The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

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IG/Twitter: @RyanHawk12

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#381: John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods

Notes:

• Excellence:
  • Energy - Vitality -- "You cannot be lazy"
  • "You need a strong desire to be excellent"
    • Excellent leaders strive for excellence in everything they choose to do
  • Good physical and mental health
  • Honor - "Hold yourself to high standards"
• John and Rene Lawson raised $45,000 from family and friends and borrowed $10,000 in 1978 to open a small natural foods store called SaferWay in Austin, Texas. When the couple were evicted from their apartment for storing food products in it, they decided to live at the store. Because it was zoned for commercial use, there was no shower stall, so they bathed using a water hose attached to their dishwasher.  Two years later they brought on partners who owned another grocery store and formed Whole Foods Markets.
• Having high expectations: As a younger person in his early 20's, John was curious about learning... He loved organic, natural food before it was popular.
• Revolutions:
  • The running revolution happened in the 1970's - He got into that. The long runs made him feel fantastic.
  • He became a vegetarian. It helped him feel better, be more alive. He is now a vegan.
• In 1981, they had to deal with a 100 year flood in Austin. "Renee had to swim out of the store that day."
  • "Whole Foods should have died that day. That was when I learned about stakeholders." --> Many people helped them stay in business.
  • "A banker co-signed on the loan without approval because he trusted me. I didn't find out until later."
• He moved to Boulder in 1999 to run WholePeople.com -- Then the internet bubble popped and it failed.
  • When he moved back to Austin, TX, a coup was afoot... One of his trusted senior leaders was trying to get John fired.
  • John walked through the nearest Whole Foods while preparing to tell the board why he should keep his job... "I get a super high touring that store." Touring the stores helps you feel the pulse of the company. John thought, "Oh my God, this is the love of my life. This is my purpose."
    • That's what he told the board and senior execs and convinced them to let him keep his job.
    • He learned to cultivate and build relationships with his board through that...
• A "Conscious Leader" =
  • Vision & Virtue – Put purpose first, lead with love
  • Mindset & Strategy – Find win-win solutions. Innovate and create value
  • People & Culture – Constantly evolve the team. Regularly revitalize, continually learn and grow
• John has elected to take a $1 yearly salary and to forgo any bonus or stock grants since 2007.
• Hiring: "You're no better than your team."
• "Excellence is continued growth."
• "When you stop growing you begin to die."
• You need to constantly revitalize yourself:
  • Sleep well
  • Eat healthy food
  • Exercise
• People are addicted to bad food... But you can change this habit if you're willing to go through some pain for a month or two. You can teach yourself to enjoy healthy foods. It needs to become a habit.
• Hiring:
  • Do group interviews - Don't rely on just one person
  • Looks for:
    • Intelligence ('that's the ante to get in')
    • Emotional Intelligence -- "Steve Jobs would not have gotten hired at Whole Foods"
    • Need to work well with others
    • Take responsibility
    • High integrity
    • Chemistry with others and high character
    • Ask, "Who have you helped get promoted?" "Who have you developed?" "How?"
• The sale to Amazon
  • "We took a plane up to Seattle and met in Jeff's (Bezos) house. It was very secretive. There was a lot of security around."
  • "The conversation was like falling in love. They were just regular guys who were very smart."
  • "Jeff (Bezos) is unpretentious, has a great sense of humor, and is a genius. He's brilliant."
• “It’s like marriage, I love them 98% of the time.”
• Advice:
  • "Life is an adventure. Go for it."

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Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

