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This week on the Build a Vibrant Culture Podcast, Nicole interviews Richard Medcalf, author of Making TIME for Strategy: How to be less busy and more successful. Richard describes himself as "what you get if you were to put a McKinsey consultant, a slightly unorthodox pastor and an entrepreneur into a blender." Richard is the founder of Xquadrant and a trusted advisor to exceptional CEOs and entrepreneurs, and their leadership teams. He has advised business owners and C-level execs for over 25 years, and he founded Xquadrant with the mission of helping elite leaders reinvent their 'success formula' and multiply their impact on their purpose, their people and their profit. His personal 1:1 clients include CEOs of billion dollar companies, a Chairman nominated by EY as Entrepreneur of the Year, an Olympic medallist, and the founders of tech 'unicorns'. Richard also runs the high-end CEO community, Rivendell. Richard is bi-national English/French, lives near Paris, is happily married and is the proud father of two. He's also a licensed lay minister in the Anglican Church, and has an insatiable love for spicy food and the electric guitar.In this episode, Richard talks about: [00:09:17] What strategic time is and how it will help to create success in the future.[00:17:32] How to use the acronym TIME: Tactics, Influence, Mindset, Environment to take action and choose your own adventure.[00:25:58] How to use a commitment inventory to prioritize your time and cut out unnecessary time-wastersI am grateful to Richard for sharing his insights about achieving exponential impact! To access listener free resources, go to https://xquadrant.com/vibrantDownload the first two chapters of his book here: https://xquadrant.com/time/Buy his book here: https://a.co/d/7d5gdY5Want to know more about Richard?Website: https://xquadrant.com/Podcast: https://xquadrant.com/podcast/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardmedcalf/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thexquadrantFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/xquadrant/X: https://x.com/rmedcalfThreads: https://www.threads.net/@thexquadrantDon't forget to like, comment, and subscribe to the Build a Vibrant Culture podcast for more insights on creating thriving workplaces!
In this episode of Doing the Opposite: Business Disruptors, Jeff Dewing speaks to Richard Medcalf, Founder and CEO of Xquadrant, which works to help elite leaders scale and create exponentially greater impact, enabling them to make a positive dent in the world without anxiety and frustration. Richard has advised business owners and C-level execs for over 25 years.Richard is all about strategy in business; helping leaders to achieve personally, professionally and for a greater good, ultimately leaving a lasting positive legacy. “If we have the opportunities, the resources, the skills, the ambition, the energy, - let's go and make a difference. You only live life once” Richard says. Richard is a firm believer that we should make the most of any opportunities we are given – not everyone will receive equal opportunity so you should make the most of whatever may arise. He tells the story of how he cared for his disabled sister, and how she became an inspiration and the motivation for him to achieve professionally. Richard discusses the three games of leadership: playing not to lose, playing to win, and playing to play. He highlights the need for leaders to be strategic and magnetic, inspiring their teams and creating a culture of collaboration. Medcalf also emphasises the importance of seeking feedback and continuously improving as a leader. He encourages leaders to do the opposite and challenge the status quo to drive positive change. Jeff and Richard discuss inspiration; how you can inspire your team and how you can become inspired yourself. You need to understand what moves YOU in order to be able to move others. Without being truly inspired yourself, you won't be able to inspire your team. Richard's book ‘Making TIME for Strategy' is out now. You can also listen to Richard's podcast ‘The Impact Multiplier CEO'. Hosted by Jeff DewingWatch the podcast on YouTube Discover Cloudfm GroupWebsite | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn
This week it was my pleasure to welcome Richard Medcalf to the show for a discussion about his book, Making Time for Strategy: How to Be Less Busy and More Successful. Richard describes himself as "what you get if you were to put a McKinsey consultant, a slightly unorthodox pastor and an entrepreneur into a blender". He is the founder of Xquadrant, which helps elite leaders reinvent their 'success formula' and multiply their impact. His personal clients include CEOs of billion-dollar corporations, successful serial entrepreneurs, and the founders of tech 'unicorns'. Richard has advised the C-Suite for over 25 years. After a Masters at Oxford University, where he came top in his year, he joined a premier strategy consultancy and later became the youngest-ever Partner. He then spent 11 years at tech giant Cisco in an elite team reporting to the CEO. In this episode, we uncover the power of strategic leadership, time allocation, and the impact of energizing activities on productivity. Richard shares real client success stories and practical tactics to move beyond mere task management and into deep strategic thinking. In addition, Richard and I explore the pitfalls of being overwhelmed by daily tasks, the transformative power of taking time for rest and reflection, and the shift from task orientation to strategic planning. Richard offers listeners practical insights and actionable tactics to guide you towards more effective time management and lasting success. ________________________________________ Connect with Richard: Website Book Free Assessment & Resources LinkedIn Twitter ________________________________________ Connect with Erik: Sign Up For Our Newsletter LinkedIn Facebook Instagram and Threads ________________________________________ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this podcast episode, Dr. Jonathan H. Westover talks with Richard Medcalf about his book, Making TIME For Strategy. Richard Medcalf (https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardmedcalf/) describes himself as "what you get if you were to put a McKinsey consultant, a slightly unorthodox pastor and an entrepreneur into a blender". He is the founder of Xquadrant and a trusted advisor to exceptional CEOs and entrepreneurs, and their leadership teams. Check out all of the podcasts in the HCI Podcast Network! Check out the HCI Academy: Courses, Micro-Credentials, and Certificates to Upskill and Reskill for the Future of Work! Check out the LinkedIn Alchemizing Human Capital Newsletter. Check out Dr. Westover's book, The Future Leader. Check out Dr. Westover's book, 'Bluer than Indigo' Leadership. Check out Dr. Westover's book, The Alchemy of Truly Remarkable Leadership. Check out the latest issue of the Human Capital Leadership magazine. Each HCI Podcast episode (Program, ID No. 627454) has been approved for 0.50 HR (General) recertification credit hours toward aPHR™, aPHRi™, PHR®, PHRca®, SPHR®, GPHR®, PHRi™ and SPHRi™ recertification through HR Certification Institute® (HRCI®). Each HCI Podcast episode (Program ID: 24-DP529) has been approved for 0.50 HR (General) SHRM Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for SHRM-CP and SHRM-SCPHR recertification through SHRM, as part of the knowledge and competency programs related to the SHRM Body of Applied Skills and Knowledge™ (the SHRM BASK™). Human Capital Innovations has been pre-approved by the ATD Certification Institute to offer educational programs that can be used towards initial eligibility and recertification of the Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD) and Associate Professional in Talent Development (APTD) credentials. Each HCI Podcast episode qualifies for a maximum of 0.50 points.
In this "Throwback Thursday" HCI Podcast episode, Dr. Jonathan H. Westover talks with Richard Medcalf about marrying the disciplines of strategy and leadership in the service of our clients. Richard Medcalf (https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardmedcalf/) describes himself as "what you get if you were to put a McKinsey consultant, a slightly unorthodox pastor and an entrepreneur into a blender". Richard is an executive coach & leadership consultant to exceptional founders & CEOs and their leadership teams. 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. After a Masters Degree at Oxford University, where he came top in his year, Richard started his career in a premier strategy consultancy where he rose to become the youngest-ever Partner. He then spent 11 years at tech giant Cisco, firstly elevating Cisco's relevance in the C-suite of its Fortune 100 customers before being selected for an elite team to catalyse strategic partnerships & new business models. Richard has advised Founders and C-level execs for 20 years, from Fortune 100 companies to high-growth tech firms. Keen to marry the disciplines of strategy and leadership in service of his clients, he qualified as a senior leadership consultant and executive coach before founding Xquadrant in 2017. Richard is bi-national English/French, lives near Paris, and is happily married and the proud father of two. Further explore the topics discussed in this episode with the new HCIConsulting Chatbot: https://poe.com/HCIConsulting. Check out the HCI Academy: Courses, Micro-Credentials, and Certificates to Upskill and Reskill for the Future of Work! Check out the LinkedIn Alchemizing Human Capital Newsletter. Check out Dr. Westover's book, The Future Leader. Check out Dr. Westover's book, 'Bluer than Indigo' Leadership. Check out Dr. Westover's book, The Alchemy of Truly Remarkable Leadership. Check out the latest issue of the Human Capital Leadership magazine. Each HCI Podcast episode (Program, ID No. 627454) has been approved for 0.50 HR (General) recertification credit hours toward aPHR™, aPHRi™, PHR®, PHRca®, SPHR®, GPHR®, PHRi™ and SPHRi™ recertification through HR Certification Institute® (HRCI®). Each HCI Podcast episode (Program ID: 24-DP529) has been approved for 0.50 HR (General) SHRM Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for SHRM-CP and SHRM-SCPHR recertification through SHRM, as part of the knowledge and competency programs related to the SHRM Body of Applied Skills and Knowledge™ (the SHRM BASK™). Human Capital Innovations has been pre-approved by the ATD Certification Institute to offer educational programs that can be used towards initial eligibility and recertification of the Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD) and Associate Professional in Talent Development (APTD) credentials. Each HCI Podcast episode qualifies for a maximum of 0.50 points.
