A Geek Leader Podcast - inspiring technical and creative leaders around the world

Part of being a great leader is being a great learner.  If you decide to be leader, either in a leadership/managerial role, or just leading those to your left and to your right, you must also decide to never stop learning.  When you stop learning, you stop leading. Last week my wife and I rented "The Intern."  It's a movie with Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway.  De Niro plays the part of a 70+ year old widower who is board with life and wants to have something to get him out of the house.  He's a retired VP from a phone book printing company and he decides to apply for a senior internship program at a start-up tech company that was founded and is ran by Jules Osten, played by Anne Hathaway.  Ben started out as a huge underdog, as he didn't even know how to turn on his mac when he got started.  But his desire to learn and his work ethic in doing so helped propel him into a sort of leader of the interns. As an intern, he was reporting directly to the CEO when he inspired her and built a relationship of trust. His desire to learn, and ability to see situations from different perspectives helped him grow as a person and leader, but more importantly, it helped him grow those around him. That's what leadership is all about, growing those around you.  If you can learn something and share that to those around you it helps you learn it better, gain more respect from your peers. Its also a great for building relationships and trust with those you work with.  I feel very strongly that learning new skills and new ways of using your current skills is extremely important in both personal and professional development.  Every year, I create a professional development plan for the new skills that I want to learn or the things I want to improve on throughout the coming year. I encourage all those around me to do the same and I try to see how I can hold them accountable to help insure success. If you're not growing, you're dying. Remember that leadership is a process, not a project.  If you want to improve and be a great leader, you must change and grow.  Time stops for no man.  Be sure you stay on top of new research and the latest trends... So, how do I do that? For me, I consume a ton of information... probably way more than I should. I subscribe to several podcasts, I have an audible subscription that I use for just non-fiction books to help me learn.  I use youtube when I want to find out how to do something really quickly. I have a lynda.com subscription for deeper learning and course work.  These are just a few of the ways I learn new skills and information.  Of these methods, I may retain 10% of what I consume, and of that I may implement another 10%.  That means I probably only act upon 1% of that which I consume using these methods.  That makes them not seem that efficient.  But its still helpful.  If you improve 1% every day for a year, you'll be 365% better.  Stew on that for a little while.... Some other ways to learn is to get a mentor. I've had a leadership mentor for about 2 years now and he's helped me learn more than I can from all of these books and podcasts which I consume.  Also teaching others helps you learn.  You may think you know a subject pretty well until you try to teach it.  That's when you learn all the things you thought you knew.  One paradox with learning is that the more we learn, the more we realize we have a lot more to learn.  Don't let that discourage you.  Stick with it and reflect back every quarter what you've learned and achieved.  Reflection is important to insure you stick with it and continue to grow as a person and a leader. Always remember that this journey is a process and the destination is a mirage.  We'll always be striving for greater knowledge, influence and leadership. I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even 1 sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

When most people talk about Leadership they talk about the psychology side of it, but I believe that it goes much deeper that than.  In this episode I'm going to talk a lot about brain chemicals and I'm going to get a little deep into the biology of leadership.  I was first made aware of such a think when Simon Sinek talked about the makeup of the brain in his famous "Start with Why" TEDx Talk a few years ago.  I was fascinated with the fact that his "golden circle" was grounded in biology and not psychology. There are many chemicals in our brains that affect our emotions, our feelings and our behavior.  I want to talk about 5 specific ones today.  It really makes an impact when you combine these chemicals with the basic human stories of our past and present. To get the full impact of this article, you really need to listen to the podcast episode on this post. I should probably make it abundantly clear that I'm not a scientist nor a doctor, and I don't play one on TV.  This is all information that I found on the internet or read in a one or more books that I'm piecing together in my mind... So please don't use this to make any sort of medical decisions. The four "Happy" chemicals are: Endorphin- Masks Pain – You feel these when you go for a long run.  