Chris Hunsicker argues leaders must slow down to create team clarity, using Napoleon's habit of delaying letters as proof. He offers three tools: a 15-minute daily window for three priorities, one three-minute moment of pure presence with someone, and replacing reactive behavior with intentional rituals.
Chapters
Foreign. It's 8am in Paris, and I'm sitting at a little cafe in La Marais, and everyone is just sipping their espresso like it's a sacred ritual. No one's on slack, no one's checking their CRM dashboard. They're just thinking and reading and owning their pace. And as I sat there, I thought to myself, what would the average manager back home do? He'd be sipping his espresso and get that thing down in 90 seconds, texting three other managers and yelling across the showroom floor at somebody. And I can't blame you, because somewhere along the way, we started confusing chaos with actual leadership. Today, we confront the lie. If I slow down, everything falls apart. No, my friend, if you don't slow down, you fall apart. So let's create some leadership fire. Chris. I'm Chris Hunsicker, and this is the dealership War Room. Leadership fire. Built daily, fueled intentionally and delivered relentlessly. And this is day one of Paris Power Week. And the whole purpose is I'm here at the University Sergeantois to teach a class on executive coaching. And each day I'm going to try and do the War Room tied to some thought, some idea based on what's going on here in Paris. So with that, let's look at peace, calm, presence, and dive right in. Let me say something uncomfortable. If your team is frantic, if they're reactive, if they're sloppy and chaotic, whether it's because we're so busy or because we're so slow, it's not their fault, it's yours. Because the pace of the leader is the pace of the team. You see, whatever you tolerate, they are going to imitate you. Think they need another 20 group strategy? No way. What they need is your calm, your stillness, and your clarity under pressure. Let me introduce you to the cafe principle. Slowing down isn't weakness, it's weaponry. And clarity is the new flex, and peace is the new power. But here's your blind spot. You're not just moving fast, you're addicted to urgency. Why? Because speed feels like control. But what if that urgency is your crutch and not your edge? You think I have to move fast or I'll fall behind. But you're not falling behind, you're falling apart. And your team can feel it. And by the way, Napoleon right here in France was notorious. He had several secretaries that would file his letter. So when a letter came in, it would get filed for three weeks later. And he would not read any of the letters that came in until three weeks had passed. Not because he was lazy, but because most problems are not urgent, they're just loud. And interestingly, by the time three weeks had passed, most of those issues had already resolved themselves. That's not lazy, that's power. The kind of power that comes from being ruthless with your focus and your presence. So let me give you three tools that you can use. Tool number one is the 15 minute war room window. We're going to create a window in your day where we're going to create 15 minutes to practice stillness, calm and focus. And here's what I want you to do every day. I want you to set aside 15 minutes, preferably at the beginning of the day, before you dive into the chaos. And all I want you to do is stop, breathe, and then write down three things you absolutely have to do today to win and then take action on them or schedule them. Not 20, not 10, three. And use a 15 minute war room window to absolutely gain control. Get ruthless with your focus and your presence. Number two, one moment of pure presence. And I want you to use this at home and at work every day. I want you to give three minutes of undistracted attention to one person. It could be a tech, it could be a salesperson, it could be an advisor. No phones, no distractions, just completely locked in. Full focus on that one person for three minutes. And that will rewire your leadership presence more than any training class you could ever take. And it will rewire your home presence and the depth of your love and caring more than any marriage class could ever give you. Third tool. Replace reaction with ritual. Don't live as a slave to your inbox. Design the way that you want to lead. Start by deciding when you're going to be available and when you're not, because you're going to be able to do deep work. Decide how you're going to enter a meeting and then what is the first thing that you say going to say about your tone? How do you make that first sentence that every time you go and you meet with someone on a one on one, you walk into a meeting, you pick up a phone call, you're going to stop, pause, breathe and be intentional about. What is that first sentence going to say about your tone? Because your team isn't watching what you say when it's calm, they're watching who you are. Watch when you're on fire, it goes back to the thermostat or the thermometer, right? That was one of the most popular episodes in April. More views than anything else that are you going to be the thermometer that measures the temperature of the room? Or are you the thermostat that sets the temperature of the room? And that's exactly what your team is watching each and every day. So here is your war room challenge. This morning and all this week. Take your coffee like a Parisian still present, unbothered, and I want you to ask yourself this one hard question. What would happen to my team, to our performance, to my goals, if I slowed down 10% so I could show up 100%? The answer is everything. If that makes you a little uncomfortable, good. That's the sound of your next level calling you up. If this hit home, I want you to forward this to one other leader you respect, and I want you to ask him this question. How calm am I really? And then shut up and listen and see what feedback that you get tomorrow. In episode 67, we raise the standard, because the Louvre doesn't hang sloppy, and neither should you. So dive in. Give someone today your full presence. Use that Parisian mindset for your coffee to be still, unbothered and present, and find one person in your home life and one person in your professional life to give that full presence to. And I will see you tomorrow in the dealership war room as we continue with Paris Power Week.
