Are You Crushing It Every Day?

“Love your family, work super hard, live your passion.” - Gary Vaynerchuk, from Crush It! Great words from Gary in one of my favorite books (I require all of my clients to read). He is spot on with this one.

See how he constructs the quote — Family — Work — Passion. Not the other way around.

Unfortunately, many of the C-Level clients I coach work it the other way and find they're not happy, they have a shitty marriage, they never see their kids or their kids hate them, and their only passion in life is putting in mucho hours on the job. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

Yes — you've got the three M's — Money, Mansion, Mercedes (or Maserati) — but deep down, you're not happy. Something is missing and time is running out.

So here goes — you can have all three — it's just how you look at them AND how you prioritize them. I am currently working with the CEO/Owner of a top engineering firm and we're currently spinning the sequence around to help him enjoy the benefits of his labor. He's built the organization from the ground up and now it's time to enjoy life!

NUMBER ONE RULE — Family Comes First. No exceptions.

I'm not saying to fill up your calendar with family-oriented activities and let work suffer. Within reason, try to start your workweek by making time for your wife/partner, kids, friends, etc. If there is a baseball game, a romantic dinner, a morning run, hiking at the park — make sure it is recorded and blocked off on your calendar FIRST.

Again, within reason — I understand you work for a living. But taking a vacation day once in awhile is fine, even encouraged. Leave work early to catch your son's or daughter's soccer game. Come in late because you took your family to an early breakfast at your favorite diner. You know, the one where you all sit together with no TV, no smartphones and just eat and talk.

ACTION: Get your assistant in your office right now and start blocking off your calendar. TODAY.

NUMBER TWO RULE — Work Super Hard. But work smart.

I know you work hard. That's how you got to your position in the first place. But what got you to the captain's chair probably won't help you stay happy there. You worked hard, put in the thousands of hours of blood, sweat and tears. You made all the right decisions (and a few stinkers). You made the right connections with the right people. YOU HUSTLED.

Now it's time to sit in the captain's chair and start delegating even more. Don't act like Captain Kirk and accompany the away team on every mission, stay on-board the Enterprise and direct your resources in strategic ways. What got you here isn't going to keep you here for very long without compromising your home life, your happiness, and your health. You're not getting any younger either.

ACTION: Look at all your meetings and start culling them down by 10%. Stop reading every email/text that comes in. Have your assistant monitor your information flow and decide what get priority. They're the gatekeeper — ensure they guard the gate.

Cut down on one-on-ones with everyone — start to develop a sharper pyramid reporting structure with very few people touching you (no more than 5-7) Remember the Godfather? He had three direct reports — his Consigliere (who died - morte), and two Capos — Clemenza and Tessio. That's it.

NUMBER THREE RULE — Live Your Passion. But find what your REAL passion is.

Too many C-Level executives hit the big show and start to abuse the passion that got them there. They forget the fun, innovation, excitement and give in to boredom, politics, and hitting the targets for their buddies on the board. The world becomes pedantic and the passion flows out of them.

They try to make safe decisions and safe moves, and impact their business, their organization, and their customers. They prioritize their bonus, their safety, and their reputation over what's really important. I know it's hard, but sometimes you have to sacrifice the temporary pleasures to fully engage with what really matters. It's not all money (and if you believe it is - READ THIS - another mandatory book I recommend to C-Level clients).

ACTION: Sit down and assess what your real passions are right at this moment. What gets your motor running? What gets you excited about life? What motivates you to do GREAT work? You need to re-establish a connection with your passion and make sure you fill up your enthusiasm gas tank every day.

Are you crushing it every day?

"No excuses. Make it happen." - Rich Gee

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Three Major Mistakes Many C-Level Executives Make.

Look, your job is hard. Probably one of the hardest in your company. But then again, you are the best and most highly decorated/compensated employee too. But you're human and sometimes it hard to lead and execute perfectly. Over the past 10 years of advising C-Level executives, here are three of the more frequent mistakes made in your day-to-day endeavors running the whole 'lemonade stand':

1. Trying to do everything, not honing in on your talents.

A frequent occurrence since everyone that works for you thinks that you can solve all their problems. Or when issues, obstacles, and opportunities come at you from many directions, it hard not to say no. But you have to say no.

One way to fix this problem is to either say no, or not now. But that's hard to do. The best way to fix this issue is to delegate it to someone below you. You first need to know what key strengths your people exhibit and then you have to apply certain communication/management skills to pass on the task. Then ask them. Most of the time, they are dying to work on more complex/challenging stuff, especially your 'stuff'. Then you can go back and work on things that compliment your talents.

If you don't do this, you'll find that your days are filled with an avalanche of decisions and tasks, many that you're not the best at. And that spells trouble.

2. Less focus on planning, more focus on quick decisions.

When time is short and your to-do list is long, we tend to make more 'shoot-from-the-hip' decisions rather than planning ahead of time. Again, this is a hard thing to do in today's marketplace.

One line of attack is to clearly define key recurring areas that frequently need addressing and to bring your team together to plan for them, rather than waiting for something to blow up. You can segment them into client-based, financial-based, operations-based, marketing-based issues and have key, qualified people responsible to lead the charge. Once areas are planned and options are defined, it's much easier to chart your course in a more educated fashion.

If you don't do this, you'll find that you will spend more time substantiating your decisions with higher-ups, direct reports, and clients and realizing that many unplanned decisions usually aren't the best ones to execute.

3. Not asking for input from multiple sources.

This is the biggest and most important one — and it also aligns with the previous two mistakes. As you get comfortable in your position, it's really easy to insulate oneself from other learned sources when managing, leading, and running the business.

One way to eliminate this mistake is to actively and frequently reach out to people and ask them their opinion on a strategy, direction, or decision. They could be mentors that you've established, previous colleagues that you've worked with, key direct reports you can trust, and even employees that you never talk to. You'll be surprised with their answers — you might find that their line of thinking is completely different from yours. And it might be better!

If you don't do this, you'll slowly find that many people around you will be able to telegraph your position immediately (since you always make the decision) or they shut down completely since you are asking them for advice. Take a chance — listen to other sources.