In this "Throwback Thursday" HCI Podcast episode, Dr. Jonathan H. Westover talks with Richard Medcalf about marrying the disciplines of strategy and leadership in the service of our clients. Richard Medcalf (https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardmedcalf/) describes himself as "what you get if you were to put a McKinsey consultant, a slightly unorthodox pastor and an entrepreneur into a blender". Richard is an executive coach & leadership consultant to exceptional founders & CEOs and their leadership teams. 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. After a Masters Degree at Oxford University, where he came top in his year, Richard started his career in a premier strategy consultancy where he rose to become the youngest-ever Partner. He then spent 11 years at tech giant Cisco, firstly elevating Cisco's relevance in the C-suite of its Fortune 100 customers before being selected for an elite team to catalyse strategic partnerships & new business models. Richard has advised Founders and C-level execs for 20 years, from Fortune 100 companies to high-growth tech firms. Keen to marry the disciplines of strategy and leadership in service of his clients, he qualified as a senior leadership consultant and executive coach before founding Xquadrant in 2017. Richard is bi-national English/French, lives near Paris, and is happily married and the proud father of two. Further explore the topics discussed in this episode with the new HCIConsulting Chatbot: https://poe.com/HCIConsulting. Check out the HCI Academy: Courses, Micro-Credentials, and Certificates to Upskill and Reskill for the Future of Work! Check out the LinkedIn Alchemizing Human Capital Newsletter. Check out Dr. Westover's book, The Future Leader. Check out Dr. Westover's book, 'Bluer than Indigo' Leadership. Check out Dr. Westover's book, The Alchemy of Truly Remarkable Leadership. Check out the latest issue of the Human Capital Leadership magazine. Each HCI Podcast episode (Program, ID No. 627454) has been approved for 0.50 HR (General) recertification credit hours toward aPHR™, aPHRi™, PHR®, PHRca®, SPHR®, GPHR®, PHRi™ and SPHRi™ recertification through HR Certification Institute® (HRCI®). Each HCI Podcast episode (Program ID: 24-DP529) has been approved for 0.50 HR (General) SHRM Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for SHRM-CP and SHRM-SCPHR recertification through SHRM, as part of the knowledge and competency programs related to the SHRM Body of Applied Skills and Knowledge™ (the SHRM BASK™). Human Capital Innovations has been pre-approved by the ATD Certification Institute to offer educational programs that can be used towards initial eligibility and recertification of the Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD) and Associate Professional in Talent Development (APTD) credentials. Each HCI Podcast episode qualifies for a maximum of 0.50 points. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
CEO Podcasts: CEO Chat Podcast + I AM CEO Podcast Powered by Blue 16 Media & CBNation.co
Why it was selected for "CBNation Architects": In this episode of the I AM CEO Podcast, host Gresham Harkless interviews Richard Medcalf, the founder of Xquadrant, a coaching company that provides strategic guidance to CEOs and entrepreneurs. Richard is also the author of the book "Making Time for Strategy," which offers practical tools to help leaders achieve breakthrough results. Richard describes himself as a blend of a McKinsey consultant, a slightly unorthodox pastor, and an entrepreneur. In his CEO story, he shares that his focus has been on coaching CEOs and executives to become more strategic. He emphasizes the importance of getting rid of operational tasks and creating space for strategic thinking. This realization led him to write his book, which explores counterintuitive truths that can transform leadership impact. The key business service provided by Xquadrant is coaching, and Richard highlights the importance of T.I.M.E. tactics in his book. This includes focusing on time workflow, renegotiating with those around you, examining mindset, and creating an environment that fosters breakthroughs. Richard's secret sauce lies in the clarity of thinking and driving that clarity into action to achieve desired results. His CEO hack is about finding the balance between structure and creativity, emphasizing the value of having a framework while allowing space for innovative thinking. One of Richard's CEO nuggets is strategic laziness, which involves identifying key activities that can have a significant impact on overall success. According to him, being a CEO means taking total ownership of the project and driving it forward. Listeners can find more information about Richard Medcalf and Xquadrant on their websites at xquadrant.com and makingtimeforstrategy.com. They can also connect with Richard on LinkedIn. Overall, this episode offers insights from Richard Medcalf, an author, and coach who helps his clients achieve strategic results through his company, Xquadrant. Listeners can gain valuable knowledge on strategic thinking, leadership impact, and practical tools to make time for strategy and achieve breakthrough results. Check out our CEO Hack Buzz Newsletter--our premium newsletter with hacks and nuggets to level up your organization. Sign up HERE. I AM CEO Handbook Volume 3 is HERE and it's FREE. Get your copy here: http://cbnation.co/iamceo3. Get the 100+ things that you can learn from 1600 business podcasts we recorded. Hear Gresh's story, learn the 16 business pillars from the podcast, find out about CBNation Architects and why you might be one and so much more. Did we mention it was FREE? Download it today! Previous Episode: https://iamceo.co/2022/12/19/iam1589-author-and-coach-helps-his-clients-achieve-strategic-results/
In this week's pod, we were joined by Richard Medcalf to discuss making time for strategy.Richard Medcalf describes himself as "what you get if you were to put a McKinsey consultant, a slightly unorthodox pastor and an entrepreneur into a blender".He is the founder of Xquadrant and a trusted advisor to exceptional CEOs and entrepreneurs, and their leadership teams.The main topics we discussed on the podcast were as follows: Find your rocket fuel! Having a sense of purpose will help to drive you during your career Make investments to create a better future We live in a world of infinity – emails / books / communications. Try to beat with productivity Think about TIME: Tactics Influence Mindset Environment Check your personal values and mindset. What do you do that creates value for your stakeholders? Aim to create “strategic time”. Start with achievable and small blocks and see the benefit of the ability to focus on a particular project Making Time for Strategy: How to be less busy and more successful – Richard Medcalf: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Making-TIME-Strategy-less-successful/dp/1915036747/ XQuadrant - Discover your strategy score: https://xquadrant.aidaform.com/makingtime Here are links to some of the topics we discussed:Join us next time when we're joined by Rupert Taylor to discuss Swimming against the tide - next-generation PMO.For more information, blogs or to support our charities visit www.projectchatterpodcast.comIf you'd like to sponsor the podcast get in touch via our website.You can also leave us a voice message via our anchor page and let us know if there's something or someone specific that you would like on the podcast.Proudly sponsored by: InEight - https://ineight.com/Stay safe, be disruptive and have fun doing it!#ProjectManagement #PMO #ProjectControls #Leadership --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/project-chatter-podcast/message
Richard Medcalf reveals how to free up time for the strategic activities that will advance your career. — YOU'LL LEARN — 1) Why productivity won't solve busy-ness. 2) The crucial question that makes you more strategic. 3) The powerful reframe that slashes busywork. Subscribe or visit AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep867 for clickable versions of the links below. — ABOUT RICHARD — Richard Medcalf describes himself as "what you get if you were to put a McKinsey consultant, a slightly unorthodox pastor and an entrepreneur into a blender". He is the founder of Xquadrant, which helps elite leaders reinvent their 'success formula' and multiply their impact. His personal clients include CEOs of billion-dollar corporations, successful serial entrepreneurs, and the founders of tech 'unicorns'. Richard has advised the C-Suite for over 25 years. After a Masters at Oxford University, where he came top in his year, he joined a premier strategy consultancy and later became the youngest-ever Partner. He then spent 11 years at tech giant Cisco in an elite team reporting to the CEO. Richard is bi-national English/French, lives near Paris, and is happily married and the proud father of two. He has an insatiable love for spicy food and the electric guitar. • Book: Making TIME for Strategy: How to be less busy and more successful • Strategy Score Test: XQuadrant.com/awesomeatyourjob • LinkedIn: Richard Medcalf — RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW — • Book: The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth About Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan • Book: Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect by Will Guidara • Past episode: 080: Finding and Doing the One Thing with Jay Papasan • Past episode: 544: How to Build Exceptional Influence in a Noisy Digital Age with Richard Medcalf See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
In this episode, Richard Medcalf, founder of Xquadrant, introduces a new season of The Impact Multiplier CEO Podcast: Business as a Force for Good.
