The Power of Leverage

Leverage. Where do I even start?

In my recent Dallas cohort, I found myself compelled to really drive home the point about leverage. A majority of you reading this won't really understand the immense role leverage plays in your careers. Leverage exists just beyond your skillset, your expertise, and your ability to make shit happen. It's that nuance variable that truly separates the ones who are "competent" from the ones who are most "effective" in their roles.

I'm writing this article about this particular topic because the advent of tangible AI is upon us. Where once we could rely solely on our experience, expertise, and resume, we now need to understand and master leverage as part of our overall value proposition. Derp face? I'll explain.

What is "leverage?"

Definition:

1. use (something) to maximum advantage.

YOU are leverage. Your network is leverage. Your skills are leverage. Your ability to send a couple of texts (and maybe a bottle of not-so-cheap champagne) to make the impossible happen is leverage. Your affiliation with a company, a CEO, or an industry leading product is leverage.

In my (almost) 30 years as a top-producing Executive Assistant, I understood and willfully exploited the power of leverage. Leverage isn't a simple name drop. It's so much more. Let me be clear, the ones who understand and strategically wield the power of leverage know WHEN to name drop. The ones who don't look like complete douches. (You've seen it. NOT cute.) As an EA at the top of the game, leverage was one of the most exploited, game changing tools in my arsenal. After almost 30 years in the game I used leverage to help the CEOs I supported score everything from meetings to impossible-to-get tickets to investment checks. The reason I preach managing your network is because it is one of the most important leverages you have.

Levels of Leverage

Most people thought I wrote my first book because I had a story to tell. I do, but I'm happy to set the record straight. I wrote my book as leverage. I quickly realized that after jumping into the Executive Assistant advocacy arena half a decade ago, that the only way I would be seen as an "expert" in the field was if I had a book under my belt to validate the fact that I knew WTF I was talking about. If you notice, my book wasn't strictly about being "the world's greatest Executive Assistant." Too narrow a focus. I strategically wrote it to be broad enough to be relevant to readers at all levels of business. A curious CEO could quickly identify the error of their ways reading it, because it was written from a perspective that was essential to their success, but whose opinion was rarely tapped, even though they knew where ALL the bodies were buried. Conversely, it was written to help those in administrative support positions realize the immense power they have even when the title was a blocker, the compensation wasn't commensurate with contribution, and actual understanding of the role and scope continued to be limited to poorly-written job descriptions. My leverage in this instance was my experience...being part of some of the top C-suites in the nation; traveling the world and being in the room with C-suite EAs supporting top global executives; and leaning on everything I learned over the past 28 years as an IC and the 6+ years of being a CEO of my own small businesses. Leveraging all of this I'm able to quite confidently brand myself as an expert and consistently command speaking fees of $7,500 for 45-minute speeches spitting FYAH onstage, leveraging all that experience, SME, and lived experience.

My leverage as a Chief of Staff is an aggregation of everything I learned/experienced as a top-producing, C-suite Executive Assistant and 4x small business owner. Those experiences allow me to readily and quite accurately hypothesize based on first-hand knowledge of how the best companies and CEOs in the world operated and succeeded. The ability to seamlessly run my own successful, small businesses was because of leverage from my years watching Robert Hanson (Levi's, Constellation Brands), Jack Dorsey (Square, ex-Twitter), Farhad Mohit (Flipagram, now TikTok), Blake Scholl (Boom Supersonic), and Amjad Masad (Replit) do the damn thing...beautifully. I was quickly able to leverage all of that information and cherry-pick the best-of from each leader and vertical and apply to my companies. Those companies grossed 100s of thousands of dollars each and allowed me the "break" I needed before diving back into EA and Chief of Staff roles...where I feel most comfortable, professionally.

My resume is a leverage. Intentionally. My goal as a "worker" has always been to create enough of a differential between my peer and myself as I could, especially when competing for similar roles. (Another reason, I became a CEO...that shit is exhausting!) All the way down to the navy blue font (vs. plebian black) I use on my resume, I've been intentional about everything regarding the way I show up and all that I leverage in order to achieve my objective. When recruiters read my resume, it immediately categorizes me as a player. I'm "old" by today's standards, but I can assure you that no hair-twirling, 20+ year old can make shit happen as quickly and comprehensively as I can. You want Lizzo to perform at your Christmas party? Three texts, her favorite liquor (I know it via inside info), and pockets deep enough...DONE! Try scoring her as a fresh out of college newbie without knowing at least 3 members of her band AND her tour manager. Ladies and gentleman: LEVERAGE. Eat up.

