40. Why CEOs Need to Imagine the Future Before Building the Plan

40. Why CEOs Need to Imagine the Future Before Building the Plan

Most companies do not really imagine the future. They look at last year’s numbers, add 8%, 10%, maybe 12%, and call it a strategic plan. But that is not CEO's vision. That is arithmetic. This is why the card Imagining the Future matters so much to me. As a CEO, your job is not simply to manage what already exists. Your job is to see what does not exist yet. To imagine where the organization could go and what it could become.  And yet, this is one of the places where I see CEOs struggle most. A real CEO vision includes the market you want to play in, the customers you want to serve, the capabilities you need to build, the team you need around you, the position you want to hold, and the kind of business you actually want to lead. That takes imagination. Not fantasy or wishful thinking. Strategic planning for CEOs has to start with the ability to place yourself in the future, look around, and ask: What do we want to be true once we get there? Only then can you work backward and build the plan. The moment you can communicate that vision clearly is the moment your team can start moving toward it, but you cannot lead people toward a future you have not imagined. And you cannot build a strategic plan around a vision you have not learned how to communicate. Key-Card points: * Most CEOs plan from the past.  * The CEO’s job is to imagine what does not exist yet.  * A clear future is more than a number.  * Vision has to be communicated.  * Learning feeds imagination.  Links & Resources * Imagining The Future [https://veverka.ca/imagining-the-future/] * Veverka.ca [http://veverka.ca] Connect with Milan * Veverka.ca [http://veverka.ca] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/milanveverka/] Connect with Ged * Crystalyzer.com [https://www.crystalyzer.com/] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/gedroberts/] CardCast is produced by Lovemore Media.

39. CEO Time Management: Why Busy Is Bad

I used to think “Luxury To Waste Time”  sounded like something a CEO had to earn. Something you got to do once the inbox was empty, the team was aligned, the fires were out, and the business was finally running smoothly. But of course, that day rarely comes. There is always another message, another meeting, another customer issue, another decision waiting for attention. And somewhere along the way, many CEOs start to believe that being constantly busy is the same thing as leading well. That is why this card challenged me. Because the more we talked about it, the less it felt like a luxury. Sometimes, the time that looks unproductive from the outside may be the very time a CEO needs most. Time to think. Time to step back. Time to see what the business cannot see while everyone is trapped in the whirlwind. Busy has become a badge of honor. It has become a way of proving that we matter, that we are contributing, that we are needed. But busy can also be a warning sign. It can mean I have no time to think. No time to look ahead. No time to read, learn, plan, recharge, or imagine what is possible next. It can mean I am still holding onto work that should have been handed off months or years ago. A CEO might spend fourteen hours coding, checking customer support emails, or closing sales because that is where they feel competent. But if the real fire is in operations, strategy, team design, or the board, that busyness is not leadership. It is avoidance dressed up as productivity. The real work of a CEO often happens in the space between tasks. It happens while reading a book, walking the dog, going to a conference outside your industry, studying the market, spending time with family, or simply letting your mind get quiet enough to see what is next. That space is not laziness. It is not indulgence. It is where vision forms. I called this the CEO’s ability to “time travel”: to place yourself in the future, imagine the end state, and then work backward. It reminds me of something I learned in pilot school: never point the airplane somewhere you have not already been in your mind. If the business is flying you, you are not flying the business. And if you are too busy to think about where you are going, you may be wasting the most important time you have. Key-Card points: * Busyness is not proof of leadership * The real waste is doing work that is no longer yours  * White space is strategic work  * If you cannot step away, something is wrong  * The CEO must be able to “time travel.”  Links & Resources * Luxury To Waste Time [https://veverka.ca/luxury-to-waste-time/] * Veverka.ca [http://veverka.ca] Connect with Milan * Veverka.ca [http://veverka.ca] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/milanveverka/] Connect with Ged * Crystalyzer.com [https://www.crystalyzer.com/] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/gedroberts/] CardCast is produced by Lovemore Media.