#380: Jay Hennessey - How To Build A Learning Organization

• Shared Adversity - "That's what creates the foundation for teams. It's the glue that builds trust."
  • MOFO - Mandatory Optional Fitness Opportunity
  • SEAL training - The shared adversity among trainees creates camaraderie. Evolutions are team based.
• "Lock arms laying the surf"
• "Great teams aren't created by happenstance" -- You must be intentional and deliberate.
• What is the culture you want to create? - "You must be deliberate about that up front."
  • "The language you use is so important."
• Dan Coyle is the ultimate connector
• "When people are asking you questions, it's super energizing" -- Approach each conversation with a curious mind
• Foster "Organization Humility"
• The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge:
  • The discipline of team learning starts with ‘dialogue’, the capacity of members of a team to suspend assumptions and enter into a genuine ‘thinking together’. To the Greeks dia-logos meant a free-flowing of meaning through a group, allowing the group to discover insights not attainable individually…. [It] also involves learning how to recognize the patterns of interaction in teams that undermine learning.
  • Dialog vs. Discussion
    • Dialog = Strong convictions loosely held. Starting with, "I may be wrong..."
    • Discussion = Trying to convince others you're right
• The Learning Organization
  • Get reps - Read with someone else and share
  • Engage the learner:
    • Just in time
    • Just for you
    • Just in case
• Building a learning organization creates a competitive advantage:
  • Great teams are always learning, evolving, and changing. What you know now will be extinct in five years. Must keep learning.
  • "Nobody that we hire wants to be stagnant."
  • There is no mandatory compliance.
• Book: Practice Perfect -- "Whoever is doing the talking is doing the learning." When building a learning organization, stress that it's about active participation. Not passively watching lectures, but actively participating in them.
• Being a "Yes, And..." leader -- Build off the ideas of others. Lift them up. A "Yes, And..." leader doesn't need the credit. They bring energy to the group.
  • "Leadership is about making something better than it was when you found it and doing so by developing people along the way. Leaders cannot be energy neutral. They are either adding energy or taking energy." - Tom Ogburn
  • Don't be a "Mr. Poopy Pants" -- "Oh, well that will never work." Nobody wants to work with Mr. Poopy Pants.
• How to develop awareness:
  • Started as the second youngest guy on the seam when he went to SEAL team 5. He was 2nd in charge of his platoon.
    • "Show up with humility and think, 'where can I add value?'
    • Ask for help from mentors -- Hitch yourself to a strong chief.
    • "Have a strong burden to add value"
• A stay ready mindset -- Have a 'never peak' attitude. Always ready to go. No excuses. "In every aspect of your life, no one cares what you used to be able to do, they care what you can do today."
• What type of leader do you want to be? -- Write it down. Leaders need to think deeply. Writing forces that to happen.
  • Write your command philosophy
  • Be deliberate
• Be a connector:
  • What is the difference between Connecting and Networking – Networking is looking for people who you can help; networking is looking for people who can help you. Be a connector.
• How to build comfort in your own skin?
  • Do hard things -- Progress turns into confidence
  • It's a self-efficacy model -- It's okay to fail. Overcome it and keep going. Be part of something bigger than you.
• Excellence -- "Humility is the enabler for curiosity."
• Here is WHY joining a Learning Leader Circle is a good idea...
• Jay's “Leadership Philosophy”
  • Mission: To execute at my fullest potential and to serve as a resource to help my Family and Teammates continuously improve at every stage of their personal and professional development.
  • Vision:  to lead a healthy and happy family where we all strive to become the best version of ourselves. Professionally, my vision is to be a contributing member of a learning organization with a culture that encourages learning and development at every level.
  • Core Attributes: Humility, curiosity, empathy, trust, followership, generosity, competition, health & fitness, gratitude
  • Guiding Leadership Principles: Exude positivity, communicate effectively, learn and adapt in all areas of personal and professional life, be creative, iterate & execute quickly, be aggressive, have fun, show initiative toward opportunities and problems, challenge self, solitude/mindfulness, be deliberate (set goals, reflect)
  • Leadership Statement: Make the most of everything I do – be positive, have fun, learn, adapt, and push / pull / drag or chase my teammates toward our goals.

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

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Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com

#379: Jack Butcher - Founder of Visualize Value

Notes:

• Excellence:
  • Humility - "People who don't think they're very good."
    • The willingness to "put yourself in situations where you don't have a clue."
  • No Plateau - Need to put yourself in scenarios where you are inexperienced... To learn and build resilience.
• Why Jack shoots "one take" videos and doesn't edit --There is a focus on "getting things out there." Ship it. Publish. Take action.
  • "The ability to publish is prioritized."
  • You can build a bond with a teacher through their authenticity.
• Create and share what you're building in real time... People want to go on that journey with you (when it's real)
• How Jack has built such a high level of confidence in himself -- Had a great mentor who was a polymath.
  • It was six months into being a designer... Jack was preparing to show some of his work. He framed it as "I'm not sure if this is any good..." His mentor told him, "Never discount what you're doing prior to showing it to them." Frame it right. KNOW YOUR WORK. Own the full interaction of your story. Explain how you got the answer. DO the necessary work to understand it at its fundamental level.
  • Think as if you are going to defend your work as you present it -- "What would the worst critic say about this work?" How would I respond to that? Do your research and be prepared. That's how confidence is built. Be consciously competent about your work.
• Visualize Value -- Jack is a designer by trade. He has built his skills based on his previous decade working with some of the world's largest brands.
  • He most enjoyed the strategic component of the process -- The articulation of the strategy through the use of compelling visual images.
  • Think: How can I make this argument more visual?
  • He helps businesses understand their value proposition
    • He takes the same principle to consumers now with Visualize Value
• Leadership Development - Understand the individual components to transformation
  • Curriculum - Organize it to a sequence of principles that build on one another.
  • Share myths - What's incorrect
  • Don't skip the foundation
  • Share the problem - Don't just focus on the symptom
    • Prescriptions can mask the symptom
  • Help with transformation -- "Debug the code"
• "Excellence is the gradual result of always striving to do better." - Pat Riley
• As a leader, it's important to constantly set a new baseline.
• Consistency - "We're bad at understanding the compounding function."
• Resistance - Progress is a force you're pushing against. Your ability to continually push forward against the resistance is critical in your long term success.
• Sales - There's no scenario where sales isn't important.
  • Sales is always a component to what you're doing whether you like it or not.

