The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

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

Text LEARNERS to 44222 for more... Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com Twitter/IG: @RyanHawk12 https://twitter.com/RyanHawk12 Dustyn Kim is the Chief Revenue Officer at Artsy. Artsy is used by art lovers and collectors to discover, learn about, and buy art. Prior to working at Artsy, Dustyn was a senior executive at LexisNexis. While at LexisNexis, she was my boss! She is a rare combination of highly respected, extremely well-liked, and typically the smartest person of every room she walks in. I loved working for her. Notes: Excellence = Authenticity and team building. "A leader should be focused on building great teams." What Dustyn learned from one of her favorite bosses, Kumsal Bayazit (the CEO of Elsevier) "She was inspiring and very human. Work and life go hand in hand." "When I got a senior leadership role, I didn't want a command and control organization." What she learned from Sebastian at Artsy: "He said to me, 'I advise, you decide.' That empowered me and gave me ownership of my decisions." It's critical to empower others What are must-have qualities in a leader? Empathy - EQ + IQ Communication skill - Set the vision and communicate that effectively to you team Collaboration - Lead through influence. Cross team collaboration is key to getting things done. How to collaborate better? "Map out the key people you need to know and understand their goals." Starting early: "When I was 15, my dad woke me up and told me he was taking me to Wall Street for my first internship." How to lead as a parent for you children? "I try to introduce them to as much as possible." "My job is to help you figure out what you love doing, but you have to show up and do the work." Advice for women leaders? "I don't love the advice from Sheryl Sandberg's "Lean In." It's really hard to have a full time job and travel a lot if you want to build a family. It's okay to slow down at times for your family. "Kumsal wanted me to go for a big promotion when I had just given birth to Mason. I didn't want to travel the world and be gone all the time. It's okay to not go for the big job all the time." Advice for new managers: Avoid the desire to micro manage Know that there are lots of different paths to success Don't expect to know everything A lot of new managers are too nice You need to give feedback How to be both respected and liked? Focus on the challenge at hand - "What's the plan? What's the goal?" "Then build the narrative and ask the team, what do you think?" "It didn't work for me to try and act like a guy. I had to be myself." Confidence is very important. That comes from being prepared and knowing your stuff. A tangible takeaway for how to find your voice in a meeting: "In meetings, when I was younger, I would turn bright red when speaking. A trick I had to implement was, 'say something very early in the meeting.' Just so that too much time passes without me saying anything." Career/Life Advice: Stand out -- Be excellent at your current role. Make sure others know they can count on you to do great work. Speak up -- Don't expect others to read your mind. TELL THEM what you want in your career. Make sure people know what you want to do. Give them the opportunity to help you get there... Have a goal, but be flexible on your path to achieving it

Text LEARNERS to 44222 for more... Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com Twitter/IG: @RyanHawk12 https://twitter.com/RyanHawk12 Adam Bryant interviewed more than 500 CEOs for “Corner Office,” a series on leadership that he created in 2009. Adam is the author of three books based on the themes that have emerged from his interviews and consulting work. His new book is THE CEO Test: Master the Challenges that Make or Break All Leaders. Notes: Interview style - Instead of asking them about strategies and industry trends, Adam focuses on timeless questions (how they were influenced by parents, lessons from early years in their careers, what they look for when making bets on people to invest in) about the important leadership lessons that CEOs had learned… Some questions he likes to ask: How do you hire? What questions do you ask? Describe yourself in one word... Work to get around the polished façade What animal would you be and why? Tony Hsieh would ask, "On a scale of 1-10, how weird are you?" Some additional interviewing tactics: The CEO has the interviewee drive his or her car. Monitors how they react in a different vehicle, in a new city Sharing meals "Put the mosaic of what a person is like as a human being" -- not just interviewing for a job The Dinner Party game: "If you could only ask a job candidate one question, what would you ask?" Learn about failure - Id you desire humility, learn about their failures, learnings, and lessons of life Ownership - The 3 most beautiful words: "I'm on it." Every employee needs to write a playbook to how they'd do the job... They need to take ownership. If you were an animal, what would you be? Adam: "A Hawk. Hover at high altitude, when they figure out what they want, they go get it." Question: What qualities of your parents do you like the most and the least? Ask that if you really want to go deep -- This forces the candidate to get real. "We're fooling ourselves if we think we can escape our parents." Process to ask questions: Think, "I want to cut a record with you." -- Have the desire to make something new with the person. His premise at the New York Times: "What if I sat down with CEOs and never asked them about their companies?" Questions: What were you like as a kid? What were your parents like? How have your parents impacted your leadership style? What drives you? "I like to see them in the moment of learning about themselves." "Eye contact is the 5 G of communication." Two tracking - Know where to go next AND listen intently Sustaining Excellence: Feedback look must be strong - They must be open to it Recognize patterns Take action Learn new things Be self-aware Be humble Need to ask, "What does this moment need?" "What is the gooey center of that candy?" A leader needs to know that about their business. Life advice: "Play in traffic." You have to get out there and meet people and do things. Build relationships. Those help with the pivot points of your career and life. Always be prepared to learn the most important lesson of your life...

