Text LEARNERS to 44222 for more... Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com Twitter/IG: @RyanHawk12  https://twitter.com/RyanHawk12 Sean Covey is President of FranklinCovey Education. He is a New York Times best-selling author and has written several books, including The 6 Most Important Decisions You’ll Ever Make, The 7 Habits of Happy Kids, and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, which has been translated into 20 languages and sold over 4 million copies worldwide. Sean's dad is Stephen R. Covey, the author of one of the most sold books of all time (more than 30 million copies), The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Notes: Sean played Quarterback at BYU -- Led the team to two bowl games and twice selected as ESPN’s Most Valuable Player of the Game. What he learned from his time as a QB: How to prepare How to "do hard things" - "Your zone of comfort expands because the hard things aren't as hard anymore." Importance of a system - Rigorous practice, filming of the practice, reviewing of the work. Daily. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People came out in 1989... It had a tepid release and then exploded. It changed the lives of the Covey family. Sean said his dad Stephen (the author of The 7 Habits) was "very genuine... A better husband and dad than a writer. H was very congruent. He had the power of principles. There was no hypocrisy." How do you handle yourself when talking to a person who has a powerful position? "Treat the garbage collector and the CEO with an equal amount of respect." 4 Disciplines of Execution: Focusing On The Wildly Important Goals (WIG) - Exceptional execution starts with narrowing the focus— clearly identifying what must be done, or nothing else you achieve really matters much.  -- Example: JFK has one of the best examples ever: "Send a man to the moon and return him home safely by the end of the decade." It was one goal. There was a starting line and a finish line. Act on Lead Measures – Golden rule of execution: Identify lead measures. Twenty percent of activities produce eighty percent of results. The highest predictors of goal achievement are the 80/20 activities that are identified and codified into individual actions and tracked fanatically. Lag Measures are the end goal. Keep A Compelling Scoreboard -People and teams play differently when they are keeping score, and the right kind of scoreboards motivate the players to win. Create A Cadence of Accountability -Each team engages in a simple weekly process that highlights successes, analyzes failures, and course-corrects as necessary, creating the ultimate performance-management system. Goal setting - There are two kinds of strategies: Deliberate strategies Emergent strategies - "Be ready for waves that might hit you... And knock you in a better position." With goal setting, remember the phrase "No Involvement, No Commitment." Involve your team to set their own goals. Don't set the goals for them. Advice to parents with teenagers: Have a purpose as a family Set values Write a mission statement Have 1:1 time with kids Career/Life advice: Have a plan... But be flexible Live according to your principles, values, and mission statement Create a credo of your own

Text LEARNERS to 44222 for more... Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com Twitter/IG: @RyanHawk12  https://twitter.com/RyanHawk12 The 3 things Scott told his daughter Kiraat a YPO event... Family, Family, Family It will always be ok. Things will go bad. It will be ok. Anything, anytime - "you can always call, text, FaceTime, no matter what. I am here for you." Scott's 4-part process to become more present: Find perspective Seek authentic feedback Cultivate reflective strength Love your leadership constitution Public failure: Scott started a business with Seth Berger, founder of AND1, basketball shoes. HoopsTV. Raised $14 million from investors… Eventually failed, had to lay off 50 people, including his own brother(!) The good old days are today (scene from the office (Ed Helms)  Andy Bernard: “I wish there was a way to know you're in "the good old days" before you've actually left them.” Scott got fired from his role as President of Madison Square Garden. He says it was because he was "too busy being right instead of being effective." Scott is a change agent and values performance more than experience Watch the Battle at Kruger video (Scott shared this with the team) "To do great things, you have to be confident" Need to focus on "WMI." What's Most Important "Work-life balance does not exist. Beware of the mediocre middle." "Life is about tradeoffs" The most effective leaders seek authentic feedback and are able to hear it. Ask