The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

Episode #257: David Marquet - Intent Based Leadership (Turn The Ship Around!)

Captain Dave Marquet is a 1981 U.S. Naval Academy graduate. He served in the U.S. submarine force for 28 years. After being assigned to command the nuclear powered submarine USS Santa Fe, then ranked last in retention and operational standing, he realized the traditional leadership approach of "take control, give orders," wouldn't work. He "turned his ship around" by treating the crew as leaders, not followers, and giving control, not taking control. This approach took the Santa Fe from "worst to first," achieving the highest retention and operational standings in the navy. Stephen R. Covey said it was the most empowering organization he'd ever seen and wrote about Captain Marquet's leadership practices in his book, The 8th Habit.

Captain Marquet is the author of Turn the Ship Around! A True Story of Turning Followers Into Leaders. Fortune magazine called the book the "best how-to manual anywhere for managers on delegating, training, and driving flawless execution."

"Leadership is not for the select few at the top. In highly effective organizations, there are leaders at every level. When we give our people more authority, we actually create more effective leaders."

Show Notes:

• Sustaining excellence:
  • "The ability to decouple from their personal feelings their personality. It can't all depend on one person. In a consistent organization, the leader is part of it, but not all of it."
• How parenting helps you become a better leader:
  • "That's really interesting. As a parent, you're trying to create an independent decision maker."
• The United States Naval Academy definition of leadership = Leadership can be defined as directing the thoughts, plans, and actions of others... So as to obtain their command and obedience, their confidence, their respect, and their loyal cooperation." --> Why this is wrong and not effective.
• "I intend to..." -- Intent based leadership
• How to create the environment for the team to make decisions
• Intent based environment:
  • People don't need to be told what to do. Lean back, team leans forward. Don't make yourself (as the leader) a bottleneck.
• Risks = Tune level of control to competence or confidence of the team...
  • Expose my thought process (as the leader) to you to see how I put it together.
• Ask "what" and "how" questions...
• If you get hired as a new manager and did not get to choose anyone on your team?
  • "Focus on what you can control. Do we welcome each other? Do we care? Do we connect?"
• Making the jump from individual contributor to manager:
  • "Talk less, don't have all the answers... Listen."
• "Push information to authority. Be knowing, not telling."
• The job of the leader is to determine how the team works
• Minimize cognitive burden -- "The leader defines the structure."

"We act our way to new thinking, not think our way to new acting."

Social Media:

• Read: Turn The Ship Around!
• Follow Captain Marquet on Twitter: @ldavidmarquet
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

Episode #256: Elena Botelho - How To Become A CEO

Elena Botelho has been a Partner at ghSMART since 2007. Elena initiated and co-leads The CEO Genome Project® featured in a cover article of Harvard Business Review. Her recent book, The CEO Next Door, is a New York Times Bestseller. The CEO Genome Project® is an extensive research and client practice supporting CEO's and executives on the path to CEO. The research explores paths and behaviors that lead to the top, typical setbacks CEO's encounter and ways to prevent them. Elena is a member of McKinsey M&A Integration Council – an invitation-only forum of senior executives from major corporations to share M&A best practices. Elena is a sought after speaker at leading industry events on leadership and M&A.

The Learning Leader Show

"Charisma is a myth when it comes to success as a CEO. The research suggests introverts are equally or more successful than charismatic extroverts"

Show Notes:

• How do we define excellence?
  • "Delivering results is how we define it"
• The keys to excellence (delivering results)
  • Decisiveness - Conviction and speed
  • Adapting proactively
  • Relentless reliability - Delivering consistently -- This is the most powerful and important behavior
  • Engage for impact
• Self assessments
  • The lowest rated among 11,000 people Elena surveyed was: Reliability
• Why do people struggle with consistency?
  • Consistency is hard across all domains of our lives
• Reliability - 3 keys
  • Mindset - basic habits. How do we develop the correct mindset? -> Recognize that others need to be able to count on you. This translates to consistent habits
    • Get an honest look in the mirror
  • The WHO - Who are your surrounding yourself with?
  • Process and culture you build
• The CEO Myths:
  • Need to go to an Ivy League school (not true)
  • CEO's were destined for greatness (nope)
    • 70% of CEO's never set a goal to be a CEO
  • Charisma - It helps you get the job, however when you look at results, it's not the way the ensure results
    • Introverts are not less likely for success
• Advice to a current individual contributor:
  • Having powerful mentors didn't seem to help them more than those who didn't
  • Becoming a mentor to others does show it helps
    • It forces you to be clear and become a teacher. Helps you get in the head of others and lead
• What are some mistakes first time managers make?
  • "It can be messy"
  • Be clear on what success looks like
  • Is this the right team? Do personnel changes need to be made?
• What are the career catapults?
  • 25% went to a top business school
  • 97% of them did one of these three sprinters:
    • 60% "went small to go big" -> Took a smaller role at an organization that led to something big
    • They took on a big mess and fixed it
    • The big leap - Take a role well before you're ready --> Take a risk
• Adapting proactively
  • Being able to let go of a profitable business in order for long term success (give up short term for the long term)
  • Key learning = the ability let go of the past

"Becoming a mentor to others forces you to be clear and become a teacher."

Social Media:

• Read: The CEO Next Door
• Go to: ghsmart.com
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

Episode #255: David Burkus - The Hidden Networks That Can Transform Your Life (Friend Of A Friend)

David Burkus is a best-selling author, a sought after speaker, and business school professor. In 2017, he was named as one of the world's top business thought leaders by Thinkers50.

The Learning Leader Show

"The fundamental element that defines the quality of our lives are the people we surround ourselves with and the conversations we have with them."

Show Notes:

• What defines a happy life?
  • "The fundamental element that defines the quality of our lives are the people we surround ourselves with and the conversations we have with them. That's how you live a happy life."
• Adam Rifkin - The "strength of weak ties"
  • The research suggests you have better odds of getting a job through a loose acquaintance than a close friend
    • "Dormant ties" are very valuable to have in your life. Make a deliberate effort to reach back out to those people. Use a system to keep track of those relationships
• This is the "what" and the "how" to get it done
• From "science" to "practice" -- The key to success is to be prescriptive. Give actionable advice
• The story of Michelle McKenna Doyle -- How she created her dream job in the NFL. 1 dormant tie - 1 degree of separation. "Most of us are only 1 or 2 introductions away from what we want..."
• Clusters - People tend to cluster around like minds. There is amazing power of small communities
  • "Build your own stage, your own community"
• Super connector - Dunbar's # -- Brian Grazer
  • Having regular curiosity conversations -- That is how he met Ron Howard
• Never ask the question, "How can I help you?" Figure out how you can help someone else, then help them. Don't put the onus on them.
  • Always think, "who does this person need to meet?" And make connections
• In a networking situation, don't just ask - "What do you do?" -- Try to learn more about them as a person, not just their job
  • "What excites you right now?
  • Who's your favorite super hero?"
  • Where did you grow up?"
• Be interested in order to be interesting
• "We feel guilt when we no longer want to associate with old friends and colleagues who haven't changed. The price, and marker, of growth." - Naval Ravikant
• How David and his wife measured their friendships and peer group -- They made lists
• How to give a TED Talk? -- Practiced it hundreds of times, hired a coach
• Go to www.DavidBurkus.com/Ryan

Social Media:

• Follow David on Twitter: @davidburkus
• Read: Friend of A Friend
• Go to: DavidBurkus.com/Ryan
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

Episode 254: Robert Kurson - How To Be A Master Storyteller: Rocket Men, The Most Daring Mission In NASA History

Robert Kurson is an American author, best known for his 2004 bestselling book, Shadow Divers, the true story of two Americans who discovered a World War II German U-boat sunk 60 miles off the coast of New Jersey. Kurson began his career as an attorney, graduating from Harvard Law School, and practicing real estate law. Kurson's professional writing career began at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he started as a data entry clerk and soon gained a full-time features writing job. In 2000, Esquire published "My Favorite Teacher," his first magazine story, which became a finalist for a National Magazine Award. He moved from the Sun-Times to Chicago Magazine, then to Esquire, where he won a National Magazine Award and was a contributing editor for years. His stories have appeared in Rolling Stone, The New York Times Magazine, and other publications. His latest book is titled, Rocket Men: The Daring Odyssey of Apollo 8 and the Astronauts Who Made Man's First Journey to the Moon.

Show Notes:

• How Rob quickly realized going to Harvard Law School was a mistake
  • "The people who liked being at Harvard Law School are the people I liked the least."
• Following that, he got a job at a large law firm in Chicago -- "Made a lot of money, bought a BMW, a stereo, a bicycle... And I was miserable"
  • The big corporations/large law firms "punished creative thinking"
• Writing... "It all started with a basic curiosity that would grow into love." --> "You can't hate what you do and be happy"
• The theme of writing stories -- "Freedom... Being unbound. When I was writing stories, the time would go so fast."
  • "Whatever it cost me, I was going to get out of practicing law, and be a writer."
  • "I begged for any job. I'm incredibly persistent. I came in on the weekends and took high school football scores as my first job working for a newspaper as a writer"
• How can others follow their love/passion? "Never give up, do it at night, weekends, refuse to take no for an answer."
  • "I was unwilling to see my life go that way. I would never stop trying, no matter what. There was no choice, that's what I was going to do."
• Key ingredients to being a great story teller?
  • Understand the structure, the arc, the format: inciting incident, challenge, the heroes journey, the battles --> The beginning, middle, and end
  • How the long car rides with his dad gave him a prime example for story telling -- "My dad was a travelling salesman and he would often take me with him. He's the greatest story teller I've ever known"
• Why write about the Apollo 8 mission? -- "They are the first 3 men to leave earth and go to the moon. The people at NASA say Apollo 8 was the most daring mission of all time. They orbited the moon 10 times. It was the most rushed mission in history." They needed to beat the Soviets and rushed it because of that and President JFK
• George Lowe - The NASA manager had the idea to go without the lunar module
• The 3 astronauts refused to give up. No matter what happens, they wont' give up. Most of the astronauts were fighter pilots in the war. They developed a psychology that "it won't happen to me." They were fearless. They had self-delusion and irrational confidence. That fueled them. They were not afraid to fail and had already failed many times in their lives
• Neil Armstrong crashed on a test flight... Just an hour later, he was seen in his office doing paperwork as if nothing happened. The best astronauts were not phased
• What Rob enjoyed most -- Meeting each of the 3 astronauts. All 3 are alive and still married (rare in the astronaut program). They are down to earth, humble leaders
• Rob describes what it was like flying with Frank Borman
• What it was like watching Apollo 13 with Jim Lovell (who was also on Apollo 8)
• The power of constraints -- "Deadlines can help us do incredible things. Construct them for yourself."
• Rob's routine -- At desk by 6:00 am and work until 2:00. "After that, my work isn't very good."
  • Structure it first, organize, and storyboard it
  • Take a lot of walks with a digital recorder and speak the story out
• Rocket Men has been optioned by Netflix
• "Deadlines can help us do incredible things. Construct them for yourself."

  Social Media:

  • Follow Robert on Twitter: @robertkurson
  • Read: Rocket Men
  • Connect with me on LinkedIn
  • Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
  • To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

Episode 253: Aubrey Marcus - Total Human Optimization (Own The Day, Own Your Life)

Aubrey Marcus is the founder and CEO of Onnit, a lifestyle brand based on a holistic health philosophy he calls Total Human Optimization. Onnit is an Inc. 500 company and an industry leader with products optimizing millions of lives, including many top professional athletes around the world.

Aubrey regularly provides commentary to outlets like Entrepreneur, Forbes, The Doctors and The Joe Rogan Experience. He has been featured on the cover of Men's Health, is the author of the life-coaching course Go For Your Win, and his first book is Own The Day, Own Your Life from HarperCollins.

The Learning Leader Show

"If you have 5 employees, don't focus on growing to 180 employees. Focus on #6, and the #7. Just the next one. You must surrender to the process."

Show Notes:

• Commonalities of leaders who sustain excellence:
  • Mental Override
    • They are willing to do the thing you don't want to do (ex. turn the knob to COLD in the shower)
    • Focus on the little things... The little things become the big things
• Instead of thinking of your life as a whole, focus on making this one day great... OWN the day, own your life
  • Identify the process and structure you need for your ideal day...
  • Do it one day at a time
• The ability to create you environment and "own your current space" regardless of the environment
• The difference between 2012 (with 5 employees) and today (180 employees)
  • "Then I did everything, I had to. Now, I have an incredible team to help."
  • "If you have 5 employees and you want to grow, don't focus on 180 employees. Focus on #6, and then #7. Focus on your team and your customers."
  • "Surrender to the process."
• Aubrey is a questioner... Why?
  • "I'm constantly reminded how much I don't know"
    • "I'm always open to continued learning. I have a curiosity mindset."
• "I was down to my last $110K which was loaned to me. If AlphaBrain failed, we were done... Fortunately, it sold out quickly."
  • The importance of Joe Rogan
• "I was completely all in."
• "Instead of focusing how to be friends with Joe, I focused on who I was as a person... And becoming a person that people would want to have around." Focus on yourself
  • "The 30 minute coffee with Joe turned in to a 4 hour dinner"
• "People will detect and know if you're not genuine" -- You must be yourself
• "Rules are for dogs. Human beings should be driven by morality. By what's right and wrong."
  • How about rules at Onnit? -- There are some that are necessary (talking about sex, or safety. Both are important and there are strict rules)
• Having an open relationship with his fiance, Whitney
  • "I questioned the nature of love. What is true genuine love? How does that look? It's wild... And challenging."
  • "This isn't a fairytale. It can feel like you got struck by lightening in the solar plexus."
  • "Having an open relationship is not for everyone and I don't advocate it. I'm an advocate for understanding relationships."
• The importance of writing Own The Day, Own Your Life
  • "All of our work needed to be documented. There are over 300 clinical references in the book."
  • Process? "You must show up and write... Even when you don't feel like it. You have to have the mental override."

"I know nothing. But every day I ask questions and take a seat at the table where Truth likes to have snacks." - Aubrey Marcus

Social Media:

• Follow Aubrey on Twitter: @AubreyMarcus
• Read: Own The Day, Own Your Life
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

More Learning:

Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon

Episode 216: Jim Collins -- How To Go From Good To Great

Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions

Episode 252: Tom Peters - In Search Of Excellence

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

Episode #252: Tom Peters - In Search Of Excellence

Tom Peters is co-author of In Search of Excellence—the book that changed the way the world does business, and often tagged as the best business book ever. Sixteen books and almost thirty years later, he's still at the forefront of the "management guru industry" he single-handedly invented. What's new? A lot. As CNN said, "While most business gurus milk the same mantra for all its worth, the one-man brand called Tom Peters is still reinventing himself." Tom's bedrock belief: "Execution is strategy—it's all about the people and the doing, not the talking and the theory." (Keep up with Tom at tompeters.com, ranked #9 among "The Top 150 Management and Leadership Blogs.") His most recent effort, released in April, 2018 is titled, The Excellence Dividend.

"Excellence is the next 5 minutes... Or not."

Show Notes:

• Commonalities of those who sustain excellence:
  • They are "thoroughly decent human beings"
  • They help other people grow
  • They really care about the people they work with and help them get better everyday
• Quotes from Tom Peters:
  • "Arguably the eight most important words a leader can utter: "THANK YOU." "I'M SORRY." "WHAT DO YOU THINK?"
  • "Priority #1, #2, #3: Culture. Culture. Culture. "It IS the game," Lou Gerstner on IBM turnaround.
  • "My 20-year-old "agile": WTTMSASTMSUTFW/Whoever Tries The Most Stuff And Screws The Most Stuff Up The Fastest Wins.
  • "Every meeting that does not stir the imagination and curiosity of its attendees is what I like to call a PLO: a Permanently Lost Opportunity. I am all in favor of eliminating unnecessary meetings!"
  • The big corporations/large law firms "punished creative thinking"
  • "You must create space for people to be better than they ever have."
  • "Excellence is the next 5 minutes... Or not."
• The key to being a great manager? "MBWA" -- "The minute those words came out of his mouth, my life changed (Managing By Wandering Around)
• The importance of being intentional and thoughtful
• My Dad is a huge fan of Tom's work and told me to read his work
• "Your culture is managed every minute of every day"
• The process to prepare for your week as the leader (Sunday night work)
• Start your meetings with "Good morning"
  • "Find a smile, find the energy" --> Your team will follow your attitude and behavior. "It's your duty to be in a good mood."
• How to run a world class meeting?
  • A meeting can and should be excellent" --> It sets the stage for the next 5 days. Think about it and prepare.
    • Will it be an upper or a downer?
  • Should have civility and thoughtfulness --> "No smartassery"
• The definition of a great teacher is "someone who is desperate to help their students succeed."
• How to choose better people to promote?
  • "First line leadership is of supreme importance"
  • "We always hire for character." --> Theo Epstein: Look at the analytics and combine them with culture and character to decide
• Training -- "Practice should be harder than the games"
  • Neighbors with Bill Walsh -- "The Score Takes Care of Itself"
  • He spent the first 18 months as the coach of the 49ers developing a new culture
  • John Wooden -- Similar story about culture building
• Jerry Seinfeld spends six months at very "out of the way" clubs in order to add a new 2 minutes to his stand up routine -- Be that deliberate
• Tom's training and preparation for a speech (even after doing 3,000+ of them!)
  • Read on the company and the industry in depth
  • Read what's going on in the world - stay up to date
  • Read about the specific city where the speech is being delivered, read the local paper, pick up little vignettes
  • Awake at 2:00 am rearranging the PowerPoint slides -- "I make about 700 changes"
  • How do you feel 30 seconds before you go on stage? "Pure fear, there is enormous pressure for me to deliver for them"
• Why you should always write thank you notes
  • Campbell's Soup CEO wrote 30,000 thank you notes
  • Home Depot CEO wrote them every Sunday

• Social Media:

  • Follow Robert on Twitter: @tom_peters
  • Read: The Excellence Dividend
  • Connect with me on LinkedIn
  • Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
  • To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

Episode 251: Joey Coleman - How To Never Lose A Customer Again

Joey Coleman is the Chief Experience Composer at Design Symphony - a customer experience branding firm that specializes in creating unique, attention-grabbing customer experiences. His clients include individual entrepreneurs, start-ups, small businesses, non-profits, government entities, and Fortune 500 companies. For over a decade he's worked with clients that include NASA, Network for Good, Hyatt Hotels, Zappos, the Save Darfur Coalition, and the World Bank.

Joey is a recognized expert in customer experience design, an award-winning speaker at national and international conferences, and has taught business and creativity courses at both the college and graduate school level. Past appearances include presentations at the M.I.T. Sloan School of Management, Google, the Georgetown University School of Business, Stanford University, Zappos, YouTube. Joey's first book is titled Never Lose A Customer Again: Turn Any Sale Into Lifelong Loyalty In 100 Days.

Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher Radio

The Learning Leader Show

"The best way to say thank you to someone is to show love to the people they love."

