Richard Medcalf, Making Time for Strategy – InnovaBuzz 558
Richard Medcalf, Xquadrant
Our guest in this episode is Richard Medcalf, executive coach & leadership consultant to exceptional founders & CEOs and their leadership teams. He’s the founder of XQuadrant and host of the Impact Multiplier CEO Podcast.
His clients are elite performers who’ve already achieved incredible things, and still have the ambition to 10x their impact and influence and achieve something that seems impossible right now. That can involve 1:1 coaching, taking the leadership team to its next level, or scaling high-performance culture throughout the business.
Richard previously appeared on InnovaBuzz Ep 480, and has since written a new book “Making TIME for Strategy: How to be less busy and more successful”
In our conversation on this episode, Richard talked to me about:
- Identifying the shift we can make in our mindset to multiply our impact;
- How strategic time is the key indicator of our success and how to make time for strategic thinking;
- Creating breakthroughs via creativity.
Listen to the podcast to find out more.
Listen to the Podcast
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Show Notes from this episode with Richard Medcalf, Xquadrant
Key points and takeaways from this episode include:
- Usually we are doing what made us successful last year and not what will make us successful next year. A great question to ask is “What’s the shift in you that you want to make to multiply your impact?”
- The infinity trap – we are stuck doing things better and better and taking on more tasks as a result. We become every busier (the “hamster wheel”). As a result we have no time for big picture strategic things.
- You can’t outrun infinity with productivity!
- Shift your mindset from “using your time” or “managing your time” to “investing your time”.
- What we do is not based on reality – it’s based on what we think is possible, desirable and necessary.
- Strategic time is the number one indicator of success! This is the time we are investing in future success. We need to invest in capabilities that make our future better.
- Where you are working too hard, improve skills in that area; it can lead to better results with less effort.
- Start small – take 5 minutes this week as strategic time, to free up 10 minutes for next week. Build the muscle, build the habit.
- Being creative is not necessarily productive, but it is where the breakthroughs come.
- Most people are running a negative account on their time. If you are overwhelmed, you need to “clear the decks” of activities, to restore balance.
- Focus on adding value in the RIGHT places. Adding value in the wrong places is bad use of time – we have bigger fish to fry!
- We have a choice – the hamster wheel or the flywheel. Finding strategic time is the only way to get from one to the other.
- To become more productive and impactful, identify your number 1 blocker and focus on dealing with that one. Don’t try to do everything once.
Action
Head over to https://xquadrant.com/innovabuzz and discover your making time for strategy score. Then, diarize strategic time, with a name that inspires you. As an example Richard mentioned – Critical Board Project. Spend 3 minutes to start with, each day asking what are the big questions I should be thinking about? Write the questions down. Then, in your strategic time, pick a question to work on.
Reach Out
You can reach out and thank Richard through his website.
Links
- Website – XQuadrant
- Resources that Richard mentioned
- Twitter – @rmedcalf
- Podcast – The Impact Multiplier
Book
- Making TIME for Strategy: How to be less busy and more successful – Richard Medcalf
Cool Things About Richard
- Richard is bi-national English/French, lives near Paris, and is happily married and the proud father of two.
- He’s also a licensed lay minister in the Anglican Church.
- He has an insatiable love for spicy food and the electric guitar.
Focus on adding value in the RIGHT places. Adding value in the wrong places is bad use of time – we have bigger fish to fry! @rmedcalf on #InnovaBuzz podcast Click To Tweet
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