yourself, "Who have you connected to in the last month?" Behaviors of Excellence: Be your authentic self - "Be you. People follow authenticity." Work unreasonably hard. Intellectually curious - "The world is changing so fast." Passionate - "Fall in love with it." All executives at the Philadelphia 76ers are challenged to declare who they are at their core in the form of a leadership constitution. Anyone can—and should—create one by answering the following two questions: 1. I declare that I am... and 2. You can count on me to... Scott's leadership constitution: I declare that I am a passionate and authentic leader of leaders who feels a gravitational pull towards talent and character. I wear my heart on my sleeve. I love people and being part of a team. I get energy from helping others and would give the shirt off my back to a stranger and anything, anytime to a friend. I am family first, high integrity, and surprisingly sensitive change agent who is confident, caring, and intellectually curious. This fuels a competitive drive that at times feels like a chip on my shoulder. You can count on me to bring positive energy into my space. Exude urgency and push you, challenge you, nudge you and raise the bar beyond your expectations, and sometimes what you think reasonable. Laugh with you, cry with you, love you even when you won’t laugh, haven’t cried, and don’t feel loved. Root for you today, every day, and always. Share the most personal of thoughts, emotions, stories, highs, and lows because I am okay with it and who I am. Enjoy the rollercoaster of life, whether we are going forward, backwards and upside down. Drive hard to reach the summit and then quickly start on another mountain. Share wins and take hits for losses

Text LEARNERS to 44222 for more... Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com Twitter/IG: @RyanHawk12  https://twitter.com/RyanHawk12 Mark Scharenbroich is an Emmy award winner, best-selling author, and hall of fame keynote speaker. He is known for his authentic delivery, his talent for delivering unique stories, and his comedic timing. He's the author of Nice Bike: Making Meaningful Connections on The Road of Life. Notes: Nice Bike. It’s not a technique, it’s a genuine interest in others and the willingness to acknowledge the talents and accomplishments of everyone. The three parts to story-telling: Stories need to be unpredictable, they need to have a hook, and they have to have a cast of characters. While in college at St Cloud State, Mark toured high schools and colleges with a comedy troupe called Mom’s Apple Pie which helped him develop his comedic timing and ability to improv. While on a trip to Washington DC with his dad, Mark witnessed his dad walking up to a couple of Vietnam veterans and saying, "Thank ya fellas. Welcome home." The moment was unforgettable to Mark as he witnessed what it meant to be grateful for others and to connect with them. The "dark chocolate" that Mark's daughter gave to a struggling stranger at the airport. "We don't have to fix all the problems, but acknowledge others, see them, and try to connect with them." The CEO of Cargill said it's not a secret what leaders need to do: State where we're going State how we're going to get there Show that you have your team's back Show that you care about your team as people Leaders must always be in the trenches and learning... And work to create memorable experiences for the people they are leading How to give a great toast at a wedding or eulogy at a funeral? Remember it's not about you, it's about the bride and groom Be story-driven The power of three - "She's about faith, family, and friends" and then tell a short story about each of the three What Mark learned from a "meat raffle" You have to buy a ticket for a shot to win You must be present to win The same is true for leadership. You have to be engaged and take the chance to do it. You must be present with your team. Be a "day-maker." Instead of just being a barber or a stylist, work to make your client's day by giving them an amazing haircut. BWCA - Leave the area better than you found it... A great rule for life. Core values - "When your core values are clear, decisions are easier." Comparison - Compare yourself to your previous self. Be grateful for what you have. Someone else will always have more crayons. Focus on your crayons. Advice to those who think they aren't creative. You are... You have to find the stories. Focus on four columns People you've had experiences with Experiences you've had Lessons learned Application to the lives of others Roberta Jordan: "It's more important to be interested than interesting." Life advice -- "Leave a tip for the staff who cleans your hotel room."  

