The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

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For full show notes go to: www.LearningLeader.com 

#349 - An Inside Look At The Book Writing Process With Jay Acunzo

• Why this topic? We've both written books. And my book is out this week!
• Context on our books: Welcome To Management.  I wrote the book I wish I had when I first got promoted.  Jay's book is called Break The Wheel.
  • "Write a book because you think it has to exist.  Not to be a best-seller.
• The Process:
  • Research, outlining, fan interaction, drafting, publishing -- Why an outline is a vital piece of the process.  "The outline is the bones."
    • "Doing research in public created a system to vet ideas and best practices." --> Using client interactions as real time research to help test ideas
  • Podcasts - It was extremely helpful for me to be recording while I was writing the book: I was consistently doing research while writing the book.  Interviews, asking questions about writing/books, ideas, etc. I was working full time while I wrote this book and I think that made it better. It forced me to be disciplined with blocking time to write daily.
  • Traditional vs. Self-Publish vs. Hybrid -- Jay chose a hybrid approach to publishing his book.  I chose to publish traditionally with McGraw-Hill.  I did a lot of research on the different paths for publishing and chose the traditional route because: I wanted to create options and leverage for myself.  And after I spoke with Casey Ebro from McGraw-Hill I was completely sold on accepting their offer.
• Superlatives:
  • Platitude about writing/writing books/creativity that you found MOST true during this process? LEAST true?  Most true = Writers write (listen to the James & Kristy Clear story from dinner).  Least true = I’ve read from a few well known authors that you have to dedicate your life to nothing but writing the book.  I found that continuously working and building a business at the same time as writing was helpful. When I do q & a’s on stage after a keynote or on my podcast, I get ideas and prompts to write about...
  • Most useful habit/routine: I learn through talking.  I had regular sessions where I would sit in a room with my Dad and/or my friend Lance (who was a prosecutor for 10 years).  They would give me prompts, ask questions, and we would talk out the book. I would type notes during our sessions, then I would go by myself and write.  In my very first session with my Dad, he said, “Remember, it’s a lot harder when you care.”  He meant this in the form of leading people… And he’s right. But the same is true for writing a book. It’s hard when you care so deeply about the topic of helping people lead others more effectively… Because I understand the ripple effect.  The wake left behind you as a leader.
  • Most surprising lesson: You don’t fully know what you think or how little you know until you put pen to paper.  Writing REALLY forces you to be clear on what you believe. I outline sections and then would ramble on for pages.  The editing process was helpful. I hired an editor/writing coach to help.
  • Best story from the book:   I sent an early copy to Ryan Holiday to read and offer feedback.  He called me said, “Dude, why is your best story in the middle of the book?  You should open the book with that story." And so I did...
  • What was your editor's favorite part? Casey Ebro (from McGraw-Hill) said to me, "I read non-fiction business books for a living.  I've read hundreds of them.  And your section titled "You Have To Do All Three" in chapter six is the most unique and helpful view that I've read about leading, managing, and coaching."  -- That was a great moment.
• Additional Benefits:
  • Publishing your work online is becoming the greatest networking tool in the world -- When done well, you attract the people you want to be around. (David Perell, James Clear have written a lot about this)
  • Writing is the ultimate exercise to help you find clarity.  Sometimes you don’t realize how much you don’t know about something until you try to write about it.  -- This can help everyone (especially useful for leaders).

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

Text LEARNERS to 44222

Full show notes can be found at www.LearningLeader.com

Episode #348: Simon Sinek - Why Consistency Beats Intensity (Playing The Infinite Game)

Notes:

• Leaders who sustain excellence:
  • Humility - They don't believe their own hype.
  • Their power is accumulated through helping others.
  • "I'm fully aware I'm the same idiot I was back then."
• "Vision is like an iceberg.  The great leaders can see what's beneath the surface."
  • "I never look at what I've done, I look at what I can do."
  • "I tend to be very future focused."
• "People called me the 'why' guy... For my tastes, it's about new ideas, building on ideas."
  • "We all need to find a vision."
    • People should practice telling stories about real people, learn how to use metaphors
• Simon described the difference between the messaging at Apple vs. Microsoft
  • Microsoft (during the Steve Ballmer days) were focused on their competition
  • Apple was focused on helping teachers and designing beautiful products
  • Stop thinking of others as competitors... Instead find worthy rivals
• In the late 1970's Milton Friedman said business should maximize profits for shareholders.  For some reason, this idea was adopted and it became the norm.  it was embraced.  It's terrible.  Prior to this, the idea of mass layoffs didn't exist as an option for a business.
  • "We all have to become the leader we want to become."
  • "Leadership is not rank, it's seeing those around you rise."
  • "Business is one of the most personal things in the world."  You should never said, "it's not personal, it's just business."  It's ALWAYS personal.
• Great leaders are the ones who think beyond short term vs long term. They are the ones who know it’s not about the next quarter or the next election but about the next generation.
• The greatness of George Eastman - he was not just how great for Kodak,  but amazing for the game of business as a whole… He created a lot of employee incentives in 1912 that had not been happening up to that point. Stock options, sick days, college tuition reimbursement, etc.
• “Consistency becomes more important than intensity.”
• “Where a finite-minded player makes products they think they can sell to people, the infinite-minded player makes products that people want to buy. The former is primarily focused on how the sale of those products benefits the company; the latter is primarily focused on how the products benefit those who buy them.”
• “Being the best simply cannot be a Just Cause, because even if we are the best (based on the metrics and time frames of our own choosing), the position is only temporary. The game doesn’t end once we get there; it keeps going. And because the game keeps going, we often find ourselves playing defense to maintain our cherished ranking. Though saying “we are the best” may be great fodder for a rah-rah speech to rally a team, it makes for a weak foundation upon which to build an entire company. Infinite-minded leaders understand that “best” is not a permanent state. Instead, they strive to be “better.”
• "There is an entire section at the book store called "self-help," there should be a section called "help others."
• Why lead? --> "Because you want to see others grow. Your job may be 9 to 5, but leadership is 24-7."
• "If you like the idea of taking care of others, you may be suitable to lead."

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

Text LEARNERS to 44222

Full show notes can be found at www.LearningLeader.com

Episode #347: Steven Strogatz - How Calculus Reveals The Secrets Of The Universe

• Leaders who sustain excellence:
  • Have a willingness to be a beginner
    • "When you're naive, you ask new questions"
  • "They have the courage to be someone who's just starting"
  • How do you fight the urge to live up to a prior reputation of being an expert at something?
    • Be known as an adventurer.  Cannot have an ego.
• Six degrees of separation is a math problem
• The strength in weak ties
  • It's important to connect with people outside of your typical orbit
  • Action: Go to a strange party, play a new sport, go to a new gym, meet oddballs
    • Collect "casual acquaintances"
• The value of being a helper:
  • Be the assist person, help others, do little acts of kindness, promote someone else's work
• How Steven and I got to know each other:
  • David Epstein's wife made an intro for David and Steven... And then from David to me.
    • "Be the kind of person who remembers others names"
• Why should a normal person learn calculus?
  • "The world has been turned upside down by calculus"
  • "Calculus is the mathematical study of change"
  • "It's a great intellectual adventure story"
  • "Calculus is the language that God talks" --> The laws of nature are built in calculus
• How to be more creative?
  • Be broadly interested in many different topics.  Take something from one area and apply it somewhere else.
• Advice Steven would give to a mid-level manager:
  • "Getting high grades is jumping through hoops someone else sets"
  • "As a PhD, you have to make your own hoops"
  • "People need to be more adventurous, and then figure it out"
• Why you should study Improv as a leader:
  • Use "Yes and..."  This helps with brainstorming and coming up with new ideas.  Put out a lot of wacky ideas to get to the good stuff.
  • "I want people to be gripped irrationally by the imagination"
• The power of mentors:
  • "Learn from both the great coaches and the bad ones"
• The value of friendships:
  • The story of Mr. Joffray -- Physically impressive and wonderfully intelligent.  He took pleasure in Steven passing him.
• The value of teaching:
  • It helps create empathy... It forces you to put yourself in the mind of someone else. "Bad teachers don't have empathy."
• How does Steven prepare for big moments?
  • "I try to be myself.  And talk myself out of being intimidated." --->  The audience wants you to do well.
• Life advice:
  • "Do what you care about most, what drives you the most, do the hard work to become skillful."
  • Why joining The Learning Leader Circle is a good idea

