Intro

Scott Raven: Welcome to The Corvus Effect, where we explore what it takes to succeed professionally and truly enhance all parts of your life. I'm Scott Raven, Fractional COO and your host. Each episode we go behind the scenes with leaders who've mastered the delicate harmony of growing their professional endeavors while protecting what matters most. Ready to transform from Chief Everything Officer to achieving integration in all facets of your life? Get ready to soar.

Guest Introduction: Tracey Abbott

Scott Raven: And hello everybody. Welcome back to The Corvus Effect. This is Scott with my TL;DL - Too Long Didn't Listen summary of my conversation with Tracey Abbott, founder of Leadership Current, and a strategist who has spent nearly 30 years transforming high stakes leaders from performance to purpose with many different executive roles, PE, board directorships, and also having asked herself "now what?"

Following an unconventional journey from the boardroom to a Chick-fil-A franchise to now purpose driven PE coach, she described herself as a thought provocateur, and that is exactly what she brought to The Corvus Effect in her full episode where she really taught us in terms of being able to bring human intelligence as the greatest competitive advantage in an AI driven world.

So hopefully you enjoy this summary. If you do enjoy this summary, please make sure to listen to the full episode. But here are a few key takeaways that we have.

Disconnect Between Boardroom Strategy and Frontline Reality

Scott Raven: First, she had a brutal wake up call about the disconnect between boardroom strategy and frontline reality. When she was at her first Chick-fil-A staff meeting and she brought P&L statements and PowerPoint slides to a team of 21 year olds, and one of them asked "What does the N in P&L stand for?" And she was flabbergasted that this team of 21 year olds didn't really have an understanding of this, but at the same time, it caused her to reflect on the fact that she had to speak to her audience. She had to make it something that is relatable to them.

And for them, all they want to know is how could we operate the business in the most efficient way possible? That insight aligns with our Corvus principle that you have to understand how your vision translates to the people actually doing the work. It's not about how smart you are, it's about how effectively you can connect daily deliverables to something that is not only in line with what they want to accomplish, but bigger than anything you guys can imagine together.

Slowing Down to Multiply What Matters

Scott Raven: Secondly, her revolutionary approach to slowing down to multiply what matters, particularly in a high pressure world of private equity. She discovered if you're sitting in a boardroom, if you're sitting in the CEO seat, your intellectual horsepower can create more problems for you than you intend because it's not about how many great ideas you can come up with or even if it's the smartest. It's how many you can execute at the end of the day, and it's fantastic wisdom for us here in Corvus Land that it is wonderful to brainstorm and to have a bunch of ideas for a rainy day, but ultimately you have to be able to execute them well in order to gain the output and the impact that you are looking for from your efforts.

So being intentional with the selection of ideas and then the presence to see those ideas into reality was a critical insight that she brought.

Insights on Success and Fulfillment

Scott Raven: Finally, she had a powerful insight about why success doesn't equal fulfillment in alignment with her mission metrics alignment framework. She observed that most leaders struggle because we never know when enough is enough, and we're always saying "What could we do better? What's more, what is the next thing to achieve?" She realized happiness comes from deciding that you have enough and that you are enough and that you have full alignment of your mission and your metrics, because when those two things are in line, then it means that you are truly succeeding in the marketplace that you choose to play.

And that's very insightful for us here as members of The Corvus Effect. Look, there's always going to be things that could be better. There's always going to be the next step up the mountaintop, and we are definitely not saying don't pursue it, but also have an appreciation for where you are at, where your feet are, and be able to feel fulfilled in what you have accomplished, particularly when you take a look back down the mountain and see just how far you have come.

Final Thoughts: The Role of AI and Human Touch

Scott Raven: I invite you to listen to her full episode because as she pontificated in terms of how this played into an AI world that we are moving into, she reminisced about her days back at Kodak and that those who do not adapt to the new technology are going to get left behind. She considers AI to be a supercharger to her efforts, but she still maintains a distinctly human touch. And for us here as members of The Corvus Effect, keeping the humanity behind whatever we do is also something which is a great insight to hear from her. You can connect with Tracey at Leadership Current and explore how her radical purposely driven approach might transform your leadership.

Until next time, I'm Scott. See you next time on The Corvus Effect. Take care.

Outro

Scott Raven: Thank you for joining me on The Corvus Effect. If today's conversation sparked ideas about how to free yourself from overwhelm, visit TheCorvusEffect.com for show notes, resources, and our free sixth dimensions assessment, showing you exactly where you're trapped and how to architect your freedom. While you're there, check out the Corvus Learning Platform, where we turn insights into implementation. If this episode helped you see a new path forward, please subscribe and share it with others who are ready to pursue their definition of professional freedom. Join me next time as we continue exploring how to enhance your life through what you do professionally. Remember, it's time to soar towards your legacy.