Text LEARNERS to 44222 for more Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com Twitter/IG: @RyanHawk12  https://twitter.com/RyanHawk12 Hubert Joly is a senior lecturer at the Harvard Business School and the former Chairman and CEO of Best Buy.He is the author of the upcoming book “The Heart of Business – Leadership Principles for the Next Era of Capitalism.” Notes: In May 2012. Jim Citrin, the leader of the CEO practice at Spencer Stuart, the global executive search company, asked Hubert, “Would you be interested in being the next CEO of Best Buy?  Issues at Best Buy were all self-inflicted. Hubert realized there was an opportunity to fix it... Hubert's "5 Be's" of leadership are purpose, values, clarity, authenticity, and service. "My purpose in life is to make a positive difference on people around me." - Hubert Joly "If you cannot go outside, go inside. Leadership starts from within." Work to be the best version of yourself Ask your people, "What is your dream?" -- "My job as a leader is to help you achieve your dreams." "We're the captains of our lives." "Profit should be an outcome, not a goal." The 3 imperatives in sequential order: Great people Great customers Make money Remember that 98% of questions that are either/or should be AND's... Key Philosophy: Pursue a noble purpose Put people at the center Embrace all stakeholders Leaders must create the environment to unleash the magic What Hubert learned at McKinsey: The emphasis in the early years was on solving problems. In 2012, when Hubert joined Best Buy, he hired an executive coach. Why? "100% of the top 100 tennis players have a coach." We all need a coach. "It sends a powerful message when the CEO has a coach." It shows that he understands he needs help. We all do. Must-Have leadership qualities: Knowing people... Who are they? What drives them? How do they want to be remembered? "Tell me about your soul" -- Accept imperfections of self and others How to turn around a business by putting people first and reducing headcount as a last resort. How to unleash “human magic” for outcomes that defy logic. This includes an actionable commitment to diversity and inclusion, such as the “reverse” mentor program that pairs Best Buy executives with employees who help broaden their understanding of differences and issues they face. How to become a purposeful leader focused on creating an environment in which others can flourish and perform at their best, and who inspires by showing vulnerability and embracing their and your humanity. How to place a noble purpose as the cornerstone of a company’s strategy and concretely embrace and align all stakeholders around that purpose. For Best Buy, that purpose is enriching people’s lives through technology. And it allowed them to form genuine partnerships with the world’s foremost companies, including unlikely allies like Amazon, to the benefit of all. Jeff Bezos, founder, and CEO of Amazon: “Best Buy’s turnaround under Hubert Joly’s leadership was remarkable—a case study that should and will be taught in business schools around the world. Bold and thoughtful—he has a lot to teach.

Text LEARNERS to 44222 for more... Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com Twitter/IG: @RyanHawk12  https://twitter.com/RyanHawk12 Greg McKeown wrote the New York Times best-seller, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less.  As well as frequently being the #1 Time Management book on Amazon, this book challenges core assumptions about achievement to get to the essence of what really drives success. His latest book is titled, Effortless: Make It Easier To Do What Matters Most. Notes: Essentialism was about doing the right things; Effortless is about doing them in the right way... The best free throw shooter ever is not Michael Jordan or Steph Curry… It’s Elena Delle Donne. 93.4%. “If you keep it simple, less can go wrong.” The word NOW comes from the Latin phrase, novus homo, which means “a new man” or “man newly ennobled.” The spirit of this is clear: each new moment is a chance to start over. A chance to make a new choice.” “Whatever has happened to you in life. Whatever hardship. Whatever pain. They pale in comparison to the power you have to choose what to do now.” The question to ask yourself: "What's something essential that you're under investing in?" The second question is: How can you make that effortless? Life changes the day you discover residual results How to make it effortless? Create a routine so you don't have to think about it. The competition to the South Pole -- The difference between Amundsen versus Scott Amundsen -- 15 miles per day, no matter what. The "15 mile march." Scott -- Push to exhaustion every day. Amundsen and four others arrived at the pole on December 14, 1911. Five weeks ahead of a British party led by Robert Falcon Scott as part of the Terra Nova Expedition. Scott and his four companions died on the return journey. Amundsen made it to the South Pole and back to base camp without suffering a death in the party. Consistency day in and day out help Amundsen "achieve the goal without particular effort." Effortless is about simplification. Ask, "what if it could be easy?" Ask: "Is there an effortless way to do this? Highland High School Rugby - Won 19 national championships: Systems were put in place Consistent systems are the key How to deal with the guilt when we don't work as hard? Give your best to what you're doing, but have an open mind to finding a better way to do something This book for Greg grew out of agony... His daughter was living an ideal life... And then had health issues that completely changed their family. They had two possible paths to help her: The harder, heavier path of 24/7 always on work... OR Easier path of being grateful. Sharing optimism, and live in the state to help re-wire the brain. "Be grateful for every thing possible." They chose the latter and Eve got better... How they chose to respond was everything...

