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Twitter/IG: @RyanHawk12

Notes:

• Sustaining Excellence =
  • The pursuit of WOW... "It's not just meeting spec."
  • Leading is voluntary
  • "Playing covers of yourself is not leadership."
• Leadership vs. Management?
  • Management is about power and a title
  • Leadership is about stepping up. NASCAR... Starbucks closed for a day to train everyone.
• Why does Seth teach people how to juggle?
  • "It's about the throw, not the catch."
• If you want to change your story, change your actions first. We become what we do.
• Lost in all the noise around us is the proven truth that creativity is the result of desire. A Desire to solve an old problem, a desire to serve someone else. It’s not a bolt of lightning from somewhere else...
• The difference between talent and skill: Talent is something we’re born with: it’s in our DNA, a magical alignment of gifts. Skill is earned. It’s learned and practiced and hard-won. It’s insulting to call a professional talented. She’s skill, first and foremost. In the words of Steve Martin, “I had no talent. None.”
• Sculptor Elizabeth King said it beautifully, “process saves us from the poverty of our intentions.”
• Surprising truths that have been hidden by our desire for those perfect outcomes:
  • Hubris is the opposite of trust
  • Professionals produce with intent
  • Creativity is an act of leadership
  • We become creative when we ship the work
  • Passion is a choice
• Practical Empathy -- “We have to be able to say, ‘it’s not for you’ and mean it. The work exists to serve someone, to change someone, to make something better.
• We live in an outcome focused culture. The plumber doesn’t get credit for effort, he gets credit if the faucet stops leaking. Lost in this obsession with outcome is the truth that outcomes are the results of process. Focusing solely on outcomes forces us to make choices that are banal, short term or selfish. It takes our focus away from the journey and encourages us to give up too early.
• The story of Drew Dernavich — he shared a picture of his “no” pile and of his “yes” pile. He’s a cartoonist. “Drew’s not a genius, he just has more paper than we do.”
• Embrace your own temporary discomfort: Art doesn’t seek to create comfort. It creates change. And change requires tension. The same is true for learning. True learning (as opposed to education) is a voluntary experience that requires tension and discomfort (the persistent feeling of incompetence as we get better at a skill).
• Generosity is the most direct way to find the practice. It subverts resistance by focusing the work on someone else. Generosity means that we don’t have to seek reassurance for the self, but can instead concentrate on serving others.
• Selling is Difficult - Amateurs often feel like they’re taking something from the prospect - their time, their attention, ultimately their money. But what if you recast your profession as a chance to actually solve someone’s problem? “Selling is simply a dance with possibility and empathy. It requires you to see the audience you’ve chosen to serve, then to bring them what they need.”
  • Sales is about intentionally creating tension: the tension of “maybe,” the tension of “this might not work,” the tension of “what will I tell my boss…” That’s precisely the tension that we dance with as creators.
• The story of General Magic - Megan Smith, Andy Hertzfeld, Marc Porat inventing virtually every element of the modern smartphone. And their first model sold 3,000 units. There were 10 years ahead of their time. The business failed, but the project didn’t.
• Seth’s initial denial to be on my show… “Keep going and write back to me after you’ve recorded 75 episodes and have a big show.” Episode #75 came out November 26, 2015, I emailed you that day and said, “I’m at #75, are you ready to go?” And he was a man of your word. He was episode #86.
• His speaking style is built through visuals. He finds the visuals first and then creates the story and application second.
• Why does Seth fly fish without a hook? "To disconnect with the outcome."
• The story of Thornton May -- He had no sales quota. He went city to city and invited everyone from a specific industry to a meal. Competitors would join and Thornton would be the person to bring everyone together. He became the person they called.

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Twitter/IG: @RyanHawk12

Notes:

Episode #389: Ed Latimore

• The four life lessons:
  • “Never underestimate the power of being likeable and controlling your emotions.”
    • "Nothing is neutral. People are trying to help you or move ahead of you. In basic training, he was a terrible shot. He failed the shooting test three times (which was the limit), and yet got a fourth chance because he was likable. And then passed. "They saw me working hard, so they helped me."
    • How to be more likable? -- "Don't curry favor. Be you... Have high standards. Treat everyone with respect. Have impeccable manners. Be comfortable with the fact that you're not for everyone."
  • “No one cares what happened to you or what you’ve been through. No one is coming to save you.”
    • "Society is not going to take pity on you if your problems create problems for others." You need to work to through your own issues and ow your actions. Don't take your trauma out on others."
    • How has Ed built the perspective to not be a victim? "It's about delivering value to others. And not subtracting it. That's destructive. Forgiveness is a powerful idea. Holding a grudge is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die."
  • “The most powerful belief you can have is that given enough time, you can learn anything. Rome wasn’t built in a day, but Hiroshima was wiped out in seconds.”
    • Keep plotting along... Ed did this as a boxer and math and with every aspect of his life. Keep going. "Fall in love with the process."
      • "Make a movement with intention and in pursuit."
  • “A limitation is only as powerful as the energy you give to it. Your dreams also follow this same law.”
    • "You'll only be as successful as your worst habit."
    • "You must recognize the problem and/or the limitation."
• High achievers tend to be a paradox. They have self-confidence combined with insecurity. It creates a fusion reaction. It drives them to continually prove themselves.
• How is money made? "Give people something they want."
• Ed desires to be the most interesting version of himself
• Compartmentalization:
  • You can't approach others with a sense that you're better than them
  • You must be adaptable to a variety of circumstances
• Understand the dichotomy of being confident and humble at the same time

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The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

Episode #388: Patrick Lencioni - The 6 Types of Working Genius

Notes:

• What is a "Working Genius?” – There are six different types, and we all have two of them that are natural to us.  We are good at doing them, and we get energy and joy and satisfaction from them.
• What about the other four areas? – Two of them are areas that we really struggle with.  They exhaust us and drain us of our energy and passion, and in many cases, we’re not very good at them.  We call these our areas of Working Frustration. We should doing those things as much as we possibly can, and we certainly shouldn’t do work that calls for us to do them frequently. That is a recipe for frustration, failure, depression. And then there are two other areas that are in between our geniuses and our frustrations, we call these Working Competencies, areas that we can do pretty well, maybe even really well, but that don’t necessarily give us energy or joy. It’s fine to have these things be part of your job, and even the primary part of your job sometimes, but it’s not as good as living and working in your areas of genius.
• What is different about The Six Types of Working Genius and other personal assessments out there? -- This one is quicker to understand, easier to apply, and focused on the work of getting things done.
• What are the six types of working genius?
  • Wonder - People with this genius can’t help but question whether things could be better in the world around them. They are troubled whenever they see unmet potential, and they are constantly curious and on the lookout for the need to change something.
  • Invention - This type of genius is all about creativity. People who have it love to generate new ideas and solutions to problems and are even comfortable coming up with something out of nothing.
  • Discernment - People with this type of genius have a natural ability when it comes to evaluating or assessing a given idea or situation and providing guidance. They have good instincts, gut feel and judgment about the subtleties of making decisions that integrate logic, common sense and human needs.
  • Galvanizing - This type of genius is about bringing energy and movement to an idea or decision. People who have it like to initiate activity by rallying people to act and inspiring them to get involved.
  • Enablement - People with this type of genius are quick to respond to the needs of others by offering their cooperation and assistance with a project, program or effort. They naturally provide the human assistance that is required in any endeavor, and not on their own terms.
  • Tenacity - This type is about ensuring that a given project, program or effort is taken to completion and achieves the desired result. People who have this genius push for required standards of excellence and live to see the impact of their work.
• What are Pat's areas of working genius? "I am naturally good at and drawn to what we call Invention and Discernment, I like to come up with new, original ideas, even when it’s not what’s called for.  And I love to use my intuition to evaluate and assess ideas and plans to see what would be best.  My areas of frustration are Tenacity and Enablement, meaning I struggle to push projects through to completion after the initial excitement wears off, and I have a hard time providing assistance to others on their terms. That doesn’t mean I can’t do those things, because all of us have to do things we don’t like or aren’t good at sometimes. But if I’m in a situation where people are relying on me as their primary source of enablement and tenacity, that’s not good for me or for them in the long run."
• What are my areas of working genius? Discernment and Tenacity. The assessment says: "You are good at and enjoy using your intuition and instincts to evaluate and assess ideas or plans, and pushing projects and tasks through to completion to ensure that the desired results are achieved."
  • Your likely areas of Working Competency are: Invention and Galvanizing. "You are capable of and don’t mind creating original and novel ideas and solutions, and rallying people and inspiring them to take action around a project, task or idea."