Show Notes:

• The 3 things a great keynote speaker does:
  • Change how you think
  • Change how you feel
  • Change how you act
• The 60 second SPEED pitch from Joey (this is something Joey has never done before and it was incredible!)
  • He speed talks what happens following a purchase you make and how you can secure a customer for life
• The stages: Assess, Admit, Affirm, Activate, Acclimate, Accomplish, Adopt, Advocate
• The importance of your messaging within the first 100 days
• Research and science back -- From Harvard, Bain, Stanford
• "People who get promoted most and fastest are those who positively impact the business."
  • "People we like get promoted"
• Why write this book? -- Needed to work out all the kinks, document the 46 case studies and the people/companies who have implemented "the first 100 days" strategy
• Why do companies lose customers?
  • Selling to human beings - people are skeptical and get buyers remorse
  • Fear, uncertainty, and doubt
  • The new business sales people are not aligned with the account managers
  • More energy spent on getting new clients instead of taking care of the current ones
    • "For a marriage, it requires a lot of work, continually building, communicating, growing." A client should be treated in the same manner
• Why are the first 100 days so important?
  • Must be on-boarded properly
  • If your customer gets to day 101, they will be with you for at least 5 years
• The Garrett Gunderson experience
  • "When I showed up, he had a 6 pack of root beer for me and said, 'I wanted you to feel like you are home." -- A preview of what it would be like to be a customer of theirs
• The $35,000 golf ball -- Pebble Beach
  • Pay attention
  • Record small details that could help you later
  • "When you talk, I listen"
• Strategic appreciation -- How to say thank you. The use of gifts, presents, and pictures
• The best way to say thank you to Joey -- "Do amazing things for my wife and kids." -- Delta did this for Joey and he is a customer for life
  • As John Ruhlin would say, "The best way to say thank you to someone is to show love to the people they love."
  • Don't send gifts for the holidays when everyone else does. It's about timing
• "If you're going to host someone, welcome them at the door... Offer them a glass of water."

"A great speaker can: change how you think, change how you feel, and change how you act."

Social Media:

• Follow Joey on Twitter: @thejoeycoleman
• Read: Never Lose A Customer Again
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

Episode 250: Shep Gordon - The Super Mensch: How To Add Value To The Lives Of Others

Shep Gordon is known in the entertainment industry as having an eye for talent and an innate understanding of what people find entertaining. After graduating from SUNY Buffalo, Shep moved to LA and in 1969 co-founded Alive Enterprises. Over the years, Gordon has been responsible for managing the careers of Alice Cooper, Groucho Marx, Raquel Welch, Luther Vandross, Kenny Loggins, and countless others. He's also credited as creating the celebrity chef, which revolutionized the food industry and turned the culinary arts into the multi-billion dollar industry it is today. His clients that include culinary legends, Wolfgang Puck, Emeril Lagasse, Nobu, Daniel Boulud and many more. In addition to the impact he's had on the music, film and food industries, he's also highly regarded for his philanthropic endeavors. Shep was named one of the 100 most influential people in Rolling Stone magazine. He was the subject of Mike Myers 2013 documentary - Supermensch The Legend of Shep Gordon. He's also written a best-selling book called They Call Me Supermensch A Backstage Pass To The Amazing World Of Film, Food, and Rock 'N' Roll.

Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher Radio

The Learning Leader Show

On meeting with His Holiness, The Dalai Lama -- "When he walked in the room, it felt like I had taken the greatest shower of my life." -- Shep Gordon

Show Notes:

• The value that Jayson Gaignard added to his life
  • "He came to Hawaii and helped me launch my book and it was a best-seller"
  • "You should always bring value first"
• A 1968 graduate of college -- great divide in our country at the time - Vietnam War, "I was raised a liberal Jew"
• "I was a long haired acid dealer"
• The Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix story -- How it got him his start as a manager in Hollywood
• Fame -- Media is a manipulation - "It consumes people and can be very damaging"
  • "My job was to push the artist. Fame was fools gold."
  • People who wanted fame needed attention... When they stopped getting it, bad things happened
• Shep had a visionary eye for what would be successful in the future, the ultimate talent scout. He also understand how to earn PR for his artists to help make them famous
  • "Create things that parents hated... Which led to kids loving it." --> Alice Cooper played a show naked
  • Going from Alice Cooper to Ann Murray... Shep did great work for them and it kept leading to his next client --> Groucho Marx, Raquel Welch
• Commonality among great entertainers? "They have that moment right before they go on stage... They are scared, neurotic, full of fear. This fuels them to be great."
• Commonality of those who sustain excellence?
  • "They never did it on their own. All the best were surrounded by great teams."
• Meeting with The Dalai Lama?
  • "When he walked in the room, it felt like I'd taken the best shower of my life."
• How to throw a world class dinner party?
  • Great food, customized for your guests
  • Eat at a round table and always leave an extra seat (for the host to sit at and move from table to table)
  • The food needs to be buffet style
  • Send quality invitations -- "It's all about the WHO" --> You must get that part right, it's most important
  • Don't talk business
  • Think -- "What could I do to really make their night great?"
• Life lessons -- "The failures are more important than the successes"
  • "To me, failure is not trying"
  • "If your team can't fail, you can't win"
• Success to Shep = "A life of service to others"
  • Serving others will make you happy
  • Use you wealth to help other people (ex: "If you own a private plane, find people who will never fly on a private plane and offer them a ride.")
    • "Use your resources in service to other people."
• Always think about how you can add value to the lives of others.

"Success for Shep = "A life of service to others" --> Helping other people will make you happy

Social Media:

• Follow Shep on Twitter: @SupermenschShep
• Read: They Call Me SUPERMENSCH
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

More Learning:

Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon

Episode 216: Jim Collins -- How To Go From Good To Great

Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions

Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk. Episode 248: Colin Nanka Colin Nanka is the Senior Director, Enablement for North American Sales and Leadership Development at the world's leading Customer Relationship Management Company, Salesforce.com. He is a proven sales leader with over 20 years of sales experience including time at Salesforce and Xerox Corporation. In his spare time, he competes in multi-day, self sustained, adventure races in the world's most treacherous terrains, including the Sahara Desert, Gobi Desert, Iceland, Grand Canyon, Atacama Desert and, most recently, in Antarctica.

The Learning Leader Show

"Success starts with a choice. Find someone above you, below you, and at your level. That's mentor-ship."

Show Notes:

• Commonalities of leaders who sustain excellence?
  • Understanding of their strengths - self awareness
  • "Do what you say you will do" "DWYSYWDO" - integrity
  • The combination of vision --> execution
• How have you sustained excellence?
  • Know how to prioritize
  • Tiered accounts
  • Invested 4-6 hours on Saturday and Sunday while others were not working
• "Going in on the weekend" - The sheer amount of hard work AND extra work differentiated from the rest
  • Going door to door in Canada - "It takes 20 knocks to get 1 opportunity"
    • "Good pipeline solves all ills"
    • "Flood the market with good will"
• Marc Benioff's management process, V2MOM, an acronym that stands for vision, values, methods, obstacles, and measures
• Why do crazy races all over the world?
  • "I hit a crisis. I was very successful and then had a couple bad years. It hurt my confidence."
  • "I realize there is more to life than just working. The elements of nature... A give back -- be of service to others."
  • The 2011 Sahara Desert race - Trained for a full year. 6 days a week, 160 miles/week.
• "Success starts with a choice. Find who's the best, learn from them."
• Mentor-ship = "Above you, below you, and at your level." Have all three.
• The practice of "playing up." Play against someone who is better than you in order to stretch and grow.
  • Constantly put yourself in positions to be stretched
• Using Gallup to find your strengths -- "A very wise investment"
  • Colin's #1 strength - Learning. Curiosity
  • The compound effect of learning, growing, approaching each conversation with a curious mind
• What have you learned from the adventure races?
  • Dealing with failure. How to learn from others. "We all get better from sharing ideas."
• Biggest mistake new managers make?
  • "They are constantly surprised about the "people" side"
    • How to have tough conversations
    • They try to do it all -- You need to be a multiplier -- Trust, Coach, Empower
    • "If you don't lengthen the leash, you aren't allowing them to grow"
    • First 30 days - "Focus on winning hearts and minds"
    • Do a full day off site meeting with no focus on the business. Get to know them.
    • Utilize my "Get To Know You" document
• Understand your team value system:
  • Vision
  • Values
  • Methods - Critical success factors
  • Obstacles
  • Measure -- The Marc Benioff model
• The #1 value is TRUST -- Ensure this is established early on. Empower the team to make decisions. As the leader, be a facilitator
• Roger Federer -- Finding joy in what you do. Loving the practice, the process.
  • Do things daily that bring you joy in life
  • "Before I do anything for the company, I do something for myself. To bring me joy."
• Hiring a coach? Why?
  • Colin has had a coach for 10 years
• "Just put 1 foot in front of the other" -- 19 hour race in Iceland
• Be: 1) Strong 2) Relaxed 3) Grateful ("It's hard to be angry when you're grateful")

"Learn the rules like a pro, so that you can break them like an artist." - Pablo Picasso

Social Media:

• Follow Colin on Twitter: @ColinNanka1
• Read: Colin's story
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

The Learning Leader Show LIVE! With Ryan Hawk & James Clear

Episode 248: James Clear LIVE! - How Can We Live Better?

This was recorded in front of a LIVE audience in Columbus, Ohio. My teammates at Brixey & Meyer had the original idea for a live event and collectively we put together an amazing evening with more than 100 invited guests. It was incredible! The room was full on engaged leaders. I loved the energy! I'm already looking forward to the next one.

James Clear studies successful people across a wide range of disciplines — entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, and more — to uncover the habits and routines that make these people the best at what they do. Then, I share what I learn in my popular email newsletter.

His work has been covered by dozens of major media outlets including The New York Times, CBS, Entrepreneur Magazine, Forbes, TIME Magazine, and more.

The Learning Leader Show

"A constant dose of uncertainty will help you grow your comfort zone."

Show Notes:

• The aggregation of marginal gains - "The 1 percent margin for improvement in everything you do." If you improve every area related to your life by just 1 percent, then those small gains will add up to remarkable improvement.
• When you google "goal setting," JamesClear.com comes up within the top 3 answers. James goal setting process.
  • The difference between systems and goals. Goals are useful for setting the direction. Systems are great for actually making progress.
• If we are serious about achieving our goals, however, we should start with a much different question. Rather than considering what kind of success we want, we should ask, "What kind of pain do I want?
• First Principles: Elon Musk on the Power of Thinking for Yourself.
  • First principles thinking is the act of boiling a process down to the fundamental parts that you know are true and building up from there.
  • Mindset shifts --> Reframing
• Love of Travel -- Why do it? Perspective? Voluntary hardship. "You don't know what you're capable of if your body has never been forced to do it." (David Goggins)
  • "You don't know your capabilities until you're forced to do it." Put yourself in situations that forces you to do "hard things." --? Travel to Vietnam where few people speak English... Getting lost and being forced to ask for help
  • "A constant dose of uncertainty will help you grow your comfort zone."
  • Voluntary Hardship = until you are tested, you can't develop the ability to be mentally tough or develop new skills. Put yourself in these situations regularly to grow
• Successful People Start Before They Are Ready - Richard Branson story…
  • "Start before you're quite ready, and trust yourself to figure it out as you go." "Motivation is overvalued, environment is undervalued. Willpower doesn't work, think about choice architecture."
  • "Trust the ability that you have what it takes to figure it out"
• The "Goldilocks" rule - "Human beings love challenges, but only if they are within the optimal zone of difficulty."
  • Why you should stretch and "level up," but not too much. "It's not helpful to seriously play tennis against Roger Federer." You will be demoralized.
• How to stop procrastination using the 2 minute rule -- "There is that 2 minutes around 5:30 every day where my wife and I decide... Will we go to the gym or will we sit on the couch and watch The Office all night?" -- The 2–Minute Rule works for big goals as well as small goals because of the inertia of life. Once you start doing something, it's easier to continue doing it. I love the 2–Minute Rule because it embraces the idea that all sorts of good things happen once you get started.
• "Decrease the number of steps between you and the good behaviors and increase the steps between you and the bad behaviors"
• The James Clear "garden hose" analogy
• Why it might be a good idea to put your TV in the closet...
• Smaller habits require smaller activation energies and that makes them more sustainable. The bigger the activation energy is for your habit, the more difficult it will be to remain consistent over the long-run.
• "Resistance is proportionate to the size and speed of the change, not to whether the change is a favorable or unfavorable one."
• By contrast, when you accumulate small wins and focus on one percent improvements, you nudge equilibrium forward. It is like building muscle. If the weight is too light, your muscles will atrophy. If the weight is too heavy, you'll end up injured. But if the weight is just a touch beyond your normal, then your muscles will adapt to the new stimulus and equilibrium will take a small step forward.

"Decrease the number of steps between you and the good behaviors and increase the steps between you and the bad behaviors."

Social Media:

• Follow James on Twitter: @james_clear
• Read Lance Salyers Forbes story about the event: 3 Surprising Insights From An Evening With Ryan Hawk And James Clear
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk: Since 2015, Benjamin Hardy has been the #1 writer on Medium.com. He is pursuing his PhD in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Clemson University. Ben's writing focuses on self-improvement, motivation, and entrepreneurship. His writing is fueled by his personal experiences, self-directed education, and formal education. Ben's work is read by millions of people every month.

Show Notes:

• Commonalities of leaders who sustain excellence?
  • They continually put themselves in situations that demand a lot of them. They put themselves in high stakes situations
  • They invest in themself
  • They create conditions for success to happen
  • Pianist John Burke (Grammy nominated)
    • He puts external pressure on himself ("I will release an album a year"). It forces him to get to work to fulfill those expectations he puts on himself
    • Being socially invested is a forcing function
    • Signing up for the race like Parker Mays -- A date on the calendar to prepare for. "If I don't prepare, I will fail miserably"
• Why you should invest 10% of your income in your self
• The best self improvement book Ben has ever read? Letting Go
• "Willpower doesn't work." You must create the environment to be successful -- Upgrade your mindset
• Self signaling - How you view yourself is not permanent. Start to alter your behavior, you start seeing yourself differently
• You can shape your personality
• How to upgrade yourself? -- "When you invest money, you are committed"
• Why all high performers invest in a coach
• Peak moments -- how to change your life for the better
• Cal Newport - "Be So Good They Can't Ignore You"
• Investing in relationships (Jeff Goins and Ryan Holiday)
• How to build a platform
  • Learn marketing
    • Learn how to write viral headlines (Use numbers, matching, focused on outcomes)
    • Want To Become A Multi-Millionaire? Do These 15 Things Immediately
  • Understand structure - subheadings, short/snappy sentences and paragraphs
    • Have a call to action at the end
    • Create a landing page for email capture
• What is great writing?
  • Be a good teacher: Communicate effectively. Convey & connect. Weave stories in and out: Story --> Science --> Story --> Science --> Story --> Science
  • Head knowledge: Know your space.
  • Have heart: Emotional rigor, intense stories
• How to become a master of your craft
• Your decisions determine your destiny
• Visualize the process, not just the outcome
  • Create environments for optimal implementation
  • Pre plan for adversity to strike and how you will respond
• Morning routine:
  • Write in journal --> "Write it down, make it happen" --> Read --> Work out. Create momentum for yourself.

"Willpower doesn't work. You must create the environment for success to be achieved."

Social Media:

• Follow Ben on Twitter: @BenjaminPHardy
• Read: WILLPOWER DOESN'T WORK
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

Pat is the founder of The Table Group and the author of 11 books (including The Five Dysfunctions of a Team)which have sold over 5 million copies and been translated into more than 30 languages. The Wall Street Journal called him "one of the most in demand speakers in America." He has addressed millions of people at conferences and events around the world over the past 15 years. Pat has written for or been featured in numerous publications including Harvard Business Review, Inc., Fortune, Fast Company, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and BusinessWeek. This is the second time Pat has been a guest on The Learning Leader Show. To listen to the first conversation we had, CLICK HERE.

Prior to founding The Table Group, Pat worked at Bain & Company, Oracle Corporation and Sybase.

Show Notes:

• The email he received from Miami Heat coach, Erik Spolestra, after his first appearance on The Learning Leader Show
  • How he helps professional sports teams
  • Why NFL teams focus on the wrong things when deciding who to draft
    • Teddy Bridgewater vs Johnny Manziel
  • The characteristics of a great teammate:
    • Humility
    • Hunger
    • Emotional Intelligence
  • The success of Nick Foles in The Super Bowl
    • The camaraderie built by coach Doug Pederson of The Philadelphia Eagles
• "I'm meant to work with people..."
• The origin story - How Pat started his own business... and why?
  • Potential to work with Steve Jobs and Eric Schmidt
  • The biggest moment in the growth of his business? Speaking at Willowcreek Church(50,000 people watched)
• Doing a "talk" instead of thinking of it as a "keynote speech" -- "I'm just talking with the audience."
• Why turn leadership issues into fables?
  • "We don't read books, but we read yours." They are so interesting. "I keep reading your books because I want to see what happens next."
• Leaders must:
  • Have difficult conversations -- must do the hard things
• What are the biggest mistakes a new manager makes?
  • "You cannot avoid the discomfort"
  • "Being a leader is uncomfortable"
• The best leaders are "pushers"
  • The Steve Jobs and Jony Ive story -- "You're so vain"
• Keys to a great culture:
  • Leaders must be intentional about behaviors they want
  • Must be brutally intolerant if people don't do it well
• How Pat helped Southwest Airlines
  • Codify their culture -- It had never been done before
• Working with Chic-fil-a
  • Their CEO wasn't too big to do dishes and clear the plates
  • "They gave snacks for my trip home"
• "You don't come up with culture, you look at what's there"
• The importance of stories
• Pat's business: There are 45 consultants all over the world. They are:
  • Humble
  • Hungry
  • Smart

"Being a leader is uncomfortable. You cannot avoid the discomfort."

Social Media:

• Follow Pat on Twitter: @patricklencioni
• Read: The Five Dysfunctions Of A Team
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk:

Episode 245: Maria Taylor - ESPN Gameday, Embracing The Grind, The Value Of Versatility

Maria Taylor is in her sixth season as a host analyst & reporter. In the fall of 2017 Taylor will enter a new role as co-host on ESPN's College Gameday and sideline reporter for ABC's Saturday Night Football.