Text LEARNERS to 44222 for more... Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com Twitter/IG: @RyanHawk12  https://twitter.com/RyanHawk12 Suneel Gupta is on faculty at Harvard University. He's the author of Backable - The Surprising Truth Behind What Makes People Take A Chance On You Notes: Let’s start with the obvious -- when lots of people are applying for the same spot, you have to find a way to stand out. You can’t just check a box, you have to leave an impression.  (But backable people “go beyond Google” and dig for insights that other people interviewing for the job may not find. They talk to customers, they attend shareholder meetings, they test-drive the product. (But backable people “go beyond Google” and dig for insights that other people interviewing for the job may not find. They talk to customers, they attend shareholder meetings, they test-drive the product. ) Suneel comes from a family of highly backable people—including his mother, Damyanti Hingorani, the first woman engineer for Ford Motor Company, and his brother Sanjay Gupta, chief medical correspondent for CNN. Reid Hoffman recruited Suneel to Mozilla... Name someone early in your life who backed you. Call them and say 'thank you.' Hire "high ceiling" leaders: Suneel was a speechwriter in 2004. He was backstage at the Democratic National Convention. There was a State Senator from Illinois. Suneel watched him speak from behind the curtain. "He created an electric wave of energy when he spoke." It was President Barack Obama. After that, Suneel became obsessed with following the work of the State Senator. He studied President Obama's history and learned that he went from a dry speaker to inspiring through preparation and practice. He worked on his skill to communicate and got better. The "It" quality -- People get a job because others want to take a chance on them. They're backable. Specifics to make this happen: Play exhibition matches -- Prepare, practice, rehearse They develop a level of mastery so that they don't have to think when it's time to perform. Their preparation allows them to flow Ella Fitzgerald performed in Berlin... She forgot the lyrics and improvised the words for the next half of the song. She rehearsed a lot. That allowed her to perform even when she forgot the words. Confidence comes from believing something will go wrong and that you've practiced enough to be able to handle it. "Build your recovery muscle." Surround yourself with great people - Early adopters need to feel part of the build.  Steer Into Objections. Anticipate three key objections to your idea. When pitching, don’t avoid those objections; steer into them. Don’t Pitch Prematurely. Instead of sharing an idea before it’s ready, nurture it until you’re ready. It’s not charisma that convinces people, it’s conviction. Don’t Overshare. Share what it could be, not how it has to be. Share just enough to get the essence of your idea across, then open up the conversation. Build Your Backable Circle. Don’t rely on just one person to help you with your pitch. Surround yourself with a trusted group of people who bring different perspectives. Humans are not risk takers - We do whatever we can to avoid a loss. You need to neutralize that fear. "Don't just talk about why it's new, but why it's inevitable." "Backable people convince themselves first. It's not charisma that convinces people, it's conviction." "Most new ideas are killed inside hallways. We share too early. Before they're ready. Nurture your ideas behind the scenes. They need an incubation time. Write it out. Draw..." Quiet time is so important to hone ideas. It's critical to the creative process "Ken Robinson was not that charismatic, but you believed everything he was saying." He believed it first. He had conviction. Storytelling - "You need to cast a central character." "Re-write the book for on person as the reader... 'I'm writing this book for my daughter to read.'" "Don't talk about the market, talk about one person." Life advice: "Figure out what makes you come alive. I left Groupon and created a list of ideas."

