The CEO Sage

Is CEO a noun or a verb? You may have never contemplated that question but the differences it implies are significant. What do you think of, what comes up for you internally, when you hear the word CEO? Do you have a visual in your mind of a particular person? A functional role? A personae? A specific vibe?

As we continue on our path of new and of change this season, I want to challenge your brain and your default thinking. CEO is an acronym that has, for decades, been a very masculine term and title. And, as such, has been difficult for some women to embrace. But what if we viewed "CEO" not as a noun, but rather a verb? What if it is about actions you're taking to put your magic out into the world, to allow that magic of a business you've been kissed with to grow and expand?

"Whatever you choose to call yourself, my goal is always that it instills a little discomfort. And it invites you to a new level of gravitas, a new level of presence, and a bigger, bolder – but also authentic – voice in leadership." – Kris Plachy

• Changing your voice and presence
• Implications of the term CEO
• Gravitas and out of the weeds
• Impairing growth in the moment
• Power and presence of CEOing

Want to be coached live by Kris for an upcoming episode? Send an email to [email protected] and we'll send you a questionnaire to fill out. Chosen listeners get a free coaching session with Kris and are kept anonymous.

• Work with Kris! How to CEO
• Join Kris' email list for valuable content by heading over to krisplachy.com and dropping your name in the signup box!
• Get How to CEO DIGITAL! This course is available for all entrepreneurs looking to increase their business mastery. Access includes weekly Q&A calls for additional help.
• CEO Immersion: Five full days of complete immersion during which you'll be coached and advised, and you'll develop every team system you need to have in place to build an amazing team. You, and your person that helps you with all this (your Ops person), will leave with everything in hand, built, documented, ALL ready to implement. It will be a week of not just learning about how to do things but having everything developed so you can implement immediately. (The week will be scheduled in October 2022 and take place in Sacramento, CA. You must be at 7 figures to join because the complexity of your team is important for this exercise.) CEOImmersion.com.

Website: How to CEO

Email: [email protected]

Linkedin

Instagram

Facebook

Pinterest

Medium

Can you be a successful entrepreneur but not a visionary? And vice versa, can you be a successful visionary but not really an entrepreneur? Perhaps before you can answer those questions, you must first decide: Are you an entrepreneur, a visionary, or both? And, most importantly, how does leadership fit into it all?

As we continue this brand new season (Season 5) of Leadership Is Feminine, I invite you to ponder these questions with me. Often, as business owners, there are questions we don't think to ask ourselves but find if we did, we'd learn so much and find immense magic in the answers. To that end, I want to explore the difference between a visionary leader and an operational entrepreneur. Is being an entrepreneur simply the operational expression of the visionary? What is the value of being a visionary? Let's dive in.

"When you're a real visionary, when you really, really do see things other people don't see, and you believe in the possibility of what you see that doesn't exist yet, you have the potential to change the world with your vision." – Kris Plachy

• Earmarks of a visionary vs an operational entrepreneur
• Shift in perspective
• Your ideas are the asset
• Leave survival thinking in the past
• Investment in yourself is never a waste

Want to be coached live by Kris for an upcoming episode? Send an email to [email protected] and we'll send you a questionnaire to fill out. Chosen listeners get a free coaching session with Kris and are kept anonymous.

• Work with Kris! How to CEO
• Join Kris' email list for valuable content by heading over to krisplachy.com and dropping your name in the signup box!
• Get How to CEO DIGITAL! This course is available for all entrepreneurs looking to increase their business mastery. Access includes weekly Q&A calls for additional help.
• CEO Immersion: Five full days of complete immersion during which you'll be coached and advised, and you'll develop every team system you need to have in place to build an amazing team. You, and your person that helps you with all this (your Ops person), will leave with everything in hand, built, documented, ALL ready to implement. It will be a week of not just learning about how to do things but having everything developed so you can implement immediately. (The week will be scheduled in October 2022 and take place in Sacramento, CA. You must be at 7 figures to join because the complexity of your team is important for this exercise.) CEOImmersion.com.

