Episode 46 (101) The One Metric That Changed Everything (14:10) Beyond Belief by Nir Eyal and Book Review

In this episode, Vistage Master Chair Tom Cuthbert introduces the one productivity metric he believes every Chair should be tracking: income per hour. Tom walks through how to calculate it, why it matters more than total income or member count, and the five specific levers he has pulled over the past ten years to more than quadruple his number while working fewer hours. This is not a conversation about chasing money. It is about running an intentional practice that lets you show up at your best for your members, your family, and yourself. Show Notes Why income per hour is the single most important productivity metric in a Chair's practice and how to calculate it How Tom took his income per hour from under $140 in 2016 to over $500 today while reducing his working hours every year The three levers that move the metric: increase income, decrease hours, and do both simultaneously Why tracking total income or member count alone does not tell you whether you are working efficiently or just working a lot Tom's strict calendar boundaries: Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday work days, Fridays and weekends off, and all of July as a sabbatical How recurring one-to-ones eliminate the monthly scheduling scramble and let work come to you The immediate ROI of hiring an executive assistant for any Chair with at least one full group Why doing only your three things, plan, coach, and facilitate, is the filter that drops hours and improves member focus How group type and utilization rate directly impact income per hour and why a full Advancing Leader group outperforms a CEO group on this metric Tom's Tips and Tricks: Book Review - Beyond Belief by Nir Eyal Tom is a longtime fan of Nir Eyal's work and considers Indistractable one of his all-time favorite books. He valued it so much that he hired Nir to coach him personally during 2020. Nir's newest book, Beyond Belief, carries the subtitle: The Science-Backed Way to Stop Limiting Yourself and Achieve Breakthrough Results. Tom pre-ordered it, has finished it, and calls it one of the best leadership and coaching books he has read in the last ten years. The core idea is simple and powerful: beliefs are not facts, they are tools. Like any tool, you can pick up the right one or put down the wrong one. Most CEOs walk around treating beliefs as settled truths, and those unexamined beliefs filter what they see, what they attempt, and what they achieve. For Chairs, this reframes the coaching conversation. Instead of asking a CEO if something is true, which puts them on the defensive, ask whether that belief still serves them. That question opens the door without triggering resistance. Tom has been testing this in his one-to-ones and finds it immediately effective. Resources Beyond Belief by Nir Eyal Indistractable by Nir Eyal www.tomcuthbert.com www.chairlifepodcast.com https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zB-jcUVEZOGzEYXibxZ4rjPAe9mmb7BZKhlaHBbMpZE/edit?usp=sharing