Text LEARNERS to 44222 to learn more... Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com Twitter/IG: @RyanHawk12  https://twitter.com/RyanHawk12 Erin Meyer is a professor at INSEAD, one of the leading international business schools. Erin conducted an in-depth study with Reed Hastings, Co-Founder and CEO of Netflix, investigating the underlying principles necessary for building a corporate culture that is inventive, fast, and flexible. The results of that research were published in their book No Rules Rules. In 2019, Erin was listed by the Thinkers50, for the second time, as one of the fifty most impactful business writers in the world and in 2018 she was selected by HR magazine as one of the top 30 most influential HR thinkers of the year.  Notes: “Corporate culture can be a mushy marshland of vague language and incomplete, ambiguous definitions. What’s worse, company values — as articulated — rarely match the way people behave in reality.” The Netflix culture deck. 127 slides originally intended for internal use but one that Reed Hastings (CEO) shared online in 2009. Sheryl Sandberg called it “the most important document ever to come out of Silicon Valley.” Erin said "I loved the deck for its honesty. And loathed it for its content.” "If you want your culture to come alive, you need to avoid speaking in absolutes." Instead, use either or… Security or High Performance? Candor or Comfort? Why did the Netflix culture deck go viral? "This is a company that tells the truth. It said what it believed. That is rare." On May 31, 2015 you got a cold email from Reed Hastings (CEO of Netflix)… Reed told her that he read her book, The Culture Map, loved it, and was having his leadership team at Netflix read it. Erin's biggest surprise during her time researching Netflix and writing with Reed? "That management paradigms are hangovers from the industrial era. Previously, the #1 goal was error elimination. That isn't the #1 goal at Netflix. It's innovation." Reed Hastings had a company before Netflix called Pure Software. He put in a lot of rules and processes. He realized that "if you dummy proof the system only dummies want to work there." Too many processes can kill flexibility and innovation. This is "applicable to any environment where innovation is more important than error prevention." "Most rules are put in place to deal with low performers." "Instead, create an environment with 'talent density.' Only high performers..." Performance is Contagious: Professor Will Felps, of the University of New South Wales in Australia, conducted a study demonstrating contagious behavior in the work environment. He created several teams of 4 college students and asked each to complete a management task in 45 minutes. The teams who did the best work would receive a financial reward of $100. (Bezos: "People are pretty good at learning high standards simply through exposure," writes Bezos. "High standards are contagious. Bring a new person onto a high standards team, and they'll quickly adapt. The opposite is also true) The two different types of jobs: Operational - Ice cream scoopers Creative - Rely on your brain Pay Top of Market for talent - Matt Thunell (Manager of Original Content) said about Netflix, “We live in a walled-garden of excellence, where everyone is a high performer. You go into these meetings and it’s like the talent and brain power in the room could generate the office electricity. People are challenging one another, building up arguments. That’s why we get so much done at such incredible speed here. It’s because of the crazy high talent density.” With that said, Netflix doesn’t believe in “Pay-Per-Performance” bonuses. When you first began to collaborate with Reed to write this book, Erin asked him how he would find the time to collaborate. He said, “Oh, I can give this pretty much whatever time you think it will need.” That surprised Erin... In Reed's mind, the leaders should create a system so that they don't have to be busy, packed with back to back to back meetings... Candor -- Giving and receiving feedback Top performers regularly help other top performers get better by giving feedback At Netflix, they do live 360 feedback dinners -- Go around the table giving feedback for each person. The 4 A method of feedback: Aim to assist Actionable - It must be clear what could be done Receive the feedback with gratitude Accept it or decline it... It's not always right. Be grateful for it regardless Sustain Excellence: Humility Curiosity to Learn - Never stop learning, never feel like you've mastered it Life/Career Advice: Get the talent right Create Candor Eat the cake -- Remove rules and processes If you create an open vacation policy (meaning that vacation days are not tracked), it is imperative that the senior leaders lead from the front and go on a lot of vacations. The rest of the team will follow... If you never go on vacation, then your team will feel like they have to do the same.