The historical reason for Endorphins were for hunting.  Humans aren’t the fastest or strongest of animals, but we’re built for endurance.  We can track animals for miles and miles to get the kill, all the while, endorphins worked to mask our pain. They also made us feel good and encouraged us to go out again and again.  It’s a good system for our survival. Dopamine- Makes you feel good when you achieve a goal – The historical reason for dopamine is again for our survival.  If we waited until we were hungry to go get food, we’d starve to death.  Dopamine makes us want to achieve a goal, it makes us feel good.  Its that feeling you get when you check something off your todo list.  Sometimes, I add things as I’m doing them to the to do list, just ot check them off and get that dopamine rush… but… dopamine comes with a warning. Its highly addictive.  Other things that release dopamine include alcohol, drugs, gambling, eating.  Its great for motivation, when balanced. If it becomes unbalanced, problems happen.  Ask any drug addict if their addiction has caused any issues??  So how do we keep it balanced? Oxytocin– Safety and love – Oxytocin makes us feel safe.  Its released when we feel as though we belong.  It also is released when have human contact.  Oxytocin increases our generosity and our caring for others.  Its released when we see others helping others… when they use their time and effort, not their money.  That’s partly because time and effort are equal commodities.  We all have a finite supply and once its spent, we can’t get it back.  Oxytocin reduces the negative effects of Dopamine and inhibits addiction. Serotonin– The leadership chemical – Serotonin is that sense of accomplishment or pride that we get when we’re recognized for something.  It’s a basic human need to feel like we’ve done something that matters.  The beatue fo Serotonin is that its passed through to others that are somewhat involved or assisted you in that success.  For example, if you graduate from college and go across the stage to get your diploma, you receive a rush of serotonin for your accomplishment.  You feel proud.  But at that exact same time, your family members watching you feel proud too.  They also receive a rush of serotonin.  This helps increase the relationship between you two and build the bond.  Its why great teams want to win one for the coach… not for the trophy.   But there’s one more chemical we must talk about.  Its cortisol.  Also called the stress chemical.  Its that feeling you get, when you’re scared.  We’ve all seen the documentaries where a herd of gazelles are grazing in a field and one hears something and his head pops up… then all the gazelle...

A few months ago I read the Jesse Itzler book, "Living with a Seal."  I heard it was really funny, and I knew a little about Jesse through some podcast interviews that I heard him on.  I also thought it might motivate me to get in serious shape, however, it sort of scared me a little bit.  In this book, Jesse meets this Navy Seal, who he calls "Seal" and invites him to live with him for 31 days and to train them.  Seal reluctently says yes only if Jesse will agree to do whatever Seal says, whenever he says it, no questions asked.  Jesse agrees and the story takes off from there.  Its a hilarous story that tells about Jesse's pain and progress.  It clearly points out that in order to make phyiscal progress in training, you must go through pain.  In one part of the book, Seal runs some sort of off road ultra marathon and comes back to Jesse's home with broken feet.  Jesse ask if he can do anything for him and Seal's response is priceless.  He says "I've earned this pain, let me enjoy it." Seal has learned that in order to make progress, you must feel a little pain. Our biology has evolved to tell us that if something hurts, stop doing it.  This is a safety mechanism to help us survive.  But anyone who has ever worked out knows that in order to get stronger, you must get sore.  You must go through pain in order to have progress. In Episode 8, I talked about the leadership process, and mentioned that you have to understand that becoming a great leader is a process, not a project.  In other words, there is not end date in leadership development.  The destination is a mirage.  You are never finished growing as a leader. Then about 3 weeks ago, while at church, our pastor made a point about the "paradox of progress" and how the more progress you make, the better you can see that you have a long way to go.  This reminded me about the pain of progress that I learned a few months earlier.  I realized that progress is the journey that we strive for. It's not the final goal that matters so much, but more the progress we make to get to that goal.  Many times we set goals for our personal development, and find out when we reach that goal, we loose our desire to continue to improve.  Sometimes we find that the goal isn't as rewarding as we thought it would be, and not as rewarding as making progress to the goal.  All in all, reaching the goal can feel like a let down. I remember when I had a goal to run my first 5k.  