Show Notes:

• How to quickly build rapport with the people you interview?
  • Be prepared with a purpose, truly try to learn about them as a person (quickly), it's not just about their sport or their job. Care about them as a person
  • Being viewed as an athlete -- "It's helpful working in the sports world that they know I played sports"
• "As an athlete I was always a perfectionist, I always over prepare." -- Maria sending her producers a copious amount of notes -- thoughts on situations/games/ideas
• How to earn promotions quickly? "I never said no to anything. I was never too big for any game."
  • Maria did high school football games, ACC digital. She's traveled everywhere, stayed in bad hotels, etc.
    • "You have to be comfortable in the grind, you can't get discouraged."
    • "If I'm not doing something (work wise), I feel wrong."
• Why Kirk Herbstreit is the best in the business -- "He's the most invested person I've ever seen. He's always the most prepared person."
• Adnan Virk "Always show up." -- "They remember how you made them feel." Be conscious of that
• Balance? It will never be perfectly balanced. Think of it as a stew - vegetable and beef... Certain bites are vegetables and other times it's beef. That's work-life balance. There are moments where it is all work, all day, every day. There are other times where you can relax at home. It's never a perfect 50 50 balance.
• The story of Maria making the decision to be a sports broadcaster as a junior in college at Georgia... And then also earning her MBA as a backup plan!
  • She grew up loving sports. Her dad played college sports.
• Maria was recruited to play both volleyball and basketball at Georgia.
• Our mutual feeling about the structure of being "in season" and how the routine helped us get better grades.
• The first 90 minutes of Maria's day:
  • Start the day with gospel music (worship/faith)
  • New York Times daily podcast
  • Joyce Meyer podcast
• Why do multiple jobs? (Gameday, sideline reporter, women's basketball studio host)
  • To diversify -- "I don't want to just be one thing. It's an opportunity to flex different muscles."
  • "I try to investigate to find the best answer"
  • "I like challenges"
• Person most enjoy interviewing?
  • Nick Saban. "I try to steer him off the line he's trying to stay on."
  • Receiving coaching as a broadcaster... Who provides it?
    • SEC network producers
    • Feedback is just as important to what you put into your body. It needs to be healthy and helpful -- "What are we filling our minds with?"
• How to handle "Twitter haters?"
  • "Sometimes I'll put them on blast..."
• What is an ESPN Gameday production meeting like?
  • A cast of characters - (listen around the 43:00 minute mark to hear the inside scoop)
• Winning Edge Leadership Academy
  • Helping young women and minorities in broadcasting
  • Focused on student athletes
  • Doing a retreat in Miami
• The sense of responsibility Maria feels as an African American woman
  • "Being black.... Half time spent assimilating and half time spent helping your people."
  • The Jemele Hill story at ESPN... Maria's reactions

Social Media:

• Follow Maria on Twitter: @MariaTaylor7
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

More Learning:

Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon

Episode 216: Jim Collins -- How To Go From Good To Great

Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions

Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk: Bill Curry is a two-time Super Bowl Champion. As an NCAA coach, Bill was named National Coach of the Year at Alabama and later became the first head football coach ever at Georgia State. As an ESPN commentator, he regularly shared his thoughts with a worldwide audience of millions. When Bill talks of discipline and success, his life experience is proof-positive of the effectiveness of his methods. Bill played for some of the greatest coaches of all time, including Vince Lombardi, Don Shula, and Bobby Dodd. His teammates included legendary players like Willie Davis, Bart Starr, and Johnny Unitas. Bill has studied the lives and methods of his personal heroes from past generations, ranging from Helen Keller and Rudyard Kipling to Theodore Roosevelt and Goethe. When Bill talks of leadership and success, his is a personal message molded by his extraordinary mentors and role models. He is also the best-selling author of TEN MEN YOU MEET IN THE HUDDLE: LESSONS FROM A FOOTBALL LIFE.

"Everyone has the will to win, but not everyone has the will to prepare."

Show Notes:

• The 6 common characteristics of champions =
  • Show up - on time, be early, every time, be punctual, read to be your best
  • Singleness of purpose - Vince Lombardi, "his focus was powerful"
  • Unselfish - Bart Starr - "he literally gave the shirt off his back for others"
  • Tough - Don't make excuses, be great in the 4th quarter, never blame anyone else
  • Smart - Prepared, always last person off the field. Johnny Unitas and Raymond Berry did this
  • Never quit - Never give up
• FEAR? Prepare out of fear? - "There is some truth to that." "Everyone has the will to win, but not everyone has the will to prepare."
  • Personality, GRIT, Heart, Soul -- "Keeping prepping when others aren't"
• The difference between good and great coaches?
  • Bobby Dodd (Georgia Tech) was a great coach. A great coach can change your life. They study the game so intently. They intimidate other coaches with their brain.
  • Vince Lombardi would not tolerate prejudice or racism. He had more African-American players than anyone else. He was so precise in his methodology.
  • Don Shula had the ability to build relationships with each player
• How can this be translated to the business world?
  • Reach inside the souls of the leaders -- the gift we have is "Magna Nimitas" -- Greatness of spirit.
    • Each person has a unique spirit - it's beautiful. WE have brilliance within us.
    • Directly challenging the leaders to understand their people
    • Narcissism destroys leaders
• Bill sat down with his players and went over their goals
• We all need to have our own board of personal advisors, mentors
• Bill's 4th year at Georgia Tech -- John Robert Bell said "I know you can play/" --> The impact that had on Bill was immense
• Bill as a mentor -- He loves doing it. He hears from at least one play every single day
• Being humble -- "I know two types of people. People who are humble and those who are about to be humbled." -- "Ray Nitschke humbled me pretty good"
• The huddle - We need every teammate on every play to survive. The huddle is a metaphor for our culture.
  • Why does the huddle matter? "You can't be racist, sexist, everyone is part of that huddle."
• Unique exercises Bill does at companies -- Understand each individual unique finger print, joining hands across aisles
• The importance of intellectual curiosity and asking questions -- "People ought to be skeptical... Ask questions"
• "There is a fellowship of the miserable. I love them, but I avoid them."
• Success? His wife has helped him understand what success is... It used to be winning games. He was miserable when he lost. She taught him that's not a rational way to live.
  • Now success is "Am I making a contribution to the well being of others?"
• Important marriage advice -- Do what you're told and what you say you're going to do. Learn to listen.
• Learning Leader - "I love that title!"

"Success = "Am I making a contribution to the well being of others?"

Social Media:

• Read: Ten Men You Meet Huddle
• Follow Bill on Twitter: @coachbillcurry
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

The Learning Leader Show - Annie Duke is a woman who has leveraged her expertise in the science of smart decision making to excel at pursuits as varied as championship poker to public speaking. For two decades, Annie was one of the top poker players in the world. In 2004, she bested a field of 234 players to win her first World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet. The same year, she triumphed in the $2 million winner-take-all, invitation-only WSOP Tournament of Champions. In 2010, she won the prestigious NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship. Prior to becoming a professional poker player, Annie was awarded the National Science Foundation Fellowship. Because of this fellowship, she studied Cognitive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania.

Show Notes:

• Sustained Excellence =
  • Open-minded to people who disagree with them
  • They ask "Why am I wrong?"
• Using "I don't know" or "I'm not sure" shows immense security in oneself. Great leaders do this.
• The "half life of facts" should never be 100% certain -- "It does you a disservice in becoming more knowledgeable if you are certain you are right"
• Hidden information -- Invite others to share information with you... To collaborate
  • "Here's what I think, but I don't know..." --> We're trained from an early age that those are dirty words, but they shouldn't be. We're supposed to always know, but having that mentality limits what you can learn
• Put systems in place to allow exploration of alternative strategies
  • Do a deeper dive, consider all reactions. This will help you prepare in case something goes wrong. You can put plans in place by acting in this manner
• Why write Thinking In Bets? Annie has a unique background: cognitive psychology, professional poker, decision making under pressure. In poker: decision making is fast and furious (a hand of poker is 2 minutes)
  • "Learning occurs when you make a decision and have feedback"
• The art of boosting academic research with stories and popular culture -- Seinfeld, The Super Bowl
• Listen to the disagreement Annie and I have in regards to Pete Carroll's decision to throw a pass on the goal line at the end of The Super Bowl (around the 24:00 mark)
• Most people are "resulting." They are not measuring the decision making process with all the facts, they just view the result. That is wrong.
  • Resulting - "Using the outcome as the sole determination if the decision was good or bad"
  • While Annie and I disagree, we both had an open mind to what each other had to say and considered the other person's point of view
• A good approach in your business = Analyze the decision making process prior to knowing the result
• Example: If a number of people are interviewing the same candidate (separately), the boss should wait to offer her opinion until the end. Her thoughts will skew the feedback she needs from her teamCommonalities of great CEO poker players = They don't think they're good at poker. They recognize they aren't as good as the pros and they work to put themselves in higher odd situations to "get lucky." (Listen around 45:00 to get the full context)
  • How to be a good head's up poker player? Recognize your strengths and weaknesses vs that particular opponent. If you deem they are better than you, then look for "coin flip" situations (example: Ace King vs a pair of 7's). If you are better than your opponent then avoid coin flips and extend the match. The longer the match, the better the odds for the better player to winThe importance of accountability:
    • How often does someone spout off without thinking? If you follow that up with, "You wanna bet?" How do they respond? They probably rethink what they've said. We should always "think in bets." Think of our decisions as being "bet worthy." If someone says, "You wanna bet?" We should be in the position to say yes. If we're not, then we need to rethink what comes out of our mouths and the decisions we are making.
    • "A bet is just a decision based on a belief that you think is how something will turn out."
    • If we think in bets, it forces us to seek out as much information as possible prior to making a decision.
    • That is a good thing and will help us make better decisions

"A bet is a decision based on a belief that you think is how something will turn out."

Social Media:

• Read: Thinking In Bets
• Follow Annie on Twitter: @AnnieDuke
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

More Learning:

Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon

Episode 216: Jim Collins -- How To Go From Good To Great

Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions

Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

Sustained Excellence = "They're over themselves" - They do not have an ego. They figure out the big truths, get over feelings, have clarity, vision. Great communicators - Like an athlete, they can be obsessed. Keenly aware, active listeners, intentional with actions.

• Why write The Culture Code?
  • Spending time around great teams and businesses, "I love the vibe, it's different." Had a desire to understand how that happens. How to create trust"Typically we think of culture as in your DNA or not, but it's not. "Great culture is something you can learn"The competition with Dan's two brothers growing up led to this fascination and curiosity with building great team culture"We routinely deeply underestimate our environments and the effect they have on us."
    • "As leaders, we need to create the conditions for excellence"The 3 Skills -- 1) Build Safety 2) Share Vulnerability 3) Establish Purpose
      • Build Safety - Why do a group of kindergartners do better than a group of CEOs? The kindergartners have now agenda or care about credit. They focus on doing the best work. CEOs (in the study) were worried about who got credit and tearing each other down.
        • Safety is the single most important piece of foundation needed for great culture
        • Greg Popovich overdoes the "thank yous" - He regularly says thank you to the members of his team.
        • A painstaking hiring process - The single most important decision is "who's in and who's out."
          • You should script the entire first few days of a new employees time at a company -- Pixar example (20 minute mark) -- "At Pixar, we hired you because we need you to help us make our movies better."
        • John Wooden would routinely walk the locker room and pick up trash
      • Share Vulnerability - Functional notion that's so important
        • "Sharing a weakness is the best way to be strong" -- Navy SEALs example: The AAR (After Action Review)
        • The most important 4 words a leader can say, "Anybody have any ideas?"
          • Also, "I screwed up"
        • Over-communicate expectations
          • "We shoot, move, and communicate
          • "The only easy day was yesterday"
        • How to be a great listener
          • "Your goal as a listener should be to add energy." Ask questions, don't just sit there and nod. Listen and absorb. Help them leave higher than when you arrived. Follow up to go deeper. Being a great listener is a heroic skill.
          • Have "empathy and energy" as a listener -- dig in to assumptions (unearth)
        • Aim for candor, but avoid brutal honesty - good groups care about relationships, not brutality. Candor is a better word
        • "Culture: From the Latin word cultus, which means care."
        • Great teams are made up of players who don't want to let their teammates down.
          • Greg Popovich and other great coaches disappear on purpose to let their team figure out it through tough moments. Smart leaders create opportunities for teams to struggle and figure it out. --> "The leaders job is to make the team great without him/her."
        • Build a wall between performance review and professional development -- When you combine the two, you get neither. Toggle, create safety so you can be more open and honest.
        • Establish Purpose
          • What's important now? You must define that
          • Value statements aren't super useful -- "fill the windshield with a story."
          • Clear narratives guide attention
          • Name and rank your priorities

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

Episode 241: Austin Kleon - How To Steal Like An Artist

Austin Kleon is the New York Times bestselling author of three illustrated books: Steal Like An Artist, Newspaper Blackout, and Show Your Work! His latest release is The Steal Like An Artist Journal: A Notebook For Creative Kleptomaniacs. His work has been translated into over twenty languages and featured on NPR's Morning Edition, PBS Newshour, and in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. New York Magazine called his work "brilliant," The Atlantic called him "positively one of the most interesting people on the Internet," and The New Yorkersaid his poems "resurrect the newspaper when everybody else is declaring it dead." He speaks about creativity in the digital age for organizations such as Pixar, Google, SXSW, TEDx, and The Economist. He grew up in Ohio, but now he lives in Austin, Texas.

"Reading is so essential to writing... I don't even think about it. I just always do it."

Show Notes:

• Sustained Excellence =
  • "I wrestle with jealously about others who do better work than me... Until I realize it's very rare to see someone who doesn't deserve it based on how hard they work."
  • The people who sustain excellence are typically the hardest workers over the long term
  • "If you want to do better, work harder."
• Austin's ritual
  • Write a page a day like Stephen King
    • Little bits of work add up over time
    • When you do something you love, you're always working... It's an endless stream
    • "I try to be a good boss to myself" -- But there is no punching the clock in and out... It's always in
• Steal Like An Artist
  • Wrote an article titled "10 things I wish I had known when starting out" -- That became the best-selling book
    • The blog post and speech that went with it went viral
• The Creative Process
  • Daily writing... Eventually show the audience to test if it's useful for them
• "It's like a factory"
  • Collect
  • Make time to write
  • Gather to longer piece to essay
  • Put it out to the world
  • Collect feedback (live audience sometimes)
• A daily blog helps the book writing process
  • Collect, synthesize, make, share -- "Stealing & Sharing"
• Reading is a massive part of the writing process... Must read a lot
  • "Reading is so essential to writing. I don't even think about it, I just do it."
• "My job as an author is to point people to things people haven't seen"
• "Being a leader... You have to be curious... You have to find great stories and examples." -- You must read a lot to do this
• What advice do you give to others?
  • "You need hobbies... People used to have hobbies, not they have Netflix." Try to restore something, do work, have a hobby -- It will build creativity
• The two desks
  • Analog desk -- pens, markers, paper, scissors... Make stuff
  • Digital desk -- computer
• "Walking is an insanely creative activity"
• Enjoying captivity -- Be useful on train rides, flights... No wifi
• The open office plan is a nightmare for an introvert like Austin
• "You want hearts, not eyeballs." -- Focus on engagement of your audience, not just the size of it.
  • "The number of people doesn't matter as much as the quality of the people who follow you."
  • "Becoming a friend of someone you look up to is one of the best things that could ever happen"
    • Creating great work gives you the opportunity to do this

"You want hearts, not eyeballs." -- Focus on engagement of your audience, not just the size of it.

Social Media:

• Read: Steal Like An Artist
• Follow Austin on Twitter: @austinkleon
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

More Learning:

Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon

Episode 216: Jim Collins -- How To Go From Good To Great

Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions

Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

The Learning Leader Show

Todd Henry is the founder of Accidental Creative, a company that helps creative people and teams be prolific, brilliant and healthy. He regularly speaks and consults with companies about how to develop practices that lead to everyday brilliance. He is the author of four books (The Accidental Creative, Louder Than Words, Die Empty, Herding Tigers), speaks internationally on productivity, creativity, leadership and passion for work, and build tools for creative people and teams. In short, he's an arms dealer for the creative revolution. His latest book is called Herding Tigers: Leading talented, creative people requires a different skill set than the one many management books offer. As a consultant to creative companies, Todd Henry knows firsthand what prevents creative leaders from guiding their teams to success, and in Herding Tigers he provides a bold new blueprint to help you be the leader your team needs. Learn to lead by influence instead of control. Discover how to create a stable culture that empowers your team to take bold creative risks. And learn how to fight to protect the time, energy, and resources they need to do their best work.

"Great leaders have great rituals. Great leaders are connected. Great leaders have set questions they ask when they meet someone for the first time."

Show Notes:

• Sustained Excellence =
  • Great leaders have great rituals
    • Disciplined time to study/reflect
    • Well read
    • Go on walks
  • Great leaders are connected to their network
  • Great leaders have set questions they ask someone when they meet for the first time
• Todd's rituals
  • Same breakfast everyday, same coffee mug everyday
  • 1 hour of study/read/time to think
  • Writes morning pages (3 full pages long hand)
• Creating space for yourself
  • Predictable space, a buffer - "I have a ritual of taking a long walk in the middle of my day" -- "It helps me get lost in thought"
• Set questions to ask when you meet someone
  • "What's the most important thing I should know about you?"
  • What's inspiring you right now?"
• Cover bands don't change the world
  • Go out and present YOUR ideas to the market place
  • "If you want to have a voice in the market place, you have to have a voice" -- You can't just regurgitate what others say: Take what you learn, synthesize it with your own thoughts and have a voice, a point of view
    • "Your synthesis is what is valuable"
• Writing The Accidental Creative was hard and lonely
• Leading Creatives - We assume they get it... No, you must be clear that they do. Walk them through your thought process, what you expect, why you expect it
  • Jocko's principle -- "You own all of it"
• Brian Koppelman (Creator of Billions) - Leading with influence vs being a micro-manager. The director must own the show... They must have a compelling vision, point of view. Koppelman must create the space to give the director of each episode that ownership (he owns it all)
• Creative people need two things
  • Stability - Protect them, give them the space they need, be clear
  • Challenge - Cannot allow boredom
  • These two exist is constant tension, push/pull. You have to know how/when/why to turn the dial on each
  • "Your entire career, up until you're a manager, you have complete control -- As a manager you must shift from control to influence (it's hard) or the team cannot scale beyond you
• Your team must understand the WHY behind what you do -- If not they just inherit tactics but don't know why they do it. It can't scale without knowing the WHY
• Need to make certain creative people feel ownership of the work
  • Influence is about principle
• Why is implementation and execution so hard?
  • Leaders struggle with insecurity
    • "Your area of greatest insecurity can inflict the most damage to your organization... It's about ego more than confidence"
• Why write Herding Tigers?
  • "I wrote the book I wish I had... A lot of people don't have the model of what great leadership is"
• Here's what it feels like right now:
  • Action
  • Pause
  • Reflection
  • Redirection
  • Action

"Cover bands don't change the world. Find your own voice."

Social Media:

• Read: Herding Tigers
• Follow Todd on Twitter: @toddhenry
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

More Learning:

Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon

Episode 216: Jim Collins -- How To Go From Good To Great

Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions

Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

Episode 239: Dan Pink - The Scientific Secrets Of Perfect Timing (When)

Daniel Pink is the author of six provocative books — including his newest, When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, to be published in January 2018. His other books include the long-running New York Times bestseller A Whole New Mind and the #1 New York Times bestsellers Drive and To Sell is Human. His books have won multiple awards and have been translated into 37 languages. If you'd like to listen to the first time Dan joined me on The Learning Leader Show, CLICK HERE.

Dan's TED Talk on the science of motivation is one of the 10 most-watched TED Talks of all time, with more than 19 million views. His RSA Animate video about the ideas in his book, Drive, has collected more than 14 million views.(from DanPink.com) (Photo Credit - HOW Design)

The Learning Leader Show

"It's like brick laying. I show up every day and I hit my word (count) goal. Day after day after day. Every day."