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IG/Twitter: @RyanHawk12 

Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com

#378: Brad Feld

Notes:

• Excellence:
  • Honesty - Clear view of what's going on with self and others
    • Transparency/Authenticity is overused
  • Confirmed process of learning - Hypothesis, clarity of though around experimentation
• Advice to a new manager:
  • Ask a lot of questions
  • REALLY LISTEN - Engage in conversations... Don't just try to get the right answer
  • We have endless biases
    • "People defend their biases instead of questioning their biases." --> Have a curious mind.
• Curiosity:
  • His parents gave him positive feedback for being inquisitive... An exploration of new ideas. Brad loves to read and takes a digital sabbath every Saturday.
  • Approach new ideas with a Buddhist philosophy --> Let go of assumptions. Approach each topic with a beginner's mind.
• A founder who is an explorer -- "Don't get stuck as an investor by constantly asking questions. You need to want to deeply understand someone. It goes both ways. Literal answers aren't enough."
• The role of the founder is “to collect people.” → Mentor side, peer side, employee side, customer side.
  • Engage with people. Create a 'bi-directional' connection. This has shifted over time for Brad. Think #GiveFirst
• Life partner - Amy... They are equals. It's important to acknowledge that. They almost split up after 10 years because Brad's words were not matching his actions.
  • "YOUR WORDS MUST MATCH YOUR ACTIONS.'
  • Prioritize what's important and then follow through. If it's important to you to spend time with your spouse, then do it.
  • Brad and Amy had to learn how to fight...
  • When their 13 year old dog died, it was devastating. Amy and Brad deal with tragedy differently. It's important to understand that it's OK for your spouse to deal with grief differently than you do.
• Key Parts to building community:
  • The people in charge must be leaders
  • Must have a long term commitment --> 20 years+
  • Inclusive of anyone who wants to engage
  • Have events that engage people
• Complex systems to how communities evolve --Complicated systems has more steps.
• Goal setting - They tend to be too rigid. The time component can be a problem.
  • Brad prefers raid iteration. Better to have a hypothesis. If the hypothesis fails, learn it.
  • Eric Ries - Lean Startup
    • Rapid experimentation - Rapid learning is better
  • Vast majority of goals you set are not right in the future
• Writing - "When I write, I learn." Force yourself to write it down. Put it in public. Have an open mind to feedback.
  • "People get stuck in dogma when they don't write things down. They don't know why they believe in it."
  • You can't do this quickly. People don't feel like they have time to think. That's a problem.
• The role of selling: Selling is crucial. You are selling all the time. Sales is a noble profession. Acknowledge it. Develop the skills to do it well. Everyone works in sales.

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

Text LEARNERS to 44222

Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com

Episode #377: Casper Ter Kuile - How To Turn Everyday Activities Into Soulful Practices

Notes:

• Excellence:
  • Always learning
  • Commitment - Willingness to go deep
  • Generosity
  • Patience
• Casper spent his 30th birthday with nuns. He's not very religious but realized he had a lot in common with them. They care about the same things. They're very honest.
• What he learned from his mother and father:
  • Father - Do well when you follow the rules. Be detail oriented. Honest. Trustworthy.
  • Mother - She has a more "cheeky side." She breaks the rules.
• Deep connection isn’t just about relationships with other people. It’s about feeling the fullness of being alive. It’s about being enveloped in multiple layers of belonging within, between, and around us.
  • Four Levels of connection:
    • Connecting with yourself
    • Connecting with the people around you
    • Connecting with the natural world
    • Connecting with the transcendent
• Tradition -- "We mistake tradition for convention. Tradition is the beating heart, convention is the outer expression."
  • A college football team can change their uniforms and not lose tradition. The uniforms are a form of outer expression.
    • You change symbols as you grow.
• Preaching at its best is a conversation with the congregation. Ancient texts are so valuable. The Bible is a description of how life is...
• Casper shares what it was like growing up in England and not fitting in...
  • His home life was great. His school life was awful.
• Connection:
  • Willing to change
  • Forged in flames
  • Honesty & commitment to each other
• Science is stable - we value being in tribes. There's less of a connection to places and family. There is a decline in religious communities.
• Why has there been a decrease?
  • Productivity has become so important. To be productive, relationships are sacrificed. Priorities have shifted.
    • We are missing opportunities to go deep with people
• At work: Younger people show up at a job for the meaning of the company...
• The military: Soldiers care about the people they are shoulder to shoulder with... They honor their culture.
• As a manager: Replicate water cooler moments (virtually). 30 minutes snippets on zoom. Invite people to go deeper.
  • Use question prompts - create safe spaces. It's an interesting time for relationship design.
• He's created "The Confession Group"
  • The leader needs to model vulnerability but hold the boundaries.
  • Have a place where people can go to admit they screwed up -- 10 minutes to share, 10 minutes to ask questions
• Discipline:
  • Take a tech sabbath -- Each Friday, Casper hides his phone and computer. It's rest time. Sabbath - "The apex of life."
• What we practice is what we become
  • "We all worship something. We just don't know what we're worshiping."
    • The paradigm of how we see ourselves in the world.