• Website: How to CEO
• Email: [email protected]
• Linkedin
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Pinterest
• Medium

Why do I say yes when I really want to say no? Why do women, more often than men, gravitate toward people pleasing? I found myself asking these questions and thus pondering: What do I think I'm accomplishing when I'm so agreeable? What am I actually accomplishing? To take it a step further, I pondered the reverse: What am I actually accomplishing when I'm being more controlling?

As we start Season 5 of Leadership Is Feminine, I want to focus on a time of change and some decompression from the pressures we've all been under. One definite source of pressure as leaders is people pleasing, as is the opposite, which I term people depleting. This is when people are demanding and controlling, so they themselves can be the one pleased. An interesting fact is that we can find ourselves on either side, depending on the issue and circumstances. But no matter what side we're on, we can help mitigate the resulting pressure when we better understand people pleasing and controlling as leaders.

"You're saying yes… not to please the other person. You're saying yes… because you don't want to experience your own discomfort of saying no… So who are we really pleasing in the moment? And are we really pleasing anybody?" – Kris Plachy

• People pleasing and people depleting
• Who we're really pleasing
• Delighting people instead
• Pleasing ourselves through control
• How either approach affects our business
• Taking personal responsibility
• Handling our own discomfort

Want to be coached live by Kris for an upcoming episode? Send an email to [email protected] and we'll send you a questionnaire to fill out. Chosen listeners get a free coaching session with Kris and are kept anonymous.

• Work with Kris! How to CEO
• Get FREE help for managing stress: krisplachy.com/overwhelmed.
• Join Kris' email list for valuable content by heading over to krisplachy.com and dropping your name in the signup box!
• Get How to CEO DIGITAL! This course is available for all entrepreneurs looking to increase their business mastery. Access includes weekly Q&A calls for additional help.

• Website: How to CEO
• Email: [email protected]
• Linkedin
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Pinterest
• Medium

There's a current phenomenon called "quiet quitting". As business owners, we need to be aware of trends like this because they can potentially affect us. In particular, this approach to life is being promoted by Gen Zs but anyone could jump onboard with it.

So what exactly is "quiet quitting" and how can small businesses prepare for its possible impact? In this episode, I explore generational differences, the quiet quitting movement, post-pandemic mental health, clear expectations, having regard for others, and more. How does this all tie together and what might it mean for you and your growing business, lovely CEO? Let's talk about it.

"We do have the least prepared workforce… I do not say that to be disparaging. I say that because that is true... There is more responsibility now than ever on employers to help people learn what it means to work. And also to work with balance." – Kris Plachy

• Generational differences
• The quiet quitting movement
• Post-pandemic mental health
• Honesty, clear expectations, and quality communication
• Find balance and lead well because we need each other

Want to be coached live by Kris for an upcoming episode? Send an email to [email protected] and we'll send you a questionnaire to fill out. Chosen listeners get a free coaching session with Kris and are kept anonymous.

• Work with Kris! How to CEO
• Get FREE help for managing stress: krisplachy.com/overwhelmed.
• Join Kris' email list for valuable content by heading over to krisplachy.com and dropping your name in the signup box!
• Get How to CEO DIGITAL! This course is available for all entrepreneurs looking to increase their business mastery. Access includes weekly Q&A calls for additional help

Website: How to CEO

Email: [email protected]

Linkedin

Instagram

Facebook

Pinterest

Medium

If you're juggling the questions of "When should I hire?" or "Who should I hire?" – let me help guide you. The answers to those questions are completely tied to the answer to a question that should come first. That is, "What phase of growth is your business in?"

This episode idea sprouted from help I've been giving to many regarding hiring and two recent Live Coaching with Kris episodes. As we navigate what I call the "Messy Middle" in building an entrepreneurial business, we need help but getting the right kind of help, at the right time, is absolutely crucial. If you hire the incorrect people during the a phase, you can actually lose touch and control of your own business. Please don't let that happen. Let's talk about who to hire in the messy middle of your entrepreneur journey.

