Vistage Confidence Index: CEO Optimism Cools In Q4 2012

Vistage Confidence Index: CEO Optimism Cools In Q4 2012

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

chartThe 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.

Elisa K. Spain 

Do The Ends Justify The Means?

Do The Ends Justify The Means?

by Elisa Spain2 Comments


An age old question…

I saw Lincoln, Steve Spielberg’s latest movie, and came away from it with some questions, from a leadership perspective. Abraham Lincoln is renowned as one of the greatest presidents and leaders in United States history. In this movie, Spielberg tells the story of Lincoln’s last days, the time in which he worked to pass the 13th Amendment and end the Civil War. Both Lincoln and Thaddeus Stevens took questionable actions to advance their end goal of abolishing slavery. Lincoln sought to change the vote of house members and delay a meeting with the southern leaders, while Stevens modified his oratory to be more inclusive; shocking and disappointing his constituents.

And.. they won. The 13th Amendment was passed, banishing slavery for all time.

So, the leadership questions are:

  • When the goal is pure and the cost of not achieving it is high, do the ends justify the means? and
  • How do we as leaders make that decision that “this particular outcome” is one that qualifies?

Elisa K. Spain

Celebrate Your Gift

Celebrate Your Gift

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

At this gift-giving time of the year, I am reminded that we all have natural gifts.

The notion that we can constantly make ourselves better, in theory, is a great idea. But when does it become too much?

For me, the best way to answer this question is to notice our strengths and work to enhance them. In my Vistage work, and as a leadership coach and advisor, I refer to this as discovering and working in our genius.

While personal growth and development are part of living a full life, and after all this is what Vistage is all about, I wonder sometimes if we have become so focused on achieving that we are never able to appreciate who we are or what we have already accomplished.

For me, the best way to avoid the “better, better, better” trap is to ask the following questions:

  • What am I already good at? What do I need to do to become excellent at this?
  • Of the things I am not good at and am striving to improve, what can I delegate to someone else?
  • Can I find a way to accept being adequate or “good enough” at the rest?

Once we know and understand our strengths, and focus on that, we not only become more effective, we become more satisfied, and ultimately become better leaders.

P.S. This is the last post for 2012. Happy holidays to all.  See you in the new year.
Do Titles Matter?

Do Titles Matter?

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?

Elisa K. Spain

A Timely Reminder Of Email Best Practices

A Timely Reminder Of Email Best Practices

by Elisa Spain2 Comments

I put this together some time ago. A compilation of things I have learned from experience and from others. The topic has come up a lot lately, so I thought I would share this with you.

Professor Albert Mehrabian’s research into verbal communication is often quoted in this simplified form:

Words – 7%,  Tone – 38% – Body Language – 55%

Email, being only words without tone and body language, leaves the reader with fewer queues for interpretation. For this reason, recommended email best practices are:

  • Email is for communication, not conversation
  • Use Email for two purposes: transmit information or schedule meetings
  • Choose your words carefully, sometimes slang words, e.g. “yeah” can be misinterpreted
  • After 1 response – pick up the phone
  • Reply only to the sender
  • Reply to all – ONLY if sender requests or the information in your reply will benefit everyone on the distribution list
  • Only put in an Email something you would want to appear on the internet, on a billboard, in the news – you get the idea
  • Don’t send an Email when you are angry – see previous bullet
  • Never negotiate via Email
  • Never send an important Email w/o an advance phone call and a follow-up phone call to discuss and prevent/correct misunderstandings
  • Be brief, most people read Emails on their IPhone, Android, etc.
  • When sending an important Email, ask someone else to read it before sending it, with three questions:
    • What would you think?
    • How would you feel?
    • What would you do?

Anything you would add?

Elisa K. Spain

 

The Answer Is In The Question…

The Answer Is In The Question…

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”.

 

Leadership Quote: There Are Only Two Ways To Influence Human Behavior..

Leadership Quote: There Are Only Two Ways To Influence Human Behavior..

by Elisa SpainNo Comments


This month’s leadership quote: There are only two ways to influence human behavior, you can manipulate it or you can inspire it. Simon Sinek

Simon Sinek is well known for his Ted Talk, How Great Leaders Inspire Action. If you haven’t seen it, it is worth the 18 minute investment.

Bottom line, when you start with “Why”, your customers, employees, and all stakeholders will be inspired. Manipulation lasts only so long (until the “target” figures it out). Inspiration, on the other hand, can last a lifetime.

  • Who has inspired you to be who you are today?
  • Who have you inspired to become who they will be tomorrow?

Elisa K. Spain

The Elephant In The Room

The Elephant In The Room

by Elisa Spain2 Comments

The other day, I was asking for feedback from a team I was working with about the value of the program. One of the members came up to me afterwards and said, “please don’t take this personally” and gave me some additional feedback. My response was,” the elephant is in the room whether we talk about him or not. For me, I would prefer to know what you are thinking and feeling so that I can modify the program to give you results that meet your needs.”

Yes, the elephant is in the room whether we talk about him or not.  There he is, clomping around, banging into things.

And yet, we often refuse to talk about him. Why is that? Here are the reasons I hear:

  • I don’t want confrontation
  • I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings
  • We can’t do anything about it anyway
My experience is that our reluctance to confront causes the elephant to cause more damage than if we just talked about him and got him out of the room.
It is our role as leaders to invite and initiate the conversation. With the elephant out of the room, we can get on to business. As long as he is there, we are focused internally instead of externally.
What has been your experience?

 Elisa K. Spain 

First To Market Or First In The Mind?

First To Market Or First In The Mind?

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?

Elisa K. Spain

 

When Managing By The Numbers Is Not Enough

When Managing By The Numbers Is Not Enough

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

It’s all about profitability right? Certainly, we are all in business to make money. Even not-for-profits must have net income to continue to operate. And, is being in business for a purpose or a mission reserved only for not-for-profits? What about the professional managers running privately held businesses and leading large companies? What drives them?

Recently I had two conversations in one day with business owners expressing frustration with the lack of progress of talented leaders in their businesses. They both have open book policies, their key executives and in one case, all of their employees, have full access to the company’s financial statements. All this makes sense from the point of view of managing by the numbers. And, is managing by the numbers enough?

The questions I asked these two owners are:

  • In addition to company profitability and individual compensation, what drives these individuals to succeed?
  • Whose goals are they working toward, yours or theirs?
  • If the answer is yours, how can you make the goals their goals while still being consistent with yours?
  • “Purpose” is individual, have you explored what theirs is? Revisiting the book Drive by Dan Pink is a good place to start and then a conversation.

What questions would you add to this discussion?

Elisa K. Spain