Text LEARNERS to 44222 for more... Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com Twitter/IG: @RyanHawk12 https://twitter.com/RyanHawk12 Jeff Immelt served as CEO of GE for 16 years. He has been named one of the “World’s Best CEOs” three times by Barron’s. During his tenure as CEO, GE was named “America’s Most Admired Company” by Fortune magazine and one of “The World’s Most Respected Companies” in polls by Barron’s and the Financial Times.  Notes: Raised in Cincinnati, OH by his father Joe and mother Donna. Both of his parents grew up in the depression. Growing up Jeff said, “I remember when my dad had a great boss, he was motivated, and when he had a lousy boss, he was neither challenged nor happy. The worst kind of boss he always used to say, was one who criticized all day long but never offered solutions.” GE was founded on April 15, 1892, by one of the greatest inventors in history, Thomas Edison. For most of the 20th century, GE had more patents than any other corporation. Jack Welch, deemphasized technology and innovation, and instead focused on management techniques like six sigma. Six Sigma is a data-driven methodology invented by a Motorola engineer named Bill Smith in 1980. It trains managers to be experts (called Black Belts) in improving business processes to reduce product defects. Jeff's first day as CEO of GE was September 10, 2001. On his first day, he introduced himself, via simulcast, to GE’s 300,000 employees. His second day as CEO was 9/11/2001. "Good leaders absorb fear. They give people a plan. You have to hold two thoughts at the same time." By the end of his first week as CEO, GE’s shares had dropped 20%, decreasing the company’s market capitalization by $80 billion. Leaders learn everyday — “I’ve always believed an important determinant of success could be found in how one answered 3 questions: How fast can you learn? How much can you take? What will you give to those around to you?” The trifecta: “In your career, you meet only a handful of leaders who have the trifecta of being able to innovate, execute, and develop talent. Omar Ishrak had that." Jeff was the ultimate grinder, a true believer of GE, he got the “meatball” (the GE logo) tattooed on the left hip. The GE story is extremely personal for Jeff.  Why the "Success Theater" story about Jeff is wrong. "For seven years, 10 times per year, I had a leader from GE flown to my house with their spouse. We'd serve them dinner and then I'd spend 6+ hours with the leader asking them questions, learning about them, and saying, 'Tell me something I don't know.'" What Jeff learned from playing football in college at Dartmouth: "When the best player is not caring about the team, nobody will get in line." The story of Harry Wilson (Russell Wilson's father, Jeff's teammate in college) and Reggie Williams. "Football teams are self policing. It's a series of peer relationships. Failure is not definitive. You have to always think about the next play." "The best people get 100% of the work done in 80% of the time. That leaves them more time to push boundaries." How did Jeff get picked to be Jack Welch's successor? "I was a good peer. Your peers are who promote you. Those relationships have to be earned." What was a Jack Welch Quarterly Business Review like? "Jack was a screamer. He was spontaneous. He would like at page 7 and then jump to page 17 and ask questions." Front line obsession - "You have to have a passion for understanding how people work." Front line managers - "I told them they are more important than me. That have direct access to the customer." The profession of sales: why it's noble Amazing sense of urgency - Never waste a minute or let it pass See the company through the customers eyes - "The salesforce sets the culture... I was persistent, dogged..." Good leaders are systems thinkers: Keep your head up and stay engaged at the same time Read books, ask question... "You must be curious." Sustain excellence: Must be a learner. "Fred Smith (CEO of FedEX) is my leadership hero." Heart broken over GE: "You can still progress as a human being even when you have a broken heart. You have to keep trying. Even when the efforts don't seem to be working for you." "There's value in a human being in just keep moving. Don't hide. Don't disappear." When you are on top, it is easy to be long on friends. When you hit bottom, there are a select few who reach out. For me, those standouts included American Express’s Ken Chenault, Delta Airlines' Richard Anderson, and especially Cisco’s John Chambers. Apply to be part of my Leadership Circle

