Let It Rest

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

As leaders, most of us are action-oriented. Something crosses our desk, we deal with it. An issue comes up with a customer, a vendor, an employee, and we take action. And, sometimes, especially in these times, it’s best to let it rest.

Most of us feel a lack of control over so many things today that when something arises, that feels like something we can control and can do something about, we are spurred to take action. And same as before,

  • Sometimes action is needed, and sometimes nothing is required.
  • Sometimes, that annoying email doesn’t require a response.
  • Sometimes, when a negotiation stalls the best tactic is to leave it be, or
  • If the other side has already done that, let it rest.
  • Sometimes, doing nothing is simply the best strategy.

Two quick stories from two CEO’s I know:

First, a long term negotiation on a contract has gone on for several years. As an outsider looking in, one might wonder, why not bring this to closure. Then we learn that it’s been 20 years of negotiation, minimal dollars spent, and many thousands at stake. Even if it eventually settles, the present value of the money saved alone justifies the lengthy process.

Another CEO was negotiating with a former operating partner, still an owner. Sure would be nice to close that loose end, icky to have a former partner still a voting member. And then we learn, the former partner is in bankruptcy; it looks like the CEO is going to pick up those shares at a significantly lower cost.

As Kenny Rogers says so well in The Gambler, “You got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em, know when to walk away.”

For me,  when I feel that urgency to pick up the phone or write that email, I find it helps to pause and ask myself which hand of The Gambler am I holding? 

If you are looking to get unstuck and cut the time from stuck to action to six months or less, there is no better time than now to contact me. 

Stuck In The Middle

by Elisa Spain Comment Closed

As time marches on in this COVID-19 world, life is becoming more challenging. While we are all becoming accustomed to the “protocol,” many, perhaps most, of us don’t want to become accustomed to “it.” 

The masks, the temperature checks, the exposure questions, the monitoring, all of that seems almost ordinary by now.  

And at the same time, the emotional toll this has taken is staggering. 

  • Last week one of my clients summed it up well when he said, “for my own sanity, I have to believe and act as though this is temporary.”  
  • A friend of mine who is a psychotherapist, and was planning to retire, told me, “if I wanted to work 24×7, I could;” her phone doesn’t stop ringing.

The most telling sign of how tired we all are of the loss of life as we knew it, is the loss of humor. Before, when things didn’t go as we expected, or even when egregious things happened, we usually found a way to laugh. No more. 

Everyone is humorless for different reasons, same storm, different boats. For some, it is personal, losing a loved one, even if not from the virus, and not being able to mourn in the usual way; or not being allowed to visit an ill friend or relative in the hospital. For others, the pain may be economic, losing all or a portion of the family income or business income. Finally, there are some for which the loss is one of freedom and leisure. Bottomline worldwide, or at least what I see in my tiny part of the world, is we all feel a sense of loss. 

In the beginning, we banded together, much as we did after 9/11. I remember traveling to Europe soon after 9/11 and feeling the warmth and support from everyone we met. I saw the same amongst colleagues, families, and friends back in March and April. Everyone showed their support with Zoom cocktail hours, and the like. We frequently connected with friends and family worldwide, and it felt wonderful. A hidden benefit, we said, of the pandemic. 

Now that we are several months into this, Zoom has become a grind, we are on it all day, we crave a break, some real connection, and it feels elusive. Some choose to create the connection anyway; the risk feels worth it, “my mental health is as important as my physical health,” they say. Others choose to continue to isolate and protect their physical health. 

Most of us say we respect each person’s right to be themselves and choose that which gives them comfort. Yet, we can be quick to judge when someone in our inner circle makes a different choice than we do. 

What to do? 

Frankly, I don’t have the answers; I am challenged with this myself. What I do know is it has become clear that this is a marathon, not a sprint. 

Each day, I remind myself to find opportunities to laugh and be grateful, take my judgments lightly, and look for opportunities to be in service to others. I don’t succeed every day, and I plan to keep trying.

Q2 2020 Vistage survey: CEO confidence plummets in pandemic-induced recession

by Elisa Spain Comment Closed

While the full impact of the economic shutdown occurred in April and May, the latest Vistage CEO Confidence Index data still reveals the devastating effects of the pandemic on small and midsize businesses (SMBs). The Vistage CEO Confidence Index plummeted to 65.5 in Q2 2020; there have only been two other times in the history of the survey that the Index was recorded so low.