In this episode, I had a fantastic conversation with Richard Medcalf, the author of the book "Making Time for Strategy". He's a unique blend of a McKinsey consultant, an unorthodox pastor, and an entrepreneur, and he's the founder of X Quadrant. Richard is also a trusted advisor to exceptional CEOs and entrepreneurs, and their leadership teams. During our chat, we talked about his book, where we covered a lot of interesting topics. We started by exploring the idea of firefighting, and how it can prevent us from making time for strategy. We also delved into the phrasing we use when trying to free ourselves from obligations and the difference between obligations and commitments. It's a paradoxical situation that many of us can find ourselves in, and we had an enlightening discussion on how to navigate it. Richard's book is packed with essential insights and strategies that can help you make time for what's truly important in your life, whether that's personal or professional. We only scratched the surface during our conversation, but I encourage you to read the book for more in-depth advice. Overall, it was a great conversation, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I could have talked to Richard for hours, but we distilled the essential elements from the book for our listeners. However, don't just take my word for it; listen to the episode! Links Worth Exploring Connect with Richard: Website | Twitter | LinkedIn Buy Richard's book Making Time for Strategy Visit XQuadrant.com for more resources Related Conversation: The Bullet Journal Method with Ryder Carroll Related Blog Post: Yes Before No Thanks to all of the sponsors of this episode. You can find all of the sponsors you heard me mention on this episode on our Podcast Sponsors page. Want to support the podcast? Beyond checking out our sponsors, you can subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. Click on any of the links below to make that happen. Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher You can also click on this link to paste the podcast feed into your podcast app of choice. Thanks again for listening to A Productive Conversation. See you later. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week on the Evolving Leader podcast, co-hosts Jean Gomes and Scott Allender talk to Richard Medcalf. Richard is the founder and CEO of Xquadrant, a consultancy that he set up in 2017 with a mission to help top leaders reinvent their success formula and multiply the impact that they have on their purpose, people and their profit. Richard also runs Rivendell, an international peer community of entrepreneurs and CEOs. His book ‘Making TIME for Strategy' was published in November 2022. 0.00 Introduction4.27 Can you start by telling us how you've come to be who you are?6.42 Who is your book aimed at and what is the problem you're solving for?8.40 In your book you talk about how you see rising demand, constant overload and seemingly no hope except possibly more of the same. Can you give us a sense of what you are seeing in this regard and how have those demands have changed over recent years?12.20 You talk about the power of strategic time as being the number one predictor of success as a leader, but the reality of immediate demands means that for many leaders this is out of their grasp. How do can they rethink this?16.38 Could you walk us through your solutions and specifically the TIME acronym that you use and how that works?21.28 In your experience working with leaders, how challenging is it for them to be honest about the time wasters vs the things that really add value? 23.26 So, the tactical move doesn't operate in isolation for the leader. Does it solve the problem or do they need to be thinking wider than this?25.23 Can you give us an example of a particularly challenging type of conversation that leaders need to have that they may be avoiding or finding difficult to have?28.08 From your perspective what are the specific mindset blocks that are of particular importance when making this work?32.50 When you talk to leaders about having to shift their mindset, the block is often a feeling of helplessness or powerlessness. How do you help people cope with what's going on inside them to deal with that shift in their thinking?34.58 Turning to the final part of the acronym, what's the environmental challenge? 36.20 You point out that incremental progress is no way to beat infinity. Can you talk about the bold moves necessary to make real impact?43.03 We've been talking about this from an individual perspective, but how does a team facing these challenges incorporate these? 47.20 Richard, I want you to inspire us. What can I do when I get some time to myself to start my journey along some of these ideas, and I'd like us to think about someone at the start of their career as well as the more mature leaders? The Evolving Leader is researched, written and presented by Jean Gomes and Scott Allender with production by Phil Kerby. It is an Outside production.REGISTER NOW forHOW TO BUILD YOUR MINDSET with Jean Gomes26 April 2023, 17:00 (GMT +1)
"Questions are people telling you what your value is to them" Richard Medcalf speaks with Jason Feifer, the editor in chief of Entrepreneur magazine. Jason is also a podcast host, book author, keynote speaker, startup advisor, and nonstop optimism machine. His goal is to help you become more resilient and adaptable in a world of constant change, and has recently released a new book, Build For Tomorrow.
"There are few things that build trust like consistency." In this episode, Richard Medcalf speaks with Dan Miller, the New York Times best-selling author of 48 Days To The Work You Love. Over 140,000 people have subscribed to his weekly newsletter, and his 48 Days Podcast consistently ranks in the top 1% of all podcasts. Dan's mission is to foster the process of imagining, dreaming and introspection, to help people find their calling and true path, and to translate that into meaningful, purposeful and profitable daily work.
"Be the steakhouse not the buffet." As founder and CEO of The Speaker Lab, Grant Baldwin has helped thousands of people build successful and sustainable speaking businesses. Over the last 15 years Grant has become a sought after speaker, podcaster, author, and accomplished entrepreneur.
"Quit talking, start doing" Today we're continuing our season "Mission-Driven CEOs", where top Chief Execs talk about the impact they want to make beyond just the financials - in terms of the company mission and their personal leadership legacy - and how they put that into practice on a daily basis. Today Richard speaks with Remco Samuels (CEO, EVBox, a leading provider of smart charging stations and software, and part of the Engie group).
"We didn't have clarity when we started." Today we're continuing our season "Mission-Driven CEOs". Richard speaks with Scott White, an experienced serial entrepreneur, now leading his sixth technology venture as CEO of PragmatIC Semiconductor. We talk about impact he wants to make beyond just the financials - in terms of the company mission and their personal leadership legacy - and how he puts that into practice on a daily basis.
In this episode of the Remote CEO Show, I had the pleasure to interview Richard Medcalf. Richard Medcalf describes himself as "what you get if you were to put a McKinsey consultant, a slightly unorthodox pastor, and an entrepreneur into a blender".He is the founder of Xquadrant and a trusted advisor to exceptional CEOs and entrepreneurs, and their leadership teams.
"It's like climbing a mountain knee-deep in mud..." We're continuing our season "Mission-Driven CEOs". Top Chief Execs talk about the impact they want to make beyond just the financials - in terms of the company mission and their personal leadership legacy - and how they put that into practice on a daily basis. Today Richard speaks with Michael Lahiff, former Navy SEAL and now CEO of ZeroEyes, an intelligent video analytics company that uses artificial intelligence with existing security cameras to detect weapons and send alerts to local staff and first responders.
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.
"Optimisation always inhibits evolution." We're continuing our season "Mission-Driven CEOs". Top Chief Execs talk about the impact they want to make beyond just the financials - in terms of the company mission and their personal leadership legacy - and how they put that into practice on a daily basis. Today Richard Medcalf talks with Saket Kumar, the Chief Exec of Vitt, a business that helps software companies raise immediate, upfront growth capital - without debt or dilution.
Your future success as a leader depends on your ability to extract yourself from operational minutiae and make time for strategic activity. If you're having trouble getting out of the weeds, you don't need a new productivity trick. You need to begin a deeper leadership journey to address four core factors – Tactics, Influence, Mindset and Environment (T.I.M.E.). Richard Medcalf, an advisor to some of the world's most accomplished CEOs, reveals the secrets to becoming a more strategic leader, and offers a complete set of strategies to help you elevate your focus. Bio: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NSVnvh1eA9-YC7B_0AxhuCv1w0DacCo0KbR1SPXiuOk/edit?usp=sharing Social Media Links: Book website: http://makingtimeforstrategy.com/ Xquadrant website: https://xquadrant.com/ Richard's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardmedcalf/ Richard's Podcast: https://xquadrant.com/podcast/ Resource for Breakfast Leadership listeners: https://BreakfastLeadership.com/Medcalf
"Don't confuse my bonhomie with weakness!" We're continuing our season looking at the insights from some of the world's fastest-growing businesses, as measured by the Financial Times in this years FT1000 ranking. In this episode, Xquadrant's founder Richard Medcalf speaks with Darren Comber, the CEO of Scott Brownrigg, an architectural design firm that has repeatedly been listed as one of the top 1000 Companies to Inspire Europe by the London Stock Exchange Group.
"Busyness is a form of laziness." We're continuing this season looking at the insights from some of the world's fastest-growing businesses, as measured by the Financial Times in this years FT1000 ranking. In this episode, Xquadrant's founder Richard Medcalf speaks with Don Wenner, founder and CEO of DLP Capital, which has experienced 300-600% annual growth over a three year period for 17 straight years.
"It's time to make some bold moves to free yourself up." Today we wrap up this season, where we've been discussing Richard's new book, Making Time For Strategy. We review the big lessons every leader needs to take away and look at how to turn the ideas from the book into meaningful and sustainable change.
"Using our time more strategically is one thing; helping our whole team do the same is quite another." We continue to explore Richard's new book, Making Time For Strategy. Today we dive into the Environment Challenge, which is an essential question for every leader: how can I shape the culture of my team and organisation so we extract ourselves from the busywork and fire-fighting ... and align around what's really important?
"He thought he was being trustworthy and reliable - I showed him the opposite was true!" We continue to discuss Richard's new book, Making Time For Strategy. Today we dive into the Mindset Challenge, which is so incredibly important for every leader to address if you want to make more than minor tweaks to your use of time.
CEO Podcasts: CEO Chat Podcast + I AM CEO Podcast Powered by Blue 16 Media & CBNation.co
Richard Medcalf describes himself as "what you get if you were to put a McKinsey consultant, a slightly unorthodox pastor and an entrepreneur into a blender". He is the founder of Xquadrant and a trusted advisor to exceptional CEOs and entrepreneurs, and their leadership teams. His new book, Making Time for Strategy, will radically change how you think about your path to leadership impact, and give you practical tools to move you away from incremental progress and closer to breakthrough results. Website: https://xquadrant.com , makingtimeforstrategy.com LinkedIn: richardmedcalf Podcast: xquadrant.com/podcast
"You can't make time for strategy without having some bold conversations." In this season, Davina Stanley speaks with Xquadrant's founder, Richard Medcalf, about his new book, Making Time For Strategy. Today we dive into the Influence Challenge, which is an absolutely essential topic to address if you want your more strategic focus to be accepted and supported by your stakeholders.
