Quick Hits
Here’s some other content from the Scalable network, plus some other cool stuff I liked and thought you might like, too:
🧰 Tool of the Week: This free “CEO Dashboard” template allows you to manage your entire business in just 14 seconds from a single spreadsheet.
🤑 Here’s how much I pay myself as an 8-figure CEO…and how much you should pay yourself, too. (YouTube)
🤩 The Rise of the “Embedded Influencer” - Why paid endorsers are out and “employees” are the future of influencer marketing (Business Lunch Podcast)
🛑 Stop hiring people! Here’s what you need to do BEFORE you throw more people at that problem.
📚 More brutally honest book reviews…see if any of your favorites made the list this week.
Most CEOs don’t need more answers, they need better questions.
The right question forces clarity, kills distraction, and exposes blind spots. And when you ask the right ones every 30 days, your business starts compounding in the right direction almost automatically.
I call it The CEO Thinking Time Framework…seven questions designed to help you think, focus, and lead at a higher level.
Set aside 60 minutes once a month, grab a notebook, and walk yourself (and your team) through these seven questions:
1. The Great Question
What is the one big thing that, if accomplished, would make everything else easier or unnecessary?
This question forces ruthless focus.
The fact is, most CEOs fail not because they don’t know what to do…
…they fail because they try to do too many projects at the same time.
And that’s why your job isn’t to figure out how to do more, it’s to decide what not to do so your team can do less but finish more.
So ask it now: “What’s the ONE thing that matters most this month?”
(NOTE: This question was inspired by one of my favorite business books of all time, The One Thing.)
2. The Gut-Punch Question
Why are our ideal customers—the ones who already know us—not buying?
It’s painful, but necessary.
When someone fits your perfect profile but still walks away, it’s a mirror into where you’re falling short and what you can do to improve. your offer and close more sales.
Is your offer unclear? Unappealing? Or just irrelevant?
The sooner you face it, the faster you fix it.
3. The Intensity Question
Where can I double (or even 10X) my intensity?
Sometimes less is more, but sometimes more is MORE.
Maybe it’s hiring more salespeople, doubling your ad spend, or just sending more emails and offers to your prospects.
Where can you increase your outputs simply by increasing your inputs?
4. The Procrastination Question
What opportunities have I not executed because I’m chasing perfection?
Perfectionism has another name: fear.
That product launch you pushed to next quarter (again), the key hire you’ve been putting off, or the partnership call you still haven’t made…
…all because something’s “not quite ready.”
Call it out. Start sloppy.
Progress beats perfect every time.
5. The Enemy Question
If I were competing against myself, how would I beat me?
Nothing exposes weakness faster than imagining your rival exploiting it.
Are your prices too high? Is your positioning too vague? Are your processes too slow?
Shine a light on your vulnerabilities before someone else does.
6. The Pragmatic Question
Is our strategy failing because it’s bad, or because we can’t currently execute it?
Many CEOs pivot too soon, and others cling on too long. But before you change strategy, it’s important to ask if the issue is with the strategy itself or with how the strategy is being executed.
Sometimes the answer isn’t a new plan…sometimes the answer is solving a constraint so the existing plan will actually work.
7. The Zero-Base Question
Knowing what I know now, what would I do differently if I were starting over?
Legacy decisions are often invisible anchors, and sunk-cost bias is expensive.
Sometimes the smartest move forward starts with a clean slate, and this question helps you determine which “slates” need cleaning.
⚡️Action Step: Schedule a 60-minute “Thinking Time” session this week, then ask (and answer) each of these seven questions honestly.
You’ll walk away with clarity, direction, and at least one breakthrough that will change how you lead this quarter. Because at the end of the day, companies scale at the rate of good decision-making…and good decisions start with better questions.
NOTE: The questions above and the idea of “Thinking Time” were inspired by The Road Less Stupid by Keith Cunningham.
P.S. I’m looking for 5 business owners who want to work 1-on-1 with my team and me to install a custom “operating system” so your business can scale and so you can exit the day-to-day. Click here to get the details.