While every factor that comprises the Index dropped from last quarter, not surprisingly, overwhelmingly the biggest decline was CEO sentiment about current economic conditions in the U.S: 93% of CEOs report that the economy recently worsened. In comparison, just 25% believe that the economy will continue to worsen in the next 12 months which is an indicator that CEOs feel the economic impact has reached the bottom.

As a result of the shutdown, 80% of SMBs reported some level of revenue declines; 17% report declines of 10% or less. Revenue projections are the lowest they have been since the Great Recession; 31% of CEOs expect decreased revenues in the year ahead. However, there is some optimism as 45% expect increased revenues in the year ahead. Looking at monthly data collected from CEOs about expectations for revenues and profits for the year ahead, it is clear that the bottom was reached April, which is not reflected in the quarterly data.

Through the pandemic, 58% of CEOs maintained (47%) or grew (11%) their workforces. Looking ahead, 36% plan to increase their workforces in the next 12 months. The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) had a part in these plans. Four-in-five CEOs surveyed were funded by the PPP, and of those, 90% expect most (35%) or all (55%) of the loan to be forgiven.

Download the Q2 2020 Vistage CEO Confidence Index report to learn more about the sentiment of small and midsize business leaders, including:

  • Projections about the performance of the U.S. economy
  • Revenue and profitability expectations
  • Expansion plans for hiring and investments
  • Coronavirus impacts

YOU PIVOT™: Integrating Body & Soul In Three Acts

by Elisa Spain Comment Closed

Listen to my recent appearance on the ‘On The Brink’ podcast here.

You 3.0 has become a regular feature of this blog. This month, I interviewed Valencia; her story follows.

When Valencia was a child, she had a dream that she would travel the world when she grew up and teach people the secrets of the universe. Today, in what she calls Act III, she has found her calling as a Functional Medicine doctor helping women overcome stress and burnout.

For Valencia, Act I began in high school when she decided to become a physician in her senior year. While she did not have any medical role models, she was always interested in the body and yet had a sense, even then, that heart and soul were critical elements to health. 

She wanted to go to Harvard. Her parents made enough money to raise six children in a middle-class home, too much money for Valencia to get a loan for college, and not enough, in their opinion, to pay for college, so she was on her own. In her words, “I went to a poor quality high school on the south side of Chicago, and while graduating in the top ten, Harvard wasn’t an option because I had no visible support or guidance to help me navigate the process.”

“I ended up going to the University of Illinois, Circle Campus, a commuter college because the school recruited at our high school, and I was able to get a scholarship and work my way through.”

Once at U of I, Circle Campus, Valencia decided she had wasted too much time in high school and was going to graduate college in three years. She mapped out her program and took it to her U of I Honors Program counselor to review it with him. The counselor’s response was “young lady; you are taking too many classes; young lady, you won’t be able to graduate in 3 years; young lady you won’t be able to get into medical school, there is too much competition.”

On her way out the door, Valencia said to herself, “I’ll show you.” “This counselor was her motivation.

Then, after seeing her test and grade scores, Harvard started sending her letters asking her to apply to their medical school. The tuition was $15,000, which seemed like a fortune. She took the letters to her parents, and they refused to help. She was young and naive, and without role models or advisors, it never occurred to her to ask Harvard for the money.

“U of I College of Medicine encouraged me to apply early decision, still angry with my parents, and more determined than ever, I enrolled at U of I once again. I went back to my counselor for the first time since that initial meeting to show him my early decision acceptance letter to the medical school – which literally left him speechless. Mission accomplished!”

Valencia went on to become an eye surgeon, complete her residency at the University of Chicago, and then a fellowship at the Kresge Eye Institute. She opened her Ophthalmology practice in 1991.

In 2007, she started having similar dreams to those she had as a child and inspired by President Barack Obama, and his boldness (he was a patient at the time) sold her practice. 

Thus began Act II. “I thought Act II was going to be like Act I, said Valencia. Act I was a slam dunk. Don’t get me wrong, I had to do the work, but the doors keep opening.”