"Learn how to manage. Anybody could work for you then. It's fine. If you learn how to manage. But otherwise, you set yourself up where you don't have control of so much of your business." – Kris Plachy

• Phases and stages of business
• Correct help in the Messy Middle
• Correct help in the Established Phase
• The quagmire of improper outsourcing
• Hiring right at the right phase

• Cautionary Tips When Hiring Employees from Corporate Culture
• Should I Hire a Friend?
• What Position Should I Hire First for My Growing Business?
• Hiring the COVID Candidate

Want to be coached live by Kris for an upcoming episode? Send an email to [email protected] and we'll send you a questionnaire to fill out. Chosen listeners get a free coaching session with Kris and are kept anonymous.

• Get FREE help for managing stress: krisplachy.com/overwhelmed.
• Join Kris' email list for valuable content by heading over to krisplachy.com and dropping your name in the signup box!
• Get How to CEO DIGITAL! This course is available for all entrepreneurs looking to increase their business mastery. Access includes weekly Q&A calls for additional help.

Five full days of complete immersion during which you'll be coached and advised, and you'll develop every team system you need to have in place to build an amazing team. You, and your person that helps you with all this (your Ops person), will leave with everything in hand, built, documented, ALL ready to implement. It will be a week of not just learning about how to do things but having everything developed so you can implement immediately.

The week is scheduled for late August, in Scottsdale, AZ. You must be at 7 figures to join because the complexity of your team is important for this exercise.

Get in on the CEO LIVE Immersion: CEOImmersion.com

• Work with Kris: How to CEO
• Email: [email protected]
• Linkedin
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Pinterest
• Medium

As your business grows, you're going to need help. You can't build your queendom all alone. But what position should you hire first for your growing business? Should you hire someone to match your work and share the load? Should you hire an assistant to perform numerous tasks? Should you hire someone to complete just specific projects? Is there a way to know what the best choice is?

For this episode of Live Coaching with Kris, I tackle this inevitable growth question. My guest listener has grown her business to the point where she needs help but isn't sure which position to fill first. She feels she doesn't have enough revenue to hire more than one person but desperately needs help in more than one area. Together, we discuss the pros and cons of each type of hire, discuss the process of narrowing down hiring options, and ultimately, look at potential solutions in a whole different light.

"It does pay off… You've got to think about this as an investment… And you might have to kiss a few frogs. That's part of the deal too. Just keep going." – Kris Plachy

• Drafting detailed descriptions
• Calculating the cost of not hiring
• Pinpointing what you could give up
• Making offers
• Leveraging hires
• Kissing a few frogs
• Moving from solopreneur to CEO
• Avoiding certain options

Get FREE help for managing stress: krisplachy.com/overwhelmed.

Want to be coached live by Kris for an upcoming episode? Send an email to [email protected] and we'll send you a questionnaire to fill out. Chosen listeners get a free coaching session with Kris and are kept anonymous.

• Join Kris' email list for valuable content by heading over to krisplachy.com and dropping your name in the signup box!
• Get How to CEO DIGITAL! This course is available for all entrepreneurs looking to increase their business mastery. Access includes weekly Q&A calls for additional help.

Five full days of complete immersion during which you'll be coached and advised, and you'll develop every team system you need to have in place to build an amazing team. You, and your person that helps you with all this (your Ops person), will leave with everything in hand, built, documented, ALL ready to implement. It will be a week of not just learning about how to do things but having everything developed so you can implement immediately.

The week is scheduled for late August, in Scottsdale, AZ. You must be at 7 figures to join because the complexity of your team is important for this exercise.