"It won't get quieter next quarter!" In this season, Davina Stanley speaks with Xquadrant's founder, Richard Medcalf, about his new book, Making Time For Strategy. Today we dive into the Tactical Challenge, the very first issue to address if you are to elevate your attention as a leader.
This week in the Marketing Studio, our host Ian Truscott chats with Jeff Clark our resident Rockstar CMO strategic advisor and former Research Director at SiriusDecisions/Forrester, about bringing ARTE (Awareness, Revenue, Trust and Enablement) to campaigns, following on from their previous conversations about personas. Richard Medcalf, the founder of Xquadrant, an executive coach and leadership consultant, returns to the show, going backstage with Ian to discuss his new book Making Time for Strategy and discuss the four key success factors that Richard has uncovered in his work with exceptional founders and CEOs and their teams - Tactics, Influence, Mindset, Environment (T.I.M.E.). Finally, we wind down the week in the Rockstar CMO virtual bar and get transported away with Robert Rose, Chief Trouble Maker at The Content Advisory, who shares a thought about differentiation, and how to find your purple ocean. Please get in touch if you have any thoughts or suggestions on the topics we discuss. Enjoy! — The Links (if you can't see them, please stop by https://rockstarcmo.com) The people: Ian Truscott on LinkedIn and Twitter Jeff Clark on LinkedIn and Twitter Richard Metcalf on LinkedIn, Twitter Robert Rose on Twitter and LinkedIn As mentioned in this week's episode: Richard's company: Xquadrant, and his book: Making Time for Strategy Experience Advisors Mastodon The Content Advisory Blog Rockstar CMO: Rockstar CMO on the web, Twitter, and LinkedIn Previous episodes and all show notes: Rockstar CMO FM Track List: Piano Music is by Johnny Easton, shared under a creative commons license We'll be right back by Stienski & Mass Media – on YouTube Paint Me by the Ohio Players on Spotify Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In episode 72, Coffey kicks off a year-end series of conversations on New Year's resolutions for people leaders. This week, he talks with Richard Medcalf about making time for strategic thinking throughout 2023.They discuss the difference between tactics and strategy; the challenges leaders face in setting aside time to think about strategy; Richard's #1 key performance indicator for leaders; Richard's simplified definition of strategy; the importance of “the project no one is asking for”; and how to address the four issues leaders face in making time for strategy: tactics, influence, mindset, and environment.Good Morning, HR is brought to you by Imperative—premium background checks with fast and friendly service. For more information about our commitment to quality and excellent customer service, visit us at https://imperativeinfo.com. If you are an HRCI or SHRM-certified professional, this episode of Good Morning, HR has been pre-approved for three-quarters of a recertification credit. To obtain the recertification information for this episode, visit https://goodmorninghr.com. About our Guest:Richard Medcalf describes himself as "what you get if you were to put a McKinsey consultant, a slightly unorthodox pastor and an entrepreneur into a blender". He is the founder of Xquadrant and a trusted advisor to exceptional CEOs and entrepreneurs, and their leadership teams.Information about his latest book, Making Time for Strategy, can be found at https://MakingTimeForStrategy.com. Richard Medcalf can be reached at https://xquadrant.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardmedcalf About Mike Coffey:Mike Coffey is an entrepreneur, human resources professional, licensed private investigator, and HR consultant.In 1999, he founded Imperative, a background investigations firm helping risk-averse companies make well-informed decisions about the people they involve in their business.Today, Imperative serves hundreds of businesses across the US and, through its PFC Caregiver & Household Screening brand, many more private estates, family offices, and personal service agencies.Mike has been recognized as an Entrepreneur of Excellence and has twice been named HR Professional of the Year. Additionally, Imperative is included in the prestigious Best Places to Work in Texas list and has been named the Texas Association of Business' small business of the year.Mike is a member of the Fort Worth chapter of the Entrepreneurs' Organization and volunteers with the SHRM Texas State Council.Mike maintains his certification as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) through the HR Certification Institute. He is also a SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP).Mike lives in Fort Worth with his very patient wife. He practices yoga and maintains a keto diet, about both of which he will gladly tell you way more than you want to know.Learning Objectives: Define strategic thinking. Address the four issues leaders face in making time for strategy. Effectively plan strategic-thinking sessions.
"It's actually impossible to free yourself up from operations!" In this season, Davina Stanley speaks with Xquadrant's founder, Richard Medcalf, about his new book, Making Time For Strategy. Today we figure out what your most strategic issues are, and highlight the hidden trap that keeps most leaders stuck in the weeds.
"Strategic time is your #1 predictor of future success." In this season, Davina Stanley speaks with Xquadrant's founder, Richard Medcalf, about his new book, Making Time For Strategy. Today we explore why Richard wrote the book, understand how even top leaders struggle with overwork and tunnel vision, and look at why conventional approaches to time management don't work in today's connected age.
"As a leader, when it comes to focus, what are you modelling?" In this episode, Richard speaks with author and speaker David Allen, who is the world's leading expert on personal and organisational productivity. Time Magazine called his flagship book, Getting Things Done, “the definitive business self-help book of the decade.” Fast Company Magazine called David “one of the world's most influential thinkers” in the arena of personal productivity.
In this brief episode Richard introduces season 11 of The Impact Multiplier CEO Podcast, The CEO Rolodex. Richard will be speaking to key business thought leaders about what it means for them to multiply their impact, and what insights their own work is currently generating for CEOs and other ambitious execs.
"I was very scared of scaling." We're continuing our new season looking at the insights from some of the world's fastest-growing businesses. In this episode, Xquadrant's founder Richard Medcalf speaks with Chris Lee, the founder and CEO of Solgen Power. Founded in 2017, Solgen was recently recognised by Financial Times as the 6th fastest growing privately held company in the USA, now employing over 1000 team members in 18 locations.
"HR is commercial-critical." We're continuing this season looking at the insights from some of the world's fastest-growing businesses. In this episode Richard speaks with Erik Martinson, who founded solar panel firm Svea Solar in 2013, and has grown it to a 9-figure, 1000-employee business hitting #164 in the FT1000 list of Europe's fastest growing companies.
In this brief episode, Richard introduces season 10 of the podcast: Secrets of Scaling 2. This is the second year we've spoken with leaders of the world's fastest growing businesses, as documented by the Financial Times. It's going to be another insightful journey, so get ready...
"On day 1 assume you're building a consequential business and act accordingly." We're continuing this season looking at the insights from some of the world's fastest-growing businesses. In this episode Richard speaks with Matthew Scullion, who founded data transformation firm Matillion in 2011, and has grown it to unicorn status, hitting #251 in the FT1000 list of Europe's fastest growing companies. Along the way, Matthew also won the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year award.
"It's easier to tell a story than talk about a strategy!" In this episode Richard talks with Frank Millar. Frank is CEO of CPI, a technology innovation centre that acts as a catalyst bringing together academia, businesses, government and investors to translate bright ideas and research into the marketplace. We're continuing our season "Mission-Driven CEOs". Top Chief Execs talk about the impact they want to make beyond just the financials - in terms of the company mission and their personal leadership legacy - and how they put that into practice on a daily basis.
"I value trust a lot more than control." We're continuing our season "Mission-Driven CEOs". Top Chief Execs talk about the impact they want to make beyond just the financials - in terms of the company mission and their personal leadership legacy - and how they put that into practice on a daily basis. In this episode Richard Medcalf speaks with Adrian Weiler, who was CEO for over 35 years at Inform, an international software business focused on AI-based decision-making. Adrian has now handed over the reins of that business, and we spoke to one of his successors, Matthias Berlit, on a previous episode of the podcast. Instead, Adrian is focusing on Smart Freight Centre, an NGO in the field of climate repair.
"Be comfortable with vulnerability" We're continuing our season "Mission-Driven CEOs". Top Chief Execs talk about the impact they want to make beyond just the financials - in terms of the company mission and their personal leadership legacy - and how they put that into practice on a daily basis. Today Joshua Lachs speaks with Richard Medcalf. Joshua is CEO of Moneythink, a not-for-profit organisation on a mission to help students understand their financial options and the impact of their choices so they can have the best chance for college and career success.