I was so excited to be able to run the entire 3.1 miles and finish with a 10 minute pace. But achieving that goal, showed me how much more work I had to do if I wanted to continue to improve and eventually run a marathon.  I soon realized the goal was nothing more than a milestone to a much larger goal.  I think our leadership process needs to work the same way.  We need to look at our SMART Goals that we setup for 2016, as just milestones for something much greater. So whenever you're making progress towards a goal, you need to understand that there will be pain.  Be like Seal, and enjoy the pain you earn.  If you aren't feeling any pain... then you probably aren't making any progress. It's important to celebrate your progress, it helps motivate you through the pain.  Don't let the paradox of progress slow you down.  Whenever you discover that you have a lot more work ahead of you than you thought you did, let that be a sign to you that you're making real progress.  Because you don't know what you don't know... until you learn that you don't know it. (say that 5 times real fast). I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even 1 sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

I loved this book (click here to pick it up for yourself).  It took me a few weeks to read through it all, but I really enjoyed the wonderful stories that Richard Branson tells about his experiences in Entrepreneurship and leading the Virgin Group. He breaks down the book into four main categories: Listen, Learn, Laugh, Lead and then gives a nice recap of his top tips.  Many of his insights and stories are from the Virgin group of companies and can seem a little like marketing or promotional material, or better yet, highlight reel for the companies he’s founded.  Other stories come for various business leaders such as Steve Jobs, Larry Page, and Elon Musk. I love the way he openly and honestly points out the mistakes of some companies and leaders, but then also praises either their turnaround or other industry leaders who do it right. Listen In this section Richard talks about the importance of taking notes.  I’m terrible at this… really terrible. All through college I didn’t take notes.  I learned to listen and pay attention, without taking notes. It served me really well there, however, with the increased amount of information I’m taking in these days, I can’t keep up without notes. Richard recounts many times where his note taking has saved him and he can look back and see ideas and commitments he’s made in the past. He also talks about how he believes people that take notes are better equipped to do their job and to be leaders. “A really skilled listener not only takes in what has been said but will also hear what has not been said. The unspoken word.” This quote shows me that there is more to listening than just hearing.  Listening requires taking in the body language, facial expressions and tones that surround the words. Sometimes you can hear more in the silence than you can in the words. “Simplicity wins every time.” On my door of my office I have an equation that I stole from Todd Henry’s, “The Accidental Creative”.  It states “1+1=[((27/3)/3)-1].”  That reminds me to keep it simple.  Everytime that I can remember picking a complex solution over a simple one, I regretted it in the long run. “Keeping it short goes a long way” I’m a huge fan of this.  I even have a rule (that’s only mildly enforced) that only permits 4 sentences in an email form my team members.  It helps them learn to get to the point and to understand that if it needs to be longer than 4 sentence, then we should probably talk about it. Learn "Live as if you're going to die tomorrow. Learn as if you're going to live forever" (Gandhi). I believe that learning is very important when it comes to leadership and just being a good employee, especially in the technology field.  When I teach my students at the local university, I try to teach them how to learn, moreover, what to learn.  If you understand how to learn, you can learn anything. Richard uses a quote from Seneca in this book that I just love… “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” It basically teaches you “how to get lucky.” For more information about that, check out episode 15. As many of you know, Richard Branson hosted a reality TV show where he hired an apprentice.  Sara Blakely, the CEO of Spanx, competed on the show and gave this quote, “The smartest thing I ever did in the early going was to hire my weaknesses.”  I’ve used this in previous podcasts and will probably use it again.  I think it’s the most important thing a leader should do when hiring, but its also one of the hardest.  We like to hire and work with people that are just like us.  That doesn’t workout too well.  We’re also intimidated by people who can do things better than us, but if they excel at my weakness, then together we can make a great team. Laugh “One hundred per cent down to the people-first culture.” If your employees come first, then the customers, then the shareholders you will be successful.  One of the biggest mistakes I see leaders and businesses ...