Text LEARNERS to 44222 for more... Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com Twitter/IG: @RyanHawk12 https://twitter.com/RyanHawk12 Ryan Serhant is a real estate broker, CEO, and founder of SERHANT. He's a bestselling author, producer, and star of Bravo's Million Dollar Listing New York and Sell It Like Serhant. He led the #1 ranked (in sales volume) real estate team in New York City in 2019 with just under $1.45 Billion in sales. Notes: His mantra is: "Expansion. Always in all ways." It's about growth. Work to find your own brand and mantra -- It must be honest and genuine for you. A learning exercise for you to do: A "self-audit." Ask your friends and colleagues, "When I'm not around and you're describing me to others, what do you say?" Find friends who are willing to be honest with you to better understand what you're known for... If you don't like it, work to change it. Ryan Serhant was known as the guy who kept his hands in his pockets and couldn't look you in the eye. He needed to change that. "Your perception to others is your reputation and your brand." "Fake it til you make it" is not useful... Instead, Ryan sold the TV producers at Bravo the person and the real estate broker he would become... "When Tom Brady got drafted in the 6th round, he told the owner, 'That's the best decision you've ever made.' Tom Brady truly believed that. I believed I would become the best real estate agent in the world." "I didn't show them who I was in the moment, I showed them who I could become." Pivotal moment - Ryan went to the top selling agent in his office and said, "Man, how are you doing this, can you teach me?" And the agent said to Ryan, "Na man, I ain't telling you shit." Ryan thought, "Wow. I'm going to have to figure this out on my own. This guy is threatened by me." The New York City market - "It's cut throat. I went there for theater school, and stayed because, 'I would rather regret the things I did, than what I thought about doing and didn't do." Ryan depends on a routine to be productive. It is: "I wake up at 4:00am. In the gym by 5:00. 6:00 shower. Baby time at 7:00. First meeting at 7:30. I figure I wake up three hours earlier than most people. If you multiple that 3 hours times 365 days, I get on average 30 more days per year than others. I like my odds with 30 extra days." Discipline is critical - "Of course I'm tired in the morning, but I get up and do it anyway. People need to do more things that could better their lives. Do the things within your control." It's harder, but worth it. How has becoming a dad changed Ryan? "My wife says it's being a male nester. I worked harder and worked more while she was pregnant. I want to be the provider for my family. My daughter has made everything bigger." What about balance? "I have no balance. I'm lucky I found a partner who understands my drive and work ethic." What to say to those who don't like him because of the self-promotion? "I'm a real estate broker. I'm a salesman. The difference with me is I don't hide it. Our job is to promote our success so that we can get the next listing." Building confidence: "People who spend millions on real estate don't lack confidence. They want a broker who is confident too." Big Money Energy: "It's a unique set of qualities that every successful, confident person has..." Code #1: "When you can't change your circumstance, there's one thing you can change. Your energy. I sell a transfer of energy. Of excitement." Energy "Develop magnetism so others want to be around you. How? Ask questions, be interested in them, listen to their responses, create friendships instead of clients." "Shift your mindset -- What is your why? What's the wall you're fighting against? -- "I had no money and no connections in NYC. I rode the Subway crying that I couldn't even get a rental listing... That's my why." Commonality among excellence real estate brokers: Must be very organized Follow up is critical Disciplined Relentless work ethic Empathetic - The ability to be excited or sad with a client. There are 3 types of sales people: Car sales - pushes, thinks short term Tour guide - Just points to stuff, never closes deals Push & Pull - They work to get the deal done