Show Notes:

• Dan's book writing process:
  • "It's like 1930's football... One short play at a time."
  • Brick laying, very laborious...
    • Get in office by 8:30 and hit the writing (word count) goal every single day... Day after day after day after day...
    • Write 700 words a day, every da
      • "I show up and hit my number, every single day"
  • Combining research with interesting stories -- work in chunks, have research in a Word doc, and the book in a separate doc. Review, go back and forth
  • Go through the (printed out) research, highlight, underline, review a lot
  • If you do this every day, it adds up
• Why write about this topic? The topic of When
  • As a writer, you must pick a topic you are VERY interested in... You spend years on the project (research, writing, speeches)
  • "I wrote this book because I wanted to read it"
• How to know if an idea is worth exploring?
  • "You don't... But when you share it with others, does it create curiosity in them? Do they ask follow up questions? If they do, you may be on to something"
• The 3 stages of our days
  • Peak - Analytical work, smart
  • Trough - The afternoon "Bermuda Triangle" -- A bad time to make decisions
  • Recovery - A creative time
• Why lunch is the most important meal of the day -- This is a time where you need to leave what you're doing, go outside, go with a friend, disconnect from work, don't look at your phone, need to recharge
• Breaks are enormously important - Social breaks (with friends) are better than solo breaks
• Napping for 20 minutes in the afternoon is very helpful
  • Drink a cup of coffee, set you iPhone for an alarm to go off in 23 minutes, lay down with an eye mask. If you fall asleep in 5 minutes, you get an 18 minute nap, and you wake up and the caffeine starts to kick in
• Why NBA players who get more "touches" have more success than others... Scientific evidence supports this
• The importance of endings... How we end things:
  • Energize - More 29, 39, 49 year olds run marathons than any other age. People want to end on a high note
  • Encode - Evaluate and record experiences - How something ends is very important. Look at Yelp reviews -- People remember the experience for how a meal ended more than anything else
  • Elevate - People prefer rising sequences. Dan's favorite tip: When sharing good news and bad news, always START with the bad news, and end with the good news
• We are very intentional about who, what, why... why aren't we intentional about WHEN? We should be...

"We are very intentional about who, what, and why. We aren't intentional about WHEN. We should be."

Social Media:

• Read: When - The Scientific Secrets Of Perfect Timing
• See why over 396,000 people follow Dan on Twitter: @DanielPink
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

The Learning Leader Show

Episode 238: Neil Pasricha - Why Action Creates Motivation: 1,000 Awesome Things

Neil Pasricha is the New York Times-bestselling author of The Happiness Equation and The Book of Awesome series, which has been published in ten countries, spent over five years on bestseller lists, and sold over a million copies. Neil is a Harvard MBA, one of the most popular TED speakers of all time, and after ten years heading Leadership Development at Walmart he now serves as Director of The Institute for Global Happiness. He has dedicated the past fifteen years of his life to developing leaders, creating global programs inside the world's largest companies and speaking to hundreds of thousands of people around the globe.

"Most think motivation leads to action... No, motivation doesn't cause action... Action creates motivation."

Show Notes:

• Commonalities of leaders who sustain excellence:
  • C -- Clarity - Clear, succinct, memorable
  • O -- Optimism -- "Find the good in everything"
  • P -- Patience -- Delaying decision making until the last possible moment
    • The quality can improve if "we let the tension live"
• Empower others - "Parkinson's Law" - Work rises to the time needed to complete it.
• "I don't want to fight the customer." -- Thinking about everything from their perspective. Wal-Mart
• Being a Harvard Business School graduate
  • "Chase the companies that don't come to Harvard to recruit. You'll learn more." -- Why Neil went to Wal-Mart
• Neil's 30 second pitch to why someone should hire him for a leadership role when he was very young
• "I had to be artificially confident"
  • His pitch -- 3 quick questions
    • Do you value internal promotions?
    • What's the #1 program you've seen?
    • Would you be interested in topics of developing leaders at Harvard?
      • Get their email address and follow up
• None of the companies were hiring when he was leaving school... Neil had to "create a job" within companies to get hired
• Brene Brown - "If you go through life trying to find confirmation you don't belong, you'll find it."
• 2008 - The world was falling apart, his marriage ended, his best friend committed suicide..
  • He started the blog, 1,000 Awesome Things
  • Won a webby award for best blog in the world
  • Wrote The Book Of Awesome
• He moved to NYC... Didn't know anyone, lived alone
• He was going through pain while starting the awesome things blog. Focused on three things:
  • Make the blog public - hold him accountable
  • Use a countdown - From 1,000 to 1 -- Helped him know it was going to end at some point
  • Finite - There is light at the end of the tunnel
• "Most think motivation leads to action. Not true. Action creates motivation."
• The importance of consistency - Neil's idea was not unique, but doing it everyday made him different from most
  • "Try to be receptive of other people's ideas" -- Helps you "notice things"
• "Your questions are fantastic. I'm not surprised."
• Working on deadlines -- Neil wrote for a newspaper for four years. Helped with this skill
• "I believe in consistency"
• Actionable advice: You have three, 56 hour buckets of your week. They are:
  • 56 Hours - Sleep
  • 56 Hours - Work/Job
  • 56 Hours - What are you spending this time on? You can do whatever you want...
• The happiness equation - Work/Life balance fulcrum -- Flywheel
• Taking his side hustle and making it his full time job -- "I should have done it sooner."

"If you go through life trying to find confirmation that you don't belong, you'll find it." -- Brene Brown

Social Media:

• Read: The Happiness Equation - Want Nothing + Do Everything = Have Anything
• Follow Neil on Twitter: @NeilPasricha
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

The Learning Leader Show

Episode 237: AJ Jacobs - The Power of Irrational Confidence (Life As An Experiment)

A.J. Jacobs is an author, journalist, lecturer and human guinea pig. He has written four New York Times bestsellers that combine memoir, science, humor and a dash of self-help. He is also editor at large at Esquire magazine, a commentator on NPR and a columnist for Mental Floss magazine. He is currently helping to build a family tree of the entire world and holding the biggest family reunion ever in 2015.

In addition to his books, Jacobs written for The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, and New York magazine.

He has appeared on Oprah, The Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN, The Dr. Oz Show, Conan and The Colbert Report. He has given several TED talks, including ones about living biblically, creating a one-world family, and living healthily.

"It's easier to act your way into a new way of thinking, than think your way into a new way of acting."

Show Notes:

• Commonalities of leaders who sustain excellence:
  • Self delusion -- Optimism helps you do incredible things. Acting "as if"
    • "It's easier to act your way into a new way of thinking, than think your way into a new way of acting."
  • Great curiosity -- "I'm curious about everything... Even things that don't interest me."
• Why he read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica
• Why the "good ole days" actually sucked -- Studying this made him very grateful for being alive today
• The practice of radical honesty and how it got him in trouble -- He was forced to tell the full truth at all times
  • Can be good or bad
• Gratitude -- Common among the greatest achievers -- be thankful for everything. "When you're grateful for something as small as the elevator door opening, you're much happier."
• It's All Relative -- Building a world family true. How we are related. How he is related to President Barack Obama...
  • It helps with perspective and tolerance... We're more tolerant of people we are related to
  • The Global Family Reunion event
• Why his experiments drive his wife crazy -- The year of living biblically -- Why it was so hard to follow the exact words of the Bible
• Harvard studies -- If we share DNA, people are more open to help one another
• Why we need to get out of the echo chamber
• Typical day -- stretch, treadmill desk, write and walk at the same time, walking keeps him alert
  • Importance of "walks with wife" -- raises serotonin
• Batching activities -- Phone calls
  • It's lonely as a writer... AJ needs to speak with other creatives often: "I need to bounce ideas of of others in between the alone time"
  • Doing "Skype" lunches. He eats lunch with friends over Skype
• Best advice he's heard: From George Clooney -- "When I get up to bat, I don't think Am I going to hit a home run? I think, where will I hit this home run?" -- The importance of irrational confidence. Delusional optimism is helpful.
• Stage presence (when speaking) -- Why you "owe it to the audience" to think "you're the baddest dude on the planet" and will deliver for THEM

"When I got up to bat, I didn't think, "Am I going to hit a home run?" I thought, "Where will this home run go?" -- George Clooney on the importance of self confidence

Social Media:

• Read: It's All Relative
• Follow AJ on Twitter: @ajjacobs
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

Episode 236: Brian Scudamore - CEO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK: How To Scale A Business

Brian started his business in Vancouver, Canada at the age of 18, and later went on to franchise 1-800-GOT-JUNK? as a way to expand operations. Today, 1-800-GOT-JUNK? has 1000 trucks on the road throughout some 180 locations in Canada, the United States, and Australia.

Brian has received wide recognition in the media and business community. 1-800-GOT-JUNK? has celebrated appearances on the highly-acclaimed Undercover Boss Canada, Dr. Oz, Dr. Phil, CNN, ABC Nightline, the Today Show, The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos, and the View. His story has been told in Fortune Magazine, Business Week, New York Times, Huffington Post, and Wall Street Journal, to name a few. 1-800-GOT-JUNK? is currently the starring junk removal attraction on the hit A&E reality show, Hoarders.

Brian has brought his entrepreneurial success story to many conference stages, including the Fortune Small Business Magazine's national conference. A strong believer in personal and professional development, Brian graduated from MIT's four-year Birthing of Giants program, and has subsequently completed several years of MIT's BOG's alumni program, Gathering of Titans. He is also a participant in a nine-year executive education program at Harvard University through YPO Presidents' University. (from 1800gotjunk.com)

The Learning Leader Show

"I don't know if you can live the full potential if it's a side hustle. You need to give maximum effort."

Show Notes:

• Commonalities of leaders who sustain excellence:
  • Focus - All in, not a side hustle
  • Faith - Belief in self, clear vision
  • Effort - Discipline
• Why we all need an "MBA" -- A "Mentor Board of Advisors"
• Fred DeLuca -- Subway founder - He never took his eye off the prize. He struggled and kept going. 32 stores in 12 years.
• Are entrepreneurs born or made?
  • Brian started a carwash as a kid. He sold candy in his dorm room
• Creativity as a Dad -- Always build things with your kids and watch them grow together (ie. a garden)
• Why did he start 1-800-GOT-JUNK?
  • Needed money for college... Initially called it "The Rubbish Boys"
• Brian learned more about running a business from actually doing it than he did in school
• The amazing story of Brian's dad "falling out of his chair" when he told me he was leaving school to run the business full time
  • "It couldn't be a side hustle." The need for maximum effort to be successful
• How Brian views opportunities
  • And where he thinks of new ideas to create more businesses
• The importance of going on walks
• Meeting outdoors in Vancouver -- "Get your muscles moving"
• Morning routine -- Get up at 5:55
  • Power hour
  • Focus on self
  • Exercise
  • Study French, Italian (other languages)
  • Spend moments learning before the kids wake up
• Side hustle -- "I don't know if you can live the full potential if it's a side hustle. You need to give it full effort. Imagine the possibility if they quit their job"
• Philosophy on sales? Mentor Jack Daly -- "Ask questions and listen"
• How he got his first 100 customers
• "I have the best job in the world for me"
• Brian's hiring process
• Why he fired his entire team of 11 at one point -- They didn't have the right attitude
• "Everyone must pass the beer and bbq test" -- "You have to want to have a beer and eat bbq with them"
  • "I want friendly, ambitious, passionate, optimistic people."
  • "Hire for attitude, train for skill"
  • Brian is the "culture" interviewer
• Cameron Herold -- Best man in his wedding, previous business partner. Brian shares why he had to fire him. "You cannot have 2 "fire, ready, aim" type of people."
• The process of making mistakes on his path to hiring the right team
• The need for Erik Church as the COO -- He is an executor. They are a great yin and yang
  • Take a sheet of paper and write down what you enjoy doing and what you're good at. Also write what you don't like doing and you're bad it. Find the person to fill those gaps. Erik does that for Brian
  • How to handle disagreements?
• Birthing of giants - MIT -- Annual learning, monthly call
• The importance of being a lifelong learner, be curious, ask questions
• Book to read, The E-Myth by Michael Gerber

"I hire friendly, ambitious, passionate, optimistic people. Hire for attitude, train for skill."

Social Media:

• Brian's website: o2ebrands.com
• Follow Brian on Twitter: @BrianScudamore
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

Episode 235: Dr. Gay Hendricks - How To Make The Big Leap

Gay Hendricks, Ph.D., has been a leader in the fields of relationship transformation and bodymind therapies for more than 45 years. After earning his Ph.D. in counseling psychology from Stanford, Gay served as professor of Counseling Psychology at the University of Colorado for 21 years. He has written more than 40 books, including bestsellers such as Five Wishes, The Big Leap and Conscious Loving (co-authored with his co-author and mate for more than 35 years, Dr. Kathlyn Hendricks), both used as a primary text in universities around the world. In 2003, Gay co-founded The Spiritual Cinema Circle,which distributes inspirational movies and conscious entertainment to subscribers in 70+ countries.

Gay has offered seminars worldwide and appeared on more than 500 radio and television shows, including OPRAH, CNN, CNBC, 48 HOURS and others. In addition to his work with The Hendricks Institute, Gay is currently continuing his new mystery series that began with The First Rule Of Ten

Episode 235: Dr. Gay Hendricks - How To Make The Big Leap

Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher Radio

The Learning Leader Show

"The money became an effortless byproduct of doing what I love"

Show Notes:

• Commonalities of leaders who sustain excellence:
  • Openness to learning
  • Great listener
  • They do not waste time being defensive
• The makeup of insecure people who won't learn = Fear. A bug --> You poke it, it curls towards the center. They are scared. We have the same nervous system from many years ago
  • Must acknowledge the fears -- "Don't try to out argue them or "out-facts" them"
  • "Speak to your shared fears" when scared
  • The 4 things we do when scared:
    • Fight
    • Runaway
    • Freeze
    • Space out
  • Fear tries to take us out of the moment
• His story of going on the Oprah show -- "Being on Oprah was like having 10 shots of espresso"
• What is the upper limit problem? A point in success/happiness -- if you go past the point of it, you do something to knock yourself down. Fears keep people locked in certain zones
• The 4 Operating Zones
  • Zone of incompetence
  • Zone of competence
  • Zone of excellence
  • Zone of Genius
• Most love to do? "Living full time in the zone of genius"
• Why you should start with "10 minutes of what you most love to do" -- Then continually bump that time up
• Making the leap -- Freedom, pressure. Stand up, walk your talk. So rewarding, but can you make money?
  • "The money became an effortless byproduct of doing what I love"
• Walk quietly and with passion... Auspicious things happen
• Life rewards expression of true genius
• Early 90's, Gay spent 30% of time in his genius zone, then 50%, then 70%, now 90% of time is spent in his zone of genius
• His zone of genius? "Be a model of creativity. Explain complicated things in a simple way."
  • Oprah called it "Learning to love yourself"
• Creativity - Conscious loving ever after -- How to access more creativity? Every day after 50 is a choice between creativity and stagnation. Move, play, create new ideas. At age 65, Gay started lifting weights. Must keep moving your body
• He wrote his first mystery novel at age 65 (Wow!)
• He just sold the mystery series to Netflix to turn it into a television series
  • It's never too late to start accessing new paths of creativity
  • Put your mind on how to create more
• Learning Leader = "Commitment to learn from the moment"

"Life rewards expression of true genius."

Social Media:

• Read: The Big Leap
• Follow Gay on Twitter: @GayHendricks
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

The Learning Leader Show

"As the leader, you are responsible for EVERYTHING that happens in your organization."

Show Notes:

• Commonalities of leaders who sustain excellence:
  • Humility
  • Constantly looking to improve
  • Learning
  • Willing and able to take criticism
• Incredible story of a mutiny within the ranks because of a platoon commander's ego
• Way Of The Warrior Kid - The message for children
  • Be humble
  • Don't give up
  • Work hard
• Ramadi -- The epicenter, insurgency in Iraq
  • The confusion/fog of war
• A firefight... Between friendly forces: Who's at fault?
• Jocko took ownership - "As the leader, I'm responsible for everything that happens on that field. It wasn't your fault, it's mine."
• "If you make a mistake, you must own it."
• Owning the mistakes created confidence and trust with Jocko's boss
• How do you handle a bad boss?
  • Make them look good
  • Ask for feedback, advice, ask for their approval, build them up
  • Isn't that manipulation? "Yes..."
• "It's not just what you preach, it's what you tolerate."
• Decentralized command -- Empowering junior leaders to make important decisions. Front line leaders must be empowered. Why? Speed
  • Being empowered as a quarterback to call an audible -- Why this was an optimal way for us to attack a defense and ultimately win games. The coaches needed to trust and empower me to do this
• Are leaders born or made?
• Characteristics of great leaders?
  • They take complex things and simplify them
  • They are articulate
  • They are loud (seems strange, but it's true for military leaders and a quarterback)
• How much can you learn? You must detach emotion, and be decisive.
• Why wake up at 4:30 am? "It is time for me to own, it's before everyone else is awake"
• Favorite part of work? - Podcasting and working with companies
• How has Jocko created this lifestyle? -- Many years of consistent, sustained work
  • "Discipline Equals Freedom."
• His discipline for many years has helped him create a lifestyle that he loves

"It's not just what you preach. It's what you tolerate."

Social Media:

• Read: Extreme Ownership
• See why over 150,000 people follow Jocko on Twitter: @jockowillink
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

Episode 233: Gretchen Rubin - How To Be Happy

Gretchen Rubin is the author of several books, including the blockbuster New York Times bestsellers, Better Than Before, The Happiness Project and Happier at Home. She has an enormous readership, both in print and online, and her books have sold almost three million copies worldwide, in more than thirty languages. Fast Company named Gretchen Rubin to its list of Most Creative People in Business, and she's a member of Oprah's SuperSoul 100.

She's been interviewed by Oprah, eaten dinner with Daniel Kahneman, and walked arm-in-arm with the Dalai Lama.

Gretchen Rubin started her career in law and was clerking for Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor when she realized she wanted to be a writer. She lives in New York City with her husband and two daughters.

The Learning Leader Show

"What do I want from my life? I want to be happy. How can I be happier?"

Show Notes:

• Commonalities of leaders who sustain excellence:
  • They are self aware
  • They are happy and healthy and figured themselves out
• Better Than Before -- How to create great habits
• "I can't have a little. I either have none or a lot." -- Needed to abstain from things like that (sugar)
• Think -- "What do I want from my life?" "I want to be happy..." She then went to the library to study. Did a deep dive on happiness
  • What are the keys to happiness?
  • Every month (for a year), she created a theme for the month: 3-5 concrete resolutions she could measure to make herself happier
• Aim higher -- "Enjoying the fun of failure" -- Starting a blog. Initially worrying that nobody would read it. "It's okay to fail."
• How can you buy happiness?
• How to be grateful for what you have... Both experiences and possessions
• Bill Gates takes "think weeks" -- Why we all should do this
• Warren Buffett can buy anything he wants... But he cannot buy time
• Gretchen describes her typical day
• The Four Tendencies (Personality Profiles) -- How you respond to expectations
  • Upholders - Respond readily to both outer expectations and inner expecations
  • Questioners - Question all expectations; they meet an expectation only if they believe it's justified, so in effect they respond only to inner expectations
  • Obligers - Respond readily to outer expectations but struggle to meet inner expectations
  • Rebels - Resist all expectations, outer and inner alike
• A live role play between Gretchen and me describing which tendency we inhibit and why we are different
• Questioner vs Upholder - An upholder wants to always follow the rules (Gretchen)... A questioner (me) thinks differently
• Gretchen's advice - Get clarity on who you are, your personality profile, and how you respond to expectations
  • Questioner - Why are you doing this? Know who, what when, why?
  • Obliger - Go beyond. Let's both commit. Find outer accountability. Take action
  • Rebel - Freedom, choice. "I want my voice heard."Influence change

Social Media:

• Read: The Four Tendencies
• See why over 135,000 people follow Gretchen on Twitter: @gretchenrubin
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

More Learning:

Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon

Episode 216: Jim Collins -- How To Go From Good To Great

Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions

Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

Episode 232: It's Time To Go ALL IN (With Doug Meyer & Greg Meredith)

"Here's the issue:If you're going to pursue a low odds game, the reality is that at some point the odds will go to zero if you don't commit fully. You're never going to get across that chasm if you're going to keep yourself tethered to one side but that doesn't mean taking an unfounded leap into the wild beyond." Jim Collins gave me that advice on Episode #216 here On The Learning Leader Show. I've fired a lot of bullets over the past three years building this show and this platform while working a full time job at a big international corporation. The purpose of this episode is to announce that I have left my full time job to pursue my passion... My love: This show, this platform, this work, on a full time basis. It's time for me to go All In.