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Episode #387: Arthur Blank - Owner of The Atlanta Falcons

Notes:

• His Dad died when he was 44 years young, leaving his business to Arthur's mother. Arthur's mom took over and built a successful company. He learned to be principled and values driven from his mom. His mom always told him, "Principle matters."
• Arthur got fired from his job at Handy Dan in 1978. He didn't take it personally and founded The Home Depot with Bernie Marcus.
• At the original Home Depot headquarters, he and Bernie Marcus shared a bathroom between their offices. In the hallway outside the bathroom, they hang up press clippings. Not the accolades, or the awards won, but the negative stories and criticism. Why? You cannot have complacency or believe you are beyond reproach. Must always keep striving to get better.
• How did they duplicate the original Home Depot culture when they expanded beyond their first four stores?
  • "You must always promote people based on them living the values of the company. Ahead of everything else."
    • "The culture is critical."
    • Ask, "Can they lead using our values?" --> Read the book, The War For Talent
• How did they maintained the culture as they acquired nine additional stores? Originally, it was an issue. "It was like changing the tires on a car as it was driving 30 miles per hour."
  • "We had to self impose slowing down the growth."
  • Must train the team on the culture
• "We didn't have money for training, but we did it anyway." To build a long term, sustainable business, you must focus on training.
• "You have to have a caring mentality. It takes time. I'm only interested in relationships. It's all about building long term relationships."
• Arthur tells the story of when he came to an agreement to buy the Falcons from Taylor Smith -- He booked a nice hotel suite, had dinner/wine, etc… He wrote on a napkin, “For Atlanta and the Falcons, $545 million. To the heritage and the tradition, in the past and the future.” ---> Taylor asked what you were doing and Arthur said “This is a bond between the two of us.” And further, “Important deals don’t get done on paper napkins, it had to be a cloth one.” → That napkin is displayed at the training facility of the Falcons and the team is now worth 5 times what he paid. "It was a win-win negotiation."
• In the lobby of your Atlanta offices, stands a custom bronze statue of a Sioux warrior in full battle regalia. He cannot move from his position on the battlefield -- he will stand his ground until victory or death. His chin proudly lifted and eyes scanning the horizon, he raises his bow, an arrow poised on the string. It’s entitled, Point of No Return. It depicts a time-honored tradition of Sioux Leadership.
  • "You have to lead from the front."
• Arthur names all of your conference rooms after personal heroes (Kurt Hahn is one of them, he is the founder of Outward Bound) -- “To strive, to serve, and not to yield.”
• When he was the new owner of the Falcons, he walked to the back of the plane where the players were sitting and said, “Don’t worry, I’m not going to try to coach you, but I need to know, what can I do for you? What do you need?” (“The Best Think Tank Any Company Could Ask For) -- “That one hour flight was worth a dozen strategy meetings with the team’s executives or coaching staff.” (You need to have a front line obsession, Chris Zook -- Get to the people who really know. The ones closest to the action)
• Innovate Continuously -- Need non stop reinvention. Leaders need to ensure that the road is cleared of unnecessary speed bumps and overly stringent traffic rules. Too much bureaucracy will kill innovation before it has even begun. Top down management structure will always constrain people’s entrepreneurial spirit. --- The “Invisible Fence” style of management.
• “Hire people who are overqualified.” -- Arthur had lunch with Charles Lazarus one day, the founder of Toys R Us, and he said, “the hardest moments are when you have to look at a person who helped you get to $1 Billion and realize that person can’t help you get to $10 Billion.”
• “Treat every team member as a free agent” -- Never take people for granted. "They should be committed because of the culture, not the contract."

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Notes:

The Learning Leader Show

• "Life is on the wire. The rest is just waiting." -- Karl Wallenda (Nik's grandfather)
•  “Fear of Feathers” -- One of the greatest fears of our current age: uncertainty.
• On March 4, 2020, Nik completed his greatest accomplishment to date, walking over the lava lake of the active Masaya Volcano. 
• On June 4, 2011, Nik Wallenda successfully completed the high wire walk in San Juan that took his grandfather’s life -- a 135-foot-long high-wire crossing between the two towers of the ten-story Condado Plaza Hotel.
• John Maxwell saw Nik speak at an event and encouraged him to write a book.
• Nik shares how his worst fear came true when five family members fell while doing a stunt.
  • He thought, should I get back up on the wire?
  • He learned from his family that they always fulfill their contracts.
    • "I get goosebumps telling this story... My dad said, 'I'll always be there for you.'"
• "It's my job as the leader to figure out who's shaky and be there for them."
• Work to counter negativity with positivity and preparation.
• Nik's mother walked the wire when she was six months pregnant with him.
  • "This is the way I came into the world. This is the way I want to go out."
• "One day you eat the chicken. The next day, you eat the feathers."
• "What you would call fear, I would call respect."
• "The worst thing you can do for a wild animal is show it fear. Show respect instead."
• "I never wear a harness unless my network partner makes me."
• The preparation process for a big event is meticulous and intense.
  • He wears an oxygen deprivation mask to feel what it's like to not have a lot of oxygen.
    • "It's all about building mental confidence."
    • Make training much harder than the event
    • "You cannot ever train enough."
    • "If you think you should practice 5 times, do it 50 times."
• Excellence =
  • A passion about being good at what you do
  • Too many people are miserable at what they do. It's fear.
    • "Even if you hate your job, do it with excellence."
  • "You have to show up at work every single day."
  • "Be positive, force yourself to smile."
• What is Nik thinking while walking over an active volcano?
  • "I'm free, I'm excited, I have every emotion you can imagine."
• Alex Honold and David Blaine have become great friends and are very helpful.

