How CEOs Buy Back Their Time

About this video

Martell presents three strategies he says are not in his best-selling book Buy Back Your Time, prompted by an elite coaching client who had installed the perfect week and time-and-energy audit but still had people problems. First, lead direct reports differently: cap them at five, seven at most, citing a mentor who built a company to 5,000 employees by creating management bandwidth, and always require a 1-3-1 — when someone brings a problem, ask ‘what are your thoughts?’ so they present their evaluation and recommendation, teaching them to self-solve rather than making the CEO the answer source. Second, fill bought-back time deliberately: using the DRIP matrix (delegate, replace, invest, produce), most people only transfer work off their plate and forget to invest and produce, so batch work by energy, and schedule investment in skills, beliefs and character — he recounts a client whose new executive assistant freed 35 hours a week with nothing planned for it. Third, map outcomes to the calendar: identify the leading domino that makes everything else easier, protect the first 90 minutes each morning for it, have an assistant lock projects into the calendar, and co-create with others for accountability instead of cancelling on yourself.

Key takeaways

• Cap direct reports at five, seven maximum, and work through those leaders to create management bandwidth
• Require a 1-3-1: anyone bringing a problem must first share their own thoughts and recommendation
• After delegating and replacing tasks, deliberately invest and produce with the freed time (DRIP matrix)
• Manage energy, not just time — batch similar calls and schedule skill, belief and character development
• Put outcomes in the calendar: protect the first 90 minutes daily for the leading-domino project

Episode details: published August 7, 2023 · 10:33 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Dan Martell’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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