SMART Goals.. Specific. Measurable. Achievable. Realistic. Time Bound. Specific – The Goal must be specific in nature.  Which of these is better?  Improve on customer service.  Or Increase our customer service survey rating by 10% over the 2015 numbers by July 2016. Measurable – The goal must be clearly measurable. In the example above, you can see that the first goal was not measurable.  Improve… is not measurable unless you put some numbers and a way you will be measuring the improvement.  I used survey rating as our measurement and an improvement of 10% as the goal. Achievable – It has to be realistic.  If I had never run or exercised before, I should have a goal to run a marathon next week.  That’s just not achievable.  It takes months of training to build up a base and expect to finish a marathon without serious injury. Realistic – Goals must be realistic.  If I had a goal to become to create the largest social network by the end of the year… well its possible, technically, but not realistic. Goals must be realistic and for large goals, you should be able to break them down into smaller goals. Time Bound – Goals should be bound by a date. If you want to achieve something, be sure to put a date on it so you can track to it.  If you say, I want to run a marathon, but don’t put, By 12/31/2016, then you’ll likely never run that marathon. You’ll tell yourself that, you’ll do it next year, etc.   I’m a firm believer in documenting your goals. If they are down on paper, in a place where you have to look at them daily or weekly, you’re more likely to achieve them, and if you share them with people, then you have people there to hold you accountable for your goals.   I challenged my team to run a half marathon together last year.  I told them if you really wanted motivation to achieve the goal, post it on Facebook that you were doing it and when you were doing it.  By putting it out there, you have your followers holding you accountable, and now, you won’t only be letting yourself down, but them to. That’s usually enough motivation to keep going and finish the goal.   My 2016 Goals Personal Goals Attend 100% of my kids sports games and practices in 2016. Have game night with the wife once per month after the kids go to bed in 2016. Have a movie night with the wife once per month after the kids go to bed in 2016. Have a date night (with baby sitter) at least once per quarter in 2016. Take my family on a vacation to the beach in 2016. Take my family on a vacation to the mountains in 2016. Fitness Goals Run at least twice per week for 46 of the 52 weeks in 2016. Work out at least twice per week for 46 of the 52 weeks in 2016 (runs don’t count). Eat fast food no more than one time per week for 46 of the 52 weeks in 2016. Average 10,000 steps per day in 2016. Complete a 5 day fast. Business Goals Increase my podcast listeners by 10x. Increase my email subscriber list by 10x. Write one book in 2016. Create and launch 3 iOS Apps in 2016. Give at least 3 talks in 2016. Sponsor: Surviving a 5K Race I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even 1 sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

Yesterday I gave a talk for the South Carolina iSTEM group at Saluda Trail Middle School. It was exciting to speak to teachers. Teachers that are working towards bettering the education experience. If you don’t know what STEM is, its an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math education. I spoke on the Hour of Code, which is an initiative from Code.org to get students to learn an hour of code (or coding) this week. The Hour of Code is backed by Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Apple and many other big named players in the tech space. I was honored to be able to speak for 2 hours on the subject. Some of the highlights of my talk include: Over coming the fear of getting started. Its hard to teach coding, when you don’t code. But understand that if you’re authentic, and put forth the effort, your students will get it. The goal isn’t to have your students leave as expert coders, but to have them leave confident in themselves and hopefully, with some insight into what Coding really is. Dispelling misconceptions of coders. People think that all programmers do is code. That’s so far from the truth. There’s a great deal of other skills needed, including communication (both written and oral), creativity, math, research, etc. There is also a thought that all coders are introverted. I had my team take a personality test a few months back and shockingly, 100% of my team are extroverts. That’s right, 100%. There is also a misconception