Going from incremental growth to exponential growth requires radical changes in your business—from your mindset and focus to your team and how your company operates. If you're a CEO who feels 'stuck' in incremental growth but wants more, you'll want to listen to this episode of Sales Talk for CEOs Expert Series with Richard Medcalf. Richard is the CEO of Xquadrant, a company that works with high-achieving founders, CEOs, and executives to reinvent their success formula and push their companies to the next level. He knows what it takes to achieve exponential growth and shares his expert advice today. Believe me when I say that all CEOs who want to scale their growth need to understand the ideas discussed in this episode.Our conversation focuses on what CEOs need to do to get to the next level where they can work ON their business instead of just IN their business. We discuss 4 limiting factors that could be holding you back from exponential growth and the crucial role of mindset. We also explore how delegation frees up your time and what you can do to get the right team in place. In the end, the challenge for most CEOs is to envision a very different future (one of exponential growth) versus living in the past (of incremental growth). Richard shares tips on this and what you need to have in place for exponential growth to happen. So, do you want to achieve exponential growth in your company? Then listen in and heed the advice offered in this episode. Highlights:3:05 4 limiting factors that hold you back from exponential growth6:35 The role of mindset in growth12:34 Learning how to delegate—examples and exercises17:45 Getting the right team in place22:23 Envisioning the future vs. living in the past29:29 3 elements needed for exponential growth to happen36:40 Resources for CEOs Quote:“As CEO, if you don't focus on the needle-moving parts of the business, the long-term vision, the strategy, the go-to-market strategy, if you're not making sure that you are really leveling those things up, who is?” Connect with Richard Medcalf in the links below:Website: https://xquadrant.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardmedcalf/ You can learn more about and connect with Alice Heiman in the links below.Website: https://AliceHeiman.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliceheiman/
Richard Medcalf is the founder of Xquadrant, and host of The Impact Multiplier CEO podcast, and describes himself as "what you get if you were to put a McKinsey consultant, a slightly unorthodox pastor and Freddie Mercury into a blender." Richard is an executive coach & leadership consultant to exceptional founders & CEOs and their leadership teams. 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. After a Masters's Degree at Oxford University, where he came top in his year, Richard started his career in a premier strategy consultancy where he rose to become the youngest-ever Partner. He then spent 11 years at tech giant Cisco, firstly elevating Cisco's relevance in the C-suite of its Fortune 100 customers before being selected for an elite team set up by Cisco's President and CEO, John Chambers and Chuck Robbins, to catalyze strategic partnerships & new business models. Richard has advised Founders and C-level execs for 20 years, from Fortune 100 companies (Comcast, Mastercard, Sanofi, Sky, Orange, Bosch…) to high-growth tech firms (in AI, networking, robotics, fintech, …). He has overseen over $2B of deals. Keen to marry the disciplines of strategy and leadership in service of his clients, he qualified as a senior leadership consultant and executive coach before founding Xquadrant in 2017. 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, and has an insatiable love for spicy food and the electric guitar. -- Critical Mass Business Talk Show is Orange County, CA's longest-running business talk show, focused on offering value and insight to middle-market business leaders in the OC and beyond. Hosted by Ric Franzi, business partner at Renaissance Executive Forums Orange County. Learn more about Ric at www.ricfranzi.com. Catch up on past Critical Mass Business Talk Show interviews... YouTube: https://lnkd.in/gHKT2gmF LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/g2PzRhjQ Podbean: https://lnkd.in/eWpNVRi Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/gRd_863w Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gruexU6m #orangecountyca #mastermind #ceopeergroups #peergroups #peerlearning #collectiveintelligence #southerncalifornia #criticalmassbusinesstalkshow
Embracing a learning mindset -- one that's all about experimentation and innovation -- is where great strategy begins. Join host Lori Jones and her guest Richard Medcalf of Xquadrant on this episode of the Integrate & Ignite Marketing Podcast to learn more.
If you lead a team or organisation, your daily demands may suck all your time — leaving no space for strategic thinking. How can you fix that? I talk to Richard Medcalf, founder of Xquadrant and an executive coach, about four mindshifts you can make now.
Richard Medcalf is Founder and CEO of Xquadrant and an executive coach to some of the world's most impressive and successful CEOs and their teams. He's also the host of the Impact Multiplier CEO Podcast. In today's show you can learn about: The productivity paradigm and the infinity trap. Why we don't need a productivity hack, we just need a mindset shift. Why many struggle to focus on higher-value tasks and prioritization. How to kick start our strategic thinking. Join our Tribe at https://leadership-hacker.com Music: " Upbeat Party " by Scott Holmes courtesy of the Free Music Archive FMA Transcript: Thanks to Jermaine Pinto at JRP Transcribing for being our Partner. Contact Jermaine via LinkedIn or via his site JRP Transcribing Services Find out more about Richard below: Special Link to resources: https://xquadrant.com/hacker Richard on LinkedIn: https: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardmedcalf/ Richard on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rmedcalf Podcast: https://xquadrant.com/podcast/ Company Website: https://xquadrant.com/ Full Transcript Below ----more---- Steve Rush: Some call me Steve, dad, husband, or friend. Others might call me boss, coach, or mentor. Today you can call me The Leadership Hacker. Thanks for listening in. I really appreciate it. My job as The Leadership Hacker is to hack into the minds, experiences, habits and learning of great leaders, C-Suite executives, authors, and development experts so that I can assist you developing your understanding and awareness of leadership. I am Steve Rush, and I am your host today. I am the author of Leadership Cake. I am a transformation consultant and leadership coach. I cannot wait to start sharing all things leadership with you Joining on today. Show is super coach Richard Medcalf. He's the founder of Xquadrant, and he's an Executive Coach of some of the world's most impressive and successful CEOs and their teams. He's also the host of The Impact Multiplier CEO Podcast. But before we get a chance to be Richard, it's The Leadership Hacker News The Leadership Hacker News Time is a valuable commodity that should not be wasted. A marketer is likely to be concerned with both time and money about the value they create. Luckily, plenty of thought leadership techniques are also available for those who do not mind spending time on their strategy, but don't wish to spend a lot of money on marketing. Thought leadership is a leader's best friend for promoting what they do. Recently I researched Services, a global thought leadership agency that focused on evidence-based research, published a list of techniques and ideas to help leaders in the space of thought leadership. And I'm just going to share with you the top four. Be accessible. Thought leadership is about being visible. You can boost your visibility by making yourself accessible to others. Sharing your expertise freely and having your team do the same. Don't be afraid to speak to media outlooks or bloggers or write articles. It can all help you get your brand out there and your message to the audience. Always create content. Consistently creating content can take time, but it also can help you build an audience for your brand. Additionally, it can help you create more ideas, content creations is an excellent way to show that you're aware of your industry. You're aware of the news and you're aware of what's trending. This can really help you become an industry leader, become more renowned so that people can see your content and become familiar with who you are and what you stand for. Hone your problem-solving skills. Problem solving is a life skill and one you should hone. It shows that you can identify, analyze, and solve a problem. It also shows that you are innovative and capable of being an industry leader and helping others solve problems with you, demonstrates credibility. Be a leader. Thought leadership is about being a leader in your industry. This means that you should express ideas and take action when the opportunity arises. While you shouldn't strive to jump into every issue of controversy that abounds, you should also not be content to sit on the sidelines, particularly if it concerns your industry, it's all about having balance. So don't be afraid to try any these techniques for your thought leadership. It will cost you nothing. It might cost you a bit of time, but you'll get loads of value, and you'll learn along the way. So good luck with your thought leadership. That's been the leadership hacking news, and we are looking forward to sharing more news as the weeks go by. So please let us know if there's something specific, you'd like us to talk about. Start of Podcast Steve Rush: Joining me on today's show is Richard Medcalf. He's the Founder and CEO of Xquadrant. He's an Executive Coach and coach some of the world's most impressive and successful CEOs. He's also the host of The Impact Multiplier CEO Podcast. Richard, welcome to the show. Richard Medcalf: Hi Steve. It's great to be here. Thank you for inviting me Steve Rush: Looking forward to getting into the mindsets behind some of the work that you do and the work that Xquadrant do with you and your clients. But before we do that, we'd love to get the opportunity for our guests. Just give the bit of the backstory as to how you arrived doing what you do? So, tell us a little bit about Richard? Richard Medcalf: Well, sure. Obviously talking about myself with my favorite subject. So, you've got a spare five-hour, strap in and we'll, no, just kidding. So, my background is that I'm a bit of a strange hybrid. I like to describe myself sometimes as what you get. If you take a kind of a McKinsey Consultant, a slightly unorthodox pastor, and an entrepreneur, and you put them in a blender. Steve Rush: That's interesting. Richard Medcalf: I'm a Brit', but I've lived in France now for twenty-two years. My first role having studied Oxford, got my master's degree there. My first role was in strategy consulting. I was asked by one of the partners in that firm to come over, to help him build out the Paris office for a year or two, sounded like a good idea. And then 22 years later, I'm still here. I married a lovely French lady and have kids and everything else. So that was how life evolved. I really enjoy strategy consulting; I think have a strategic brain naturally. And that all work really well. I became the youngest have a partner in that company, worked with a whole load of really interesting clients at board level, mainly the tech and telecom space. And then I was head hunted by Cisco, just at the point I'd been in the partner role for a couple of years. And I felt, you know, perhaps it was time to do something new and keep learning. And so, I joined Cisco, obviously a huge tech company. So, I became a smaller fish in a much bigger pond and cut a long story short after about 11 years again, I had a really interesting ride at Cisco. The last role was in a small team set up by Cisco CEO to really catalyze board level business initiatives