Latest / Executive Careers with Fexingo: VP, C-Suite, and Senior Leadership Career Strategy / How Executives Answer the Question What Do You Do
Transcript
- Lucas: So there's a question that every executive gets asked a hundred times a year, and most of them answer it badly. It's not 'what's your strategy' or 'what keeps you up at night'. It's the one at every cocktail party, every board dinner, every first meeting with a new investor. 'So, what do you do?' Luna: And you're saying most executives flub it? Because I've heard some pretty polished answers over the years. Lucas: They sound polished because they've been repeated. But polished doesn't mean effective. Most answers fall into one of two traps. The first is the title dump: 'I'm the Chief Financial Officer of a mid-cap industrial firm.' The second is the vague value statement: 'I help companies grow.' Neither one actually tells the other person anything they can remember. Luna: Right, because 'CFO' tells them a function, not an impact. And 'help companies grow' is true for basically every executive I've ever met. Lucas: Exactly. And the cost is real. This question is the front door to your professional reputation. A weak answer can make a promising connection evaporate, or make a board member write you off before you've even sat down. So today, I want to give you a three-part framework for answering 'what do you do' in a way that's specific, memorable, and actually opens a conversation. Luna: Alright, I'm listening. Because I've got a networking event tonight and I might need to test this out. Lucas: Perfect timing then. So the framework I use is this: anchor, differentiate, invite. Anchor is the outcome you drive, not the title you hold. Differentiate is what makes your approach or your results distinctive. And invite is the question you leave hanging that makes the other person want to know more. Luna: Okay, anchor first. Can you give me an example of what that sounds like versus the title dump? Lucas: Sure. Instead of 'I'm the CFO of a mid-cap industrial firm', you say something like, 'I lead the financial strategy for a company that makes the valves used in every major pipeline in North America.' Now you've got a concrete outcome and a tangible product. The other person can visualize it, and they can ask a follow-up about the business. Luna: So you're swapping the title for the product and the scale. That makes sense. But what about the differentiate part? Lucas: Differentiate is where you add a twist. Maybe you've tripled the company's cash reserves in three years, or you've turned around a failing division. But you want to keep it to a single clause, not a resume dump. So the full answer might be: 'I lead financial strategy for a pipeline infrastructure company. In the last three years, I've taken our cash position from near-zero to a hundred and fifty million dollars, which gave us the firepower to acquire two competitors.' Luna: That's specific. And it immediately signals leadership and results. But doesn't that come off as a bit boastful in a social setting? Lucas: It can, if you don't dial it to the context. That's the nuance. At a board dinner, the differentiate is crucial. At a friend's barbecue, you might drop the numbers and just say, 'I keep the finances on track for a company that makes those big valves you see on pipelines.' The key is to be memorable, not to impress everyone in the room. Luna: Got it. So the anchor stays, the differentiate flexes. And the invite is the part that gets the other person talking, right? Lucas: Exactly. You end with something like, 'What about you — what keeps you busy?' Or, if you're in a business context, you might ask about their role or their company. The goal is to turn a monologue into a conversation. If you've hooked them, they'll ask you a follow-up question, and then you can go deeper. Luna: I love that. And honestly, this framework applies beyond networking. I can see it working in a board interview or even when you're introducing yourself to a new team. Lucas: Absolutely. In a board interview, the same structure works, but you might tailor the differentiate to the board's priorities. If they're worried about succession, you mention how you've developed your team. If they're worried about growth, you lead with the acquisition story. Luna: And that brings up a question from a listener, actually. Sarah from Denver asks: 'How do I answer this in a purely social setting, like a dinner party, without sounding like I'm giving a business pitch?' Lucas: That's a great question, and it's a common worry. The trick is to make it about the people and the product, not about you. So instead of 'I lead financial strategy', you say, 'I work with a team that makes the valves used in pipelines across North America. It's more interesting than it sounds.' And then you can pivot to a question about them, like 'What's your story?' Luna: So you're not hiding what you do, but you're framing it in a way that's accessible and invites curiosity. That's smart. And I think the 'more interesting than it sounds' line is a nice touch because it disarms people. Lucas: Right. And it's honest. Most executive work is genuinely fascinating when you get into the details, but you have to give people a hook. And this connects to a bigger point: your answer to 'what do you do' is a microcosm of your personal brand. If you're vague there, you're probably vague elsewhere. Luna: Hmm, that's a sharp observation. And it reminds me of something I was reading about how the best leaders are able to explain their work to a ten-year-old. If you can't make it accessible, you might not understand it well enough yourself. Lucas: That's a classic test, and it's a good one. But I'd add a nuance: you don't always want the ten-year-old version. The goal is to match the level of the person you're talking to. A fellow CFO wants to hear about capital structure. A neighbor wants to hear about the interesting problems you solve. The framework stays the same, but the language changes. Luna: So how do you practice this without sounding rehearsed? Because I've heard executives who clearly memorized a pitch, and it's painful. Lucas: The key is to practice the structure, not the script. You want to be able to hit the three beats naturally, but the words should come out fresh each time. I actually recommend writing out a few versions — one for a formal setting, one for a casual setting, one for a one-line answer you can give in a crowded room — but then rehearsing them out loud until they feel like your own. And then, when you're in the moment, you can adapt. Luna: That makes sense. And it's a bit like how actors rehearse a scene — they know the lines cold, but they're still in the moment. Lucas: Exactly. And there's a broader point here that applies to all of us, and it's what I think makes this show worth supporting. If you've listened to Fexingo and it's helped you think through a career move or a leadership challenge, that's exactly the kind of clarity we're talking about. And listener support is what keeps these conversations ad-free and open to everyone. If that's been valuable to you, you can support the show at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: And it's a small gesture that goes a long way. We're grateful for every bit of it. Lucas: Alright, back to the question. So we've talked about the framework, and Sarah's social setting question. Another angle is how this question shows up in the internal context — like when you're introducing yourself to a new division or a town hall. Luna: Oh, that's interesting. Because internally, you don't want to be too flashy. You want to build trust and credibility with your team. Lucas: Right. For a town hall, you'd want to emphasize the mission and your role in enabling the team. So you might say, 'I'm here to make sure the company has the money to do the great things this team is going to do.' That's anchoring on the outcome, but it's humble and team-focused. Luna: I like that. It's the same structure, but the tone is different. And that's the real skill — knowing your audience and adjusting. Lucas: Exactly. And one more thing: your answer should be a living thing, not something you set in stone. As your role evolves, you update the anchor and differentiate. If you've just led a major turnaround, that's your differentiator for the next six months. If you've just launched a new product line, that becomes your anchor. Luna: So it's not a static elevator pitch. It's a dynamic part of your career narrative. Lucas: Precisely. And that's what I'd leave you with: the next time someone asks 'what do you do', give them a story, not a label. Give them a reason to remember you, and a door to walk through. Luna: I'm definitely going to try this at my networking event tonight. I might even report back next episode. Lucas: Please do. Good luck out there. For now, that's our show.