Get in on the CEO LIVE Immersion: CEOImmersion.com

• Work with Kris: How to CEO
• Email: [email protected]
• Linkedin
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Pinterest
• Medium

"You should do this." "You should do that!" "Hey, have you considered…" When you're building a business, so many voices and ideas constantly come at you. You can become lost in all the possibilities and your business becomes your life. Maybe it's time to build your businesses a little differently… Especially if you realize you've built your life around your business, rather than your business around your life.

But what if you intentionally built your business to nurture the life you want? How would you go about it? To begin, you need to quiet the noise all around you, to anchor to internal wisdom, and then act from there. Let's talk about what it might look like to build a business that supports your life.

"We get so immersed in the business that we end up building a life around the business. We've accommodated the business by compromising our lives." – Kris Plachy

• Noise of life
• Internal anchors
• Growth from the reaction phase
• Choose the life you want
• Ask the questions, make the changes

Get FREE help for managing stress: krisplachy.com/overwhelmed.

• Join Kris' email list for valuable content by heading over to krisplachy.com and dropping your name in the signup box!
• Get How to CEO DIGITAL! This course is available for all entrepreneurs looking to increase their business mastery. Access includes weekly Q&A calls for additional help.

Five full days of complete immersion during which you'll be coached and advised, and you'll develop every team system you need to have in place to build an amazing team. You, and your person that helps you with all this (your Ops person), will leave with everything in hand, built, documented, ALL ready to implement. It will be a week of not just learning about how to do things but having everything developed so you can implement immediately.

The week is scheduled for late August, in Scottsdale, AZ. You must be at 7 figures to join because the complexity of your team is important for this exercise.

• Get in on the CEO LIVE Immersion: CEOImmersion.com
• Work with Kris: How to CEO
• Email: [email protected]
• Linkedin
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Pinterest
• Medium

The cost of doing business seems to be rising by the day. Inflation is hitting small businesses pretty hard. The current economy and labor market are so different than even just a couple years ago. And when you've got a team, wages, in particular, are a big consideration in your budget.

Because of these unique changes, I hope to help you have a bit of a brain shift in this episode. As leaders, we have Two Buckets to recognize: Beliefs and thoughts (including the opinions of others) versus Facts. The impact of all the information constantly coming at us can make opinions appear as facts. This can dramatically affect how we look at, and what we feel about, everything going on in our businesses. It can especially affect our opinion about hiring and paying wages. So let me give you a bit of tough love and let's talk about all this.

"Or you just decide, 'You know what? I signed up to be a business owner. The economy's a little wackadoodle right now. I'm gonna figure out my plan. And I'm gonna execute the hell out of it'." – Kris Plachy

• The Two Buckets: Facts versus Thoughts

• Perpetuating facts

• Practical decisions without drama

• Wages and your philosophy

• Helpful adjustments

Get FREE help for managing stress: krisplachy.com/overwhelmed.

Reminders:

• Join Kris' email list for valuable content by heading over to krisplachy.com and dropping your name in the signup box!

• Get How to CEO DIGITAL! This course is available for all entrepreneurs looking to increase their business mastery. Access includes weekly Q&A calls for additional help.

Five full days of complete immersion during which you'll be coached and advised, and you'll develop every team system you need to have in place to build an amazing team. You, and your person that helps you with all this (your Ops person), will leave with everything in hand, built, documented, ALL ready to implement. It will be a week of not just learning about how to do things but having everything developed so you can implement immediately.

The week is scheduled for late August, in Scottsdale, AZ. You must be at 7 figures to join because the complexity of your team is important for this exercise.

• Get in on the CEO LIVE Immersion: CEOImmersion.com
• Work with Kris: How to CEO
• Email: [email protected]
• Linkedin
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Pinterest
• Medium

Countless methods and resources are available to help you grow your business. Courses, programs, systems, outside help, advisors, even business coaches. But should you hire a business coach? What do they do or not do? For that matter, is everyone with the title "business coach" actually a business coach?

