76. Confessions of a CEO
What’s Inside
Confessions of a CEO
Schedule Your Fall Retreat
1. Confessions of a CEO
We're all busy, but I make an effort to sit down with clients, outside of our defined engagements, to listen to how things are going.
A strategic reflection to pause and just listen.
How are they doing?
What's different after working together?
What's the same?
What's still needed?
It helps us capture the impact of our work together.
It helps us identify where needs still exist.
And it helps me to improve how I serve my clients.
If you're not already doing this in your business, I would suggest it.
This month, I sat down with the lead partner at a growing law firm.
For the newsletter title, "lead partner" wasn't as catchy as CEO but hopefully you get the point...
With his permission, here's a short recap of what we've accomplished over the past year since our October 2024 leadership retreat.
And what's left to be done.
Wins
Better run, more organized firm and people have a better sense of what they are doing and where they fit into the whole.
Offsite helped clarify bottlenecks and prioritize action. Staff reports being less stressed.
Helped define values and embed them into the hiring process. Very pleased with a series of recent strategic hires.
Challenges
Business reviews started off strong for the first 5 months but lost momentum over the summer. Need to get back on track for Q4 close out.
Want to better utilize leadership meetings to tackle strategic versus tactical issues.
To-do
We started much of what's below but, as always, there's still room to grow.
Finances - how can we get more granular to understand financial trends by account and seasonal impacts?
Data - how can we better incorporate client feedback, analyze account trends, and position for advances in AI?
Marketing - how can we use the data and trends we glean to better reach our ideal clients?
Our time together reminded me, that even after an incredible year, those who want to stay on top are always thinking about ways to improve both internal operations & external delivery.
2. Your Fall Retreat
End 2025 strong and position for 2026 and beyond.
Schedule a call to discuss your team's fall leadership retreat now.
Here's a sampling of topics we can cover:
Define/refine Vision, Mission, & Values
Develop 3-year strategy
Create clear 1-year & 90-day plan
Clarify roles & responsibilities
Improve cross-team communication
Streamline processes to save time & money
Make time to work ON, not just IN, your business.
It's key to driving revenue, engagement, & impact.
Schedule a call for help with your company's growth.
3. Ways to Work Together in 2025
Here are some ways we can partner in these rapidly changing times.
Fractional Executive: Embed strategic advisory services within your C-Suite. Strategic services are tailored to meet your company’s unique needs. (Learn More)
Leadership Offsite: One day offsite to define your growth strategy & priorities, clarify your go-to market plan, and improve your team's communication. (Learn More)
Strategy with Susan: "Pick my brain,” brainstorm go-to-market strategy, and chat about other business-related questions you have. (Schedule Now)
As always, thanks for reading.
To your strategic success,
Susan