“Act II was the hardest thing I’ve ever done—extreme personal growth. I found myself hopping around, collecting pieces, and ultimately learning what is worth fighting for. Several times I contemplated going back to Ophthalmology. It took me nearly ten years of trying to teach the ‘secrets of the universe’ to the business community, as a coach and speaker, to realize something was missing.”

2014 – 2017 were transition years for Valencia.

“2014 came in, and I realized it was time to stop. I felt as though the rug was pulled out from under me, again feeling intense personal and spiritual upheaval, I took a breath.”

Then in 2017, she and her husband moved to California to be near their son, who was in college, and fulfill a long-time dream of hers.

“In 2018, I finally found the missing piece, the body. I had given up the body in Act II and was unfulfilled. In 2016, I started hearing about functional medicine. I ignored it at first until, through striking synchronicity, I met Dr. Jacobson. Within less than two months, I had a business set up in functional medicine and had enrolled in the intensive yearlong medical training at the Institute of Functional Medicine. I opened my doors, January 1, 2019, in Walnut Creek, CA. My niche is helping busy women to overcome stress and burnout, stop annoying symptoms without scary drugs, and experience greater vitality, connection, and confidence.”

At age 60, this is the last act. I have finally pulled all the pieces of this journey together – mind, body, and spirit.”

I asked Valencia to share what she learned from her transitions; without hesitation, she shared these three:  

  1. Buckle up and be very serious about doing your personal development work – this is what saved me during the difficult times of Act II, my ability to be conscious of my emotions and skill set – to develop emotional resiliency.
  2. Search inside yourself to make sure you have a clear WHY – for me, I was clear, I wasn’t doing it for the money or recognition – more to do with being on purpose and knowing it.
  3. Slow down, listen to your intuition, be mindful of how you are spending money on your mission. Act II was hard on my purse – I so wanted to cross the finish line, I kept looking for help to get where I wanted to be, I should have paused. 

Finally, Valencia, shared, whatever journey you choose to go on, if your heart is in it, you will make it; people can feel the heart. 

Let’s work together. You can learn more about my leadership and transition coaching as well as my peer advisory boards here.

It’s Not About Color, Or Is it?

by Elisa Spain Comment Closed

I’ve spent a lot of time this past week talking about racism. The conversations began with wondering why, the murder of George Floyd last week sparked protests nationwide when the killing of Eric Garner, in 2014 did not. Then when the looting began, the conversation turned to one about fear.

As a teenager in 1968, when protestors were attacked by the police during the democratic convention and later at universities, I felt solidarity. Friends tell me their teenage and young adult children feel similarly now.  

For me, today, it is more complicated. It’s a conversation about the increasing divide between the haves and the have-nots. It’s a conversation about violence. And, as I have come to realize, most importantly, it is a conversation about racism. 

As a country, we are reluctant to talk about race and even more unwilling to talk about racism. And yet we must if we are ever to understand our fellow Americans. When the “enemy” is nameless and faceless, it is easy to hate. On the other hand, when we talk to one another and begin to understand that the “other” is not the enemy, rather s/he is just different from me, we can learn from and understand one another.

As a Jew, when I watched the Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, VA in August of 2017, I heard my mother’s words to me as a child, telling me that anyone who isn’t Jewish is deep down anti-Semitic, and wondered if she were right?

Today, I hear, “all white people are deep down racist, and police officers, in particular, are racist,” and I wonder if this is true?  

And, as one who believes in the general good of humanity, I don’t want to believe any of this is so. And yet, something is clearly wrong. 

Some say this is a seminal moment and that Mr. Floyd’s murder is a catalyst for change that is long overdue. I hope so. 

And because we humans relate to stories, here are two I heard this week that will always stay with me.

Dr. Julius Few, an intensely private man and a prominent Plastic Surgeon practicing in Chicago and Los Angeles, decided to share his story on Instagram. Dr. Few grew up in a wealthy white suburb of Detroit. While his parents weren’t wealthy, they worked hard to live in this community to provide him and his brother what they believed was an opportunity. Instead, unbeknownst to his parents, he was a victim of racism every day. Dr. Few’s video story appears in two parts:

Part I – https://www.instagram.com/p/CA6uBDQjxZF/ Part II – https://www.instagram.com/p/CA6vlEjjhUg/

A dear friend of mine, an accomplished, highly educated business person, told me that when he was a teenager growing up in a middle-class neighborhood in Chicago, he was walking down the street one day, and several police officers suddenly came upon him, guns pointed. They told him he “looked like” a man that had just held up a liquor store. While they were holding him down, they got a call on the radio, and then abruptly left.