that coders like to be locked away in a dungeon to pound out code… some do, but not all. There is also a misconception that coders are middle aged white guys. Far from the truth. My team includes people from Hispanic descent, African Americans, females and white males. Diversity is important for teams to get different input and perspectives. I also talked about the benefits of understanding coding at an early age. How it helps develop critical thinking skills, creativity, confidence and problem solving skills. Our athletes start learning their craft when they are very young. My 5-year-old started both soccer and basketball at age 3. But the people that write code to keep our airplanes in the sky, our medical equipment functioning, and our military systems armed don’t start learning their craft until college?? Really? Something seems wrong here. I believe that coding should be taught along side Math, English, Social Studies as a core course for all k-12 schools. Imagine if those graduating college with a computer science degree already had 16 years of coding under their belt. The things they could do would be amazing. I hope all teachers out there participate in the hour of code for your schools, and those that aren’t teachers, but work in technology should donate some time, help a school out or setup your own workshop to assist during the hour of code. For more information about the hour of code, check out code.org. Sponsor: What's HTML? : Learn it in 4 Hours "What's HTML"   I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even 1 sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

In order to be a leader, you must be brave.  I’ve focused on leadership for many years now, and my wife even says I focus on it too much sometimes J. I see countless people that have so much potential for leadership, but have never stepped out and gave it shot due to fear. Now Fear isn’t always bad.  There are good fears too.  For example, I’m afraid of snakes.  God gave me that fear so that I don’t get bit by one of those suckers and die.  That’s a healthy fear, at least I tell myself it is.  Okay, another example.  I want my kids to have certain fears.  I want my son to be afraid of crossing the street without holding an adult’s hand.  Having that fear may save his life.  But I don’t want him to be afraid to have fun because of what others might think.  Two different kind of fears. It’s amazing that my 5-year-old daughter will sing at the top of her lungs when a song comes on that she knows.  She has no fear of what others will think.  That’s something we learn.  I’m afraid to sing in public, although I was known for rapping at karaoke in college. I bet I wasn’t afraid when I was 5.  I learned to be afraid of what others might think.  We can call that fear, or maybe shame.  I’m ashamed of how I sound when I sing.. Many leaders have a fear, or shame of their leadership.  They don’t know if they are good or not, because they never tried.  Maybe this isn’t the best example, but the point I’m getting at is that your fear isn’t a healthy one.  Its not in place to save your life.  Its something you learned to protect yourself from a perceived risk.  In order to be good at something you must be brave, or as Todd Henry put it in one of his talks, Brilliance Demands Bravery. I want to break down 5 tips on being Brave. 1)Breathe – Last year at TEDxCharlotte I heard Jonathan Winn tell his story on the power of one breath. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oqYovTjD6Q He talks about how deep breathes can calm your nervous, relax your mind and body.  When I’m nervous. I breathe.   2) Reason with yourself why you’re afraid - Figure out what your fears are all about.  Many time its not the act that we’re afraid of, but rather the reaction of others.  Before I started teaching college, I was afraid to speak in front of people.  On my frist day of class, I suffered from The Imposter Syndrome and I didn’t want to go.  But I muscled through it.  I just knew that when I got In front of that class they would find me out as a fraud.  They would ask me a technical question that I didn’t know the answer too, then start booing and throwing papers at me.  Well, they did ask some questions that I didn’t know the answer to.  But they accepted that I didn’t know, and a quick Google Search got us the answer and got the class back on track. People actually liked and learned from what I had to say. I was helping people.  My fears had not justification.  Now, to break this down. I wasn’t afraid of teaching, or speaking.  I was afraid of some reaction that I thought the people I was teaching might have.  