“A lot of people mistake activity for progress,” says Fineas Tatar, Co-CEO and Founder of Viva, “What matters is is working on priorities that actually move the needle forward.” Many CEOs, particularly of startups, don’t know what their priorities are and therefore what tasks to focus on and in what order. As new leaders, they try to do everything themselves instead of effectively delegating. As a result, time gets wasted, less gets done, and quality suffers. Fineas discusses his approach to effective time management, including starting with a mission or objective and working backwards, matching each task to its best employer.

He describes the qualities he looks for when hiring salespeople, which skills can be taught versus those that are innate, and what new hires learn in Viva’s analyst training program. He explains why hiring (or not hiring) under the guise of fitting in with corporate culture is largely bogus, the most challenging parts being a company leader, and the most common mistakes CEOS make when trying to prioritize.

A huge part of establishing priorities is always keeping the ideal customer profile in mind. He discusses how to establish and maintain your company’s ICP as your company grows and some great ways to get customer feedback.

Quotes:

"First, a lot of people don't prioritize well. What's actually busywork versus what's going to move the needle? I always ask myself, 'What is the work that only you can do best within the company?' And if I'm not doing that, we're not moving the needle." (8:15-8:31 | Fineas)

“I've seen leaders who work eight hours a day make significantly more progress than those crushing themselves 14 hours a day to try to move the needle. But it's all about what they choose to focus on.” (10:08-10:21 | Fineas)

“A lot of people mistake activity for progress. They mistake daily inputs for progress, even though it's not moving the needle. I've fallen in this trap before as well. And sometimes you think you move fast, but it's not necessarily like moving fast. It's making decisions on things quickly, right? It's moving the needle forward on things that actually matter.”(38:38-38:59 | Fineas)

“Saying no is just as important as the things you say yes to.” (43:10-43:14 | Fineas)

Connect with Brendan Dell: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendandell/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BrendanDell Instagram: @thebrendandellTikTok: @brendandell39 Buy a copy of Brendan’s Book, The 12 Immutable Laws of High-Impact Messaging: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780578210926

Connect with Fineas Tatar:

Website: https://www.execviva.com/

LinkedIn: @ Viva Virtual Analysts; @fineastatar

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