In this episode, I share many thoughts and insights into what a true business coach does. From my own experience, I can confirm that a really great coach can bring huge value both professionally and personally. However, it is also my opinion that not every person who calls themselves a business coach really is one. That's not to say they aren't great at what they do, but rather to delineate between an actual business coach and someone who is more properly defined as an expert in specific aspects of business. Let's talk about it.

"A coach says, 'I know you know the right answer for you. And I'm going to help you discover that... But your wisdom is in there and I'm going to help you access it.' That is coaching." – Kris Plachy

• What a business coach actually is
• How teaching, mentoring and advising differ from coaching
• Clarify what you're actually needing
• Keep your coach as only yours
• How to know it's time for a business coach
• Place boundaries around your coach search

• Join Kris' email list for valuable content by heading over to krisplachy.com and dropping your name in the signup box!
• Get FREE help for managing stress: krisplachy.com/overwhelmed
• Get How to CEO DIGITAL! This course is available for all entrepreneurs looking to increase their business mastery. Access includes weekly Q&A calls for additional help.
• CEO Immersion (aka How to CEO LIVE!)

Five full days of complete immersion during which you'll be coached and advised, and you'll develop every team system you need to have in place to build an amazing team. You, and your person that helps you with all this (your Ops person), will leave with everything in hand, built, documented, ALL ready to implement. It will be a week of not just learning about how to do things but having everything developed so you can implement immediately.

The week is scheduled for late August, in Scottsdale, AZ. You must be at 7 figures to join because the complexity of your team is important for this exercise.

Get on the CEO LIVE Immersion waitlist: CEOImmersion.com

• Work with Kris: How to CEO
• Email: [email protected]
• Linkedin
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Pinterest
• Medium

Do your meetings with your team end up off track? Do you avoid scheduling meetings because they're really not productive? If so, you're definitely not alone. In this second installment of "Live Coaching with Kris", I tackle this prevalent problem.

As I coach a listener about how to run a productive 1:1 meeting, clarity in business rises to the surface. When you're running a business, clarity is necessary in every area. Clarity in job descriptions, roles and responsibilities, clarity in expectations and outcomes, and clarity in the direction each team member is headed. With these in place, meetings naturally become more focused. Couple that focus with praise and positive feedback, and you'll soon be looking forward to meetings, rather than dreading them.

Speaking of clarity, if you missed the first installment of "Live Coaching with Kris", I encourage you to go back and listen to it. In that episode, I advise around the common question: Should I Hire a Friend? Clarity is needed in that situation as well and I hope my coaching brings you an abundance of it.

"In my life, we've always talked about giving positive feedback as cookies, not crumbs… when you add detail, it really shows that you paid attention." – Kris Plachy

• Take the vital signs of your business
• Clarity and purpose
• The Employee Continuum
  • Coach for growth
  • Coach for engagement and retention
  • Not coaching, employing management
• Give cookies, not crumbs
• 4 Guiding Steps:
  • Ask for input
  • Choose measures
  • Decide frequency
  • Determine direction

Reminders:

• Join Kris' email list for valuable content by heading over to krisplachy.com and dropping your name in the signup box!
• Get FREE help for managing stress: krisplachy.com/overwhelmed
• Get How to CEO DIGITAL! This course is available for all entrepreneurs looking to increase their business mastery. Access includes weekly Q&A calls for additional help

Five full days of complete immersion during which you'll be coached and advised, and you'll develop every team system you need to have in place to build an amazing team. You, and your person that helps you with all this (your Ops person), will leave with everything in hand, built, documented, ALL ready to implement. It will be a week of not just learning about how to do things but having everything developed so you can implement immediately.

The week is scheduled for late August, in Scottsdale, AZ. You must be at 7 figures to join because the complexity of your team is important for this exercise.

Get on the CEO LIVE Immersion waitlist: CEOImmersion.com

• Work with Kris: How to CEO
• Email: [email protected]
• Linkedin
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Pinterest
• Medium