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Notes:

• Community — In Rome, Panaetius met a fellow student of Diogenes named Gaius Laelius, and later in a naval contingent, met and served with Scipio Aemilianus, one of Rome’s great Generals. These three men formed a kind of philosophical club — known to historians today as the Scipionic Club (like Ben Franklin’s Junto’s) — they would meet you discuss and debate the stoic philosophy they all pursued.
  • Plutarch wrote in Moralia: Precepts of Stagecraft “it is a fine thing also, when we gain advantage from the friendship of great men, to turn welfare of our community, as Polybius and Panaetius, thru Scipio’s goodwill towards them, conferred great benefits upon their native states”
  • Ryan participates in off site adventures with other top authors in the world like James Clear and Mark Manson. They go there to share ideas and help one another.
    • He experienced another example of this as he was asked to speak to a group of the top athletic directors in collegiate sports. All of them are very competitive with each other, yet they still meet regularly to share ideas and help one another.
• Zeno had little patience for idlers or big egos on his porch -- "Stoa is the Greek word for porch."
  • Zeno said “better to trip with the feet than with the tongue”
• He was the first to express the four virtues of stoicism
  • Courage
  • Temperance/Moderation
  • Justice
  • Wisdom
• Consistency -- “His work was not defined by some single epiphany or discovery but instead by hard work. He inched his way there, through years of study and training as we all must.”
• Zeno said “well being is realized by small steps, but is truly no small thing.”
• Cleanthes — he not only continued his labors but actively turned down large financial gifts to help him retire to his studies — to him labor and philosophy were not rivals. They were pursuits that furthered and enabled each other.
  • The ancients used to describe his industriousness: philoponia - a love of work.
• Chrysippus, the third Leader is the stoic school. He was introduced to running and it changed his life. The same is true for Ryan...
  • "A marathon doesn't care that you're tired at mile 20. You have to get to 26.2 to be done. Your mind wants to quit much earlier than your body has to."
  • "When you think you're done, you're at 40%." - David Goggins
• The stoic idea of Oikeiosis - that we share something and our interests are naturally connected to those of our fellow humans — is as pressing in the ancient world as it is today.
• “Being poor is not having too little, it is wanting more.” Seneca
• Stay a Student -- The Maxim For Every Successful Person; ‘Always Stay A Student’ -- “Every man I meet is my master in some point, and in that I learn of him.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson. Genghis Khan one of the greatest military minds who ever lived, he was a perpetual student.
• How to find stillness?
  • Stop watching the news
  • Journal - Anne Frank wrote when she struggled: “Paper,” she said, “has more patience than people.”
  • Go for a walk or run
  • Seek solitude -- Bill Gates “think weeks”
• How to balance temperance and justice?
  • Start by being better ourselves
  • As a citizen, where do you draw the line? Particularly when it's not in your interest to do so...
  • What are you willing to sacrifice to insist on your standard?
•  
• Epictetus’ instructions:
  • Separate things into what you control and what you don’t
  • Choose not to be complicit in getting offended
  • Prep for adversity in advance
  • Realize every situation has 2 handles—grab the right one
  • Memento Mori—let death put everything in perspective
• “Writer’s block is a phony, made up BS excuse for not doing your work.” Jerry Seinfeld
• Life advice -- "Don't send me an email asking if you can ask me a question. Just ask the question." -- Ryan Holiday
• Be worthy of a great mentor... Do work that impresses them. Gets their attention.
• "Writing forces you to clarify your thinking..."

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The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

#384: Les Brown - You've Got To Be Hungry

Notes:

• "If you want to be successful in life, do these three things..."
  • Change your mindset - “You don’t get in life what you want, you get in life what you are.”
  • Practice OQP - “Only Quality People”
  • Develop your communication skills - “Once you open your mouth, you tell the world who you are.
• Sidney Poitier wrote a book called The Measure of a Man and she said, “When you go for a walk with someone, something happens without being spoken. He said, “either you adjust to their pace or they adjust to your pace.” Think “Whose pace have you adjusted to?
• Les needed to disrupt the vision he had of himself in order to change...
  • Distract
  • Dispute
  • Inspire
    • Expand the vision of what's possible for life
• Mike Williams -- "The Road To Your Best Stuff"
  • Keys to growth: Hire a coach
• Use your story to create an experience for your audience
  • "Be transformed by the renewing of their minds."
  • "You can't fit a big dream into a small mind."
• "We are here to live a life that will out live us."
• "The two most important days of your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why." - Mark Twain
• Les has battled cancer for 27 years...
• The beginning: When Les's mom worked for a white family, they would make her clap her hands regularly when she was alone in a different room to ensure she wasn't stealing anything. When Les learned why his mom always had to clap her hands together, he made it his mission to ensure that he would buy her a house one day... And eventually that's exactly what he did.
• Negative thoughts are like weeds. They'll keep coming back. You have to keep at it and have a positive mind.
• Every morning, Les takes the following action:
  • Has a verbal (positive) affirmation
  • Writes seven things he wants to do that day
  • Reads 20-30 pages
• "There is power in pursuit... Set goals beyond your comfort zone."
• Have a perpetual plan of action
  • "You're never too old to learn"
  • "You're never too young to teach"
• "Don't ever stop raising the bar on yourself."
• There are three kinds of people: Millionaires, Billionaires, and Witnesses
  • "You gotta be hungry."
• Thoreau - "Go where there's no path and leave a trail."
• What does Les think immediately before going on stage with 80,000 people in the crowd?
  • "More of THE, less of ME."
• "When you wax a floor, you need to strip it first. The same is true with coaching."
• "Cancer Conquerors" -- "I don't have time to die, I've got too much work to do."
• Excellence: Durable, sustainable advantage. "I will not fail." All accomplishments happen in the mind first... And then in practice.

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The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

#383: Guy Raz - How I Built This

• Excellence =
  • Ambition
  • Desire to produce for the sake of personal fulfillment -- "It's oxygen"
  • Bill Gates is constantly challenging himself... Having a growth mindset. "To survive means to grow."
• How has Guy become one of the greatest interviewers in the world?
  • "I've been shooting free throws for 25 years. I've gotten a lot of reps." To be great, you have to be bad at the beginning... And keep going.
• How to connect with others? "I interpret the non-verbal feedback."
• Purposeful Practice:
  • It's a team effort -- "I've worked with my team for twenty years. There is a strong bond and connection. They are very honest with their feedback. Constructive criticism is essential. We need outsiders to assess us."
• Guy thanks his mom and dad in the acknowledgement section of his book:
  • They came to America in the 1970's. "Being courageous requires resilience."
  • Guy has covered four wars, but he still doesn't feel he's as courageous as his parents.
  • "Without taking a risk there is no reward."
  • When Guy is afraid to take a risk, he thinks of his parents.
• How his fellowship year at Harvard impacted him: They teach through case studies and stories. It helped him understand business and storytelling.
• Guy is inspired by Joseph Campbell's hero's journey...
• His 'Must-Have' qualities to get hired to work on his team:
  • Kindness - "We filter for kindness"
  • They have to "want to improve"
• How Guy prepares to interview someone for one of his shows:
  • Contact them well ahead of the interview date
  • Do a deep dive on them and people around them (read, watch videos, listen to podcasts)
  • Do a background check
  • "All of us are imperfect... That's what make someone relatable. We all have flaws. You need to hear the failures."
    • "The interviewee must be generous with their emotions.
  • "The idea that I can learn from someone excites me."
  • "I love transmitting the story."
• The idea for How I Built This came to him in 2008 when he took a class at Harvard Business School during a sabbatical year as a Nieman journalism fellow after nearly eight years as a foreign correspondent.
• Guy demands that those who sit for an interview with him are completely open. “I ask them, ‘Are you willing to come to this interview and surrender?’”
• Guy stared as an NPR intern and didn't get the initial jobs he wanted...
• I asked... "How much of your success can be attributed to luck and how much skill/hard work?"
• Life advice:
  • Get a job in sales -- All jobs have a selling component. Learn this crucial skill.
  • Be methodical about your experiences.
  • Keep your eyes open for problems all around you... Look for problems to solve. All businesses are built on solving a problem.