Text LEARNERS to 44222 for more... Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com Twitter/IG: @RyanHawk12 John Chambers served as Cisco’s CEO from 1995-2015 and Executive Chairman from 2015-2017. Cisco went from $70 million to $40 billion in annual revenue during his time. Notes: When John was six years old, he went fishing with his Dad in Elk River, WV. He was told, "Don't get too close to the water, the current is strong and could pull you under." John's curiosity got the best of him. He went too close and slipped, falling into the water. His dad ran towards the current as it was pulling John and yelled, "Just hold on to the fishing pole." Fortunately, John survived and was eventually pulled out of the water by his dad. His dad said, "Do you know why I told you to hold on to the fishing pole? "Don't let panic set in. Focus on what you can control. Work your way to calmer waters." It's a great metaphor for life. When dealing with stress, hold on to the fishing pole. How to deal with fear and uncertainty? "I had two parents that were doctors. They helped me a lot." "They taught me not to waste cycles on things you cannot change. Focus on the future, deal with the world as it is, not as you wish it was." This is why John deliberately puts the leaders he leads in stressful situations. "Under stress you learn who people are." "With that said, I only coach leaders that want to be coached." -- If you don't want to be coached, you probably won't work with John Chambers. How did he earn the job as CEO of Cisco? "My parents taught me that education is the equalizer in life. I was a professional student. I got three degrees. And was trained very well at IBM, even as an entry level employee." "I decided to leave my job at Wang for the same reason that most people leave their jobs. My manager." "I left prior to even discussing another job with someone else. I didn't feel it was right to be laying people off while looking for another job." "I thought the job offers would roll in. They didn't. I initially had no job offers... And then I reached out to my friends and network and asked for help... I had 22 offers in 90 days. 21 of them from friends of mine. I learned that the golden rule is true. Treat others how you'd like to be treated and it will come back to you when you need it." "How you treat people determines your brand." Relationships -- "I'm usually the best prepared for every meeting I'm in. That way, I can move with speed." "The emotional part of relationships comes from my mom. She taught me how to connect with people." "I love building extended family teams. My team at Cisco was my family. We had only 5% turnover while the market rate was 15%. How is John different from Jack Welch? "I learned a lot of lessons from Jack. He sent his team from GE to benchmark us at Cisco. They took 22 ideas from us." "Jack was great at quarterly business reviews, but he was very tough on his people." "I tried not to embarrass the people on my team in front of one another. I like to praise in public and criticize in private. That was different from Jack." How did they successfully acquire 180 companies? They developed great playbooks and implemented them. What John looks for in a company: Do they have an excellent CEO who wants to be coached? Can the company be #1 or #2 in their market? Talk with customers and get a feel for the company from that vantage point What is their culture? What John looks for in a leader: A track record of overachieving "I look at their leadership team. Can they build a great team? That speaks volumes about them." Cultural match - "Our values need to match." They understand the industry they're in Culture must be owned at the top: "The CEO must own the culture. In every meeting, the CEO should point out an example of how someone is living their values." Why are off site leadership retreats so important? "It allows you to develop relationships outside of the office environment. You can build in depth relationships, built on trust." "The off sites helped us learn much more about one another." Gustavo (a leader John works with) saw a grizzly bear. Later he said, "I've never been more scared or more alive." "In the evenings, I ask for each person to give a toast and share a key learning." "I look for teaching moments." Sales - A noble profession: "We are all in sales. It's about connecting with people. I was with the King of Jordan and his wife (the Queen) was pregnant, I asked, "So King will you be in the room while your wife gives birth?" This was not something that was typically asked of the King. John did it as a way to connect and offer advice. "You need to be in that room. It's the most amazing moment." This is how John connects with others. Sales is part of everything we do. You get rejected, have to bounce back, and keep going. "I once asked Steph Curry, 'do you think you're going to make every shot? Even if you've missed your last five?' 'Yes, he said.' Sales is like that, you have to believe in yourself to make the next one." Advice: Never compromise your values How you handle your setbacks with determine your life Treat people like you want to be treated. Be kind. Focus, but also relax. Don't be so uptight.