38. Why Meeting Prep Is the First Sign of Accountability

I used to think meeting prep was just the responsible thing to do before a meeting. Read the dashboard. Check the agenda. Know your numbers. Show up ready. Useful, but not exactly profound. Then Damien Burn said something years ago that I have repeated more times than I can count: “I didn’t have time to prepare for a short meeting, so we are going to have a long one.” That line stuck with me because it names something every CEO has felt. You walk into a meeting expecting a decision, and instead, you spend half the time getting everyone caught up. The simple thing becomes complicated. The short meeting becomes a long one. And usually, it is not because the issue was unclear. It is because someone did not prepare. That is why this card is Meeting Prep. Meeting prep is not really about meetings. It is about accountability. Damien Burn joins us for this episode, and that feels especially fitting. He was my coach during a pivotal season when I was still a CEO, and his influence helped shape my own path into coaching. He brings a direct, practical lens to accountability, meeting rhythm, metric ownership, and the habits that turn strong individuals into a real leadership team. Because when someone shows up late, unprepared, or sees their numbers for the first time in the meeting, they are telling you something. They may not mean to, but they are saying, “I did not treat this as important enough before I walked in.” A prepared team can make decisions. An unprepared team creates more meetings. A prepared leader can own the number, name the issue, and ask for help early. An unprepared leader waits until someone notices, then offers an excuse. Meeting prep opens the door to the bigger conversation: peer accountability, metric ownership, first-team thinking, and culture. If you own a metric, you should know the number. If you sit on the leadership team, that is your first team. And if you are the CEO, culture is not something you delegate and hope for the best. Key-Card points: * Meeting prep is a signal of respect  * Unprepared meetings create more meetings  * A players prepare differently  * Peer accountability matters  * Culture is the CEO’s accountability  Links & Resources * Meeting Prep [https://veverka.ca/meeting-prep] * Veverka.ca [http://veverka.ca] Connect with Milan * Veverka.ca [http://veverka.ca] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/milanveverka/] Connect with Ged * Crystalyzer.com [https://www.crystalyzer.com/] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/gedroberts/] CardCast is produced by Lovemore Media.

37. The #1 Interview Question to Ask Before You Hire Someone

I keep coming back to one simple hiring question:  What DON’T you want to do? It sounds simple, but in a job interview, it can reveal what a polished resume never will. Most interviews focus on what someone is good at, what they’ve achieved, and what they want next. But this question flips the conversation. It asks for the truth behind the performance. That’s what I love about this card. It doesn’t try to trick anyone. It gives people room to be clear, and it belongs in every serious hiring conversation. A-players usually know what energizes them, but they also know what drains them. They are not trying to be everything to everyone. They know where they create value, and where they start to lose energy. And that kind of clarity matters. Because hiring for fit is not just about finding someone who can do the job. It is about finding someone who actually wants the work the role requires. A great hiring question should help both sides see the truth before day one. Hiring someone is only the beginning. Keeping them means giving them more of the work they came to do, and less of the work that quietly makes them want to leave. Sometimes what a candidate says matters. But how they answer tells you even more. Key-Card points: * What A-players know about themselves  * Why “what don’t you want to do?” belongs in interviews  * How to spot role misalignment early  * Why vague answers are a red flag  * How leaders can hire for fit, not just skill  Links & Resources * What DON’T you want to do? [https://veverka.ca/what-dont-you-want-to-do/] * Veverka.ca [http://veverka.ca] Connect with Milan * Veverka.ca [http://veverka.ca] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/milanveverka/] Connect with Ged * Crystalyzer.com [https://www.crystalyzer.com/] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/gedroberts/] CardCast is produced by Lovemore Media.

36. Reframe with Milan Veverka and Ged Roberts

Welcome back to CardCast! Today, we’re going to be talking about Reframe. There’s a moment I keep noticing in everyday scenarios where everything just stops… And it usually sounds like, “We can’t do that.” And the second that lands, the room changes, and the energy drops. It’s like we’ve all agreed to shut the door without even checking if it’s locked. That’s where Reframe steps in. Instead of accepting it, you flip it: “What would need to be true for this to work?” That one shift doesn’t guarantee anything, but it changes the posture completely. You move from defending the problem to actually exploring it. Because “we can’t” is almost never a fact. It’s usually a pile of assumptions we haven’t bothered to question. And then there are the harder moments, the ones no one wants to reframe, like layoffs. The shift there wasn’t to pretend it was good, but to recognize that the company was heading toward a restructure anyway. Now it was being forced to do it. So the question became how to do it well, without wasting the moment. That’s the thing about reframing. It doesn’t make situations easier. It just makes them usable. Key-Card points: * “We can’t” is usually an assumption, not a fact * Reframing shifts you from defensive thinking to creative thinking * Constraints can become strategic advantages * The best reframes often involve who, not how * Comfort is the biggest enemy of better thinking Links & Resources * Reframe [https://veverka.ca/reframe] * Veverka.ca [http://veverka.ca] Connect with Milan * Veverka.ca [http://veverka.ca] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/milanveverka/] Connect with Ged * Crystalyzer.com [https://www.crystalyzer.com/] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/gedroberts/] CardCast is produced by Lovemore Media.