Text LEARNERS to 44222 for more... Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com Twitter/IG: @RyanHawk12  https://twitter.com/RyanHawk12 Brook Cupps is a leadership teacher and the coach of the Centerville High School basketball team. In 2021, he led his team to the first state championship in school history. He is best known as a leader who truly lives his core values. They are: Tough, Passionate, Unified, & Thankful. Notes: Brook's personal mantras: Wolf - Wolves travel in packs. They are not good by themselves. They need the pack. BC needs people around him. Loves teams. "Wolves are more badass than lions or tigers. You don't see a wolf in a circus." Chop Wood - "I've never viewed myself as talented, but I'm willing to work. We say chop chop. When things are going well, get to work. When things are bad, get to work. The connection is always back to work." The Man In The Arena - "I had to develop this over time. The critics used to bother me and I would listen to them. It affected my confidence. I learned that the most important opinions are the people in the arena with me." Brene Brown - “A lot of cheap seats in the arena are filled with people who never venture onto the floor. They just hurl mean-spirited criticisms and put-downs from a safe distance. The problem is, when we stop caring what people think and stop feeling hurt by cruelty, we lose our ability to connect. But when we’re defined by what people think, we lose the courage to be vulnerable. Therefore, we need to be selective about the feedback we let into our lives. For me, if you’re not in the arena also getting your ass kicked, I’m not interested in your feedback.” Purpose - "My purpose is to inspire others to strive for excellence over success." Self awareness leads to self confidence - Know who you are. Be comfortable with who you are. "You can't be tough alone. You need others." Foxhole Friends - It takes time to build foxhole friend relationships. "With my foxhole friends, I can be completely open. They tell me the truth. They have the freedom to criticize me." Coach Z -- Dave Zeller. “He never won a District. He’s the best coach I’ve ever been around. A state championship isn’t success. It’s the impact you have on the kids because nobody’s going to tell me that those guys that won state championships are better coaches than Z was.” Core Values: Values become real when you define the behaviors that exemplify the value... Tough - Positive body language leads you to be fight ready Passionate - Choosing extra work leads you to steal inches Unified - Speaking and acting with urgency leads you to not flinching in big moments Thankful - Showing love for one another through touches (help someone off the floor, give them a five after they make a mistake) Unified --  You must speak and act with urgency. "If you choose to remain silent when someone has done something wrong, then that is selfish." Choosing the easier path of not saying anything is selfish. The selfless act is having the guts to speak up when it's needed. Patch Adams - "Indifference is the greatest disease of all." You need to stand for something or you stand for nothing... "Your behaviors are the crux to your values." Do your behaviors match the values you claim to be yours? Gabe Cupps (Brook's son) entered the conversation for a few minutes... Gabe sent a text to each player on the team before tournament games that simply said, "We're gonna win." Where does that confidence come from? "It's the work put in leading up to the big moments." Gabe originally tried out for the North Coast Blue Chips AAU team... The same team that Bronny James (LeBron James Jr) played on... During a break in the action, he asked Bronny to play 1 on 1... "I didn't know how good I was. I wanted to see." Gabe earned their respect and made the team... Later LeBron noticed Brook's coaching ability when he was helping out at practice and determined he was the best coach to lead the team moving forward. LeBron's superpower as a leader is "gassing up his guys." He has the ability to create more belief in others through his belief in them. A critical leadership action where LeBron excels... What did Brook and Gabe say to each other during their long embrace after winning the state championship? "I just told him how much I loved him." Goal setting process -- Brook does not set results oriented goals. He sets process oriented goals. They had no goals to win their conference, or regionals, or the state championship (they won all of those this year). Their goal for this season was: Attack every opportunity with purpose Process based versus Results based? In the world of coaching basketball, there is a clear scoreboard. You have a record. If you lose too many games, you get fired. How does Brook manage that? "If I have a group of guys that are tough, passionate, unified, and thankful... And they attack every opportunity with purpose, we'll probably be pretty good and win a lot. The results usually take care of themselves." Honoring those who have come before you: "Drink the water, but remember who dug the well." Will you take a charge? This is what he looks for in a teammate. Someone who looks for opportunities to sacrifice