The featured leaders tonight are two of my business partners (and friends), Doug Meyer and Greg Meredith. Doug Meyer is one of the founding partners of Brixey & Meyer. In his role as Managing Director, Doug serves as a trusted business advisor to Business Owners, CEOs, CFOs and Boards of Advisors, driving value and accountability. Greg Meredith runs Brixey & Meyer's Business Advisory Services team, which helps clients with strategic planning, project management, sales strategy, business process and system optimization and more. I am bringing The Learning Leader brand to Brixey & Meyer full time to run the Leadership Advisory Services team. In addition to the podcast, I'll be focused on helping clients be more effective leaders, managers, and coaches. This is done through: consulting projects, 1 on 1 coaching, leadership circles (Mastermind groups), creating written content (book and articles online), and much more. I could not be more excited to get started!

"Following your genuine intellectual curiosity is a better foundation for a career than following whatever is making money right now." - Naval Ravikant

Show Notes:

• 3:06 - My career, what I've done, why I haven't named the companies I've worked for, who has supported this, who hasn't.
• 5:05 - Why I'm making this move to do it full time, the first lunch I had with Doug, the impact that lunch had on me, how long this has been in the works, advice that was given to me... The phone call I made to my wife Miranda after that meeting informing her of what I wanted to do...
• 6:40 - The exercise that Doug and I did -- "Write down everything you love to do... And write down the things people have paid for. Let's build the business based on that information." -- The dream job scenario
• 8:03 Doug sharing why Brixey & Meyer is different from other firms and why... - The values: Having fun, providing value, passionate, driver of change, accountability, responsibility to the people of the firm
• 10:01 Doug sharing how The Learning Leader Show has positively impacted his life
• 11:48 - Greg describing The Business Advisory Practice he leads at Brixey & Meyer
• 12:07 - How Brixey & Meyer evolves and adapts -- Taking it to another level
• 13:02 - Why I decided to leave my job as VP of Sales at a large international company
• 14:09 - Finding a way to love what you do everyday
• 14:44 - "Following your genuine intellectual curiosity is a better foundation for a career than following whatever is making money right now." - Naval Ravikant
• 16:24 - The scary part about making this change -- Side hustle to full time job creates a lot of pressure
• 16:56 - The incredible support from all of the people at Brixey & Meyer
• 17:47 - Why I'm motivated by people who believe in me... And my desire to prove them right
• 18:52 - "You're work is going to fill a large part of your life... And the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do." - Steve Jobs
• 19:34 - The biggest challenge for Doug (managing my expectations)
• 20:25 - Doug describing that this was an opportunistic hire... Not something they were looking for, but why it was a no brainer when the opportunity arose
• 21:52 - The day to day actions - Helping leaders be more effective. Keynote speeches, leadership circles (Mastermind groups), Consulting projects, producing podcasts, creating content (books, online courses/articles), and much more
• 25:18 - Doug and Greg describing their current leadership circles and why they've been so effective (and will continue to be)
• 27:53 - The power in the peer to peer learning model that is created from Leadership Circles
• 29:22 - Rapid fire questions (for Ryan):
  • Dream guest? Elon Musk
  • Favorite thing to do with my daughters? Coach their sports teams
  • Learn more from success or failure? I remember my failures more, but I try to learn from both success and failure
  • Most impactful book in the last 12 months? The Wright Brothers by David McCullough
  • Favorite episode? #078 With Kat Cole
• 33:13 - Rapid fire questions (for Doug):
  • Favorite episode of The Learning Leader Show? #200 With Keith Hawk & AJ Hawk
  • Smartest person in the Meyer family? daughter, Jocelyn Meyer
  • Are you a Visionary or Integrator? Tough question. People think of him more as an integrator
  • Best Advice: From Bill Matthews - "I was frustrated with team members." And Bill said, "Doug, it's not them, it's you."
• 36:37 - How will you define success? "Success is fun. I want this to be fun. We are going to add value and be agile."
• 38:38 - The phone call I made to Doug when he thought I was turning him down...
• 39:06 Why 99 out of 100 people would not have left the corporate job to do this? Doug's thoughts... And why I did.
• 40:35 - Defining your personal hedgehog
• 41:46 - The unique qualities I will bring to this role -- What's different from books or articles
• 45:54 - How I define the makeup of a great leader... The qualities they possess
• 48:43 - "The path to fulfillment in life, to emotional satisfaction, is to find what really excites you and channel your all into it." - Rich Roll
• 49:01 - Doug describing his beliefs: Energy, Passion, Fun
• 49:26 - Why Doug wanted me to be part of his business -- Natural curiosity, thought provoking questions, attitude, helping others
• 51:06 - What's most important -- To find your WHO
• 51:47 - The story Doug shared that created an emotional and powerful moment... And convinced me to say, "Yes, I am doing this, I want to work with a guy with this much integrity, honesty, and love."
• 55:28 - Doug's excitement to unleash the potential for what we can do
• 56:45 - Acknowledging how instrumental Greg has been in the growth of The Learning Leader brand over the last three years. His honest feedback and mentor-ship has been monumental
• 58:28 - One of my favorite artists, Tom Petty said "It's time to move on, it's time to get going. What lies ahead I have no way of knowing... But under my feet, baby, grass is growing, it's time to move on, it's time to get going."

"You're work is going to fill a large part of your life... And the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do." - Steve Jobs

Social Media:

• Send Email: Ryan@LearningLeader.com
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

More Learning:

More Learning:

Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon

Episode 216: Jim Collins -- How To Go From Good To Great

Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions

Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

Episode 231: Michael Bungay Stanier - Say Less, Ask More, & Change The Way You Lead Forever

Michael is the Senior Partner at Box of Crayons, a company that helps organizations do less good work and more great work. He's the author of several books, including The Coaching Habit and Do More Great Work. Michael has written for or been featured in numerous publications including Business Insider, Fast Company, Forbes, The Globe & Mail and The Huffington Post. Michael left Australia 25 years ago to be a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University. He was the first Canadian Coach of the Year. At Box of Crayons, Michael and his team of facilitators teach 10-minute coaching so busy managers build stronger teams and get better results. Clients come from all sectors and include Box, the United Nations, Gartner, the University Health Network and USAA. A sought-after speaker, Michael regularly speaks to businesses and organizations and has delivered keynotes at Leadership, HR and Learning & Development, conferences around the world.

The Learning Leader Show

"If you can't coach in 10 minutes or less then you don't have the time to coach at all"

Show Notes:

• Commonalities of leaders who sustain excellence:
  • "They probably haven't sustained it. It's really hard."
  • Role Models -- They succeed AND they fail. "You can't hit it out of the park every time"
  • Some times you do it all right and you still fail
  • Resilience and persistence are commonalities among people who have success
• Michael's list of failures "is long"
• The incredible story of how Michael was initially rejected as a Rhodes Scholar... And then how he persevered to earn it (the story about how he differentiated himself from the others is fantastic)
  • "Purple suit, long hair" -- "Everyone else had a blue suit, white shirt, red tie"
• Where did he develop so much courage?
  • From his parents -- They gave him unconditional support to be different and unique
• He's a bit of a rebel who also follows the rules sometimes
  • Ask yourself "Do I want to be playing this game?"
• Box of Crayons -- A training company on how to coach in 10 minutes
  • The mistake of saying "yes" to everyone who asked for his help when he started the company
• Jim Collins -- "Fire bullets and then cannonballs" -- Low risk experiments
• The 3 ways coaching shows up in corporations
  • Executive coaching -- People at the top of the Org Chart
  • Training internal people to be the corporate training team
  • Train all managers/leaders to be more coach like -- This is what Michael and his team does
• "If you can't coach in 10 minutes or less then you don't have the time to coach at all"
• Transforming to be more "coach like"
• The 7 important questions to ask:
  • What's on your mind?
  • And what else?
  • What's the real challenge here for you?
  • What do you want?
  • How can I help?
  • If you're saying yes to this, what are you saying no to?
  • What was most useful to you?
• Why most 1 on 1's are terrible
• The first and last questions are vital (must bookend the meeting well) -- "Start fast and end strong"
• The Learning moments -- Help them learn. They learn when there is a moment to reflect on what just happened
• Be careful when "the advice monster" kicks in... "Can you stay curious a little longer?" -- As the coach, you need to. You must solve the correct problem and focus on the person you are coaching
  • If you just give advice, very little brain activity happens. If you ask questions, it grows the brain activity...
• Coaching for performance vs. Coaching for development -- There is a big difference
• The best question in the world is... "And what else?" -- It helps them go a level deeper. Keep asking it, keep going deeper
• "Be lazy, be curious, be often" -- Michael's motto towards coaching. Listen, ask questions, help them learn
• "Be more coach like"
• "Help them learn rather than teaching them" -- We do this by asking great questions
• Learning Leader = "A great coach is a great teacher. A learning leader is the essence of what it means to be a great leader." You help people learn by constantly learning more yourself

"Less Advice. More Curiosity."

Social Media:

• Read: The Coaching Habit
• Follow Michael on Twitter: @boxofcrayons
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

More Learning:

Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon

Episode 216: Jim Collins -- How To Go From Good To Great

Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions

Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

Episode 230: Dorie Clark - How To Monetize Your Expertise & Create Multiple Income Streams

• Commonalities of leaders who sustain excellence:
  • They do what they say they're going to do -- Have integrity
  • They have a great ability to focus. They don't get distracted.
  • They have patience
• Principles:
  • Create multiple streams of income -- However, don't try to create them all at once. Patience. 1 or 2 at a time.
    • A steady progression. Add 1 or 2 per year.
    • Dorie has 8 income streams.
    • "If you're relying on one paycheck, from one employer, you may be courting disaster."
• Dorie was laid off on September 10, 2001 -- She received a 4 day severance package... A highly stressful time. "Never be reliant on just one employer"
• "Side hustles make you a better employee, it liberates you." -- "You can speak truth to power"
• Dorie's 8 Streams of Revenue:
  • Consulting
  • Executive Coaching
  • Writing Books
  • Teaching at Duke
  • Keynote Speeches
  • Online Courses
  • Affiliate Marketing
  • Mastermind Groups
• Dorie's online course "Become A Recognized Expert"
  • Create the content
  • Social Proof -- Credibility
  • Strong network -- To be recognize, need to be an expert and have others share the message
• We discussed the goals Dorie set from her first time on the show (2 years ago):
  • Double email list
  • Have a best selling book
  • Get a girlfriend
• The importance of joint ventures
• Why Dorie wants to become an Italian citizen
• "The thing that gives you courage is the market rate" -- "No one is a competitor"
• "When someone asks you your fee, find the number that makes you scared and then add 10%"
• Doing TEDx Switzerland
• How to build online courses:
  • Surveyed audience -- 1,200 responses
  • Pilot course at discounted rate ($500)
  • Final course ($2,000) -- Premium content, premium price
  • Total cost -- $1,200 (had 150 students paid in full)
  • Video module type courses are lower cost and not as much engagement
  • The $2,000 course has regular follow up and conversations with Dorie in addition to the video work. Interaction with others in a Facebook group chat as well. -- It has 40+ hours of content created for it... And webinars
  • Dorie Clark is a marketing strategy consultant, professional speaker, and frequent contributor to the Harvard Business Review. Recognized as a "branding expert" by the Associated Press, Fortune, and Inc. magazine, she is the author of Entrepreneurial You (Harvard Business Review Press,), Reinventing You, and Stand Out, which was named the #1 Leadership Book of 2015 by Inc. magazine and one of the Top 10 Business Books of the Year by Forbes. It was also a Washington Post bestseller.

    Clark, whom the New York Times described as an "expert at self-reinvention and helping others make changes in their lives," consults and speaks for a diverse range of clients, including Google, the World Bank, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, the Ford Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Yale University. At age 14, Clark entered Mary Baldwin College's Program for the Exceptionally Gifted. At 18, she graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Smith College, and two years later received a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School.

Episode 229: Henry Cloud - "Be So Good They Can't Ignore You"

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The Learning Leader Show

"If you're a leader, you will get what you create or what you allow."

Show Notes:

• Henry constantly striving to do more... Why?
  • "I'm a practitioner, need to continue doing the work"
• Advice to "normal" people who have a 9-5 job. Henry was willing to start with very little money, but grew into his passion slowly and kept at it.
• Inflection points -- My football career. Henry's gradual growth. Critical mass moments -- Henry did leadership coaching and consulting from day 1.
• "You have to love what you do."
• "You have to get moving."
• "My first book Integrity was written based on my teaching for 15 years."
• Boundaries -- A simple, yet profound concept - A property line: This is you
• "In relationships, people put pressure on us"
• Leaders are "ridiculously in charge" -- "If you're leading it, you're in charge"
• "If you're a leader, you will get what you create or what you allow"
• 3 Keys to Executive Success (Executive Functions Of The Brain):
  • Attend to most important/what's relevant -- Need to name the priority -- Boundary of Attention
  • No multi-tasking. Your brain CANNOT do this -- Inhibit everything else
  • Working memory - Must be a flow to it
• Advice for listeners who have a bad boss?
  • Don't fret, we've all been there
  • Create your own culture, do lunch and learns, build what you want within the situation
• Vision Statement -- Get so good they will say, "What are they doing?" How do we grow? How can we do that?"
  • Perform, develop leaders in your own corner of the world/buisness
• "Be So Good They Can't Ignore You"
• "They work their butt off"

Episode 228: Renee Mauborgne - How To Make Competition Irrelevant (Blue Ocean Strategy)

Renee Mauborgne is the co-author of the global bestseller Blue Ocean Strategy and the just released, indispensable follow-up, BLUE OCEAN SHIFT: Beyond Competing – Proven Steps to Inspire Confidence and Seize New Growth. BLUE OCEAN SHIFT is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestseller, and an International Bestseller. Her book Blue Ocean Strategy has sold over 3.6 million copies and is recognized as one of the most iconic and impactful strategy books ever written. It is being published in a record-breaking 44 languages and is a bestseller across five continents.

She served on President Barack Obama's Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) for the President's two terms. She is also a Fellow of the World Economic Forum. Renee is ranked in the top 3 management gurus in the world in the Thinkers50 listing of the World's Top Management Gurus. She is the highest placed woman ever on Thinkers50.

"If you're going to look at other people, you're going to look like other people."

Show Notes:

• Common Themes of Leaders who Sustain Excellence:
  • Not focused on competing with others
    • They create their own space, independent point of view
  • Always interested in learning. Focused on pieces of information
    • Insatiable curiosity, high level learner, a note taker
  • Enormous propensity for hard work
    • Smart people don't look for short cuts
  • Willing to reinvent self if needed
• How to not compare yourself to others?
  • "Focus on delivering a leap in value -- they will come to you."
  • "I don't look at social media. I look at how creative people are."
  • "We are all far more creative than we think we are"
  • "If you're going to look at other people, you're going to look like other people"
• Blue Ocean Strategy - What is it?
  • Most companies focus on existing conditions, red oceans, bloody, with sharks
  • Blue ocean companies/people "don't focus on competing, they focus on creating"
• How can this help someone with a side hustle? Or someone who wants to create a side hustle?
  • Don't go into red oceans - don't do what everyone else does - Create your own distinctive space
    • "It's not about market competing, it's about market creating"
• When people talk about startups, they think "disrupt" -- Renee prefers "non disruptive creation"
  • Tony Robbins didn't disrupt anything. He created a new market (life coaching). He helped create a $2B market
  • The idea of David killing Goliath is romantic but it doesn't typically work that way
• New industry recently created -- Viagra, Sesame Street, Coaching to get into MBA school, YouTube stylist, Bumble
• Growth model
  • Solve a new problem (ie. Cyber Security)
  • Redefine the problem the industry focuses on -- Cirque du Soleil -- "Circus and theatre"
  • AirBnB
• Expand the opportunity scope
  • "Are there patterns that allow them to be linked"
  • "Creation is not a black box"
• Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos look to deliver overwhelming value, they do not compete

"It's not about market competing. It's about market creating."

Social Media:

• Read: Blue Ocean Strategy
• Read: Blue Ocean Shift
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

Episode 227: Jeff Goins - How To Be A Thriving Artist (Real Artists Don't Starve)

Jeff Goins is a writer, keynote speaker, and award-winning blogger with a reputation for challenging the status quo. He is the best-selling author of five books, including Real Artists Don't Starve, and The Art of Work, which landed on the best­ seller lists of USA Today, Publisher's Weekly, and the Washington Post. His website Goinswriter.com is visited by millions of people every year. Jeff was previously on The Learning Leader Show Episode #028

The Learning Leader Show

What does it take to stand out? "Show UP, Do the Work, and most importantly: FOLLOW UP. Nobody does this."

Show Notes:

• Sustained Excellence. Common Themes of Leaders who Sustain Excellence:
  • Passion - A fire to pursue their "why"
  • Discipline - Daily habits, routines, rituals to be best every day
    • Coach K -- Sit down and analyze after every single game to improve
  • Great Learners - Hungry learner. How to do it better?
• Real Artists don't starve
• Starving artist vs. Thriving artist
• The myth of the starving artist
• Why Michelangelo was a thriving (rich) artist
• "Do you really have to starve to be an artist?" -- No
• You aren't born an artist (or a Leader) -- It's a result of the choices you make. The human brain is malleable. A person can learn and master a craft.
• "Leaders are made. Artists are made."
• The story of John Grisham -- A lawyer who wrote novels on the side.
  • He wrote one page a day for years... And then he had a novel
• You can gradually re-create yourself
• Wake up a little earlier every day and do the work. Make it a habit
  • Change happens slowly
• The way we talk about it is not actually the way we do it.
• We do not need to take a giant risk. When we look at the facts, we can take measured risks
• 2 Resources at The University of Wisconsin -- A study of 5,000 entrepreneurs
  • The Two Types
    • Burn The Boats -- 33% more likely to fail
    • Side Hustlers -- People who didn't initially go "All In" statistically were more likely to succeed
    • It took Jeff two years to quit his job. He built one year of runway
• The rule of apprenticeship -- Ryan Holiday - Be an Anteambulo. Clear the path for others
• A "master piece" came from the time of Michaelangelo
• What it takes to stand out -- Show up, do the work, FOLLOW UP (nobody does this), show what you've learned, help others
• Jeff has lunch every Wednesday with a mentee -- Rarely do they follow up. Do this.
  • "The best thing you can do is take notes, and follow up. Put it into action."
• Jeff was/is mentored by Michael Hyatt -- He followed up constantly
• How do you do X? "It's easy to talk about stuff, it's hard to do it."
• "If you're teachable, it puts you in a class of people that sits apart."
• Do not work for free -- The rule of value
  • Charging brings dignity to the work
  • "Working for free is often not the opportunity we think it is"

"Leaders are made. Artists are made." -- "You aren't born an artists."

