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Mission #5: Action!

This mission has a few simple steps:

1. Choose your topic

Pick one of your three leadership focus areas from

Your Own Leadership Playbook → Self-assessment → My three areas of focus

(e.g. Decision making).

2. Identify up to 10 people who are strong in this area

• They might be part of your organization or outsiders.

• You might personally know them, or you might not (the success rate is simply lower in the latter case).

• If you can’t think of people who are great in this specific area, just pick leaders you admire.

3. Reach out and invite them for a short chat or lunch

LinkedIn works well if you don’t have their contact details. If you’re not connected, add a short note. Example:

“Hi [Name], I’m a first-time manager working on my decision-making skills. I admire your experience (the more specific you can be here, the better). If you’re open to a 30-minute chat or lunch, I’d love to learn from your experience.”

4. Remember: this is a numbers game

Not everyone will reply — but some will. People are genuinely helpful.

A few observations:

• C-level executives tend to be the busiest tier. That doesn’t mean there is no chance—it just means you may need to reach out to more people to get a yes.

• Shared contacts help. They add credibility.

• Working in the same function—or having anything else in common—is a plus.

• Trainers, coaches, and professionals who do this for a living are less likely to respond (or they may direct you to their services, which is fair 🙂).

• A success rate between 10% and 30% is achievable for people outside your network. For people you personally know, the reply rate should be 50% or more.

5. Once you set a meeting, prepare a list of questions.

You don’t have to follow them strictly, but they show respect for the person’s time.

6. Once you have 3 meetings, your mission is complete:

The topic I chose is:

The first person I met is:

You can paste the LN profile or just write a description “someone who works as Head of Marketing in a large retail company”

The second person I met is:

The third person I met is:

What is your honest opinion of the value of this mission?

Any comments, recommendations, likes, or dislikes about the mission?

How long did it take you to complete the mission?

up to 2

2-4 hours

4-6 hours

More than 6 hours