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

Text LEARNERS to 44222

Full show notes can be found at www.LearningLeader.com

#346: Cameron Mitchell is the founder & CEO of Cameron Mitchell Restaurants.  In 2018, they celebrated their 25th anniversary. He employees more than 5,000 people and his restaurants do $300m/year in sales. He is the author of Yes Is The Answer, What Is The Question?  He has been recognized as Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst and Young, as a Small Business Person of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration and as one of 50 New Taste Makers by Nation’s Restaurant News.

Notes:

• "Leaders who sustain excellence believe in people.  They put trust in people."
  • Must have strong culture and values
• Writing your core values -- The benefit of putting pen to paper and the courage to act on them (including firing a superstar if he doesn’t live up to the values set)
• His goals:
  • Go to the Culinary Institute of America
  • Become GM at age 24
  • Regional at age 26
  • VP of Operations at age 30
  • Be president of a restaurant company by age 35
  • Go to the Culinary Institute of America
  • He woke his mom up at a 1:00am and told her his goals
• "When you share your goals, people want to hold you accountable to them..."
• He went to Culinary Institute of America. Same place as Anthony Bourdain. The CIA was the Harvard of culinary schools.
  • He got turned down initially because of his low high school grades -- "I had the can do, but didn't have the want to initially"
• He once worked 100 days in a row without a day off (that included a 1 hour and 45 minute commute each way)
  • "I equate it to the doll that you punch and it comes right back up." -- Must be resilient
  • "You cannot build a life like this or be successful without a commitment to hard work"
• Years ago Cameron was a young man with a dream, a yellow note pad, and a pen.  He wrote down 5 questions and answers that articulated who he would be, why he would exist, and what he believed and did as a restaurant company.
• The 5 Questions:
  • Who are we?
  • What do we want to be?
  • Why are we in business?
  • What is your role?
  • What is our goal?
• After those questions were answered, Cameron created their eight core values to live by...
• Fundraising (for people to invest in his new restaurant business) was a grueling process. He got rejected 9 out of 10 pitches when trying to raise money for his first restaurant.  Cameron shares everything he learned from so much rejection and failure...
• Initially Cameron was a bad boss and people threatened to quit because of him… He got help from Jim Collins and other mentors.
• Why the answer is always yes... --> Cameron shares the symbolism of a milkshake.
• To grow his business, he needed to hire great leaders to help him scale and run other restaurants... He shares the key qualities he looked for when making hiring decisions.  The first leader he hired 20+ years ago is still with him today.
• "I'm constantly pushing on where could we be?  Constantly thinking about how we can be better?"
• The Customer Comes Second -- Book by Hal Rosenbluth that impacted Cameron.
• Cameron gave 5% of the purchase price ($4.6m) to his associates (employees) when they sold a portion of their business to Ruth's Chris and gave a unique gift/experience to his senior leaders (paid for their kids college tuition, sent them on a European trip with their spouse)
• Associates must come first
• Cameron described with emotion the power of having children had on him...
  • Before Cameron had even met his wife, he would tell people, "I'm working for a wife and kids I don't even know yet."
  • The moment of clarity when you have that walk with your wife... When she's in the wheelchair holding your new baby.
  • "You can't be successful at home if you're not successful at work.  You can't be successful at work if you're not successful at home."
  • "Everyone sees the outward success.  But the family is the inward success."
  • Their associates get 8 weeks paid vacation.
• The culture and values must hold up especially when times are tough
  • Cameron tells the story of a time when his best chef used bad language towards another associate.  Cameron fired him within five minutes.
  • "If we don't live those values every single day, then they become no good."
  • General life advice: "Integrity takes years to build and minutes to ruin.  You must lead with integrity."
  • "Cutting corners in life will get you nowhere."  Don't think of the easier way to do things.  "If it were easy everybody would do it.  I don't want the easy way, I want the right way."
  • "Positive mental attitude.  It's what you do with your day that defines you.  Be constantly aware of that."
    • Be unwavering with your work ethic.  "We're pushing forward every day."
  •