Social Media:

• Read: Real Artists Don't Starve
• Follow Jeff on Twitter: @JeffGoins
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

Episode 226: Steve Wojciechowski - How To Win Every Day

Steve Wojciechowski is the head basketball coach at Marquette University. He has has enjoyed a wealth of success in collegiate basketball as both a player and a coach. Wojo has established his "Win Every Day" philosophy as the foundation for the Marquette program. Wojciechowski also served as court coach and scout for the USA Basketball Men's National Team. He helped lead on-court duties as well as game preparation from 2006-12, including the program's gold-medal performance at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2012 London Olympics. The Olympic teams included NBA greats such as Marquette alumnus Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

As a player, Wojciechowski ("Wojo") was named the top defensive player in the country his senior year, a two-time All-ACC choice and honorable mention Associated Press All-America. He appeared in 128 career games for the Blue Devils and earned 88 starting assignments.

The Learning Leader Show

"My greatest edge was that I didn't think I had an edge."

Show Notes:

• Sustained Excellence. Common Themes of Leaders who Sustain Excellence:
  • Passion - A fire to pursue their "why"
  • Discipline - Daily habits, routines, rituals to be best every day
    • Coach K -- Sit down and analyze after every single game to improve
  • Great Learners - Hungry learner. How to do it better?
• WIN Everyday - daily process to pursue excellence in every way. Basketball is a vehicle for that (for Steve)
• Develop trust - "Not always done quickly, but definitely done intentionally. Must be consistent, you must do what you say you will do"
• Wojo's Dad's hard hat -- It's hanging up at his house as a reminder of what hard work looks like
  • "The first great team I was on was the Wojciechowski team. My dad was a longshoreman. Did hard work and hard labor."
• Going to Jesse Itzler and Sara Blakely's retreat. A 90 yard hill, 40% grade... An endurance race
  • Growth - Getting outside of your comfort zone
• "As a long time listener of your show, I marvel at your guests"
• "My greatest edge was that I didn't think I had an edge"
• Why it was important to be teamed with Russians and other international players who didn't speak English at a high school all star camp
• Coach Krzyzewski (Coach K)'s reason for excellence:
  • Ability to build relationships with players as people
    • Incredible communication skills
    • Intentionally taking time to build relationships
  • Preparation - Disciplined preparation
    • Habits, routines
    • "His preparation on a daily basis is championship level"
• How has Coach K showed Level 5 leadership to help his assistant coaches be great when they earn their own head coaching job?
  • "He allows coaches to take ownership - He pushed them and allowed them to have a voice. On the job learning"
• Culture
  • Start with your value system: What do you believe in? How do you build it?
• Wojo's Stated Values:
  • Pursuing excellence - WIN every day
  • Being Selfless
  • Being Accountable - "Do what you say you're going to do"
  • Being Relentlessly competitive
  • Discipline - Do what need to do at the time it needs to be done
• How is it coaching millennials?
  • There is a lot of noise. Continuous feedback loop. Need to be constantly engaged. But kids still want the same things... They want to grow, want discipline, be part of something special... Something bigger than them
  • How to communicate with young people?
    • Social media: Must use it, need to be there
    • Spend most time face to face with them
• Typical day?
  • Be intentional about how allocate time
  • Plan ahead -- Must cover what's most important. Must prioritize
  • Control own energy - Track sleep and work out daily
  • Set weekly goals (write them down) for face to face interactions, time to learn/read/podcast listening, time with family/friends. Carry a book to help keep track
    • "Sometimes I fail, sometimes I crush it"
• Read The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy
• Read Legacy
• Learning Leader - I was first turned on to the show because of the title.
  • Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Durant - "Their ability to learn was what I was impressed with most about them. LeBron remembered everything you said."

"How"Their ability to learn was what I was impressed with most. LeBron remembered everything you said." -- Wojo discussing his time coaching Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant

Episode 225: Dan Heath - The Power Of Defining Moments

Dan Heath is a Senior Fellow at Duke University's CASE center, which supports social entrepreneurs. At CASE, he founded the Change Academy, a program designed to boost the impact of social sector leaders.

Dan is the co-author, along with his brother Chip, of three New York Times bestsellers: Decisive, Switch, and Made to Stick. Amazon.com's editors named Switch one of the Best Nonfiction Books of the Year, and it spent 47 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller list. Made to Stick was named the Best Business Book of the Year and spent 24 months on the BusinessWeek bestseller list. Their books have been translated into over 30 languages.

Previously, Dan worked as a researcher and case writer for Harvard Business School. In 1997, Dan co-founded an innovative publishing company called Thinkwell, which continues to produce a radically reinvented line of college textbooks.

Dan has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from the Plan II Honors Program from the University of Texas at Austin. One proud geeky moment for Dan was his victory in the 2005 New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest, beating out 13,000 other entrants. He lives in Durham, NC.

What have you failed at this week?" "There's no such thing as a good mentor who doesn't push you."

Show Notes:

• Sustained Excellence. Common Themes of Leaders who Sustain Excellence:
  • Decision making - The ability to make a string of good decisions
    • Avoid traps
    • Narrow framing -- Cannot just think of 1 option
• Decisions are often made because of political reasons, persuasive people, or PowerPoint... They should be made through experiments instead
• The process of writing with his brother Chip Heath
  • 10 year age gap (54-44)
  • They are different people. The work is the glue for their relationship
  • Chip is a professor at Stanford Graduate School of Business
  • The life changing effect of their book Switch. They hit the jackpot --> Time magazine, The Today Show
• What is it that allows change to happen?
  • Our brains are wired with two independent systems:
    • Rational
    • Emotional
      • What makes change difficult is when those 2 disagree... The same forces are at place within organizations. The heart of Switch -- The emotional side is stronger than the rational side. We must get that in order to change.
• How do we make an experience better? -- We must take the reins to make a moment better
  • The John Deere new hire experience -- You leave your first day thinking "Wow, I belong here." They intentionally take care of their people.
  • Transition moments are so important. We need to pay attention to them and be aware. --> Graduation, weddings, retirement, first day at a new job, etc
    • "Cultures pay attention to big moments"
• Sara Blakely story growing up... The question her Dad asked her and her siblings at the dinner table -- "What have you failed at this week?"
  • We need to get comfortable with trying new things... And failing sometimes. It builds resilience, GRIT
• David Scott Yaeger 2 part formula for mentors and mentees
  • High Standards + Assurance -- "I have high expectations for you... And I know you can do it."
  • "There's no such thing as a good mentor who doesn't push you." -- STRETCH
• The powerful story of Eugene O'Kelly and how he chose to live his life when he found out he had 3 months left to live
  • "I experienced more Perfect moments and Perfect days in two weeks than I had in the last 5 years or than I probably would have in the next 5 years had my life continued without the diagnosis."
  • Look at your own calendar, do you see perfect days ahead? Could you create 30 perfect days? What would it take to motivate you to create a Perfect Moment?

"How Look at your own calendar, do you see perfect days ahead? Could you create 30 perfect days? What would it take to motivate you to create a Perfect Moment?"

Social Media:

• Read: Switch
• Read: The Power Of Moments
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

More Learning:

Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon

Episode 216: Jim Collins -- How To Go From Good To Great

Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions

Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

Episode edited by the great J Scott Donnell

The Learning Leader Show is supported by Callaway Golf. We have partnered to give away The #1 selling Driver in 2017. The Callaway GBB Epic Driver. This club is valued at $499 and we are giving one away to a loyal listener of the show. To enter the drawing: Tweet (or post on Instagram) a favorite leadership quote from an episode of The Learning Leader Show and tag/@ me on Twitter or Instagram.

Mike McDerment is the co-founder and CEO of FreshBooks, the world's #1 cloud accounting software for self-employed professionals. Built in 2003 after he accidentally saved over an invoice, Mike spent 3.5 years growing FreshBooks from his parents' basement. Since then, over 10 million people have used FreshBooks to save time billing, and collect billions of dollars.

The Learning Leader Show

"We give trust to earn trust. Lead with trust. That's the world I want to live in."

Show Notes:

• Sustained Excellence. Common Themes of Leaders who Sustain Excellence:
  • Been through something hard
  • Strong morals - set of values, make upstanding decisions, believe in people, don't compromise
  • Creative
  • Surround self with great people
  • Strong desire to grow
  • Default Trust to "ON"
• First Principles -- Distill things down to underlying system: The act of taking a problem and breaking it down
• Building FreshBooks -- "I didn't know anything about anything."
• The #1 place to work -- have won awards for their culture
• What do you do? "We are in the business of saving people time."
• Moving to his parents basement to start the business... Running lean
• Culture takes deliberate thought
  • Must have people who are diverse but share your values
  • Need guidelines/rule sets
• The 9 Values:
  • Passion - Love your craft
  • Ownership
  • Results
  • Change - Bring learning and growth
  • Honesty
  • Fun - Deliberately make it fun
  • Empathy
  • Strive - Stretch
  • Trust
  • Secrecy - Open inside, but nothing leaves from inside
• Values/Culture used in 2 ways
  • Publicly recognize people living the values
  • Swiftly eliminate people who don't embody those values - Listen, hear, be open. Recognize that cultures need to be hacked, evolve, change.
• Inner office dating? Why is that promoted? What does it mean?
• Everyone spends the first month in customer service. All build that foundation -- Why they prolong onboarding and how that leads to long term success
• Make decisions today to win in 3-5 years
• Decided to re-platform even though the rule is to "never re-write or re-platform"
• "How do you minimize risk, but maximize impact?"
• "Something that no one had ever done before. Create a new company in secret."
• Lead with trust: "We give trust to earn trust. Lead with trust. That's the world I want to live in."
• Imposter Syndrome and FEAR. Embracing it
• "Getting comfortable with being uncomfortable" -- It's the path to growth. Nobody has all of the answers
• Advice to 20 year old -- He was lost, not doing well. Realize that everyone else is too. Nobody knows what they are doing even if it looks like they do."
• Read -- E Myth (Michael Gerber), Idea Virus (Seth Godin), Execution (Ram Charan)
• Learning Leader -- Per Mike, "That's me." The challenge & personal growth.

"How do you minimize risk and maximize impact?"

Social Media:

• Read: Execution - Ram Charan
• Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeMcDerment
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

More Learning:

Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon

Episode 216: Jim Collins -- How To Go From Good To Great

Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions

Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

Episode edited by the great J Scott Donnell

The Learning Leader Show

223: Kim Malone Scott - Using Radical Candor To Be A Great Boss

"It is important for leaders to be learners, not tellers."

Show Notes:

• Sustained Excellence. Common Themes of Leaders who Sustain Excellence:
  • They care about their people as humans, they care personally
  • They are honest, not worried about being liked all the time, they are willing to challenge directly
• Can you be both liked and respected?
  • Yes, but you shouldn't strive to be popular
• Jony Ive and Steve Jobs story -- Steve told them the team their work was of poor quality. Jony said, "Why were you so harsh Steve?" Steve asked, "Why didn't you tell them the work was bad? It's your job to do that." Jony replied, "I didn't want them to be upset or distraught." Steve said, "You are vain. You just want to be liked."
• The biggest mistake new bosses make is trying to be liked by everyone and NOT being direct.
• Your employees should never have to say, "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" -- A great boss gives directly feedback in a timely manner
• A great boss creates an environment where everyone can tell the truth (up, down, and sideways in an organization)
• Understand the framework
• How to created this culture?
  • Start by asking for feedback. You can't give feedback if you're not willing to take it.
  • Go to question: "What could I be doing to make it better for you?"
  • Use a "Start, Stop, Continue" exercise
• Create a "Speak Truth To Power" environment
• Embrace the discomfort
• "Listen with the intent to understand... Not just waiting to talk."
• Must reward the candor -- When you receive good feedback, you must implement it. You must fix the problem.
• Google/Sheryl Sandberg story
  • Sheryl's feedback: "You said "um" a lot during that presentation, would you like a speech coach?" -- "No, I'm fine, thanks." -- "Kim, when you say "um" every third word, it makes you sound stupid."
    • Sheryl knew she need to be very direct with Kim and they built a relationship of trust and care. That's the only way she was able to get through to Kim and help her
• Hiring is the most important decision you will make as a leader
  • "If you're not dying to work with that person, don't hire them"
  • Steve Jobs - "It's better to have a hole than an asshole"
  • Dick Costolo - "You can't just hire great people and get out of their way. You must invest time in helping them, develop them even more."
• Jony Ive - "New ideas are fragile. You must create space to talk about them."
• "Your job as the boss isn't to be the decider, it's to make sure everyone knows who the decider is."
• The Wright Brothers -- Watching birds for hours --> Learning how to build wings for human airplane flight
• Dick Costolo -- Build in 2 hours of "think time" per day in your calendar
• Career advice:
  • "Quit talk of building a great resume, build a great life"
  • Find people to have career talks with... Recount your life story with them. Zero in on changes you've made. Think "What motivates you about work?" Understand what drives you, what matters, why? -- Think about your dreams... Make sure your dreams and values are in alignment. Create a plan
• "It is important for leaders to be learners, not tellers."

"When you say "Um" every third word, it makes you sound stupid." -- Sheryl Sandberg's direct feedback to Kim after a presentation to Larry & Sergei

Social Media:

• Read: Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity
• Follow Kim on Twitter: @kimballscott
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

More Learning:

Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon

Episode 216: Jim Collins -- How To Go From Good To Great

Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions

Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

Episode edited by the great J Scott Donnell

The Learning Leader Show is supported by Callaway Golf. We have partnered to give away The #1 selling Driver in 2017. The Callaway GBB Epic Driver. This club is valued at $499 and we are giving one away to a loyal listener of the show. To enter the drawing: Tweet (or post on Instagram) a favorite leadership quote from an episode of The Learning Leader Show and tag/@ me on Twitter or Instagram.

Jon Acuff is back for a second time on The Learning Leader Show!

JON ACUFF is the author of five books, including the New York Times Bestseller Do Over. For nineteen years he's helped companies like the Home Depot, Bose, Staples, and AutoTrader.com tell their stories. He's a well-known public speaker, and his blogs have been read by millions of fans. His most recent book is: Finish - Give Yourself The Gift of Done.

If you'd like to listen to the first conversation Jon and I had on January 27, 2016, CLICK HERE.

Episode 222: Jon Acuff

Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher Radio

The Learning Leader Show

Want to write a book? "What question are you willing to spend two years answering?"

Show Notes:

• Why Jon dedicated this new book to his parents and their belief in him as a writer
  • His Dad was a pastor, a communicator. Have to learn how to shape ideas and be a speaker
• What took so long for Jon to believe he was a writer?
  • "I'm a writer. When you do it enough, it becomes possible. I've written six books."
• Why this book?
  • "People say, I like your book Start, but I never finish, how do I finish?"
• Like Jim Collins, Jon says, "What is a question I'm willing to spend two years answering?"
• 91% of Americans want to write a book and less than 1% of them do it
• "I want this thing to be part of my life... This has multiple applications."
• James Clear says it's the friction at the start... Lacing up the shoes and beginning the run.
  • Jon reply "Is it harder to buy a treadmill or use the treadmill?"
• This is built on research. 900 participants. It is a data driven book
• How to mix in humor... Why to study stand up comedians?
  • "I've watched 100 stand up comedians for every 1 business leader"
• "If you want to enjoy the internet more, you must know it's not about you. It never is." -- People are thinking about themselves (Tracy McGrady & JR Smith)
• Goal Setting:
  • Cut them in half, make the goals smaller
  • Test principles -- Look to be 5%-10% better
  • "Before I set a goal, I make sure it is the right size"
  • How this relates to setting sales goals/quotas in a big company
    • Need a culture of honesty and realistic goals in order to thrive, grow, and survive
  • "A goal is a promise to yourself"
• "Make it fun if you want it done"
  • Satisfaction goes up
  • Performance goes up
• How to get something done?
  • Reward
  • Fear
  • Which one do you better respond to? You need to know. How about the people that work for you? You need to know
• How Jon will read 156 books this year
• What is the story you want to tell your kids?
• Are you proud of what you do everyday?
• "The old rules don't apply anymore... The faucet of freelance money can turn on."
• Why do some have "the fear of success?"
  • Fear of money
  • Fear of high expectations
  • Self sabotage
  • Fear of "what's next?"

Episode 221: Phil Jones - What To Say To Influence And Impact Others (Magic Words)

Phil's passion to "Teach The World To Sell", now sees him traveling the globe speaking to a breadth of audiences, from small business owners to workforces and mass organizations, spreading his message and sharing his highly credited teachings. To date he's spoken in 56 different countries across five continents and with his growing popularity, he's expected to add many more to his roster.

Episode 221: Phil Jones - What To Say To Influence And Impact Others (Magic Words)

Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher Radio

The Learning Leader Show

"I Learned That Success Leaves Clues."

Show Notes:

• Sustained Excellence:
  • Dogged determination
  • Curiosity - Continue to demand improvement from self
  • Detach self of the outcome - be of service to your customer. Celebrate quietly in the background when the client wins
• How he learned to hustle:
  • Came from a home without much money... Learned to sell his mom's sandwiches at lunch. Then started a business going door to door offering to wash cars for money
  • He grew to make more money than his teachers when he was 15
    • "How much money are you making sire?" -- Phil would say to teachers when they criticized him for missing class
  • By 18, he was named the youngest sales manager in fashion retailer Debenhams, history
• Day to Day
  • Phil delivers 100 keynote presentations a year
  • "Respect is something that is to be earned"
• Ridiculous goal -- "Get my book in front of one million people"
• Using Magic words
  • "I'm not sure if it's for you, but..."
• "Magic words are words that speak right to the subconscious of our brain"
• If you change 1 or 2 words, it can change everything. You must learn, train, and prepare... Write a script
  • "You still cry at movies... But the actor is reading a script. It's not real. You need to learn to read scripts."
• Magic Word/Phrase
  • "You wouldn't happen to know..." -- Create a path of least resistance for a referral
• How has Phil learned what he teaches?
  • "120,000 negotiations. Messing up. Being brave enough to say what works and what doesn't."
• Magic Word/Phrase
  • "How open minded are you?" -- When you're trying to internally sell a new idea, this works. Everyone wants to see themselves as open minded. This phrase primes the brain to be more open minded to a new idea. It helps people opt in to your idea.
• How to open a keynote speech?
  • Ask questions of the audience...
    • "Change one word to change everything" (Listen for more in depth story. This was a really good part. Around the 26:30 mark)
• "Questions start conversations, conversations lead to relationships, relationships lead to opportunities."
• Methods for prospecting:
  • You don't need to knock on every door
  • A great story on what you would do if you lost a child at a department store (again... must listen)
  • "Go look for who you really want." You must identify those people
  • Define who they are...
  • "You wouldn't happen to know?"
• How he runs/manages his business and prospects
  • Franchises, MLMs, Healthcare space
  • Referrals, gifts, emails, calls
  • Utilizing Robert Cialdini's method for reciprocity... "They end up thanking ME!"
  • 3rd party credibility and permission
• Magic Word/Phrase:
  • "Just one more thing..." -- TV detectives in the 80's and 90's
  • This helps both upsells AND downsells (sometimes you won't get the huge deal initially... Must work your way in to build the relationship starting small)
• Magic Word/Phrase:
  • "Most People..." -- "This helps you tell people what to do without telling them what to do."
  • People love to be led. Example: Yelp reviews
  • When people are stuck being indecisive... "Look, what most people do..."
• Learning Leader = Leaders are always learning. "You've never arrived. You're always becoming."
  • Good, Better, or Best: What do you want?
    • You want to be better... Always striving to improve

"Questions start conversations. Conversations lead to relationships. Relationships lead to opportunities."

Social Media:

• Read: Exactly What To Say
• Follow Phil on Twitter: @philmjonesuk
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

More Learning:

Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon

Episode 216: Jim Collins -- How To Go From Good To Great

Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions

Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

Episode edited by the great J Scott Donnell

The Learning Leader Show is supported by Callaway Golf. We have partnered to give away The #1 selling Driver in 2017. The Callaway GBB Epic Driver. This club is valued at $499 and we are giving one away to a loyal listener of the show. To enter the drawing: Tweet (or post on Instagram) a favorite leadership quote from an episode of The Learning Leader Show and tag/@ me on Twitter or Instagram.

The Learning Leader Show

Episode 220: Robert Greene - The Laws Of Power & Mastery

Robert Greene is an American author and speaker known for his books on strategy, power and seduction. He has written five international bestsellers: The 48 Laws of Power, The Art of Seduction, The 33 Strategies of War, The 50th Law and Mastery. In addition to having a strong following within the business world and a deep following in Washington, DC, Greene's books are hailed by everyone from war historians to the biggest musicians in the industry (including Jay-Z and 50 Cent).

"Do Not Speak Unless You Can Improve Upon The Silence."

Show Notes:

• Sustained Excellence:
  • Self Mastery
  • Self Control -- "We are emotional animals, governed by emotions. It can get you in trouble."
  • Self Discipline
  • Flexibility -- Ability to adapt
• Why Napoleon was successful? He had a front line obsession
• Writing a book with 50 Cent
  • "Never let your guard down"
• Law 4 - Always say less than necessary. "Do not speak unless you can improve upon the silence."
  • Learn the power of being quiet
  • If you're upset about an email, do not respond emotionally. Wait 24 hours and then respond with a level head
• Law 9 - Win Through Your Actions, Never Through Argument. "Demonstrate, do not explicate."
  • Commit to action. Words are devalued
  • "Show them. Don't talk."
• Law 10 - Infection: Avoid The Unhappy and Unlucky
  • You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with
  • "We absorb the energy of other people."
  • Look to "level up" your peer group at all time"
• How to deal with a person in a power position who you do not like or respect?
  • Do not let them see you upset. Do not show them emotion (when they try to rile you up)
• Did President Trump read The 48 Laws of Power? He appears to have used some of the laws to help get elected:
  • Law 6 - Court attention at all cost
  • Law 17 - Keep others in suspended terror. Cultivate an air of unpredictability
  • Law 27 - Play on people's need to believe to create a cult like following
• Very common in business for an "aggressive, loud yeller" to push people around and somehow get promoted... But once they have to actually lead and manage people, they fail miserably
• Rappers, movie stars, athletes quoting (even tattooing) The 48 Laws. How has that impacted you? Great satisfaction, but even more from "regular" people who email him and said his work helped them start a business or quit a bad job.
• "Sometimes you don't know what you're intended to do. It pays to have an open mind." -- Robert didn't write The 48 Laws of Power until he was 38 years old
• "The human brain does not learn unless it is excited"
• Cesar Rodriguez -- "Trust The Process" -- You must get reps, reps, reps in order to achieve any level of excellence
  • Think long term and put in the necessary work to be great
• Advice: "You were born with a purpose. Tap into what makes you different and unique. There is tremendous pressure to fit in. You will have success if you dig deep, be adventurous, try things out. Respect your unique-ness, something great will happen."

"The Human Brain Does Not Learn Unless It Is Excited."

Social Media:

• Read: The 48 Laws Of Power
• Read: Mastery
• Follow Robert on Twitter: @RobertGreene
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

More Learning:

Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon

Episode 216: Jim Collins -- How To Go From Good To Great

Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions

Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

219: Eric Barker - Everything You Know About Success Is (Mostly) Wrong

Eric Barker is a thought leader in the field of success. His humorous, practical blog, "Barking Up the Wrong Tree", presents science-based answers and expert insight on how to be awesome at life. Over 300,000 people subscribe to his weekly newsletter and his content is syndicated by Time Magazine, The Week, and Business Insider. He has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic Monthly, and the Financial Times. Eric is also a sought-after speaker and interview subject, and has been invited to speak at MIT, Yale, West Point, the University of Pennsylvania, NPR affiliates, and on morning television.

To Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: www.RyanHawk.net

www.LearningLeader.com

Show Notes:

• Sustained Excellence:
  • Consistent habits and routines
  • Experiment
  • Evolve
  • Learn/Grow
  • Create a feedback loop
• Steve Martin -- "Being great isn't hard. Being consistent is." -- (Note: Watch the Steve Martin MasterClass) -- Meta principal for how people do things
  • "Hit the ball every time. It's hard."
• Eric started the blog in 2009 -- He read abstracts, academic research
  • He wanted to focus on things that were applicable to being awesome at life
• "The future is already here, it's just not evenly distributed."
• How he went from unemployed --> MBA in 2009 --> Screenwriter in Hollywood for Disney, Fox --> Successful blog/book
• Advice to people who have a side hustle: "It's a hard road. Give 1 hour per day to it. If you really want to do it, there will be trade offs. You have to measure how you will spend your time and what's important to you."
• Book writing vs Blog writing -- Book = 5 days per week working on. Blog = 2 days per week.
• How can we find work life balance? -- "It did not previously exist for me."
  • How to say NO like Warren Buffett
• Networking -- Who you know is very important... However there is a tradeoff and extroverts waste time "at the water cooler"
• Nice guys, Givers... There is a tight rope between confidence and delusion
  • There is a problem: "Nobody likes narcissism and hubris, but some confident people have those qualities."
• When is it a good idea to quit?
  • "It's unrealistic to never quit. We quit things all the time. Show GRIT on the things that are important to you."
• Make little bets -- Read Little Bets by Peter Sims
• Learning Leader = Humility

"People love having choices... But people hate making choices."

Social Media:

• Read: Barking Up The Wrong Tree
• Follow Eric on Twitter: @bakadesuyo
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

More Learning:

Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon

Episode 216: Jim Collins -- How To Go From Good To Great

Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions

Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

Episode #218: David Hornik - Why Givers Win

Show Notes:

• Sustained Excellence:
  • Great story-tellers -- Every message is better told as a story
  • Great sales people
• Why generous people win in the long run -- David is naturally generous
• He answers every email
• VC's invest in people more than investing in a product
• The story of Danny Shader and their daughters' soccer team
  • The many conversations which led to working together after Danny initially turned David down because he thought he was "too nice" -- Why he was wrong
• The aspect of the job that David doesn't like -- Narcissistic people - "You don't have to be that way"
• "In the long run, doing the things you like, with the people you like, will be better"
• What percentage of your job do you love? -- "North of 80% of it. I've been doing this for 17 years. You have to do it with people you enjoy. If not, it's terrible."
• Do you have a boss? -- "Not really"
• How to handle a bad loss? -- "We lost $35m at one point. A lot of sleepless nights. It was very hard. This business is not all about succeeding."
• Why doesn't David use hard end dates on his term sheets like all other VC's? "Investing is a big decision."
• How to differentiate from other VC's?
  • Money is all the same, does not differentiate
  • "It's about help, guidance. I tell them to speak with every person I've ever worked with. Ask them what they think."
  • "I genuinely care about people I work with"
• "The Lobby" -- David's annual conference -- "The best values from conferences are the relationships with other attendees."
  • Do work outside at a table in Hawaii -- It promotes better work
  • Best advice for hosting and event? "Maniacally curate the guest list. It has to be full of givers. If takers are there, it won't work."
  • Start the conference with a fun game
  • Do NOT gather in conference rooms (Hence the name "The Lobby") - The best conversations happen during the breaks in the lobby
  • Goal is to break even on the event. The budget is more than $1m -- Get sponsors, the guests all pay
• "The goal in life is to have a good time... To have a good life. What's the point otherwise?"
• "My goal is to surround myself with great people and enjoy my life. See what's out there if you don't like what you're doing."
• Making a lot of money... Impact? "If I make more, I can give more away."

217: JJ Redick - "You've Never Arrived. You're Always Becoming."

Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher Radio

JJ Redick is an iconic and legendary basketball player from Duke University. He is their all time leading scorer. JJ was the 11th overall pick in the 2006 NBA draft (Orlando Magic). He's going in to his 12th NBA season. He recently signed a 1 year, $23 million contract with the Philadelphia 76ers. He graduated from Duke with a major in history and a minor in cultural anthropology. He is an extremely thoughtful leader and someone I loved talking to...

The Learning Leader Show

"There was never any sense that I was done accomplishing things. You've never arrived. You're always becoming."

Show Notes:

• Sustained Excellence:
  • Passion for what they do
    • Coach K has this at Duke, Steve Ballmer has this with Microsoft as well
  • They master the small stuff -- Read The Carrot Seed
    • Being in the weeds everyday
    • Diligence to be in the weeds
  • Adaptability
    • Coach K doesn't have a system. He adapts to his current players. It changes every year. Same is true for Bill Belichick and Greg Popovich
    • "How do I maximize this team's personnel?"
    • "Each year you have to adapt"
• The power of receiving a daily devotional
• "There was never any sense that I was done accomplishing things."
• The importance of coaches, parents, and friends to never let JJ feel entitled. They would call him out if needed
  • 2nd half of the ACC championship when he was acting like a brat. Chris Collins called him out
• How do we develop GRIT in our children if we're able to provide anything they could ever want?
  • "The biggest thing I learned from my Dad was he went to work everyday. Then he came home and would work on the house, the yard, and work more. He showed me how to work."
  • Live under your means
  • "Stuff doesn't matter, we care more about having great experiences as a family"
• Falling Upward - "to reach the second half of your journey, you need to fail" -- It's necessary
• Working in an imperfect environment -- "Mastering mechanics in an imperfect environment"
  • "You can't master it unless you've done it over and over and over"
    • "It's very rare that anyone works in a perfect environment" -- You must be able to adapt
• Mindset going in to free agency? "Wanted stability. Had 15 minutes to decide on the 76ers offer."
• Being an "over thinker." "Addicted to information" -- How does that impact him as a shooter?
  • "I am addicted to information. I am a deep dive person."
• How to handle a slump? --"You have to enjoy the mundane. I love going in the gym and shooting over and over." (Angela Duckworth -- GRIT)
• Goal setting process -- Each year, write down a list of what you want to accomplish
  • Some examples: Win an NBA championship, get a sleeve (arm) tattoo, have a son, go on a great European vacation.
    • Setting life goals every year -- "How do we include other people on this journey?"
    • A "Words of Wisdom" file on his phone
• Life after basketball
  • General Manager in front office or creating a media company to tell interesting stories. Building something. Anthony Bourdain is the blueprint. He uses food to tell interesting stories
  • OR the idea of completely reinventing himself. "That idea is both terrifying and exciting at the same time."
  • "The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun."
• Building relationships and networks in a variety of places
• Working with and learning from LeBron James and Maverick Carter

"The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun."

Social Media:

• Read: The Carrot Seed
• See why over 280,000 people follow JJ on Twitter: @JJRedick
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

More Learning:

Episode 073: Jay Bilas - World Class ESPN Basketball Broadcaster, Toughness, Fixing The NCAA

Episode 078: Kat Cole - From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon

Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions

Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

Episode edited by the great J Scott Donnell

The Learning Leader Show is supported by Callaway Golf. We have partnered to give away The #1 selling Driver in 2017. The Callaway GBB Epic Driver. This club is valued at $499 and we are giving one away to a loyal listener of the show. To enter the drawing: Tweet (or post on Instagram) a favorite leadership quote from an episode of The Learning Leader Show and tag/@ me on Twitter or Instagram.

Episode 216: Jim Collins – How To Go From Good To Great

Show Notes:

• Sustained Excellence:
  • Never go to a meeting without writing down 5 questions prior to the meeting
  • Always follow up the meeting with at least a page of notes -- Share those with your mentor
• What made you say yes to The Learning Leader Show after 2 1/2 years?
  • It requires intense focus to prepare
  • This is a teaching moment
  • Only say yes if it's going to be impactful. The team determined this show was the right place to do that
• Always ask yourself -- "How can I make myself useful to the world?"
  • This was advice originally given to him by Peter Drucker
• A great teacher can change your life in 30 seconds -- Peter Drucker did that for Jim
• "I am constitutionally unemployable" -- Why Jim feels this about himself
• His curiosity has led to the success and most importantly... Great questions like:
  • How to turn something into an enduring great company?
  • How someone or a company can go from Good To Great?
• Jim most admired Peter Drucker when he was 35 years old...
  • The story of their first meeting and how Peter was the curious one... Kept peppering Jim with questions to start the conversation (much like Jim did to me to start this conversation)
  • "The ultimate zen master with bamboo stick"
• Drucker - "It seems to me that you spend a lot of time worrying if you will survive. You probably will survive. You seem to focus a lot on the question, "how to be successful?" That is the wrong question. The right question is "How to be useful?"
• What would it have cost Jim to not publish Good To Great after he finished the manuscript? -- More than $100m. He had to get it out in the world. He felt it was his responsibility to do so...
• Another great mentor said to Jim... "When seeking an entrepreneurial path... Cut off all other options and GO."
• "Everything is driven by by questions"
• Can a good company become a great company? How?
• Level 5 Leader
  • Starts with confronting the brutal facts
  • Personal humility and professional will
  • Not what, but who -- Get the right people on the bus
• Does not happen in one fell swoop or a leap. It happens over time. Flywheel -- Create momentum
• Understand the hedgehog concept -- An expert in one thing... Knows it very well
  • 3 Parts of the Hedgehog concept
    • Deeply passionate about it
    • Encoded for it... You're really good at it. An expert
    • Economically, you can make money from it
• Level 5 Leaders:
  • What cause do I serve?
  • Humility to serve... It's not about them
  • Willful -- Able to make difficult decisions
• For the best Level 5 Leaders... How do they sustain it?
  • It's easier for them because they understand their personal hedgehog -- It helps them remain renewed after many years
• "Measured Risk" vs. "Burn The Boats"
  • Fire Bullets... Then Cannon Balls
    • For Jim, this was his first two books + his time as a professor at Stanford before he decided to leave to start his own company
• You must navigate your path. It doesn't mean you take unfounded risk... Fire bullets first, then cannonballs
  • "If you never fire a cannonball, you'll never make it.
• "BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal)
  • How to write a good one?
  • Take calibrated, calculated risk --
  • Have things to keep you alive even if everything goes wrong
    • Productive Paranoia
• Validation - What are points of success you can look to?
  • Jim's wife Joann committing to winning an Ironman race... She was a consultant at the time. She was also a runner. She tried biking and was very good at it. Eventually she practiced, took measured risks, and won the Ironman race
• "If you were a trial attorney and had to win the case, what evidence would you use?"
• The Flywheel principle and putting it to use for Jeff Bezos and the Amazon team -- How could they build momentum? After Jim met with Jeff Bezos and his leadership team in 2001, Amazon executives were elated; according to several members of the team at the time, they felt that, after five years, they finally understood their own business.Most important for young leaders -- Jim's advice
• "FIRST WHO, THEN WHAT?"
  • Who do you want to mentor you? Who do you want to mentor?
  • Who do you want to be your friends? Who do you want to work with? Who do you want to spend time with?
  • The most important question is WHO
  • You don't need to answer WHAT until you answer WHO

"The most important question is WHO. First WHO, then WHAT. Who will be your mentor? Who will be your friends? Who will you help? Who will you spend time with? You don't need to answer what until well after you've answered WHO."

Social Media:

• Read: Good To Great
• Read: Great By Choice
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• More Learning:

  Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon

  Episode 071: NateBoyer - Green Beret, Texas Football, The NFL

  Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions

  Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

  Episode edited by the great J Scott Donnell

  The Learning Leader Show is supported by Callaway Golf. We have partnered to give away The #1 selling Driver in 2017. The Callaway GBB Epic Driver. This club is valued at $499 and we are giving one away to a loyal listener of the show. To enter the drawing: Tweet (or post on Instagram) a favorite leadership quote from an episode of The Learning Leader Show and tag/@ me on Twitter or Instagram.

  To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

Jim Collins is a student and teacher of leadership and what makes great companies tick. Having invested a quarter century of research into the topic, he has authored or co-authored six books that have sold in total more than ten million copies worldwide. They include: GOOD TO GREAT, the #1 bestseller, which examines why some companies and leaders make the leap to superior results, along with its companion work GOOD TO GREAT AND THE SOCIAL SECTORS; the enduring classic BUILT TO LAST, which explores how some leaders build companies that remain visionary for generations; HOW THE MIGHTY FALL, which delves into how once-great companies can self-destruct; and most recently, GREAT BY CHOICE, which is about thriving in chaos – why some do, and others don't – and the leadership behaviors needed in a world beset by turbulence, disruption, uncertainty, and dramatic change.

Episode 215: Chris Fussell -- How To Build A Team of Teams (One Mission)

Chris Fussell is a Partner at the McChrystal Group Leadership Institute. He is the author of One Mission: How Leaders Build a Team of Teams, and a co-author of the New York Times bestseller Team of Teams, the first book in the series. He was commissioned as a Naval Officer in 1997 and spent the next 15 years on U.S. Navy SEAL Teams around the globe. He then served as Aide-de-Camp to Lieutenant General Stanley McChrystal during McChrystal's final year commanding a Joint Special Operations Task Force fighting Al Qaeda around the globe.

Since leaving active duty in 2012, Fussell has also served as a Senior Fellow for National Security at New America, sits on the Board of Directors for the Navy SEAL Foundation, is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and teaches at Yale University's Jackson Institute.

Episode 215: Chris Fussell -- How To Build A Team of Teams (One Mission)

Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher Radio

The Learning Leader Show

"Remember, your position has little formal authority but massive reach. For many of the organizations we interact with, their entire opinion of our organization will be shaped off the tone of your emails, the courtesy you give their staff, and the respect you show for their Mission." -- General Stanley McChrystal speaking to Chris Fussell immediately following him becoming his Aide-De-Camp

Show Notes:

• Sustained Excellence:
  • A constant intellectual curiosity
• The interview process to become General McChrystal's Aide-De-Camp
  • A unique window to get that exposure
  • McChrystal trusted that if Chris wasn't qualified, then he wouldn't have been nominated
  • Career goals --> Family situation (could it handle Chris working 24/7 for a year? --> What would Chris enjoy about it?
  • What sealed Chris earning the job? Chris being incredibly curious about wanting to fully understand how the organization runs at a high level. General McChrystal loved that about Chris
• "It was one of the hardest years of my career"
  • It was intense but the exposure was phenomenal
• "If we've hit a point for 24 hours where we aren't questioning something, or there is no friction, then something is wrong"
• How to handle issues at UBER?
  • "The issue is putting too much on to 1 person. It's not about 1 heroic leader. There needs to be a cultural shift. They need to create a leadership culture."
• Operating Rhythm -- John Heisman 1899: The hurry up offense. Just because you have a 40 second play clock, doesn't mean you have to use all of it.
  • Chris and team were on a 24 hour operating rhythm. They re-synchronized every 24 hours. Had to have a flexible approach to handle the enemy.
    • A sense of shaped consciousness
• Chris Zook
  • An aversion to bureaucracy
  • Front line obsession
• Transparency of communication model
  • Senior leaders remain in close contact with issues on the ground without having to put out all of the fires
    • Hybrid model layered into it --> Interconnected model
• McChrystal's advice to Chris when he first got the job: "Remember, your position has little formal authority but massive reach. For many of the organizations we interact with, their entire opinion of our organization will be shaped off the tone of your emails, the courtesy you give their staff, and the respect you show for their Mission."
• Chris's career advice:
  • Don't think about money/industry -- Think what matters most to you? Lifestyle -- Coaching little league or being a high level CEO? Where do you want to be in 5 years? Where do you want to live? Do you want to raise a family? Important to map all of that out and build a profession around those goals.
  • Chris also teaches at Yale and does this exercise
    • Write a letter to yourself -- What type of leader do you want to be in 5 years? Map out your goals

"It's a cultural shift. A development of a leadership culture is needed." -- Chris Fussell discussing the changes he would make at UBER

Social Media:

• Follow Chris on Twitter: @FussellChris
• Read: One Mission: How Leaders Build A Team Of Teams
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

More Learning:

Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon

Episode 071: NateBoyer - Green Beret, Texas Football, The NFL

Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions

Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

Episode edited by the great J Scott Donnell

The Learning Leader Show is supported by Callaway Golf. We have partnered to give away The #1 selling Driver in 2017. The Callaway GBB Epic Driver. This club is valued at $499 and we are giving one away to a loyal listener of the show. To enter the drawing: Tweet (or post on Instagram) a favorite leadership quote from an episode of The Learning Leader Show and tag/@ me on Twitter or Instagram.

Episode 214: Jason Calacanis - How To Turn $100,000 Into $100,000,000 (Angel Investing)

Jason Calacanis is a technology entrepreneur and an angel investor. The founder of a series of conferences that bring entrepreneurs together with potentials investors, he was a scout for top-tier Silicon Valley venture capital firm Sequoia Capital and frequently appears in the media. He is the author of a new book, Angel: How To Invest In Technology Startups - Timeless Advice From An Angel Investor Who Turned $100,000 into $100,000,000.

Episode 214: Jason Calacanis - How To Turn $100,000 Into $100,000,000 (Angel Investing)

Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher Radio

The Learning Leader Show

"I don't need to know if your product will succeed. I need to know if you will succeed."

Show Notes:

• Sustained Excellence/Key Traits in the greatest Founders
  • Craftsmanship -- Making something, having attention to detail, understanding the why
  • Passion
  • Intentionality
  • Thoughtful - Do they know why they do what they do
• As an investor, you need to ask short questions
  • "Small Mouth, Big Ears" -- LISTEN. Let the founder talk
• Are they a missionary or a mercenary? Need to know
  • Why are they doing this?
  • They need to understand that it is really hard
• Self awareness is a must -- Jason knows that he is a compulsive gambler. He has a risk taking approach. He likes having an edge.
  • But he also has "tilt control." He knows when to lay down a big hand (poker speak for when you have a big hand but still know it's not enough)
  • You need to know who you are and what you enjoy
• "I love being the guy cutting a check for a founder that nobody else believes in"
  • "I win about once in every 40 investments. I was a poor kid from Brooklyn and now I'm extremely wealthy"
• "I found a casino called Silicon Valley"
• "There are a lot of really dumb people who are fabulously wealthy in Silicon Valley"
• "Investing in this market is like being dealt the Ace of Spades"
• Winning big poker hands against Daniel Negreanu and Phil Hellmuth
• Jason covered Travis Kalanick while he was at Scour
• When Travis showed him Uber, Jason immediately said, "Can I invest?"
• Were some of the qualities that led to Travis and Uber's success also what led to the problems?
  • He has a fighter mentality. That's why he's been so successful. It's a fair question to ask if that's what has led to these problems as well...
  • Sometimes you have to take a step back and analyze what's happening
  • Getting from A to B, you need to fight. Going from B to C, you need empathy
• How do you get paid as an Angel Investor?
  • Go public -- IPO
  • Secondary Shares -- Company buys back shares from early investors (this happened for Jason with Facebook)
  • Company is bought -- WhatsApp, Oculus, Instagram -- Get cash/stock
• Investing practices
  • How much of your bankroll do you put in play?
  • Build a network -- Technology is the future
• Ways that everyone can invest
  • Syndicates
  • Angel List
  • Seed Invest

Social Media:

• See why over 286,000 people follow Jason on Twitter: @Jason
• Read: Angel - How To Invest In Technology Startups - Timeless Advice From An Angel Investor Who Turned $100,000 Into $100,000,000
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

More Learning:

Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon

Episode 071: NateBoyer - Green Beret, Texas Football, The NFL

Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions

Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

Episode edited by the great J Scott Donnell

The Learning Leader Show is supported by Rhone. Use the code "Leader" for 15% off. Rhone... premium activewear engineered with principle, performance and progress for the modern man. Rhone builds clothing around 3 main tenants: Cutting-edge Performance, Premium Comfort, and Simplistic Style.

Episode 213: Ryan Holiday - How To Make Work That Lasts (Perennial Seller)

This is Round 3 with best-selling author, entrepreneur, and renowned marketing strategist, Ryan Holiday. If you'd like to listen to our first conversation, go HERE. If you'd like to check out the second one, go HERE. Brian Koppelman (screenwriter & director: Rounders, Ocean's Thirteen and Billions) once said, "I don't have many rules in life, but one I never break is: If Ryan Holiday writes a book, I read it as soon as I can get my hands on it." I agree. And I love every opportunity I have to speak with and learn from Ryan Holiday. I'm thankful that he sent me an advanced copy of his newest book, Perennial Seller. And if you care about making work that lasts, I urge you to read it.

Episode 213: Ryan Holiday - How To Make Work That Lasts (Perennial Seller)

Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher Radio

The Learning Leader Show

"Give, Give, Give, Give... Build Karmic Debt."

Show Notes:

• Sustained Excellence = Pete Carroll and Bill Belichick embracing Obstacle Is The Way and Ego Is The Enemy
• How to build something that is "timeless"
  • When you build your home, are you thinking about how it will look in 10 years
  • When you cut your hair or wear an outfit, do you think about how it will look years later in pictures?
• Why write Perennial Seller?
  • It's important not to dive in until you have a path
  • Always think, "How do I make this last?"
  • "Literary greatness is 10 years or more"
  • "I have to follow my own advice"
• Platform
  • How Kevin Hart built his platform (and email list) every night while on stage
  • People need to think about how they are building their platform long before they launch
  • Kevin Kelly -- 1,000 true fans
  • Who are you launching to?
  • "Kevin Hart was knocked on his ass. He would go to cities where he didn't have fans to build up his platform and email list. This was before he was famous."
  • "People want to have a platform, but they don't want to build a platform."
    • You must build it through giving
    • Ryan Holiday built his email list to 81,000 by recommending books. He recommended 1,000 books before he asked anyone to buy one of his.
• "Give, Give, Give, Give... Build Karmic Debt." -- The world is not zero sum
• The success of Eric Barker and his book Barking Up The Wrong Tree. He built his email list up to 300,000 people by blogging/writing regularly for years. He gave for free, provided value. His book sold many and became a best seller because he built his platform.
• Jeff Bezos -- "Focus on the things that do not change." - Zoom in on something timeless.
• "It starts by wanting to create a classic." -- Robert Greene
• How do we avoid falling for the seduction of short term notability to focus on long term success?
  • The "Lindy Effect" -- Nasim Taleb
• The Obstacle Is The Way sold 3,000 books the first week, then steadily sold more. Now it sells about 1,000 a week.
• "What are you making and who are you making it for?"
• "Marketing is not separate, it's part of the puzzle."
• Ryan discusses still receiving "hate" for Trust Me I'm Lying
• Idea --> Execution. Casey Neistat "I don't want to hear about your best idea. The idea is the easy part."
• Writing Routines -- Why Ryan started studying the routines of other great writers
  • "You have to have a routine. You must treat this creative profession like a profession"
  • Being very descriptive with the work
• Why being in great physical shape is "part of the job"
  • You should do some form of strenuous exercise every single day
  • Seinfeld -- Chain method. Put an X on the calendar every day for exercise
  • Discipline: Doing it even when you don't feel good. You have to get up and do it

"People want to have a platform, but they don't want to build it."

Social Media:

• See why over 190,000 people follow Ryan on Twitter: @RyanHoliday
• Read: Perennial Seller
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

More Learning:

Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon

Episode 071: NateBoyer - Green Beret, Texas Football, The NFL

Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions

Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

Episode edited by the great J Scott Donnell

The Learning Leader Show is supported by Rhone. Use the code "Leader" for 15% off. Rhone... premium activewear engineered with principle, performance and progress for the modern man. Rhone builds clothing around 3 main tenants: Cutting-edge Performance, Premium Comfort, and Simplistic Style.

Episode 212: Max Joseph - Catfish, Leadership, Making It Count, & Pete Berg

Max Joseph is one of the creative minds behind MTV's Catfish and the director of the indie film We Are Your Friends, has teamed up with the social media app Vero to launch a new documentary series, Charismatic Thinker. He started as an editor, then become a director. He has written, directed, or produced over 64 short films including commercials and web videos. He worked with Casey Nesitat for his famous video for Nike titled, "Make It Count." It has received more than 25,000,000 views. Recently, he released his latest documentary, DICKS: Do you need to be one to be a successful leader? It has received critical acclaim and I highly recommend it. (We discussed "the making" of that film during this conversation).

Show Notes:

• Sustained Excellence = Understanding the importance of leading and managing
• Why make the film about leadership?
  • Max is a nice guy, not a bully... Was one of the bullied
  • He thought, "If I were a dick, would I be more popular?"
    • "Do I need to be a dick to be a good leader?"
• As the director it is sink or swim... "You're thrown into it. I did not learn how to lead or manage."
• Sports can be an education in leadership -- If you don't have that growing up, how do you learn how to lead?
• A Disagreeable Giver -- (Adam Grant) -- Most reduced form of the film. As a protective measure, that is the lesson in being a great leader
• "I do think you need to, not be a dick, but turn off the empathy meter some..."
• A leader must
  • Prioritize the greater vision
• Why he wanted to talk to Pete Berg ("I thought he would say, "You need to be a dick to be a good leader.") Most people said you didn't need to be one to be successful. Max was looking for someone who said the opposite.
  • His paradigm -- "You need to be a good coach"
• "All great leaders have a very strong backbone"
• Max's parents were too supportive
• "Being a dick is about ego... You're a dick if you're putting people down just to do it."
• How to make a living as a smart creative: "I've always wanted to do this. I love all aspects of filmmaking. I went to Hollywood after college to do this."
  • First job was cutting reels for directors -- "Look you're not the next Spielberg, but can you make this DVD?"
• "I was a curious, excited, young filmmaker"
• How did he get the job on Catfish?
  • He emailed Neev after the movie came out... The other guy who was supposed to film and be on the TV show dropped out at the last second. Max said yes and the rest is history (6 seasons, 99 episodes)
  • Read the book: The Surrender Experiment
  • "Every time I surrender to my passion, something amazing happens"
• "Editing is like being a doctor. You need to put things back together after tearing them apart."
  • "I've had to get better at not being a hero"
• The famous Nike "Make It Count" video with Casey Neistat
  • Max got to LA 13 years ago. Initially he was unhappy. He hated it.
  • He took a vacation backpacking through Europe and thought, "I love editing, there is real passion there"
  • "Just focus on enjoying one thing I love and that will be enough to sustain happiness"
  • Casey called him and asked him to be his first editor
  • He asked him to fly to New York and then travel the world for the Nike video
  • Casey got a tattoo during it... "Do More"
  • Embrace the adventure... Let the project grow from it
• Advice: "Everyone has a gift... Has a genius for something. I get really unhappy if I don't do what I love for at least an hour a day"
• Read Big Magic by Liz Gilbert
• Look up Max on YouTube and Vero

Social Media:

• See why over 468,000 people follow Max on Twitter: @maxjoseph
• Watch: Make It Count
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

More Learning:

Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon

Episode 071: NateBoyer - Green Beret, Texas Football, The NFL

Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions

Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

Episode edited by the great J Scott Donnell

The Learning Leader Show is supported by Rhone. Use the code "Leader" for 15% off. Rhone... premium activewear engineered with principle, performance and progress for the modern man. Rhone builds clothing around 3 main tenants: Cutting-edge Performance, Premium Comfort, and Simplistic Style.

Episode 211: Vanessa Van Edwards - How To Be Instantly Irresistible

Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher Radio

"Vulnerability is sexy. There is science to prove it."

Show Notes:

• Sustained Excellence = Being a people reader (not a mind reader)
  • Try to listen to others more than anyone else
  • Get to KNOW the person
  • 3 Skills
    • Decoding - Leaders who are able to read others accurately
    • Encoding - Your ability to send accurate signals to others... What can I do to excite others?
    • Self-Regulation
• The art/science of inspiring others
• We decide if someone is a winner or a loser... Do they feel pride or shame? If we feel pride, we take up more space, shame = less space
• Charisma -- How to be instantly irresistible?
• The most charismatic people
  • High Warmth
  • High Competence
  • Must have both
  • Lucille Ball is a great example. I Love Lucy
• Do you need high levels of charisma to be an effective leader?
  • You do not need to be extroverted... Or a booming leader
  • Quiet, contemplative types can be phenomenal leaders
• How to handle a room with a lot of people networking if you're an introvert?
  • Your key in this room is to try and create 1 on 1 conversations. Play to your strengths
  • Don't stand in the center of the room
  • Stand at a high bar table
  • Low light areas
• Conversation hacks:
  • Sparks - The brain looks for hits, not misses
  • "Anything good happen lately?
  • "Working on anything exciting?"
• Ask soft yes/no questions...
  • "A really skilled decoder is a better listener than anyone else"
• "Vulnerability is sexy. There is science to prove it."
• "Relatability comes down to ties." -- Saying "Oh, me too" creates a tie with that person.
  • "You want this, I want this..." type speeches
• The 7 micro-expressions

"The most charismatic people have: high warmth and high competence."

Social Media:

• Follow Noah on Twitter: @vvanedwards
• Read: Captivate
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

More Learning:

Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon

Episode 071: NateBoyer - Green Beret, Texas Football, The NFL

Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions

Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

The Learning Leader Show is supported by Rhone. Use the code "Hawk" for 15% off. Rhone... premium activewear engineered with principle, performance and progress for the modern man. Rhone builds clothing around 3 main tenants: Cutting-edge Performance, Premium Comfort, and Simplistic Style.

Episode 210: Noah Kagan - How To Start A Business

Noah Kagan was the #30 employee at Facebook (started there in 2005), and the #4 employee at Mint.com. He came up with the idea of real-time updates and executed with one engineer (Mark Slee) at Facebook. He is now the Chief Sumo at Sumo.com (A domain in which he paid $1.5m to own. We discussed why on this episode).

This episode is different than most in that it was more conversational, and less interview. There was real-time coaching, and off the cuff conversation about how I should progress The Learning Leader. If you are uncomfortable with creative use of the English Language (re: use of curse words), then skip this episode. If not, I think you'll really like it.

"You shouldn't get a job... You should get a career."

Show Notes:

• Sustained Excellence = Getting feedback from professionals
  • Noah hired pros from NPR to review his interview transcripts.
  • "Most of the time we have too much. Need to edit it down."
• How to create a narrative -- The NPA producer changed his life
• Employees -- "They are not my people. They are people I work with. I don't like the word employee."
• How do you hold others accountable? -- Autonomy, coaching, help when needed. Hire correctly.
• "What I'm great at is starting..."
• How the quest to India changed Noah's life
• "You'll almost always push hard on the last lap."
• The impact Mark Zuckerberg had on him when he worked for him at Facebook
• "When I was at Facebook, there was a singular focus: Growth."
• "You shouldn't get a job, get a career." -- "I was a cubicle monkey at Intel"
• Using a journal to plan your day/week/month
• "Here is a story I've never shared before..."
• Why you should always ask yourself..."What's exciting for me?"
• Why you should go on walks with your spouse/significant other
• Instead of building something in a month, why not build it by Monday? -- Do it quicker than you think possible
  • You need to constantly try and test it out... Don't overthink it. Will people pay me for this? Keep evolving
• Keys to building your audience
• "Art of The Deal" is a helpful book
• Noah's salary? Low 6 figures
• "Good people don't work for cheap rates"
• The two ways to scale a business
  • Technology
  • People
• What Noah learned about vision --
  • Initially didn't believe in it... But he has matured and fully believes in it. "As I've gotten older..."
  • "It's much easier to get what you want when you know what you want."
• The impact of Noah's Dad dying had on him
  • "I'm much more protective of my time"

"Good people don't ask for cheap rates."

Social Media:

• Follow Noah on Twitter: @noahkagan
• Go to: Sumo.com
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

More Learning:

Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon

Episode 071: NateBoyer - Green Beret, Texas Football, The NFL

Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions

Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

Episode edited by the great J Scott Donnell

The Learning Leader Show is supported by Rhone. Use the code "Hawk" for 15% off. Rhone... premium activewear engineered with principle, performance and progress for the modern man. Rhone builds clothing around 3 main tenants: Cutting-edge Performance, Premium Comfort, and Simplistic Style.

Episode 209: Jason Redman - The Power Of Being Humble: From A Wounded Navy SEAL

• Sustained Excellence = Humility... Re-learning how to humble yourself. Arrogance can ruin you
• The story of Jay being "ripped in to" by a leader after he made a mistake that could have costs lives... And how that impacted him
• "Great leaders take a step back... To analyze what happened"
• "There are no bad teams, just bad leaders"
• "You have to allow the situation around you to develop before making a decision"
• How Ranger school helped him stop being selfish, humbled him.
  • Forced to lead in adverse situations, and stop thinking about just himself
• Story: "I am bleeding out. I can feel my life ebbing away as blood seeps from my body into the Iraqi soil..."
• "I was hit in the face and my left arm..."
• How the preparation and training saved his life
• "If facing death, you won't be thinking about material things"
• The sign Jay hung up outside his hospital room
• The Key Tenants
  • Lead Always
  • Overcome All
• "That journey in the hospital taught me... If you are a leader, lead always"
• Building mental resiliency, must build an overcome mindset
• "The woman behind The Trident" -- How his wife Erica acted was heroic (and still is)
  • "She never batted an eye"
  • "When they sent me home, I was a mess, and Erica cared for me. She was never negative, never questioned me for going to war."
• The greatest natural leader Jay ever met -- Vince Peterson
  • He always led by example, would never ask you to do something he wouldn't do
  • He lost his leg below his knee
  • "Selfless, servant leader, humble" -- Motivated and inspired you to be better
  • Always remained calculated -- Had the ability to drive the team where it needed to go
  • Took ideas from members of the team, dynamic leadership at it's best
• Listen as Jay describes how Dave Michaels was shot 27 times, fought back... And then said, "Come get me... They're all dead."
• The Overcome Academy
  • A way for us to give back to veterans
• www.OvercomeAcademy.org

Social Media:

• Follow David on Twitter: @JasonRedmanWW
• Read: The Trident
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12