How Leverage Can Save You Now

Let me be clear. If you've been following me for the past 6 years you've heard me beating the drum, ad nauseam, about the coming of AI. Welp...you're welcome.

The TL;DR about AI is that it's not here to make friends. It's here to "right size." As such, the shot across the bow has been shot. As I told my recent Dallas EA cohort, if you've not already established your indispensability, you're officially on the chopping block. If the role you currently do can be done 80 -100% by AI, you really need to start crafting or leaning into your Plan B. Good business means you are leaning into (cheaper) technologies that allow you to increase productivity and profitability in lieu of expensive headcount that calls in sick, goes on vacation, has grievances, states pronouns, etc. Harsh? Mmmkay. But welcome to 21st Century Business 101. I'm your professor: Phoenix Normand. Take a seat.

You now need to be able to not only leverage your expertise, experience, and network, but your personal brand. I've been teaching EAs for years to double down on their personal brands so that when AI came for their EA jobs, they would be able to quickly shift focus, start businesses of their own (with financial support and a pre-populated client list), and be able to support themselves in the flip of the switch vs. being caught out like so many we see in the news and those on LinkedIn begging for help finding a job.

Quick digression: Sorry-not-sorry to be that guy, but I'm comfortable with the potential ire. I have a REAL issue with people who take to the LinkedIn airwaves to beg for help to find a job. The fact you didn't have a Plan B, got REALLY comfortable with that bi-weekly check coming in, and got caught out when the companies you thought were more invested in you than they let on, all-too-quickly excluded you from their bottom line because AI can do it better and more effectively...sorry, my empathy coffers are woefully depleted. If your profile was, essentially, inactive for years prior to your recent desperate plea...sorry, I'm judging. Hit me up for a coaching session or two on phoenixnormand.com and I will quickly teach you how to create, market, and leverage your personal/professional brand in record time to find the role of your dreams. But please spare those of us who have LIVED on LinkedIn for years and built numerous businesses on LinkedIn (I'm on biz #3...including a 4.8 stars-on-Amazon book) with your desperate sob stories that hold little weight beyond the "sorry to hear that" they warrant. I welcome your ire. But I'll warn you: pack a hearty lunch before you come for me. I'm a formidable opponent who understands and partakes in leverage and understands HOW to leverage LinkedIn to get exactly what you want. Choose well.

If you're part of the aforementioned, you have a LONG road ahead of you. However, those of you who are hip to the AI game, watching a few YouTubes a week, and maybe even learning how to code like my EA/CoS community, EA(3x), are doing via Replit 's amazing "100 Days of Code" classes on YouTube then you're well on your way to understanding how to leverage where you are now with where you need to be in order to compete for and score the new roles AI will force into existing businesses.

In Conclusion

For years, like many of you, I've been chasing the magic key to success for all the millionaires and billionaires we hold in such high regard. Aside from luck, recognizing opportunity, and great timing, LEVERAGE is the final cog in the wheel for insane success. I've had a front-row seat for decades of some of the most game-changing C-suites in business. By design. As such, I can assure you that the numerous, game-changing executives I've supported over the years don't have anything physiologically different than you and I that makes them more apt to be successful. What they DO have is the aggregation of all the aforementioned factors, with a healthy sprinkle of all-in focus that keeps them focused on their intended outcome. Most of us tap out when shit gets hard. Most of us don't ask for help or recommendations because we don't want to bother. Most of us have egos that are so disproportionately larger than our socio-economic status that we don't allow ourselves to humble ourselves to the degree that a zillionaire-in-the-making has, who might be crafting his/her idea from the basement of their Mom's house.

Leverage will not only save you, it will help you thrive beyond your wildest dreams. When you understand the power of leverage, utilize it, and pay it forward, you'll be shocked at the moves you will make to achieve exactly what you want. Ignore it, take the safe route, or misuse it selfishly, and you'll find that it (leverage) doesn't give a shit about you and will happily remain a tool in a toolbox of, likely, other tools you don't use to your advantage.

We're in a new world, kids...with different rules than we were raised with. Leverage can feel douchey but I assure you it's not. It's the tool of the successful ones among us. Understand it and use it well and it will change your life. I'm proof.

Stay tuned for an upcoming announcement from me. LEVERAGE will be the first topic.

See you out there.