for the team. There is a physical sacrifice. "It's gonna hurt. It's an unselfish act to take a charge." "To be all in, you need to take charges." High Standards - There was a moment in a game earlier in the season when Centerville was winning 60-24 in the third quarter. Brook's team started playing a little sloppy. Turned the ball over a few times. It was uncharacteristic of their usual play. Brook called a time out and yelled at his team. It was obvious they were going to win (by a lot), but that moment showed me that Brook holds his team to higher standards and won’t allow them to lower even when the opponent isn’t posing a challenge... "You get what you accept. That's my standard. If I ignore that, then I'm not living to my values, and that's not ok with me." Creating your values -- "I think as the leader, they need to be your values." "If you go to work for someone else, you need to be bought into their values. If you're not, then you probably shouldn't work there." When interviewing for a job to work for a leader, ask them: "What are your values and how do you live them? I noticed after big wins that Brook doesn't join in the pictures with his players... Why? "That's their moment. It's about them. I love watching them enjoy those moments." Common traits of foxhole friends: "They may not communicate them the same way I do, but we have a shared appreciation for our values." “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.” -- Teddy Roosevelt

Text LEARNERS to 44222... Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com Twitter/IG: @RyanHawk12 https://twitter.com/RyanHawk12 Kevin Sharer has a distinguished career as a successful CEO and Board Member. He is currently a senior lecturer at Harvard University Business School and continues to mentor a select number of senior executives. Either as a Chairman, independent director, or mentor, Sharer has been a part of more than 20 successful CEO-successor transitions. Kevin led Amgen for 20 years, first as President and then as CEO for 12 years. Under Sharer’s leadership, the company achieved annual revenue of $16 billion with operations in 55 countries.  Notes: "What Operational Excellence Looks Like" Must know the details Must have a listening system to know where problems brew The leaders have a clear agreement with the team on what success is A cadence of clear communication The leader must embody the behavior... They are the model Must have real empathy for people and care about them The leader needs to assess when things go wrong so that they don't make the same mistake twice... Kevin spent 110 days underwater in a submarine... When he left the Navy, he knew he wanted to be a manager. He joined a program at AT&T to become one... He had an ambition to rise high in an organization Kevin's dad - A military aviator. His hero and role model. his dad cared a lot about leadership... How did Kevin earn the CEO role at Amgen? Spent 8 years as the President of the company. And "made it pretty obvious" to hire him for the CEO role He consistently delivered results and formed a strong partnership with the CEO How to sustain what's special about a company as it grows? The book Built to Last by Jim Collins was very helpful.... How to create and live your values? They are not defined by what's written down, it's the behavior of the people. And that starts at the top... Understand what your real values are. If you don't believe in the values, you shouldn't work there... You "have to have social data to know that the values are real." Ask others in the organization: "Are the values you experience consistent with the values stated by the company?" How he got hired as the President at Amgen? "I first decided that I wanted to be a General Manager and not a functional specialists." Kevin pursued that through General Electric and got great experience...They hired him in part because of his broad range of experience. It was a multi-step interview process. Kevin interviewed with 20 people at the company before getting the offer... Listening ability: Kevin went from bad to great... "On the way up in my career, I had the view that I was so fast, so smart... It was working. I thought I was being helpful by telling others what I thought, but I was cutting off the full picture." Kevin had an eye opening moment when he asked the CEO of IBM to talk about leadership with his team... "I learned to listen for comprehension. Listen to understand first." "You need to listen to the entire eco-system." Big idea: Pick 10 CEOs who didn't make it: "Seven of them weren't situationally aware." What are some "must-have" hiring qualities? A record of good knowledge Great communication skill Comfort in their own skin Curious - they must ask questions Answer the question, "what are your goals?" Answer the question, "what have you learned from failure?" "If five people were asked about you, what would they say?" Their accomplishments speak for themselves. They don't have to overly sell themselves They need to "clearly want the job." A good sense of humor Hiring trap: "There is a bias for us to hire people like us. It's overwhelming. We're wired to think, "other is dangerous." We must be aware of that."