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The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

#382: Morgan Housel - Timeless Lessons On Wealth, Greed, & Happiness

Notes:

• "Writing helps crystallize vague thoughts in your mind."
  • It helps clarify your thoughts.
  • Writing is an art.
  • When you publish your own work, you own the success or failure.
• Public speaking is a great tool to learn how to communicate succinctly. It's a skill worth building.
• The Psychology of Money is a study in understanding why people do what they do...
  • "Use money to control your time. That's the highest dividend money can do for you."
• Why work with Collaboration Fund:
  • You need more than just a check: values, philosophies, get your thoughts out into the world.
• Stories are more powerful than statistics. And most statistics are incomplete props to justify a story. Stories are easier to remember, easier to relate to, and emotionally persuasive.
• "Stop telling kids they can be whatever they want to be. You can be whatever you're good at, as long as they're hiring. And even then it helps to know someone." -- Chris Rock
• Excellence =
  • Patience - Stick with it. Continue to go during down periods. That's how compounding works.
• Success Laws -- "Strong beliefs, weakly held."
• Storytelling: "The prize goes to the person who can explain something well... Stories move the needle. You convince someone something is true through stories."
  • How to become a better storyteller? READ a lot. And practice.
• "If you’re going to try to predict the future — whether it’s where the market is heading, or what the economy is going to do, or whether you’ll be promoted — think in terms of probabilities, not certainties. Death and taxes, as they say, are the only exceptions to this rule."
• Some quotes (thanks to RightAttitudes.com) "Two things make an economy grow: population growth and productivity growth. Everything else is a function of one of those two drivers."
• "Changing your mind is one of the most difficult things we do. It is far easier to fool yourself into believing a falsehood than admit a mistake."
• "Study successful investors, and you’ll notice a common denominator: they are masters of psychology. They can’t control the market, but they have complete control over the gray matter between their ears."
• "There’s a strong correlation between knowledge and humility. People who spend 10 minutes on Google studying monetary policy think they have it all figured out, while people with PhD's and decades of experience throw up their hands in frustration. The more you study economics, the more you realize how little we know about it."
• "When you think you have a great idea, go out of your way to talk with someone who disagrees with it. At worst, you continue to disagree with them. More often, you’ll gain valuable perspective. Fight confirmation bias like the plague."
• "Short-term thinking is at the root of most of our problems, whether it’s in business, politics, investing, or work."

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

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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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#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.

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#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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#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.

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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.

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Episode #376: David Perell - Why You Should Write

Notes:

• The importance of writing -- Why everyone should write… “Having a website with articles you've published is like having a personal agent who finds career opportunities for you 24/7."
• “Writing crystallizes ideas in ways thinking on its own will never accomplish.” — Morgan Housel
• "The person who writes sets the strategy. If you want to lead, write."
• "Writing is a 'proof of work' mechanism"
  • It shows the world that you've thought deeply about a topic
• Networking - The old way vs the new way
  • Old -- Go to conferences, happy hours, networking events
  • New -- Publish your work online. You attract the type of people you want...
• Bill James analytical approach. His book only sold 550 copies, but one of them was to Billy Beane (General Manager of the Oakland A's). And the "Moneyball" revolution was created...
• The Venn Diagram of Specificity
  • Learn how to create this for your business
• How to built a career? Do things that are unique, in demand, but the world doesn't have yet
• Your first draft is what is top of mind -- "Rewriting is rethinking." It's the process to make our ideas better. Writing and re-writing will make you a more thoughtful person and will create clarity.
• Writing is an element of teaching.
  • Expertise is like a ladder -- Be like an investigative reporter about a topic that fascinates you
• The benefits of learning in public: "It is the best way to build a network." It's a forcing function. It forces your brain to always be on.
• "Want a great spouse? Deserve one." - Charlie Munger
• Publishing your work online (podcast, essays, book) is the greatest networking tool in the world. I’ve met amazing people because they’ve benefitted from my work (head coach Atlanta Falcons, Brooklyn Nets, Ohio State basketball coach, SVP of Fortune 50 companies).
• Community and connection —- community becomes the byproduct when you’re going through something challenging together (ie: Navy SEALs).
  • “The strength of a community is hard to quantify, which makes it hard to advertise. But like good music, you measure it by how it moves your spirits and how you feel in its presence.”
• Competition is for Losers: Avoid competition. Stop copying what everybody else is doing. If you work at a for-profit company, work on problems that would not otherwise be solved. If you’re at a non-profit, fix unpopular problems. Life is easier when you don’t compete. (Hint: don’t start another bottled water company).
• Personal Monopoly: Corporations reward conformity, but the Internet rewards people who are unique. If you work in a creative field, strive to be the only person who does what you do. Find your own style, then run with it. Create intellectual real estate for yourself. (Jerry Garcia -- Be the only person who does what you do)
• The Map Is Not the Territory: Reality will never match the elegance of theory. All models have inconsistencies, but some are still useful. Some maps are useful because they’re inaccurate. If you want to find an edge, look for what the map leaves out.
• There are two kinds of companies:
  • 1) Product-First Audiences: Build a product, then an audience. Attract customers with paid advertisements.
  • 2) Audience-First Products: Build an audience, then a product. Attract customers with differentiated content.
• Take Action -- "Taking action will teach you more about yourself in a month than years of contemplation ever will."
• Making something easier expands the market... But making it harder gets you the clients you really want.
• Twitter is the town-square of the internet. It can be the best learning tool in the world if you use it right:
  • Mute politics
  • Unfollow people who make you angry
  • Understand your opponent's opinion better than they do
  • Production: Make tweets useful. It forces you to focus on ideas that are timeless. It forces you to have constant epiphanies.
  • Have "spiky" ideas -- They pierce society.
  • Have a point of view
• Sustained excellence =
  • Obsession - Doing great work is hard. You need to love it. "I can't live without creating."
  • Vision - Set a goal that scares you and march toward it. Have ambition
  • A keen understanding of what one is good at - Self-awareness.

