Think Like a CEO: The 3 Minute A Day CEO Code

?As a coach of many leading FTSE 100 and Fortune 500 CEOs I was reflecting on what each of us could learn to do in just 3-minutes each day to radically build our chances of success and wellbeing.

The 1st Minute:

Focus on Your New Story About You

The stories you tell yourself about you, create you – they can make you powerful enough to change the world, or diminish you to nothing. Our thoughts and mindset are formed by the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves and our world. If we do not consciously create our stories, they will create us.

Every C-level leader I have coached has consciously created a new story about who they are. Typically, this is just four sentences we shape about their strengths, values, fascinations and purpose. Each day they will spend a few seconds reflecting on and connecting with this story. This means you show up at your best, not with the words of your worst boss, or most critical self, echoing in your head. So, take a few minutes with us create this new story. Then spend 60 seconds per day connecting with it.

The 2nd Minute:

Three Micro-Techniques for Success

We live and lead in a more and more pressurised world. Most leaders do not have the time for an extended exercise, meditation, or thinking-regime. Today’s leaders need MICRO-TECHNIQUES to reset themselves in the moment and to build their resilience. These micro-techniques typically work best when they incorporate something which moves the three key parts of our brain – from chimp, to emotion, to cognition. My second minute here would involve:

1.???? Box breathing to calm my chimp: learnt from a leading surgeon, which he uses as he prepares to perform life-saving operations - to build extreme focus and alleviate stress in the most challenging circumstances.

2.???? Anchoring to steady my emotions: by reliving a memory of great self-belief for a few seconds so I don’t just think I’m at my best – I deeply feel it. Anchoring is used by top sports and business people to show up at their best and is used across all high performance cultures – though goes by a variety of names.

3.???? Reframe so my mindset empowers me: typically here I would just say a few words to myself to get into the zone. To take control. I might use the mantra used by the world’s most famous rugby team here, “this is my time”, or perhaps I’d say to myself, “I’ve been preparing my whole life for this moment”.

The Third Minute:

There is No Better Time To Change Than Now

I’m a fan of making change happen in the moment, not waiting for new year’s resolutions or putting change off. If something is worth changing it is worth changing now. My final minute would be noting the three things I wished to change or drive forward today, in line with my purpose and mission, and defined by my, not someone elses’ agenda – and not by my inbox. If you are setting yourself and your organisation up for success that needs to start right now.

About the author

Matt Richards is an accomplished CEO, Managing Director & Behavioural Change Strategist, with two decades of C-suite leadership, mentoring and coaching experience. Matt has an MSc Executive Coaching & Behavioural Change from Henley Business School and is an ICF Credentialed Coach – PCC. Based in Surrey in the UK, when Matt is not coaching he can often be seen happily lagging way behind his two teenage daughters on a cross-country run, ski route or mountain bike trail.

To find out more about Matt and the work he does get in touch with us at The Coaching Solution.