After Vin Scully was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, he was asked about the secret to his success: ““I would quote Laurence Olivier, because I have lived by his quote. Apparently, some actor asked him about his success. And he said, ‘My success comes from a humility to prepare and a confidence to bring it off.’”

Vistage speaker Marc Emmer told us that story at our Vistage meeting this week and shared it in his blog. I admire Vin’s vulnerability in acknowledging that after all these years, he does not “wing it.” He prepares. (But did you also notice that he credits someone else for the quote? That’s another act of humility.)

Marc talked to the business leaders in our group about that preparation. He noted that only about a third of U.S. companies survive past the first generation, partly because they do not have the humility to prepare. And I would add that they consider themselves too busy working in the business to work on the business.

The most common excuse I hear from executives who do not want to join a peer group or receive coaching is that they are too busy. To which I rely, “too busy doing what?” I think it’s easy to fill a day with tasks, emails, phone calls, meetings and trouble shooting. You end the day exhausted. And you know that tomorrow will be more of the same.

In our Vistage group, we have been breaking through the cycle of busy-ness. A couple of the theories we are testing:

• “Multi-tasking” is another way of saying, “I’m not concentrating.” Consider an employee who walks into your office and asks for a minute. You keep working on the email you were writing and say, “Go ahead. Talk to me.” Your eyes never leave the screen. And how does the employee feel when you never make eye contact?
• 30 seconds “in the moment” outweigh 10 minutes of zoning out or doom scrolling.
• The executive portion of your brain (the pre-frontal cortex) is where your creativity and astute problem-solving lies. But the limbic system in your brain tries to hijack you with emotional responses. Your auto-pilot brain takes over when you are tired. So take five minutes out to meditate and re-center your brain.
• Exercise in the midst of your work day is crucial. A walk. 10 squats. 10 lunges. 10 bench dips. Activity resets your brain and makes decisions clearer.
• And finally, when you are at work, be at work. And when you are home, be with the people you love and who love you. Set your phone aside. A 2018 Harvard study showed the happiest families are those who draw a boundary between work and home life.