The Linda Evangelista Rule: Optimize Your Time as a CEO

Linda Evangelista, a legendary supermodel, once famously said, “I don’t get out of bed for less than $10,000.” While her statement was made many years ago, when $10K was worth much more, it serves as a valuable lesson for CEOs today. As the most important role in a company, it can be tempting for a CEO, especially a founder CEO, to want to control every aspect of the business. But, this approach can lead to spending too much time on tasks that are beneath the CEO's level and not delivering high value.

Adopting the Linda rule can help CEO's prioritize their time effectively. The time spent on gathering and analyzing data is important, but it should not be done by the CEO unless it meets the CEO's minimum threshold for being personally involved. The CEO's unique value is their ability to bring insights and make great, timely decisions based on limited or incomplete information. Therefore, the CEO should reserve their time for reviewing the results of an analysis or deep dive and drawing conclusions and making decisions based on the results.

It's understandable for a CEO, especially if they have a technical background, to enjoy diving deep into the details of the business. However, this doesn't always meet the minimum value creation threshold for their time. Instead, the CEO should focus on growing the capacity and talent beneath them by delegating tasks that can be done at a lower level.

If the CEO doesn't believe that they will receive good analysis or data from their team, it's a sign that there is a gap in competency that needs to be addressed. The CEO should work on fixing the issue rather than doing the work themselves.

To fully embrace the Linda rule, a CEO should reflect on how they spent their time in the past week or month. They should ask themselves questions such as: How many hours did I spend on activities that were below my level? Was it because I just wanted to or was it because there was a gap in competency at that level? And, if it was a competency gap, what am I going to do about it?

Finally, the CEO should communicate these changes with their leadership team and other direct stakeholders to ensure that everyone knows what to expect from them. By valuing their time and focusing on high-value tasks, a CEO can make the most impact on their company and achieve their goals more efficiently.