Tag: Vistage

Leadership Quote: To Succeed, Jump As Quickly At Opportunities…

February 24, 2013 by Elisa SpainNo Comments

This month’s leadership quote:

To succeed, jump as quickly at opportunities as you do at conclusions — Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin certainly modeled the prerequisite to living his quote, that is, to stay curious. When we remain curious, we can see the opportunities and avoid jumping to possibly erroneous conclusions. His inventions were all a result of curiosity, trial and error and seizing opportunities.

What might you observe today that merits exploration rather than a conclusion?
What opportunity might be there waiting for you by remaining curious and asking the better questions?

Elisa K.Spain

Laws Of Success: Leadership Lessons From Grandma

February 10, 2013 by Elisa Spain4 Comments

Loved this leadership “poem” written by fellow Vistage chair, Greg Bustin‘s grandmother. She was the leader of her PTA and in going through his family records, Greg found this document that had been typed on his grandmother’s typewriter.

For me she sums up the challenges of leadership rather well,

“The Leader’s Easy Job”

Her job is something like a football in a big game;
First one side has it and then the other:

If she writes a postal, it is too short,
If she sends a letter it’s too long.

If she issues a pamphlet, she is a spendthrift,
If she attempts to safeguard the interests of the association she is trying to run things;
If she does not, she is allowing things to go to the dogs.

If she attends committee meetings, she is intruding,
If she does not, she is a shirker.

If the attendance is slim – well, nobody likes her anyway.
If she tries to help, she is a pest.

If the program is a success, the program committee is praised,
If not, it’s all the president’s fault.

If dues are called for, she is insulting,
If they are not collected, she is to blame.

If she is in a smiling mood, she is frivolous,
If she is serious, she is a sorehead.

If she seeks advice, she is incompetent,
If she does not, she is bull-headed.

If she mixes with the members, she is too familiar,
If she does not, she is too ritzy.

So, ashes to ashes, dust to dust,
If others won’t do it, the president must.

Here’s a link to Greg Bustin’s full blog from which this came.

Laws Of Success: 80% Is Showing Up

February 3, 2013 by Elisa Spain2 Comments

“Eighty percent of success is showing up”, so says Woody Allen.

Sometimes it’s hard to show up when:

we would prefer to be someplace else
we are tired, or not at our best
we have been there before and got nothing out it
it’s out of the way, and it’s snowing
it was a long day at work, and we would rather go home

I am certain we could have a brainstorming session and make a long list of reasons not to show up.

What if, instead, we shared our stories of when we did show up and were surprised by what came from the experience? Here’s a beginning list of a few of my ‘success’ stories:

I was invited to an event, I didn’t want to go because I knew no one. I went anyway and the result was a reconnection with an old friend and a business opportunity.
We were on our way home and my partner suggested we search for a place we heard about. Normally, I would resist, this time I said yes. We had a great experience and unexpectedly, we met the owner of the business who may well become a client.
6 years ago, I was checking references on a prospective executive for a client. I got into conversation with the guy’s boss and ended up meeting him. Turns out he was a Vistage member, encouraged me to become a Chair and gave me the name of his Chair to call. I made the call and the rest, as they say, is history.

What are your stories? Please share your comments.

Leadership Quote: What We Do Today…

January 27, 2013 by Elisa SpainNo Comments

This month’s leadership quote: What we do today, right now, will have an accumulated effect on all our tomorrows. — Alexandra Stoddard

What if we each turned this into an “I” statement? What I do today, right now, will have an accumulated effect on all of my tomorrows…

Here are my questions to consider:

What can I intentionally do today that will have an accumulated effect on my tomorrows?
What about those actions that leave an unintentional wake? What can I do to notice these and prevent their accumulated effect?

Elisa K.Spain

It’s A Dream Until You Write It Down

January 20, 2013 by Elisa SpainNo Comments

Today’s blog post is offered by guest blogger Rick Landuyt, Vistage member and CEO of RFIDeas, One of the Inc 5000 Fastest Growing Companies in America.

It’s a dream until you write it down, then it becomes a goal.

Stretch goals were explicitly designed to push people to think differently about the tasks at hand. Suppose your revenue in 2012 was 20 million. You want to grow it 10% to 22 million, you tweak your marketing ideas, try to get another big account etc… What if you decided to stretch your goal to 30 million – a 50% increase? How would you do it? As you begin to think about this, you will start to realize the benefits of “stretch goals”. It’s not the new revenue number, it’s the thought process.

An interesting side note, my wife and I had the pleasure of spending 10 days at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. There we were able to meet and talk with several ex-Gold medal winners. The one thing they all had in common was they had written goals that they carried with them every day.

Rick Landuydt, RFIDeas

Vistage Confidence Index: CEO Optimism Cools In Q4 2012

January 13, 2013 by Elisa SpainNo Comments

The quarterly Vistage Confidence Index is now available.