with partners and customers. I'd like to describe it as fulfilling rash commitments made by the CEO in executive meetings. Steve Rush: Which happens a lot, right? Richard Medcalf: Yeah, so they both get excited about, you know, let's do something together in enterprise, you know, Wi-Fi, or I don't know, in internet of things or in the cloud or whatever the subject was, and they'd get like very excited and then we'd get the phone call to say, okay, there's some excitement to the CEO level, but now you need to help these organizations find something in that space that is strategically meaningful, operationally feasible, and both sides actually want to do at the actually operational level. So, it was really interesting role. For various reasons though, I kind of started to think after a couple of years of that, you know, although it was a lot of fun, I was thinking, you know, what's the legacy I really want to create in my career, in my life? What do I want to be telling my great-grandchildren when they're on my knee? You know, at age 90 or whatever it is. And I realized that although I love creating business results and I still love doing that. I didn't just want to tell my great-grandchildren that I helped increase, you know, AT&T and EBITDA margin by north 0.5% or whatever, you know, that wasn't quite enough. So, I decided to really look at what did I do really, really well, you know, what was my unique secret source? What's the impact that I really wanted to make in the world? And I kind of came to the conclusion that what it was, was helping already competent successful leaders make an even bigger and more positive impact in the world. And to do that, you have to obviously make a bigger impact in your organization, in your people and on the mission that you're there to create. And I think that was for me, the heart of it, was saying, you know, how can I actually help people who have already got a success formula that works really well as evidenced by their track record? How can I help them reinvent that success formula and think strategically and get past their own fears, perhaps of change or of failure or of stretching too far to actually create the impact that they can make? And that's really what sets me on fire today. And so, I set up Xquadrant a few years back, it's basically a small boutique coaching and consulting practice where we help leaders generally often CEOs or Founders, or sometimes other C-suite members, generally of tech firms or firms going through a lot of technology, disruption and shifts. It really help them find what their next level of impact is going to be? And to do that, it's always about thinking more strategically and operating more influentially and that's it. Steve Rush: Got it, yeah. So, the title Xquadrant, is there something in the name there? Richard Medcalf: Yeah, there's a few things in the name, obviously, apart from the fact that the domain name is available. Steve Rush: So, it was a good start, right? Richard Medcalf: Yeah, there's a few things. So, you know, the first one is a bit of a, you know, a nod, right. Consultant's love drawing two by two matrices and drawing an X in the top the top right corner to say, that's where you need to be. And so first of all, it kind of speaks to ambition, right. The second one is, is often, insight is found when we realize that it's not an either-or choice in front of us, but there's perhaps a new option that allows us to do both things, right. So, you know, we either support our team or we challenge our team. Well, you know, what happens if we created an environment where we really support them with high support, but we also create really high challenge? Right. Suddenly something feels like an either or becomes a both and. Steve Rush: Yeah. Richard Medcalf: And that is also kind of, if you like that X on that two by two represents to me. And the final reason for Xquadrant is, the X stands for multiplication. And this is really key for me. It's easy in a sense to continually add value and play the game of being incremental, but I'm really interested in what does multiplication look like, right? How do we create an exponential curve for people? Where behind us, it looks flat and ahead of us, it looks vertical because we're on such a curve, and that's what excites me. Steve Rush: I like that, really nice. So, when we are talking around exponential and matrices. From the last conversation you and I had, I'm going to be talking about a lot of execs get stuck in this productivity paradigm. So, tell us a little bit about what that really means and how I get out of it? Richard Medcalf: Yeah, so the name I like to use for this paradigm is the infinity trap actually. So, the infinity trap is, you know, we live in a world of infinity, right. There's an infinite number of tasks, of people, of content out there. So, there's always more to do and we just can't get through it, right. The more books we buy, the more recommendations on books we get, the more emails we reply to, the more emails we get back. It's never ending, right. And so, we can't use productivity to break out of that because you can't defeat infinity with productivity. There's always more to do. And so, the infinity trap, and I see it all around and is, just for people going, you know, I'm crazy busy or even I'm good busy, but people are so focused. They're running, they are perhaps very clear on what they're trying to achieve actually, but they've got their heads down trying to achieve it. And so, what happens is, they haven't got enough time to think. They know they're not really thinking about all the big issues around them. They've got tunnel vision, in fact. So, in a sense, they might be really focused, but perhaps they've even lost serendipity from their lives, lost a bit of randomness or lost a bit of contexts. So, it shows up in different people in different ways. Steve Rush: Yeah. Richard Medcalf: But I think the infinity trap is really where we are running fast. It feels good. We kind of feel that we are making progress. We kind of feel that we are perhaps being the super leader in our organization and, you know, lifting things on our shoulders and everything else. And we know it kind of works in a sense, but actually progress is becoming incremental at this point. Steve Rush: Yeah. Richard Medcalf: We can't see it. Steve Rush: However, I guess the flip side of that is, we still need to keep productive and improve productivity where we can. And I remember, again, from the conversation we had before, there aren't any real productivity hacks. It starts with yourself, and it actually starts with shifting your mindset. From your experience what's playing out there? Richard Medcalf: Yeah, so obviously there are things we can do to kind of organize ourselves and do things differently and create an environment around us that's conducive to the work we need to do and all those things, right. But I think the fundamental limits to all that are, it's what we believe, right. It's what we believe is necessary desirable or achievable, possible around things. It depends on the self-image we have, right. How do we achieve things? How do we get things done? Right. What has to be true for us to succeed? What is success? All these things actually shape us. So let me give you an example. A couple examples come to mind. Let me just start with this one. I was talking with an executive, just being promoted to board level in a seven-thousand-person firm. It's pretty big firm and he'd got operations around twenty different countries. And I was being asked to help him really onboard into this executive role, into the C-suite and maximize his impact as he does that. He was clearly a high performer. People loved him, but he knew he really wanted to play bigger game. And so, we identified together a couple of big transformational projects that he was going to champion throughout the business. Things that had never been done before on a global scale. And he was really going to move the needle. And he was very excited about this, and all the stakeholders were excited, and he was working on them and making some great progress. And then one day he came to me and said, you know, Richard, I'm just stuck in my email. I'm just like, I'm not getting enough time to work on these projects. They're not going as fast as I wanted. And so, I kind of asked him, well, why is that? You know, why are you spending so much time in your email? He says, well, you know, I just want to be a good team player. I want to be trustworthy and reliable. I don't want to be the guy that people have to chase up. I don't want to be that person, right. The one who never replies to emails, who is a bottleneck for everybody else, who's not pulling their weight in the team. And indeed, he was a people person, right. He really wanted to do his best with people. And so, I stopped, and he was asking me for a tip, you know, Richard, what tips can you gimme about email? And I said, well, you know, if you're coming to me for a tip, it's probably a waste of your money, right. You can probably Google the tip, right. I don't think that's what you need from me. In fact, I can just tell you that whatever tip I did give you, you wouldn't do anything with right now. I can't help you on that level. And he was like, what do you mean you can't help? I said, well, you've just told me that the reason you do your email and you spent so much time there is, because you want to be reliable and trustworthy and a team player. So, I'm not going to tell you to be an unreliable, untrustworthy, non-team player. You're never going to buy it. So, he was like, ah, that's a good point. So, I said, well, let try it another way. If the CEO was in the room with you, what would he be asking you for? He had to think, and he said, well. Yeah, work on those big transformational projects. Because he's really excited about the benefits that's going to bring. Okay, what about the investors? What would they be asking for if you were in, one of those board meetings? Oh, well. I guess same thing I suppose, because that's going to make a really big difference on our financials if we can shift the employee experience in this way, okay. What about the employers themselves then? What about the team? What do they most want you to be doing if they could be in this room with us right now? And he thought, he said, well, I guess the same thing, right? Richard, the same projects, because they're sick and tired of the old ways of working and the inefficiencies that we've been working with. And what about customers, if they could talk to us, what would they be telling us? And he said, well, they won't know so much. Because it's a bit of an internal project, transformation project, but I guess it'd be the same kind of thing. Because if the employees can focus less on internal admin, they can spend more time with the customers and solving customer issues. So, I said, okay, so at this point, you're telling me, that all these different stakeholders really want you to focus us on these two or three transformational projects? Yeah, that's right. Okay, so let me put it to you that you're being untrustworthy, unreliable, and not a team player when you are busy getting to inbox zero, you know, and managing all these inbound requests. And at this point, you know, the penny drops, right. And he's like, oh, you're right. Like, this is not who I am anymore, right. I need to be playing a different game. And so, at that point he didn't need me to tell him how to set up a filter in Gmail, right, or how to turn his notifications off. Although those things always help, right. I'm a strong believer in turning notifications off, right. I mean, these are proven things, but the key shift was in that identity, you know, thinking actually, what is the trustworthy and reliable thing for me to do? Steve Rush: Yeah, and then choosing that right identity creates the right behaviors and beliefs that come with it, right? Richard Medcalf: Yeah, exactly. I was working with somebody else, and he was explaining how he couldn't