My friend told me he had forgotten about this until the current situation reminded him. “Forgot or buried it,” he wondered out loud. Of course, as you probably guessed, my friend is black. The saddest irony of this story is that my friend’s father was a police officer who died in the line of duty, not so many years later. 

For me, these two stories remind us that we must take time to follow the guidance from Steven Covey and seek first to understand. 

Here are a couple of resources I found this week to begin my learning:

Leaders Are The Unsung Heroes

by Elisa Spain Comment Closed

As chair of a CEO Peer Advisory Board, I am getting to see first hand the courage, dedication, and determination of leaders during this pandemic. I am humbled and inspired.

Leaders of essential businesses all over the world are working hard to keep their employees safe while serving their customers at the same time. Not one of these individuals, trained for this or frankly signed up for this, and yet here they are doing what they know they must.  

Each day, these men and women are on the front lines making the hard decisions to maintain that delicate balance between safety and production. 

Each day, these men and women must stay current on the latest developments. Each day, they must adapt to whatever changed from yesterday.  

  • It’s the outgoing CEO of the public company, who could easily call it quits and instead visits factories; 
  • The CEO of the privately held company that quickly pivoted to make safety products thereby keeping the business viable and enabling all employees to keep their jobs;
  • The mayor of your local community who gets paid only a service honorarium, and yet works countless hours to serve, 

All of these leaders deserve our thanks, appreciation, and patience as they navigate this storm. They are the unsung heroes of these times.

Let’s work together. You can learn more about my leadership and transition coaching as well as my peer advisory boards here.

Q1 2020 Vistage CEO Confidence Index

by Elisa Spain Comment Closed

Rather than sharing the report itself this quarter, I thought it would be more useful to share Joe Galvin, Vistage Chief Research Officer, interpretation and perspective as follows.

There will not be a “new normal” on the other side of the COVID-19 crisis. When business activity picks up and the world begins to spin again, people and businesses will engage in a “new reality” that will not resemble what we knew to be normal. We will individually and organizationally engage in new norms defined by fundamentally different societal changes and business dynamics that emerged in the pandemic.

At some date in the not too distant future, there will be a total business reboot — CEOs will be resetting their business in terms of employees, customers and financials — to a new, post COVID-19 level. From that starting point, we will begin to rebuild and grow through the recovery into this new reality.

The transition begins when the current quarantine level of essential services expands to include certain segments of businesses that had been considered non-essential — this will trigger a return to work for many.

The transition will also accelerate as we increase testing, analyze more data and develop better knowledge about the virus. We can expect that manufacturing, construction, business and personal services will reboot first, while bars, restaurants, entertainment and hospitality businesses will reboot later.

Of course, it’s difficult to know exactly when the reboot will happen and when the recovery will begin in earnest. Our April survey of CEOs provides valuable insights into how leaders in our community are feeling about the economy and the state of business.

What CEOs think: April 2020 survey results

In the Vistage CEO Confidence Index survey conducted April 1 – 8, 11% of CEOs from small and midsize businesses felt that economic conditions would begin to improve in one to two months. An additional 41% thought the economy would improve in three to five months, and another 37% reported it would take six to 12 months.

According to this data, business activity is likely to follow a predictable trajectory: People will return to work in new segments of non-essential businesses, which will ignite the businesses that support them. Once these businesses are in full swing, customers will be encouraged to spend more, resulting in more business activity and the growth of more businesses.

The split in CEO opinions regarding when the economy will improve suggests an economic restart — on local, regional, national and global levels — is still uncertain and will likely take time.

Looking further ahead

When asked about the state of their businesses in six months, 21% of CEOs felt their businesses would be “stronger than before” and 16% expect it would be “back to normal.” Nearly half (49%) expect their businesses will be “moderately weakened but gaining momentum,” while 14% expect it to be “significantly weakened.”