More than 1600 Vistage members surveyed in the Q4 Vistage CEO Confidence Index reported a continued slowdown in the pace of economic growth and anticipated overall economic conditions would remain subdued in the first half of 2013.

On the other hand, optimism among small business owners who took the WSJ/Vistage Small Business CEO Survey reversed last month’s decline as renewed economic growth offset concerns about political and economic uncertainty.

Below are some key highlights from the Q4 2012 Vistage CEO Confidence Index (all members surveyed):

63% of CEOs anticipated revenue growth during the year ahead in the fourth quarter survey, down from 73% last year.
49% of CEOs expected increased profits, down from 52% last quarter and 55% last year.
35% of CEOs at year end reported improving economic conditions, down from 60% at the start of 2012.
Combined 86% of CEOs said higher sales, new orders, and an improving economy were the most important influences on increasing the likelihood of hiring new employees.
Planned hiring fell to 45% in the fourth quarter of 2012, down from 55% in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Do Titles Matter?

December 16, 2012 by Elisa SpainNo Comments

Last week I had the chance to listen to Vistage speaker and futurist David Houle. David talked about coming changes, many of which are driven not only by technology, but by Millennials entering the workforce. We are already seeing flattening organizations and a move away from hierarchy and titles and offices and cubicles and all the stuff Baby Boomers and Generation Xers are comfortable with. In entrepreneurial companies, which make up the majority of our Vistage groups, hierarchies never existed. These companies pride themselves on being nimble and quick to respond to marketplace demands. The result is a competitive advantage, now more than ever, because these are the companies able to attract and retain Millennials. As Vistage companies grow, we Chairs encourage owners to build a leadership team so they can build a sustainable enterprise. Owners want experienced leaders to do this – In walks the boomers and Xers, accustomed to structure and ready to create that sustainable enterprise, and with their ability to create processes to support a sustainable enterprise, comes their comfort and desire for hierarchy, titles, offices, etc.

CLASH

Perhaps as David says, as the Millennials become leaders, this will all even out. In the meantime, here are my questions for Boomer and Generation X leaders and followers:

Is it time to pause and ask, how much of what I expect in terms of hierarchy, paying dues, etc. matters?
What recognition is truly important for me to feel successful in my organization?
When joining a new organization or taking on an assignment, what behaviors, rather than titles and trappings, should I be asking for from my leader that will set me up to succeed?

The Answer Is In The Question…

December 2, 2012 by Elisa SpainNo Comments

One of the life lessons I have learned, since becoming a Vistage Chair six years ago, is the answer is in the question. By asking better questions, we enable others to come to their own resolutions. Most of us in business are problem solvers, and often the answer to someone else’s problem or challenge seems obvious to us. Therefore, we rush in with advice, without stopping and asking questions. What I have learned, and continue to be reminded of daily, is that by asking more poignant questions, the resulting answer may not only be better, it may also be different than what we perceived as obvious before we asked.

Following is a quote from one of my CEO members that, to me, captures the essence:

“I had a very interesting life lesson yesterday. Another member was leading and that was probably a little difficult for me to have someone else in charge. Once I accepted my role and decided to listen instead of work hard to offer my opinion, my perception of how I could add value changed drastically. I remember that Elisa said, ‘work to ask questions and not just offer suggestions’. I struggle with that as I always want to solve other people’s problems for them. It’s like counseling, the counselor never seems to tell you your problem, they just keep asking questions until you have the realization and state it yourself. That always bugged me. I now realize that until someone deeply understands their own problem, they will not take action nor will they truly support any action that they do take based on another’s understanding. I think I got more value out of the meeting than any other person in the room. That value was directly linked to not talking”.

First To Market Or First In The Mind?

November 11, 2012February 2, 2023 by Elisa SpainNo Comments

Recently, during one of my Vistage Key Executive meetings, we were discussing the book Great by Choice by Jim Collins. During our discussion, one of the members raised the question, how important is it to be first to market? Or is it best to be a “fast follower”. Jim Collins makes the case that the long march, as he calls it “the 20 Mile March” is one of the characteristics of companies that are great by choice.

My favorite marketing book 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Al Ries and Jack Trout (an oldie but goody) – describes it this way in Law #3 – The Law of the Mind. It is better to be first in the mind, than first in the marketplace. The iPad is a recent example. Apple owns over 70% of the tablet market. Not only were they not first, they weren’t even a fast follower. The first tablet was invented many years ago.

Google wasn’t the first browser, Facebook wasn’t the first social website, Apple (again) wasn’t the first smartphone. Yet, more books are written, businesses started, venture funds invested in “first movers”.

The question most are asking today is which is best? First Mover or Fast Follower?

For me the question is First to Market or First in the Mind? First in the Mind addresses timing as well as innovation. The best product or service idea, is only best when you have buyers. Timing therefore determines who wins.

What are your thoughts?