?? Being Brilliant at the Basics

A couple of years ago, I was speaking with an executive whom I deeply admire, a former president of a major division of a public company. We were having an informal call as friends.

I confirmed my follow-up actions before ending the call. I listed out the three things I had agreed to do to support him with some introductions and follow-ups, and told him by when I planned to complete them.

He said, "Yes, because you do what you say you will, and that's very rare."

I was surprised. To me, that seemed just... basic.

He said it was exceedingly rare, in his experience, for most people to execute consistently, and deliver on what they say they will do.

Was he right? Was doing "just the basics" unusual?

Then, this week, I was reminded again of the importance of "just the basics" when I saw a colleague on LinkedIn praise some advice from a veteran CMO, Marcy S. . Marcy is a board member at Zappi who I'm fortunate to learn from regularly, and this former colleague was thanking her for giving her the advice to be "brilliant at the basics."

So then I began to ask myself, "What are the basics?"

I thought through the best business leaders I've ever met, and here are some of the things they have in common:

1. Making clear plans
2. Communicating simply
3. Showing up on time for meetings
4. Focusing on objective facts
5. Asking good questions
6. Summarizing key takeaways
7. Identifying the top priorities
8. Leading by example
9. Behaving professionally
10. Assuming the best of others
11. Displaying a strong moral compass
12. Focusing on the customer
13. Being a dependable team player
14. Caring genuinely about people
15. Following through

This is my list of brilliant basics. It seems rather simple. But on a daily basis, it's not always easy to do all of these things every single time.

Personally, I strive to meet these as often as I can, but we all fall down now and then.

For example, I am currently late on a major writing deadline outside of my work. This is an important commitment, and it really bothers me when things don't go according to plan, and I'm at risk of not getting one of my "brilliant basics" right.

But life gets in the way sometimes!

(I had already drafted this newsletter, but as I'm short on time, am keeping it short this week, lest I fail at two basics in terms of writing commitments this week, versus just one!)

My only advice this week is, in a crowded world, with noisy communication channels distracting us constantly, make your own list of "basics" that you want to be brilliant at.

Sometimes, just getting the basics right is 80% of the battle.

Even if it's a bit boring. :-)

Grace Notes

This week was very special to me for a few reasons:

• I got to help my CEO Steve Phillips and president Ryan Barry from Zappi , as well as my customers Stephan Gans and Kate Schardt from 百事 , to launch an Amazon #1 bestselling book. I still can't believe we hit bestseller status in less than 48 hours. So proud of Vincent Frazzetto for all his hard work!
• We prepared exciting launch activations with a party at Tavern on the Green in NYC, and a celebratory moment as we saw our book on the Nasdaq billboard in Times Square.
• We also organized an incredible inaugural flagship customer conference, the Connected Insights Conference. Super proud of my entire company and team (such events really do take a village), and especially Elana Heffley and Andrew (Bubbles) Moreno for leading it. What a joy to hear from customers leveraging Zappi and AI, building the future of Connected Insights with us.

We have soooo much more to come at Zappi that I'm excited about, and while I try not to do TOO much work talk in this newsletter, this week is an exception. Sharing a few images below to celebrate the occasion.

Other Ways to Connect with Me

Thank you for reading this newsletter! I hope you found it helpful.

Here are 3 other ways we can connect:

1. Get my latest book.

You can also get your copy of that other book, called Take Your Company Global.

It was kindly endorsed by my longtime CEO at HubSpot, Brian Halligan.

“Take Your Company Global is the definitive guide to building a global business in the digital age.” —Brian Halligan, Co-Founder and Executive Chairperson, HubSpot and Co-Author,?Inbound Marketing

Already have it? Liked it?

Please do me a favor and leave a review on Amazon.

2. Download my guide.

Earlier this year, I wrote a 27-page career planning guide in the form of an eBook called Find Meaningful Work. This guide helps you figure out your values (longer term statements that help you steer your career in the right direction) and determine your priorities for your next job (shorter-term areas of focus that matter to you in the here and now.)

If you'd like to get it, you can find it here.

3. Book me for a talk.

I often do author talks, conference keynotes, and podcast guest appearances.

Want to find out if I can help you? Comment below, message me on LinkedIn, or email me: nataly (at) borntobeglobal.com.

Looking for my books, blog, and other writing?

Those are all linked on my website, Born to Be Global, where you can contact me too.

Have a great week ahead, and thanks again for reading!

Nataly