possibly delegate to his team because things had to be done at certain level of quality and he wasn't sure if his team was able to do it. So, I just kind of made up a concept on the fly and said, oh, so you're telling me you're being the high performing janitor. Then you want to be the high performing janitor, you know, wiping those floor tiles to perfection. Whilst there's a business to be running. And again, he just a little aah. I know you're right. Perhaps I'm focusing on doing low level tasks incredibly well. Steve Rush: Yeah. Richard Medcalf: And perhaps not getting on into the messy business of working on the big issues. Steve Rush: Yeah. Richard Medcalf: Which I'm not quite so certain on. And again, it's these kinds of shifts that when you make this shift, then the productivity stuff finds its natural flow. Steve Rush: And the story you just shared, ironically is not, you know, an isolated incident. You get a lot of people, certainly at the senior level, also getting drawn into those menial tasks. Richard Medcalf: Certainty. Steve Rush: From your perspective, then Richard, what would be the reason that many executives and this is not exclusive to executives by the way, this could be, you know, junior team leader, right the way through to senior executives. I think most people will struggle with this. What's the reason we then struggle to prioritize in the right way typically? Richard Medcalf: I mean, there're actually a bunch of possible reasons, but I think some of the common ones are, yeah, number one is instant gratification and the comfort zone. Have things put in front of us that we deal with. So, you know, if you're always getting notified by your email, then it's easy just to deal with emails as they come. Because they give you instant gratification, right. It's not the important work necessarily, but it's some something. So, I think that's part of it. I think the comfort zone is another, right. In other words, there are some areas that we know how to do pretty well, but those are probably areas which actually are not the cutting edge of the work that we need to do. But we do know that we add value when we do them. Steve Rush: Yeah. Richard Medcalf: So, there's a bit of fear. I may as well just do the things that I'm really good at, and I know that's going to do some benefit, right. Rather than tackle this kind of other stuff, which I probably should be doing. But it's a bit less clear and that's really the third point is, ambiguity, right. We don't often take the time to really define what are those high I value tasks? Right. If I had five minutes, how would I actually proceed on them? Once we can define how you'd spend five minutes, then it's quite easy to do that five-minute task. But if it's like, I'm just need to do some strategic thinking. Where to begin on that? Right. It's really difficult. So, I that mixture of that kind of comfort zone, instinct gratification, and then this kind of fear and ambiguity on what are these higher value tasks that we want to be doing. But all those things play together Steve Rush: And there's some chemical reactions that go on with us as individuals that happen there. This is not kind of an instinct. That instant gratification, and it gives us that dopamine rush. It makes us feel good in that moment. And therefore chemically, we're also drawn to those quick hits rather than the other chemical reactions that come with uncertainty and fear and challenge that can sometimes hold us back as well, right. Richard Medcalf: Yeah, exactly. So, it's also important to try to hack those emotions a little bit, right. And celebrate when you start to feel those, right. I've defined something that was a bit ambiguous, like give yourself a fist pump, right. Actually, reward yourself for making a dent in those ambiguous fluffy areas that are actually the important ones. Steve Rush: Yeah, and you mentioned strategic thinking there as part of that kind of role that we all have and strategic thinking's quite overplayed in my experience. I'd love to get your spin on this, by the way. So, for me, strategic thinking is just about thinking about what we don't know yet and thinking about what we don't know, that we can then translate to what we actually do know. And again, role agnostic, whether you are a junior team leader or a C-suite executive, it's all of our responsibilities to think that way. What's your experience about how strategic thinking plays out in our workplace, these days? Richard Medcalf: Yeah, I mean, you're right. I mean, there's a couple of ways you can look at strategic thinking, right. For me, strategic thinking actually is a laser, right. Or it's a lens, right. For me, it's a lens that focuses us in, right. So where do we put our focus and our attention? What are the subjects where we need to focus? So that's part of it. And I think the other part is the more diffuse one, as you said, which is like, what is it in the environment? What are the factors that I'm not, that we're not folding in at this point? And I think those are both important ways to look at it, right. But I mean, but for me the most pragmatic way or most is to think about, there's a book I called The One Thing. And it's quite a helpful question they ask, which is, you know, what's the one thing that if we were to achieve that would make everything else easier or more relevant? Steve Rush: That's a great question, isn't it? Richard Medcalf: And I think just focusing on that, so what's the one thing right now that we most need to do? Right. I think that's just a really simple way of thinking about this. Steve Rush: Yeah. Richard Medcalf: And the answer to that lens, right, that focus. My particular angle on strategic thinking is, I suppose I kind of call it exponential leadership, right. So, I'm always thinking, you know, how do we multiply impact rather than add value? How do we multiply value, not add value? How do we multiply things? And the way to think about that is, what's the constraint, right? Where is the constraint in the system in which we're operating at the moment? There's pretty more than we can get into right now on that and exactly all the constraints, but for example, we have limited time, we have limited attention, we have limited resources, you know, there are kind of things. We might have limited ambition, right. I need to understand, like what frustrate me personally, as a leader and also in the organization. And again, the goal here is to find, what's the one area that if we were to address and improve would allow all this whole system, this business, for example, to kind of expand up to the next level of impact or to the next level of results? And for me, that's kind of the question. So, it's about rather than just turning the handle on the machine, it's trying to step back and look at the machine we've built and think about, you know, what's the one thing that's holding back performance? Just a little point on that. If people are interested in this idea of exponential leadership and moving from a more of an incremental, to more of a multiplicative mindset, I've actually written a short email series is about, I think, six emails and people on my newsletter have just been going through them. And I think I've had more feedback on that one email series than anything else I've ever written. So, it's really resonating with people, it's called The Exponential Leadership Principles. And it walks through, you know, these different constraints and what and do to overcome them. If people are interested, they can just go to xquadrant.com/hacker is a simple way for them to find their way there from this podcast. Steve Rush: We also make sure that links in the show notes, because as you said, it's just a simple process that gets people to think and reflect, and that's half the challenge, isn't it with strategic thinking? It's giving yourself the capacity, the time that you need to be thoughtful about what it is you're doing. Richard Medcalf: Yeah, it could because just one insight can change anything, right. One insight can certainly make us see the world in a new way, see the options we have differently. See, what's not working, that we're spending so much time on or whatever it is. And so often it's just encountering new ideas, new people, having new conversations that opens us up, right. To get onto a different trajectory. Steve Rush: Yeah, absolutely right. Yeah. Now you managed to interview some of the world's largest CEOs on The Impact Multiplier Podcast. And it's really interesting to dive into, I've listened to quite a few of your episodes now, and they all bring different perspectives and different stories, but there are still some commonalities. And I'm sure you find, as I do with many of our guests, that there are some common themes. From your perspective in having those conversations, Richard, what would you say is the maybe the most common challenge that keeps representing itself in and amongst these CEOs and Executives? Richard Medcalf: Yeah, I've seen this. Yeah, right on the podcast and in my own work with these kinds of leaders. Actually, there's a couple of things on trends. I mean, a bonus point, I'd almost say one of the things I've really seen as a success component actually is a theme, you know, is (A) genuinely being interested in people, right. And (B) really thinking about creating structures that multiply in fact, right. I interviewed some of the CEOs of the fastest growing companies in Europe and in the U.S. and like their common refrain was how they pushed down decision making responsibility, created independent little entities, you know, and empowered leaders who could build their own subparts of the business, and really, really interesting. In terms of the challenges. I mean, I suppose what I really see is, I think there's an internal challenge actually in a lot of people, which is even at that level, it's about confidence and imposter syndrome and all those things that's always there. There is that kind of focus challenge of getting out the weeds. I think, you know, they all say, you know, my next level is going to involve me living behind even more operational tasks, right. Trusting in my team, even more. Focusing, even more on some of the new areas, perhaps it's, you know, it's an acquisition plan they want to roll out or whatever it is. And so, continuing to get out the weeds and focus on higher level tasks. And the third one is, that one around nailing the critical conversations. So, you know, leadership is delivered one convers and at a time, and you can have all the plans and strategies you want, but actually just slowing down to master that one conversation with that one report, that one stakeholder, whoever it is, perhaps bringing them on board to what you're trying to achieve is really important. And so, I think perhaps those three areas that, you know, be in a game of confidence, the kind of higher-level activities and those critical conversations would be the three themes that I see come up. Steve Rush: Awesome. Yeah, good. And delighted you share those now, however, I'm going to turn the tables a bit and hacking to your top thinking and your top tips for the future. And I know we think about tips and hacks and ideas. People kind of have this different perspective about what they mean. And in essence, hacking for me is just shorting into your great thinking. So, if you think about your career as a leader and what you do now, if you had to kind of get them into your top three tips or hacks, what would they be? Richard Medcalf: Number one would be play the long game, which means they'll always be so transactional, right. It's easy to kind of get transactional and just focus on the thing in front of you, but, you know, build relationships for the long term. Think about where you want to be, you know, a little bit longer than the next year or the next quarter. Play the long game, right. And build relationships that last, right. So that'd be number one. The second one would be, go in the direction of your discomfort. See the discomfort zone is where