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Episode #375: Miranda Hawk - How To Cultivate A Loving Relationship. Miranda Hawk is an award winning sales professional, builder of teams, and sits on the board for multiple non-profit organization. Miranda is my wife, and together we are striving to raise our daughters to be kind, strong, hard-working, resilient leaders. Miranda is the former owner of the Dayton Mom Collective, a business that provides a positive voice for motherhood by connecting moms to resources and parenting perspectives unique to their communities. She has worked in the profession of selling since she was 14 and understands the determination and work ethic it takes to sustain excellence. **We recorded this conversation on our Anniversary.**

Notes:

• The symbolism of a wedding anniversary - The amount of time is not impressive. It's what you do during that time. The type of people you become. Not just that you've made it a certain number of years, but making those years count. The relationship has grown. The love for one another has grown. You’ve accomplished things together and on your own. And both people in the relationship and the world around are better because of the relationship.
• What was the initial attraction and how that has grown and/or changed over time? (Confidence (shoulders back), beauty, work ethic, your demonstration of excellence at your craft, toughness) --> the blending of a family. Challenges and the joy of it....
  • What is beauty? Is beauty a pretty face, a nice smile, flowing hair, nice skin? Not to me, it's not. To me beauty is living life to higher standards, stronger morals and ethics and believing in them, whether people tell you you're right or wrong. Beauty is not wasting a day. Beauty is noticing life's little intricacies and taking time out of your busy day to really enjoy those little intricacies. Beauty is being real, being genuine, being pure with no facade—what you see is what you get. Beauty is expanding your mind, always seeking knowledge, not being content, always going after something and challenging yourself." -- Jake Plummer (describing Pat Tillman)
• The pursuit - the importance of being in pursuit of one another -- Love is a verb. It's a constant action. It's a behavior towards one another.
  • Why "happy wife, happy life" is stupid -- In what other world is the focus on only making one person in the relationship happy? You wouldn't do that in a friendship. You wouldn't do that at work. Why would you do that in your marriage?
• Gratitude -- Saying the words. The power behind words. Being intentional about saying thank you. The importance of specificity.
• Learning Leader Circle question (Chris G) I'm always fascinated by how things start. As you have started the podcast, what did that look like for your family in starting the venture? Also the dynamic that you have as far as how much you are involved with each other’s careers? i.e. involved and talk about it daily, or primarily keep your conversations centered on the family and personal life.
• The importance of leading yourself first... It gives you the energy and drive to love others.
• Conflict resolution - It's critical to have open dialog about the mistakes made and how we rectify them... We strive to have a relationship where we can discuss disagreements, come to a resolution, and move forward.
• Health and wellness -- Why taking care of ourselves is so important. You're passionate about this and have made our family better because of it. "If you take care of your body, it will take care of you." 
  • "I'm striving to be the best version of myself."
• I'm attracted to discipline... And the ability to do what's hard
• Our WHO -- Becoming more intentional about dinner dates/friends/how we spend our time
• Advice for younger women -
  • Be proactive - Your job responsibilities are the minimum, do more than that
  • Develop a strong work ethic
  • Be positive -- Bring positive energy
• Learning Leader Circle question from Nick -- What are your key family anchors” for the week or month?  Example:  Sunday dinners, etc.- We invested in a nice area to gather outside on our back porch. Our family dinners together are what we love most... The exercise we do: Each person says something they love about every other person at the table. Get specific!
  
• “Your mate will either inspire you to grow into your greatness or they will confine you to complacency. They’ll either be your other half, or they’ll make you half of yourself.” - Nuri Muhammad
• “Business like life is all about how you make people feel. It’s that simple and it’s that hard.  —— Consciously think about how I make you feel.” - Danny Meyer
• “Ultimately the bond of all companionship, whether in marriage or in friendship, is conversation.” - Oscar Wilde
• Habits/Routines -- Differences and similarities
• The importance of long walks together...

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Episode #374: Alexandra Carter - How To Ask For More. Alexandra Carter is a Clinical Professor of Law and Director of the Mediation Clinic at Columbia Law School. She has spent the last eleven years helping thousands of people negotiate better, build relationships and reach their goals. In 2019, Alex was awarded the Columbia University Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching, Columbia University’s highest teaching honor. She is a world-renowned negotiation trainer for groups and individuals from all over the world

Notes:

• Excellent leaders have a beginner's mindset
• What does a mediator do?
  • They are a third person that helps people negotiate. The good ones don't act like the smartest person in the room. They are learners and great listeners.
• What is negotiation?
  • It is NOT a transaction over money.
  • Negotiation is any conversation where you are steering a relationship Every conversation is like being in a kayak. Approach every conversation differently... With intention.
• “We make our world significant by the courage of our questions and by the depth of our answers.” - Carl Sagan
• The ultimate open ended question -- “Tell Me…” Questions - an open question is like fishing with a net. A closed question is fishing with a pole. A great open question doesn’t have a question mark.  “Tell me about your trip to India!”
• Change your WHY questions to WHAT questions...Rather than ask “Why haven’t I been able to… Turn that around to “What has made this challenging for me?” Move from a place of blame to curiosity.
• How to handle a PDP (performance development plan) meeting? How to ask for a raise?
  • Recruit your manager to be on your side. Share your goals with them, bring them along with you... Connect with your manager. Talk about the future and how you can work together. Ask open ended questions to learn more about the needs of the business. Tie your money request to your production.
  • Use "I + We" statements - Share how your work benefits the company.
• Your asks should be:
  • Optimistic
  • Specific
  • Justifiable
• Research suggests that women hold themselves to perfectionist standards
• As a boss: Invest in top performers, mentor people, empower them, unleash them
• What do you need? 2 buckets
  • Tangibles - touch, see, count
  • Intangibles - Values, freedom, acknowledgement
• Questions to ask yourself:
  • What would progress look like?
  • What do I feel? Grapple with your feelings so that they don't control you
  • How have I handled this successfully in the past? Ask yourself about prior success. Write down your answer. It's a "power prime."
• Questions to ask:
  • The first 5 questions are for your side- The Mirror: What's the problem I want to solve? What do I need?, What do I feel?, How have I handled this successfully in the past?, What's the first step?
  • Then, the second 5 questions are for your opposite number: The Window: Tell me?, What do you need?, What are your concerns?, How have you handled this successfully in the past? What's the first step?
• The five, best open-ended questions to ask in each part seek to identify and define the following: (1) the problem/goal; (2) needs; (3) feelings/concerns; (4) previous success; and (5) the first step. And that the answers to these important questions can help steer conversations, relationships, and negotiations that will increase the likelihood of a desired negotiation destination.
• “The Mirror,” in that knowing oneself by spending the time it takes to honestly ponder, reflect, and journal one’s personal thoughts, feelings, expectations, and dreams to answer those five questions, in an attempt to not only improve one’s skills in formal negotiations, but to also navigate the relationships in life’s journey.

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#373: Bill Perkins is a hedge fund manager, film producer, and high stakes poker player. He is the author of Die with Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life. 

Notes:

• Your life is the sum of your experiences… “The business of life is the acquisition of memories. In the end, that’s all there is.” - The butler from Downtown Abbey...
• Excellence:
  • Integrity with your word and yourself -- Don't lie to yourself and others. You can't be flippant with yourself.
    • Don't say it unless you mean it (to yourself and others)
• How to maximize your lifetime memorable moments with “memory dividends”
• How to get the most experiences in the optimal time with “experience bucketing”
  • In each season, experiences will forever go away. Map out the experiences you want and what you are saving for. There are some experiences that you can only do when you're young and healthy. There is a deterioration of health. You won't always be able to climb a mountain or wake board. Do those now.
• Follow your "net worth curve" - "Consume money and convert it into experiences."
• How to navigate whether to invest in or delay a meaningful adventure based on your “personal interest rate” -- "Should I take one trip today or two trips in 10 years?"
• Bill shares the life changing conversation he had with his boss, Joe Farrell, a partner at the company where he worked --  Bill was making $18,000/year and had saved $1,000. Joe questioned him... "Go spend that money! Why deprive yourself? You don't think you're going to make more money as you get older?!"
• Jason Ruffo -- Backpacked Europe when he was young and able even though he didn't have any more. He did it while he could instead of waiting to have enough money. He now has an experience dividend for life that Bill doesn't.
• What are we saving for?
  • Survival
  • Experiences we want - The memory dividend - "This is the stuff of life." It's a compounding dividend
    • "Who am I? The summation of my experiences."
    • "Money is a tool to have the experience."
• Die With Zero is about choices - What do you choose to do now? What later?
• Bill and I have the same literary agent, Jim Levine - Bil liked Jim because he told him that his proposal wasn’t good enough to share with publishers when it was first written... Bill appreciated that honest feedback and desire to make it better.
• "It’s hypocritical and stupid to leave inheritance to your kids." (Give them money when they're young and can use it for cool experiences).
• Behaviors for hiring:
  • Integrity
  • Intrinsic motivation
  • Problem solvers
• "Aiming to die with zero is the most thoughtful thing you can do."

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#372: Will Guidara

Notes:

• Sustaining excellence =
  • Everyone has the capacity for excellence
    • Hard work
    • Giving a lot of yourself to something -- A" passion for the thing you're excellent at doing."
    • The nobility of service
    • It requires getting up on a day when you're tired and not feeling it
      • "You need to be on even when you feel off"
• The "pre-shift" meeting -- "As a leader, you have a responsibility to share what inspires you."
  • "Everyone craves affirmation."
• Lessons from his Mom:
  • She became a quadriplegic when Will was nine
    • You can talk things into existence - Will's mom said she wanted to stay alive until he graduated college. And she did it by one day. Doctors said she should have died when Will was 12.
      • "What would you attempt to do if you could not fail?"
    • The power of non-verbal communication.
    • Integrity in the face of adversity - Life is not always awesome. There's always ups and downs. Perspective is key.
• Eleven Madison Park - Setting the goal to be the #1 rated restaurant in the world. In 2010, they were #50.
  • Seven years later, they were #1.
• "You need to love what you're doing to be great at it."
• There is power in having extraordinary intention
• Strategic planning --
  • Be specific and actionable
  • Have endless reinvention
  • Be willing to take risks
• "Unreasonable Hospitality"
  • You need to decide what you want to embody
• “Business like life is all about how you make people feel. It’s that simple and that hard.” - Danny Meyer
• Hiring:
  • "We hired dream weavers from art schools, designers..."
  • Experiential design separated them from the rest
• Be present
  • Listen to what is being said and what's not being said. Engage with people. Serve them. Meet them where they are.
• "Hospitality is one size meets one" - Have to meet them one at a time
• What's the secret to a happy marriage?
  • "Never stop pursuing each other"
• Ruth's Chris - The special calamari strips -- Not on the menu, but available to make an experience exceptional
• The nobility of service... The four words:
  • Hospitality
  • Excellence
  • Education - "A day you aren't learning isn't a day worth living"
  • Passion - "Our work matters. What we do matters."
• Meeting at The White House:
  • Restaurants during the pandemic
• His dad's advice -- "Adversity is a terrible thing to waste"
• "It's not what happened to you, it's how you respond."
  • "Through crisis comes community"
• The Welcome Conference
  • "Hospitality is just as much a craft as cooking."
• Will's dad is his hero
  • "Next level intense responsibility"
  • He never complained
  • "Name what you want to accomplish and do it"
• "The secret to happiness is always something to look forward to."
• Here is WHY joining a Learning Leader Circle is a good idea...
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#371: Maria Konnikova - Maria Konnikova is the author of two New York Times bestsellers, The Confidence Game, winner of the 2016 Robert P. Balles Prize in Critical Thinking, and Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes, an Anthony and Agatha Award finalist. Her new book, The Biggest Bluff, will be out from Penguin Press on June 23, 2020. She is a regularly contributing writer for The New Yorker whose writing has won numerous awards, including the 2019 Excellence in Science Journalism Award from the Society of Personality and Social Psychology. While researching The Biggest Bluff, Maria became an international poker champion and the winner of over $300,000 in tournament earnings—and inadvertently turned into a professional poker player. Maria’s writing has been featured in Best American Science and Nature Writing and has been translated into over twenty languages.

Notes:

• Sustaining excellence =
  • Genuine interest in what they do for a living
  • They follow their curiosity - "It's not about wanting to make a shit load of money."
  • Passionate
  • "They work their asses off" - They work a lot. It doesn't just happen.
• "Follow your curiosity and obsessions with great rigor." - Brian Koppelman
• Why write a book about poker when you've never played before?
  • "I wanted to write about chance and the role luck plays in our life."
  • Game theory stemmed from poker
  • Poker is about strategic decision making
  • Why poker? “Poker is a powerful tool to metabolize the luck that surrounds us, and a way to become comfortable with something that is not only all too applicable to our current situation, but extremely difficult for the human mind to process: uncertainty.”
• Erik Seidel became Maria's personal coach/mentor
  • "There's no one like him." He's stood the test of time. He's been successful at poker for decades... He's evolved with the changes of the game, made adjustments and has won.
  • He's kind and humble.
• Tips on asking for someone to mentor you:
  • Do your homework - Read everything there is to know about the person before contacting them
  • Be specific with your ask 
  • Make sure you know why this person should be your mentor
  • Figure out what's in it for them
  • Find someone who can help amplify your strengths
  • Don't write a novel in the first email or DM - Get to the point quickly
  • If you can get an in person meeting, do it
  • NEVER say: "Can I pick your brain?"
• Why playing poker is comparable to writing: Both are deceptively simple on the surface. Anyone can do either, but to do either well in the long term, a certain mastery is needed. Both are subject to the Dunning-Kruger effect, which means that the more someone knows, the more they realize how much they don’t know on a topic, while someone with little knowledge tends to be falsely confident about their understanding of a topic
• Meta-cognitive process - "I great more aware of my thinking." 
  • You must reflect before reacting. Poker helps you to practice this valuable skill.
  • Make decisions after going through a process of reflection
  • List the things you need to be attentive to
    • What are the relevant factors?
    • What should I be paying attention to?
    • Write it down
• In order to make better decisions, you must be able to identify your process
• The ultimate goal of poker and life is to make the optimal decision in that moment
• The best poker players work incredibly hard: They study hands, they talk hands over with other bros, they watch video, they dissect hands.
  • They build up their self control and their emotional regulation
• What Maria learned from playing a lot of tournament poker?
  • "It is an extreme sport. You can't take breaks. You're put in a pressure cooker for hours and must make the right decision."
  • "I had internalized gender stereotypes. I was letting myself be bullied. I'd take less active lines because I was scared. I had to overcome that and still need to work on it."
• Advice: "Work hard. Life gives you nothing. Everything is earned. Life isn't fair. You must work for it. Saying life isn't fair isn't good for you. Think: 'What can I do about it? What can I control?'"
  • Follow your curiosity
  • Read, Read, Read. Read poetry and read fiction

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#370: Steve Herz: Don't Take Yes For An Answer

Notes:

• Sustaining excellence =
  • Curiosity - Genuine interest
  • A desire to learn and grow
• Finding uncommon commonalities:
  • His parents went to Ohio University (which is where I graduated)
  • Do your homework prior to meeting someone (as Steve did on me)
• Be actionable and intentional
  • Meet someone on their turf. ACKNOWLEDGE them.
• Turner Smith:
  • "Don't Take Yes For An Answer" -- Beware of the counter-fit yes. They are not helpful.
  • "Don't live in an echo chamber of Yes."
• Seek feedback - Turner Smith not only didn't give Steve an offer... He gave him specific feedback as to why. Changed his life.
  • Tough love with kindness
  • Read the book: Seabiscuit. Knowing when to use carrots vs. sticks.
• Taking his shot with Alfred Geller - "I met him in a elevator and only had a few seconds. I asked to work with him... He said, 'meet me in my office at 8:00am tomorrow.'"
  • "I downloaded his brain."
• "You need to perfect your A. W. E."
  • Authority
  • Warmth
  • Energy
• John Kasich didn't use his voice properly. "Change your voice, change your life."
• Mid-level manager advice:
  • "Act like you've been there before (like Barry Sanders)." Internalize it.
  • "When you're walking your dog, who is walking who?"
• Providing feedback to his clients:
  • "Joe Tessitore couldn't figure out how to modulate his voice."
• Don't get into the "vortex of mediocrity:"
  • The most painful thing in the world is unfulfilled potential.
  • Find the people who are able to give you critical feedback and listen.
• When he started his company, he called it IF after Rudyard Kipling’s poem by the same name which says, “If you can dream-- and not make dreams your master… yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it.”
• We are ALL in sales: Steven Shapiro, member of the board of overseers of University of Pennsylvania Law School, “We have a saying at the firm: You can buy a pound of brains at the butcher. I walk through the halls of the university, and there are many brilliant future lawyers. But they can’t look you in the eye in the hallway. In 15 years, this person may be writing law on the tax code, but they’re probably not going to have a lot of clients.” You know where lawyers, or salespeople, or consultants go when they don’t bring in business? Neither do I. Because you rarely hear about them ever again."

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#369: Nancy Koehn & Adi Ignatius

Nancy Koehn is a historian at the Harvard Business School. She's the author of multiple books, her most recent: Forged in Crisis: The Power of Courageous Leadership in Turbulent Times.

Adi Ignatius is the Editor in Chief of the Harvard Business Review. Previously, he was deputy managing editor for Time, where he was responsible for many of its special editions, including the Person of the Year and Time 100 franchises. 

Notes:

• Sustaining excellence =
  • Leaders are made, not born
    • "Crisis are great greenhouses to make great leaders"
  • Resilience - It's a muscle built over time
  • A unique combination - The ability to commit, married to that, but flexibility to the means to make it happen
  • Empathy & Emotional awareness - How a leader shows up in service to the mission
    • Convey conviction and confidence
  • A real sense of how much impact a leader has. Humble and own the sense that they have great influence.
    • They use it to help people overcome their own limitations
• Adi - Understand the long term. Need the ability to shift.
  • Transparency - Direct reports should know where they stand at all times.
• Emotional discipline:
  • Don't send email when you're mad. Think about the long term impact of what you do.
  • JFK - White House discovered missiles in Cuba.
    • Read: Guns Of August - How WWI Started
      • Slow pace down
      • Imagine what Khrushchev would do - Give him room, hold off...
        • Use "calculated empathy"
• Standing up to others like Winston Churchill - He stood up to the opposition.
  • Dunkirk - Leadership when everything changes
• Ernest Shackleton - He took 27 men to Antarctica
  • How did he avoid mutiny in the midst of huge adversity?
    • He had the trust of his men. They believed he cared about them.
    • Emotional awareness - He addressed their fears - "What can I do to address their fears?"
    • Extraordinary ability to toggle seamlessly between little things like the weather and the big picture. Zoom in and zoom out.
• Pay attention to the mundane - The daily work schedule. Stick to the routine. And also have a plan to solve the problem.
• How to lead a remote team:
  • It's reassuring to have your leaders step up and speak the truth. "Here's what we're going to do..."
    • False optimism doesn't help. Honesty is critical.
    • Brutal honesty + credible hope... Share the team's capabilities, the history. "Nothing to fear but fear itself."
• Great leaders 'feed their team.'
• Leaders in crisis: Shackleton gave duties to each man. They regularly changed duties to stay fresh.
• Isolation feeds fear. It feeds the 'worst case scenario' in the minds of people.
  • Shackleton combated that by forcing them to socialize. They told stories, had skits, made up games. He empowered his team.
• It's important to have rituals that bring you back to a good place. For Nancy: 1) Deep breaths 2) Classical music 3) Walks
  • Adi: Meditates daily, 10 minutes of breath work.
    • Connect, Connect, Connect with others. Say thank you. Shift places depending on the type of work.
• President Lincoln had no plans for winning the way. "I navigated from point to point."
  • "Great careers are build on passion and the dedication to do the work."
  • Gather years in every career. You do not always need to check off boxes.
  • "Life is long. Don't burn bridges."
• The benefits of teaching:
  • "It keeps you honest. You have to think like a chess player. You must stoke the fires of curiosity."

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358: Jim McKelvey - How To Build An Unbeatable Business (One Crazy Idea At A Time)

Jim McKelvey is the co-founder of Square, was chairman of its board until 2010, and still serves on the Board of Directors. In 2011, his iconic card reader design was inducted into the Museum of Modern Art. Jim also founded Invisibly, a project to rewire the economics of online content; LaunchCode, a non-profit that trains people to work in technology; and Third Degree Glass Factory, a publicly accessible glass art studio & education center in St. Louis. In 2017, he was appointed as an Independent Director of the St. Louis Federal Reserve.

• Sustaining excellence = The people you lead will eventually kick you out... This signifies your ability to hire, train, and develop excellent leaders.
  • "I'm not a good leader. I don't run the business. I build the company and then get out of the way."
  • "I have a weird skill set... I'm comfortable doing things that have never been done before."
• What it's like working with Jack Dorsey (Jim started Square with Jack): "He has the ability to administer and incrementally improve... That's something I value in a person. Jack is incredibly competent, very quiet, and very capable. He knows the difference between good and excellent."
• Jim sees himself as a normal guy without any gifts... "Don't disqualify yourself because you think other people are special (or gifted) and you're not."
• What if the activity had never been done before? The Wright Brothers were no more qualified to build the first ever flying machine than someone else. They made the choice to do it, and put in the work to make it happen.
• "To be excellent, you need to reach out to others who are."
• Interview process:
  • "People who lie are not consistent. Ask similar questions in different ways multiple times."
  • Tell people very honestly all the reasons they shouldn't work at your company. Be very honest. Then say, "I can't tell if you're lying to me, I won't be able to catch you now, however I will find out eventually and I will fire you."
• Jim describes what it's like to be a billionaire...
• Think of the companies that have done something that had never been done before:
  • Bank of America
  • Ikea
  • Southwest Airlines
  • Square
• "Commitment can be a great substitute for being qualified."
• “Admitting you don't know something frees your mind from constraints. To actually do something new requires the humility to admit that your solution may not work, followed by the audacity to try anyway.”
• How to get people to perform at higher levels?
  • "Go hang out with smarter people and raise their level of performance... Ask questions."
    • Never interrupt
    • Leave pauses in a sentence, give them a chance to keep going...
• An Innovation Stack = Series of inventions that create a new product. Doing something new.
• What it was like to prepare for a demo with Steve Jobs: "He can be nasty if he doesn't like you. You had to make it beautiful."
• Advice: "Consistently do something that makes you slightly uncomfortable." Jim flies planes and gives speeches (both make him uncomfortable) --> This will slowly expand the things that you like. It will create more friends, and you'll develop more respect for people who have differing views.
  • "You'll learn it's possible to function even when you're uncomfortable." Continually do little things to strengthen yourself... It helps you continue to go when others quit.
• “Customers who trust you are more valuable than customers who love you. There's only one shot at trust, and Square was trustworthy because of its values and mission, and built its Innovation Stack around them.”
• Here is WHY joining a Learning Leader Circle is a good idea...

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#367: Ozan Varol - How To Think Like A Rocket Scientist

• Sustaining excellence =
  • The ability to learn from failure - "Failure sucks and shouldn't be celebrated. We must learn from it."
  • "Learn fast, don't fail fast. We need to get better with each iteration.
  • Breakthroughs should be evolutionary, not revolutionary
• How success can lead to failure
  • The Challenger Explosion - A string of successes discounted the role that luck played in the process
  • "Just because you're on a hot streak doesn't mean you'll beat the house."
• Post mortem - A Latin phrase for "after death." Instead of a post mortem, do an "after action review."
  • Review after all actions whether they succeeded or failed.
• The "Kill The Company" exercise
  • Ask the people within your company what they would do to compete and beat your company... And then do that.
  • Mark Zuckerberg does this with acquisitions (WhatsApp, Instagram). One of his greatest fears is becoming the next MySpace.
• As a mid-level manager: Put yourself in the position of your customer. Why are customers justified in buying from our competitions? "They see something we're not seeing."
• Growing up in Istanbul, Turkey. It was a culture of conformity. Ozan did not fit in. In fact, he was assigned a number in school and that was used to call on him instead of his name.
  • His parents let him choose which school he went to and he remembers feeling so empowered by them for having a choice. He wanted more of that.
    • So he decided to come to the United States for college and attended Cornell.
• Ozan blindly applied for a job that didn’t exist by emailing Steve Squyres (he was in charge of a NASA funded project to send a river to Mars). And he acted on his dad’s advice, “you can’t win the lottery if you don’t buy a ticket.”
• “Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge.” - Carl Sagan
• In the modern world we look for certainty in uncertain places. We search for order in chaos. The right answer in ambiguity. And conviction in the complexity.
• We should be fueled not by a desire for a quick catharsis but by intrigue. Where certainty ends, progress begins.
• “The great obstacle to discovering was not ignorance but the illusion of knowledge. - historian Daniel J Boorstin
• It takes courage... Often times there is a failure of courage. Have the courage to take action when the rest of the world is standing still.
• Ask yourself two questions:
  • What's the worst that can happen?
  • What's the best that can happen?
• Adopt an experimental mindset - Frame your actions as experiments. Don't be afraid to try new things...
• "The way you figure out what's right is to try to prove it wrong."
• The goal? "Find what's right, not to be right."
  • Ask people who disagree with you... Why? Have a mindset to learn from them.
  • "Tell me what's wrong with this..." Be a work in progress.
• "All progress happens in uncertain times."
  • "It's bizarre. People prefer certainty of bad news instead of the fear of the unknown."
  • "Be curious about tomorrow."
• Think: "What problems can I solve right now?"
  • It is not helpful to try and solve something that you cannot control.
• Diversify your identity and services -- This allows you to be flexible and not depended on one stream of revenue.
• "All of our differences are minimized when we zoom out." The Apollo 8 mission gave us an opportunity to look at the Earth from afar (mission to go near the moon). Jim Lovell could cover up the earth with his thumb. It put things in perspective.
• Rocket science teaches us about our limited role in the cosmos and reminds us to be gentler and kinder to one another.
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Episode #366: Laurie Santos - 

Laurie Santos is a cognitive scientist and Professor of Psychology at Yale University. She has been a featured TED speaker and has been listed in Popular Science as one of their "Brilliant Ten" young scientists in 2007 as well as in Time magazine as a "Leading Campus Celebrity" in 2013. In January 2018, her course titled Psychology and the Good Life became the most popular course in Yale's history, with approximately one-fourth of Yale's undergraduates enrolled.

Notes:

• Sustaining excellence:
  • Good habits: Form consistent routines
  • Healthy: Exercise regularly
  • Socialize with others
  • They "offload dumb decisions"
• Create a morning routine - Limit the wardrobe (limit mental energy spent on trivial things).
• Harness the power of habits - "Set you exercise clothes out the night before."
  • Do it at a consistent time each day no matter what. This decreases anxiety.
  • For writing: Stop in the middle of a sentence. This will help you get started the next day (and avoid seeing the blank screen)
• Laurie is the head of a college at Yale. She lives and eats with the students in the dining hall.
  • She built her class based upon hearing the complaints of students daily (they were unhappy)
• Important behaviors:
  • Gratitude
  • Social connection
  • Random acts of kindness
• Students didn't realize their misconceptions about happiness
  • It's not about your job, house, or money.
• Happy people are:
  1. Socially connected - They spend a lot of time with others. They prioritize connecting with others.
  2. They don't focus on themselves - "Others oriented." They do more for others.
  3. Grateful - They look for the good. They have a mindset of gratitude. They write down 3-5 things they are grateful for everyday. They are mindful.
• The GI Fallacy - It's more than just knowing... "You must DO IT."
• Be deliberate about connecting with others. Hang out with people you care about. Set up Skype calls with others.
• Do NOT complain - It's awful.
• Laurie's class has become the most popular class in the history of Yale...
  • Her lectures have been filmed for the Today Show
  • Created The Happiness Lab
  • It's given more meaning to life
• Advice for mid-level managers:
  • Doctors find happier workers use less than 15 sick days a year
  • Work with your employees to do what they're best at
  • Find out what they're getting out of the job
  • "Your emotions can be contagious. If you embody calm, they will be calm."
  • Affective spirals - The leader can turn emotions positive
• How to run excellent meetings:
  • Infuse it with gratitude - Say what you're grateful for. Grateful team members are more productive.
  • Regulate your emotion. Don't transmit negative energy to your team.
• At home: Regulate emotion. Take time to pay attention to your emotion. What are you bringing home?
  • Be present. Express gratitude to your family. Shift from complaining to being grateful.
  • Say what you love about each other at your family dinner table
• The best way to learn is to teach it.