Value For Time: 10 Keys To Having Worthwhile Conversations

Recently, I was trying to organize a conference call between the chairman of a large professional services firm and another executive. I said to the chairman, "Let's just get a 20-minute call organized with William."

He took a deep breath and replied, "Andrew, you need to realize that I have about 50 people lined up here, and each one just wants 'just' 20 minutes with me!"

The point is that every senior executive I know could easily fill each day twice over. For every request, they are asking, "Does this align with my most critical priorities? Can someone else handle this? Can it wait a few weeks?" They invest their time in relationships only where there is tangible value for them.

For busy senior executives, value for time – even more than value for money – has become immensely important. If you want to successfully build strong relationships with executives, you have to understand how to consistently add value for time.