Should a second wave of the virus hit, these outlooks are likely to worsen dramatically. Much depends on the timing and availability of a vaccine or the realization of herd immunity.

15 years of behavior change in 30 days

The most challenging aspect of any business transformation initiative is human behavior.

Whether it’s the introduction of a new technology initiative or a major shift in culture, transformation is always dragged down by humans’ reluctance to change. Often, this reluctance comes from fears of the unknown or losses in job status.

What’s remarkable is how much the COVID-19 crisis has reduced that resistance. Over 30 days, we saw 15 years’ worth of human behavior change.

This is true in both in personal and professional contexts. Our acceptance and use of technology for digital collaboration, entertainment streaming and the acquisition of food has accelerated as quickly as our individual technology skills have improved. Our acceptance of doing things differently — because we have to — has accelerated our adoption of technology. Technology has allowed much of our lives and businesses to continue in ways that would not have been possible years ago.

Consider these transformations:

Work from home: The genie is out of the bottle on working from home. According to our April survey, 91.8% of CEOs have implemented some form of work-from-home solution during the crisis.

Advances in collaboration applications such as Slack, Zoom, and GoToMeeting, combined with the astonishing performance of internet infrastructure, have made distributed workforces possible. The forced march to digital collaboration has broken down both generational and emotional barriers to this work style. Work from home was already high on the list of preferences for the emerging workforce. It will now become part of everyday life for knowledge workers.

Tele-everything: Practicing social distancing has accelerated tele-capabilities in healthcare, education, business, and more.

  • Tele-medicine has enabled doctors to care for a large number of patients, digitally. While not eliminating in-person care, tele-medicine offers a more efficient alternative to traditional medical care.
  • Online education has kept students learning and connected to their colleges, universities, and schools while physical buildings remain closed. Many professors and students have already adapted well to digital classrooms.
  • Food delivery has ramped up. Beyond ordering takeout, people are placing orders with farms, grocery stores, and local restaurants more than ever before.
  • Tele-business will replace the need for physical office spaces. Combined with the work-from-home reality, office workspace requirements will change.

Business travel may never return to prior levels. As businesspeople have learned to connect and communicate digitally, they have also realized that digital communications are just as effective as face-to-face relationships when blended with occasional human contact. Businesses may reconsider how often they schedule face-to-face meetings and may choose to leverage technology for more customer interactions.

No-Touch Transactions: ATMs, airline check-in terminals, and other ‘touch” interfaces will be replaced by a purely digital experience. Apple Pay, QR codes, and Bluetooth will eventually eliminate the need to touch anything minimizing potential exposure. Cash will become obsolete in advanced economies. Credit cards will be replaced and physical tickets of every type will be done digitally, all managed from a “smarter” phone.

Digital transformation: The rapid adoption and utilization of technology will energize digital transformation efforts. As businesses begin to reboot, rebuild and recover, initiatives to digitally transform how business is done will further accelerate, driven by employees’ behavioral changes and newfound flexibility. Lessons learned in the crisis will form the foundation for business change. In turn, this will fuel demand for the 5G network and digital infrastructure to satisfy our ever-greater thirst for bandwidth.

Unanswered questions: The COVID-19 crisis is raising other questions about how business and society may change in the months and years to come.

  • Will our collective thinking about healthcare change like our feelings about security did after 9/11?
  • Will we think differently about renewable energy after the collapse of the oil market and seeing the skies clear over Los Angeles, Shanghai, and Mumbai?
  • After we thank essential workers for keeping us functioning and alive, will we rethink the minimum wage and how we help those most at need in our community?
  • Will we think differently about globalization when supply chains and critical components reside outside any country’s influence — and will we think it’s worth the cost to “build our own”?
  • What will we think about paying for the cost of stimulus packages on top of an already massive debt?

It only took 30 days to go from what was normal to our current “state of wait.” We continue to look for signs that we can begin rebooting our economy, rebuilding our businesses, and start the climb to a new reality. We will know we’ve arrived when we all feel comfortable going to a sports event, concert, restaurant, theater, or other large social gatherings.

Until that point, be prepared to rethink, reimagine, and relearn everything about the business you knew before the coronavirus — and focus on preparing your business to be one that thrives in the new reality.