Text LEARNERS to 44222 for more... Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com Twitter/IG: @RyanHawk12 Ryan Deiss is a best selling author, founder of multiple companies collectively employing hundreds around the globe. He is the founder and CEO of DigitalMarketer.com and Founder and Managing Partner of RivalBrands.com and plattr.com. Ryan is the creator of the “Customer Value Optimization” methodology and have introduced and popularized many of the digital selling strategies. He is also the founder and host of the Traffic & Conversion Summit, the largest digital marketing conversion conference in North America. Notes: Commonalities of excellence: They understand why they've made mistakes - they learn why they've failed. They are purposeful about their decision making Appetite for risk: "I have a very low appetite for risk." "I value security." Must have qualities in a leader to hire on his team? "I want them to not be like me." Need to have skills that compliment his... Early on he hired people just like him. It was a mistake. Consistency - Must show up. A big heart - People who care about others and their work. Why writing is so important as a leader: Like academics being peer reviewed. "It forces you to crystalize your own ideas." "You need to say something new that hasn't been said before. And be willing to be criticized." Eugene Schwartz Breakthrough Advertising =  one of the best books ever written on marketing The Awareness Levels: Completely Unaware - They don't know they have a problem worth solving Problem Aware - They sense they have a problem, but don't know there's a solution Solution Aware - Know the results they want, but don't know your product provides it Product Aware - Know what you sell, but aren't sure it's right for them Most Aware - Repeat buyers and loyal customers who refer you to their friends How to make your leadership training better? Acknowledge their problem is real. Make them feel heard... Sell the soft. Speak into someone's reality. Acknowledge the pain, offer a solution... "Outsourced Leadership Development" "Your service is a vehicle to a more desired result." Be the "transportation to transformation." Scaling beyond a personality driven business: Get off the field, get in the owner's box. Productize yourself. Build an asset. Create ideas that travel - Have your version of 10 commandments on one single piece of paper Ryan has his "customer value journey" - The Customer Value Journey is about turning strangers into super-fans. Redirect it into the artifact Say "We" instead of "I" Give it a name - The genius is in the artifact The Goal is a book on manufacturing about assembly lines. They identified weakest link and fixed it. The value of creating of having a big event like Traffic & Conversion Summit: Create the place for others to go - It helps with branding, earning media, and the gathering spot for great people. It draws others to it. You become the connector. The host of the party. Story is the leverage of persuasion: Don't talk about yourself Help others change the story they tell about themselves Marketing shouldn't stop at the order - Marketing should own the entirety of the customer journey. Career wise - Get as close to the revenue as possible. Advice: Study old, rich, happy people.

Text LEARNERS to 44222 for more... Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com Twitter/IG: @RyanHawk12 Wendy Kopp is CEO and Co-founder of Teach For All, a global network of independent organizations that are developing collective leadership to ensure all children have the opportunity to fulfill their potential. Today, more than 6,000 Teach For America corps members—outstanding recent college graduates and professionals of all academic disciplines—are in the midst of two-year teaching commitments in over 50 urban and rural regions. Notes: Jim Collins called Wendy “my entrepreneur for this decade.” He continued, “Her organization is truly an entrepreneurial creation that is out to utterly transform education. It’s taking an entrepreneurial, let’s-do-something approach to tackling a massive social problem.” Goal setting: It’s all about setting a goal that’s at the right intersection of ambitious and feasible. The #1 responsibility of a leader is to catalyze a clear and shared vision for the company and secure commitment to and vigorous pursuit of that vision. The differentiator is the “first WHO” principle. It’s what she’s learned. What is it that drives system change in education? “Jim thinks it’s the answer in corporate America, I think it is the difference in social change.” Wendy grew up in a bubble in Texas. She didn't realize the inequity and disadvantages to children born in different situations. At the end of her college years at Princeton, she wrote a 100+ page thesis. She narrowed down to 30 pages... And created a four page plan. She mailed her thesis to 30 executives in an effort to spread awareness and raise money  Everywhere she went, people said, "This is a great idea but college kids won't do this." Wendy was steadfast in her belief that they would... After the first year, Wendy found herself on stage speaking to 500 "Teach For America" teachers... The benefit of naivete: "The world needs you before you become jaded by your experience."  "We need leaders to channel their energy in marginalized communities." What was the key to the first year growth? "It helped writing a plan. I sent 100 letters to potential donors and got rejected or ignored by 98 of them." You have to persevere and have conviction for the idea. Leadership - An idea that magnetizes people. People were drawn to Wendy's mission and purpose. Strategic Framework - What is your core purpose? The core values are what brings people together. Create a sense of mission - "You need to enable a diverse group of people. Articulate it and make it possible for others to engage." Recruit people from a wide variety of backgrounds. Diversity is very important. Why did Wendy do this instead of take a job that would pay well? "I knew myself well. I knew that whatever I did, I would throw myself at it 24/7. I wanted to have a bigger impact on the world." "What keeps me at it? I started gaining the sense of responsibility for so many others." How Teach For America helped Washington D.C. "I met with so many civic leaders who said, 'We've tried everything and it won't work.' DC was 2 years behind Harlem from an educational perspective with their public schools." Washington DC was completely transformed by Teach For America and now has one of the better public school districts in America. How is she so humble? "I realize we're going to get so much wrong." Must learn from what goes wrong and improve moving forward What are some "must-have" leadership qualities? Look at what people have accomplished How have you managed through challenges? People who are passionate about the purpose People who live into the values Optimism Commitment to diversity and inclusiveness What's currently exciting? Seeing the leadership effects in others from Pakistan to Peru The power of locally rooted leadership Commonalities of leader who sustain excellence: Put impact first... Ahead of career ambitions Solve problems Perseverance Optimism Humility - Constantly learning Act on conviction What does Wendy do for fun? Runs and listens to books while running. Which books? Human Kind by Rutger Bregman Reinventing Organizations by Frederic Laloux Life advice: "Solve as early as possible." "Do not put off your passion until after you've had a job for a few years." "Don't think you have to start something new." Look for others who are doing it and join them...

Text LEARNERS to 44222 for more... Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com Twitter/IG: @RyanHawk12 Rich Diviney Rich Diviney draws upon 20+ years of experience as a Navy SEAL Officer – with 11 deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. He was the Commanding Officer of a Navy SEAL Command. Rich is is the author of The Attributes - 25 Hidden Drivers of Optimal Performance. Notes: The process to select Navy SEALs: Rich created a program to effectively articulate why someone made it through SEAL training. "It's not about training to be a Navy SEAL, it's about proving if you can be one." "Skills are not inherent to our nature. They are learned." Attributes are wired into our internal circuitry, always running in the background, dictating how we behave and react and perform. Attributes should not be confused with personality traits. A personality is built from patterns of behavior that emerge over an extended period of time. It’s an outward expression of all the things that make you you - your skills, habits, emotions, perspectives, and attributes all blended together. What is optimal performance? "It's not a peak. It's doing the best you can, with what you have, in the moment." What are some of the surprising attributes that helped or didn't? Drive - Some of the most driven people weren't necessarily cut out to be a SEAL The difference between Self-Discipline and Discipline: Self-discipline is about controlling those things that the outside world has no say in. Discipline is the ability to move through the challenges of the world. Narcissism - Some of the benefits of it? From Rich: "Why did I want to be a Navy SEAL? I wanted to see if I could be a badass. I desired to standout and be admired. That's a little narcissism." "However, extreme narcissism is awful. Excessive narcissists are rarely loyal-- loyalty requires trust and a sense of safety-- so their tribes are inherently unstable: Healthy members tend not to stay long, and new ones are let in only when they show the requisite deference. Those who do leave usually suffer a disproportionate amount of wrath from the person to whom they once deferred-- because defectors are considered enemies. The energy and effort of the highly narcissistic person will be used to prop up their fragile egos rather than to achieve shared objectives or serve a common purpose.” Did he ever think about quitting during Hell week? "The training trains you to compartmentalize. You can't ever entertain that thought. You have to chunk things down to the moment. You're running around and saying, 'this sucks!' But you have to focus on just getting to the next berm. And then the next one. Think, 'what can I control right now?' And focus on your three foot world." The highest performing people ask better questions: Think: "What's the better question to ask right now?" "What can I control right now?" Introspection is vital. Why aren't we better at being introspective? "Because we escape too much." We have devices to ensure we're never bored. Never lost in thought. On long car rides, children never have to look out the window anymore to pass the time. They have a device or a screen to watch. You need to allow your brain space... Need to spend more time in our heads. "Knowledge is not power. