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

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