Text LEARNERS to 44222 for more... Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com Twitter/IG: @RyanHawk12  https://twitter.com/RyanHawk12 Ryan Petersen is the CEO and Founder of Flexport. Prior to starting Flexport to fix the user experience in global trade, Ryan was co-founder and CEO of ImportGenius.com, a data-as-a-service business for global shipping. Flexport hit a $3.2 Billion valuation after $1 billion investment led by SoftBank. Notes: Excellence = Curiosity - "It's a more fun way to live." Learners Appreciative Have fun "It doesn't have to be boring." The importance of writing as a leader: "I write a lot of essays. Some are published. Some aren't." Communication: "It's a huge part of the job of a leader." For investor updates... "It's good practice." Try to use humor, learn something new, don't be boring, get people "pumped up" Raising money from investors: "It's like your love life. You have to earn it. There are no shortcuts. You need to have a business that doesn't need them." "We built a track record over the 15 years prior to raising money." Masayoshi Son is the CEO of Softbank. He is a Japanese billionaire technology entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist. Ryan met with him and earned a $1 Billion investment... Making Flexport worth $3.2 Billion. Flexport became the fastest growing company in Silicon Valley. Ryan wrote an essay about raising a lot of money so that they could ride out a "100 year storm." How was he able to raise so much? "Don't do an auction. I said, 'I'm only talking to you.' Create a win-win. See the world through their eyes." Masa had written a 300 year vision. Ryan said, "The audacity to have a 300 year vision, it just resonated with me." "One of our core values is to play the long game." Flexport enables all parties to move large product around the world. It was born out of Ryan discovering the pain of shipping. There is a lack of technology with freight forwarders. There was no culture of customer satisfaction. There was high friction - "We counted 984 steps to get a product shipped." Paul Graham, one of the greatest investors of all time and founder of Y-Combinator said this about Ryan Petersen: Ryan is what I call an armor-piercing shell: a founder who keeps going through obstacles that would make other people give up. But he's not just determined. He sees things other people don't see. The freight business is both huge and very backward, and yet who of all the thousands of people starting startups noticed? Ryan Petersen." By 2016, Flexport was serving 700 clients across 64 countries. Tech Crunch described it as the unsexiest trillion-dollar startup. Flexport has grown to 1,800 employees across 14 offices and 6 warehouses, and 10,000 clients. His goal: "Drive velocity: You need speed in the right direction. Velocity is the key to success. That's culture ultimately." The two forms of bureaucracy: Too many rules, order No rules, no process, chaos Need to find the balance between the two "Transparency helps get people aligned." Doing an open Slack Q&A with all employees -- Helps with transparency. What Ryan looks for when hiring a leader? And why Ryan admires Parker Conrad from Zenefits: He's "hungry, curious, has a chip on his shoulder, determined, ambitious, and solves complex problems." The profession of sales: It's "one of the most misunderstood professions. It's part of all jobs. You have to persuade, create value." "Sales is about creating value for others. Create win-wins. So much is repeat games. Almost nothing is a one time transaction." Obsession with company culture: "When I reach out to top execs, they always take the call if I'm asking about culture." The secret to the tech industry: Everyone is willing to share tools, mindset, and lessons learned with one another. It's "normal to pick up the phone and ask." How did becoming a dad change him? "It's exhausting. Babies are fragile." Generalists vs. Specialists? The world needs more generalists. "Generalists are under-valued. Leaders need to be well-rounded and cross over into multiple disciplines." Has has Ryan learned to speak 6 languages? Read books, make flash cards, read the newspaper, hire a tutor... "You have to experience pain to learn. You have to like the pain." Life/Career Advice: Get out of student debt Read books. Your life will be different in 5 years based on the books you read. "Most people don't read books." Success compounds - Add up a lot of little wins