you learn, that's where you grow and therefore treat imposter syndrome as a feature and not a bug. In other words, when you're feeding imposter syndrome, it generally means that your confidence is lagging your competency, in fact and it also means that you are actually playing a bigger game, right. You're pushing yourself; you are seeking to add more value and as a result, it feels a little bit uncomfortable. So, I think that second one, go in the direction of your discomfort. Steve Rush: I love that. Richard Medcalf: And then, I think the third one would be, I guess it comes back to what I talked about earlier is, focus on the key constraint, think about multiplication and not addition. Goes back to that email of course, I mentioned. Goes back to that thinking around yeah. How do I stop just using my time, doing the same tasks, time and time again? And how do I invest my time? Steve Rush: Yeah. Richard Medcalf: To remove constraints Steve Rush: Three fantastic hacks. I particularly love the idea of playing the long game. I guarantee many people listening to this will be going, ah, because we often don't think long game. We think, you know, this quarter, this year, next year, but actually it's all part of the long game, isn't it? Richard Medcalf: Yeah, it's what I said. I thought about, where do I want to be when I'm 90? Steve Rush: Yeah. Richard Medcalf: One thing I love to ask my clients, you know, is what's so important to you that you have to 100 X it? What really matters, right? What do you really want a 100 X? So, for me, for example, wouldn't it be amazing if I got a 100 X, you know, the number of leaders who really point to me as a real catalyst for the impact that they've had in the world, right. As somebody who's really helped them a 100 X their impact. So, I'm on a mission, you know, I said, let's actually do that for a hundred leaders, right. Let's actually a hundred X the impact of a hundred leaders, that'd be a fantastic legacy. So that's what I'm excited about, but play the long game, think about, what would that 25-year vision be? What would be bring a silly grin to your face? Because it's so exciting, get a bit embarrassing. Because you're not sure how you're going to do it. Steve Rush: Yeah. My unconscious thinking though, is just worrying and ticking as I'm thinking about my own long game. So, I'm hoping that it's inspiring our listeners in the same way. Next part of the show, Richard, we call Hack to Attack. So, this is affectionately where we dive into something in your life or work that has not worked out as you'd planned, could have been a complete catastrophe. It could have been a minor hiccup, but as a result of that event, it's now serving you well as a learning in your life or work, what would be your Hack to Attack? Richard Medcalf: Yeah, I think when I look at my time at Cisco, I think there was a period at that time and perhaps it was okay. It was just life. There was a bit of a time in that 10-year period where I think I stagnated a little bit I, my kids were very young. I was in my comfort zone, shall we say, right. So, I was delivering, I was performing, people like my work, but I think I had not necessarily growing and not necessarily increasing my impact for a period. And looking back, I felt that's a bit of a missed opportunity because just like putting money in the bank, you know, things compound over time, right. If you want to play an exponential game, things compound over time. One example that's recently come to my mind is, you know, dominoes, right. If you lineup dominoes and you knock the first one over, it can knock over another domino, that's 50% bigger than itself. And then that one can knock over another domino that's 50% bigger and that's again, exponential, right. And so, I think I got into a time at Cisco where my dominoes were all the same size, shall we say, right? Steve Rush: Yeah. Richard Medcalf: And it was okay. But I think that also started to kind of, I got to a think at a stage where I realized that perhaps I'd missed some opportunities and again, I had a good career, right. Good thing, and I got into this amazing team that was, you know, reporting to the CEO. And so, it wasn't a bad moment, but I think within that, before I got into that team, there was a phase where perhaps I wasn't making the most opportunities that I've been presented with. Wasn't my eye on the ball. And so, I think that's something I've really thought about now is, invest in myself, you know and reinvent. I think probably reinvent is probably the best word, right. So, I always say to people, what's your Madonna moment? You know, Madonna who, you know, turns up and she's like, we got a new style and, you know, whatever it is or any other rock band or pop star, who's been around for a long time. And most of them have had moments where they've reinvented themselves and they've changed things up. Steve Rush: That's right, yeah. Richard Medcalf: And I did when I left Cisco, you know, I changed things up. And it's worked really, really well. And I think continuing to reinvent ourselves, not to leave things behind actually. We think we are leaving things behind, but we don't, we just build upon them, right. And we add to ourselves, we become more multifaceted, and I think that's what I would say. So, reinvent ourselves. Steve Rush: Yeah. Richard Medcalf: Get stuck. Steve Rush: Cool. Now the last part of the show, we've affectionately become used to giving our guests some time to do some time travel. And you get to go and bump into Richard at 21 and give him some words of wisdom. What would your advice to Richard at 21 be? Richard Medcalf: I think, I'd say read self-development books. Invest in yourself more, generally, never be scared of investing in yourself. Don't always wait for your company to do the investing in yourself and always be wary of the comfort zone. And I kind of knew that in some ways. But I think all those things I kind of learned more and more over time. Yeah, so now I invest in myself more than, you know, more than ever by orders a magnitude. I remember when I was in the corporate world, I was invited to go to a conference by a friend who's running the conference. I knew it was going to be a really, really good conference, but I didn't go because I had to pay for like a 200 Euro, you know, Eurostar ticket or something, right. The company wasn't going to pay. And so, I said, oh, I'm not going to go then, and ridiculous right. I mean, and nowadays I write checks for, you know, five figure checks, right. I wrote check for $25,000, the other day for my own self development, right. Because it's so important. Steve Rush: Yeah. Richard Medcalf: And yet, you know, there I was in a well pay corporate job and even spending a few hundred euros, seemed like a bit of an ask. It's completely ridiculous. So, investing ourselves is the best investment we can make. Steve Rush: Great advice. So, what's next for Richard and Xquadrant then? Richard Medcalf: Well, there's quite a few things. This year we're kicking off a CEO mastermind group. I've got a group of really, really incredible CEOs. Some of them are running kind of startups, scale up. Some of them got million-dollar companies in the U.S. and in Europe and other places around the world. And we're creating that community, which is really, really exciting because, you know, iron sharpens iron, right. You know, you get these really impressed, capable leaders together, often of whom they don't get enough of that peer input. And that's really exciting group. And then I'm also doing another program for kind of the slightly lower-level leaders as well, but another kind of community for them called Xquadrant Core. We kicked off the first session of that a couple of weeks ago. And that was a really strong start as well. So, there's a couple of kind of programs I've been up to. And moreover, what I'm focused on is that mission right. Of helping a hundred top leaders multiply their impact by a hundred. That's what gets me out me of bed. Steve Rush: Yeah, awesome. And if we want to connect our audience with you beyond today, we know we've got that one link that we shared a little earlier, but where's the best place for us to send them? Richard Medcalf: Yes, absolutely. So obviously, if you go to xquadrant.com/hacker, that's going to be a blog post. You can sign up at the bottom to my email and newsletter, The Xquadrant Insider, which is where basically once a month, I talk about something around this whole idea of multiplying impact. And you can deep dive into different topics if you're interested at that point. The podcast you mentioned as well, right. The Impact to Multiplier CEO Podcast where I interview some really interesting business leaders. And people are always happy to look me up on LinkedIn. Just if you send me an invitation request, just customize your message so that I know why you're connecting and where you found me. And I'm always happy to have a conversation, right. Because play the long game, build interesting relationships with interesting people, add value and generally good things come back to you over time when you take that approach Steve Rush: And we'll help people play that long game by making sure those links are in our show notes as well. Richard Medcalf: That's perfect. Steve Rush: Richard, I've really enjoyed chatting with you and looking forward to you and I working together in the future. And I'm really looking forward to letting our audience find out a little bit more about the work that you do and explore some great things together. Thanks for being part of our leadership packet community Richard. Richard Medcalf: You're welcome. It's been fantastic. Steve Rush: Thanks very much. Closing Steve Rush: I want to sign off by saying thank you to you for joining us on the show too. We recognize without you, there is no show. So please continue to share, subscribe, and like, and continue to get in touch with us with the great new stories that we share every week. And so that we can continue to bring you great stories, please make sure you give us a five-star review where you can and share this podcast with your friends, your teams, and communities. You want to find us on social media. You can find us on Facebook and Twitter @leadershiphacker, Leadership Hacker on YouTube and on Instagram, the_leadership_hacker and if that wasn't enough, you can also find us on our website leadership-hacker.com Tune into next episode to find out what great hacks and stories are coming your way. That's me signing off. I'm Steve Rush, and I've been your Leadership Hacker.
If you lead a team or organisation, your daily demands may suck all your time — leaving no space for strategic thinking. How can you fix that? I talk to Richard Medcalf, founder of Xquadrant and an executive coach, about four mindshifts you can make now.
Today we're joined by Richard Medcalf, leader, coach and Founder of Xquadrant; helping elite CEOs and their teams multiply their impact and take their influence to a new level. When touching on his experiences as a coach to CEOs and high level leaders, Richard shares his belief that we can all think like a CEO and take ownership and control of our destiny, regardless of our job title. He uncovers that one of the most common themes he addresses among those he coaches, is the need to perfect the art of letting go of the nitty gritty, and expresses the strategic benefits that can be achieved by doing this. One key message he shares with those he works with is the importance of fully formed requests. A simple yet important element of leadership, encouraging clear boundaries and freeing headspace for the things we should be focussing on – something everyone can take away and begin implementing immediately. This episode provides invaluable insight into the skills and traits you need to be a successful leader, regardless of job title or position. Discussing the importance of culture (and what it actually means), accountability, forming agreements and so much more, this is a leadership masterclass that everyone should hear.