534 - I Don’t Have Time. How Do I Do This in Less Than 4 Hours a Month?
Time is no excuse. Learn how CEOs can run a complete thought leadership strategy in less than 4 hours a month. With the right system, you can shape your industry, grow influence, and drive business results without sacrificing focus.
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I Don’t Have Time. How Do I Do This in Less Than 4 Hours a Month?
One of the most common objections I hear from CEOs is simple: “I don’t have time.” Between board meetings, financial reviews, and strategic decisions, it’s easy to see thought leadership as a luxury reserved for later. But in reality, thought leadership is not an add-on; it’s a core part of your job.
1. Leadership requires visibility.
Driving the business means more than internal execution. It means representing the company externally, shaping the conversation in your industry, and ensuring your business is seen as a credible authority. If you aren’t visible, someone else will be.
2. Thought leadership is about leverage.
The key is not spending endless hours producing content. It’s about creating systems that capture your insights and scale them across multiple platforms. With the proper support structure, a single hour of input can produce weeks of content.
3. Strategy saves time.
Without a straightforward process, content creation feels chaotic. With a structured approach, CEOs can align their thought leadership with business strategy, ensuring every piece of content reinforces the company’s vision and values.
4. The backseat is safe, but it won’t get you ahead.
Many leaders stay in the background, reacting to industry shifts instead of shaping them. That’s the equivalent of sitting in the backseat of the car while competitors drive. The CEOs who step up to the front, who articulate vision, connect with stakeholders, and lead conversations are the ones who build lasting influence.
Final Thought
The question isn’t whether you have time. The question is whether you see thought leadership as optional or as part of your responsibility to drive the business forward. With the right system, you can build your influence and shape your industry in less than 4 hours a month. This episode of The Daily Hint shows you how to make that shift.
Highlights:
00:00 The CEO's Dilemma: Balancing Thought Leadership and Business
00:26 The Role of a CEO in Shaping Industry Vision
00:46 Taking the Lead: Moving from Follower to Industry Leader
01:00 The Responsibility of Driving Business Results
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Transcript:
But I don't have time as a CEO to do all this thought leadership thing. I get it. But do you have time to drive your business? I think so because that's your job, and your job is as well representing the company towards the outside. That doesn't mean showing up when your PR and marketing team just tells you where to go.
I think for you as. As a leader in the industry, I think for you as a thought leader in the industry, you need to step up. You need to look into where's the industry going and even beyond where should the industry go and how you as a person and your business can contribute to that driving the vision towards the future.
A lot of people are in the backseat of a car. You're followers, you're looking what other people are doing and other companies are doing that are the thought leaders of the industry. And that's a safe bet all the time. I get it. But if you want to drive business results and being at the forefront of what's happening in the industry, you should step up, be a thought leader, ask the CEO.
If you ask me, that's your responsibility.