently adopted a new habit of approaching anyone who is sat alone at a conference to ask if they really want to be alone or want to talk. 

Imagine that. For every one person who found it hard before lockdown to socialize with strangers… there are ten times as many who find it hard today to initiate conversation and say hello. 

Be like Dawn, approach someone sat alone and check if being on their own is a choice or if they would like to say hello. 

Ask your team how they want to reconnect. 

Meanwhile, you can never be too early to book into my calendar. 

…I’ll be in Europe in July, and traveling very sporadically in June and August, so if you are thinking of a strategy retreat, conference, workshop, or event let me know now so you get your preferred dates on my calendar for 2022 and 2023!

If you want to read more about how to find new ways to communicate, check out Words That Work, Kogan Page, 2022, to learn 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/