I was afraid of something that I thought might happen, but was 99.9% likely to NOT happen.  Figure out what you’re really afraid of.   3) Accept your fears - Accept the fact that you’re afraid, and that its okay to be afraid.  But also play out that fear.  What’s the worse that can happen?  No Really, what’s the worse that can happen.  So, let’s play out the teaching gig… I show up the first day of class, with my fly down.  The students laugh at me.  They ask me questions I don’t know the answers to.  I freeze, the students through things at me. One of the students works for the local news and writes a story about how dumb I am.  I get fired from my day job… Really?  Really?  Doesn’t this sound ridiculous?  That’s because it is.  Most of our fears are for things that have never happened and most likely would/could never happen. In the 4 Hour Work Week, Tim Ferris, says to list out your fears, play them out,

As I've said before, I'm reading Richard Branson's book, The Virgin Way.  This book is full of amazing nuggets of greatness.  There's a whole section on hiring the right people, which, is where these three rules come from.  I'll be adding in some of my own tips at the end. Don't Delegate, Do it yourself. Hiring is important.  So much so that you can't always trust others to hire the right people.  I've found that many times when interviewing someone, I just get a "feeling" whether they will fit in or not.  Our company has full-time recruiters to help us find amazing talent.  They do a fantastic job, but sometimes they find candidates that check all of the boxes.  They've got the skills, experience and have a great personality...but something just doesn't feel right to me.  That's why its important for me to be there and to do the final hiring.  I'm not alone on this either.  Larry Page, CEO at Google, and Richard Branson, Founder of Virgin, also stay close to the pulse.  So much so that Larry Page is still involved in the hiring of all senior level positions at Google. Prioritize Character over (experience/skills) Resume. If you focus too much on past experiences, you'll end up with a team of clones.  Focus more on character, work ethic, integrity, and personality.  Having a diverse background in your team will help your team be more creative and innovative in the long run. Many times its hard to fully understand the character of someone during a short interview, but some of the tips that I do is to ask situational questions, not at all related to the job.  For example, I'll ask things like, "What's the coolest thing you've ever done... wow me?" or "What's the most 'out of character' thing you've ever done?"  "If you could never fail, what would you do?" The important part here is to focus on the soft skills, because a new hire without the soft skills can kill a team. Beware of candidates who want to be "set free." Richard talks about how "you can take the person out of the cage, but you can't take the cage out of the person."  Some people require a structured environment, and you're trying some of the leadership things I talk about, such as Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose, then they might not be the right fit for you, even though they really think they want to be free.  I've got 2 dogs, Lilly and Apollo.  They are crated most of the time while we're gone.  When we return, they immediately want out of their crate, however, at the first signs of a thunderstorm, they want back in it as quickly as possible.  The crate is a place of safety and comfort.  The cage of structure at work can be the same for people that need that order.  If you can't/won't provide that structure, then those people probably aren't a good fit for you. Other tips... For me, its important that the hire fits in with my team. Team fit is the most important thing for me, followed shortly by character, personality, hobbies then skills. Yes skills come at the end of the important list.  With the right work ethic, defined by their character, the necessary skills can be obtained rather quickly. I also try to follow the Spanx's CEO, Sara Blakely's advice "The smartest thing I ever did in the early going was to hire my weaknesses." Be sure to listen to the podcast above to hear the questions that I like to ask the most... To read more from Richard Branson on hiring, check out this article on Inc. I hope you liked this episode, please share it using the links below. Also, head on over to iTunes and leave me a rating/review... and don't forget to subscribe. Check out my Surviving a 5K Race book to help you get in shape before the holidays.

Below are some things you can do to improve your luck.  I hope you enjoy this episode and please leave me a review in iTunes to help spread the word. 1. Go to where the luck is. - People get lucky when they are in the right place at the right time.  The more often you're in the right place, which is something you can totally control, the more likely that you'll be there, when the right time comes. Make sure you're working hard and going where the opportunities live. 2. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. - Lucky people usually have many things going on at the same time.  That's partly due to the fact that we don't know which one will be successful, but we understand that we're more likely to have something work out well if we get several things going at once.  I know this is contradictory to many books that talk about doing just the "1 thing" that's most important.  I think once you find which thing is your "lucky" one, then you can shift your focus to that one thing. 3. Work hard. - I love the quote below by Thomas Jefferson.  I've found that I tend to get lucky more often when I work hard at it. In the podcast I tell a story about Odell Beckham's catch (see the video below) and how he trained for years on making that catch. It wasn't a lucky catch, it was one he practiced, it just appeared lucky to everyone who hadn't seen the work he put in beforehand. “I’m a greater believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it” – Thomas Jefferson The Catch  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxbz3DDQzHU The Practice https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BY8xrmkN9w4 4. Take a leap of faith. - Many times in order to be lucky, you must first be brave.  You have to sometimes believe in yourself and take a leap of faith.  Put yourself out there, and hope for the best.  That's what I did when it game to speaking publicly for the first time. Now I get paid to speak at events and companies. 5. Think in the margins. - Creativity comes in the margins.  When you work outside the lines of what is normal.  This is when brilliant, dare I say, lucky ideas and opportunities come. 6. Don't assume there is only 1 way of doing things. - Great things happen when people think outside of the box and question the obvious. As I said in #5, creativity comes in the margins. It also comes when people question why we do it this way. 7. Be prepared to pivot. - Lucky people understand that someday their luck will run out.  And when it does, they are prepared to pivot.  Being ready to change directions and understanding that there are always other routes to your end goal is away to stay lucky and be prepared for the unlucky times. 8. Keep your perspective. - Sometimes you don't know if something is good luck or bad luck until you well after its taken place.  I've heard some many people talk about not getting what they wanted at the time, then find out later it was actually a good thing. I talk a lot about perspective because I think its one of the most important things to have a happy life.  I mention perspective's roll in purpose in my TEDx Talk. “Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity.” – Lucius Annaeus Seneca I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even 1 sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

A lot of time people confuse being a good speaker with being a good leader.  They aren't related, but usually, with a little practice, you can become a good speaker, just like with practice you can become a good leader.  It does help your influence if you're a good speaker, whether you're speaking at meetups, conferences, or just to a small team in a conference room. To see some of the best speeches or talks, check out TED.com Know your subject.  Be sure you are an expert on the topic you are presenting… Bear in mind that an expert is someone who knows more about the subject than 50% of the people you’re presenting too.  If you’re only a sudo-expert, you can become an expert with in no time. Tell a story.  Be sure you have some case studies or good stories to add.  Always tell a story.  People relate and respond to a story more than just facts.  If you can provide a personal story you’ll have more impact with your audience. Some of the best TED Talks I've ever seen are stories. Prepare, practice, and repeat.  Prepare your presentation and practice it.  Then repeat and repeat again.  Anticipate problems that may arise and have contingencies for those problems (i.e. projector doesn’t work, etc.). Be sure you practice out loud. I’ve found that I talk faster out loud than I do when practicing in my head. Most people don't know how to practice. I like to record my talks on my phone and listen to them while I drive, so I'm forced to hear them through.  No one likes to hear themselves talk, but if you do it, you will get better.  Practice like you play... its not only true in sports, but in speeches too. Know your audience.  Get an idea of who you’ll be talking to and find a way to relate to their experiences.  If you’re talking to GIS folks, talk geography or maps, if you’re talking to software developers, talk debugging, IDEs, etc.  Relating to people on their level helps them relate to you and your subject matter. Don’t say “hmm…Ah…”  Practice not saying “hmm… ah…” or words like that.  If you need to stop and think, stop and think.  Don’t add filler words.  Sometimes a pause can be used to add emphasis.  Also don’t apologize for mistakes, roll with them.  Most people won’t notice them if you don’t point them out. Know your environment.  Visit where you’re going to be speaking if possible.  If not, ask what the room is like and be there early to get acquainted. It makes a huge difference in your comfort level if you’re familiar with your environment. Relax.  What’s the worst that can happen?  Play out your worse fears and how you’ll recover from them in your head.  If you bomb (and believe me I have) you’ll recover in no time.  Understand that everyone there to hear you speak wants you to be successful and is rooting for you. I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even 1 sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again! Check out my TEDx Talk here.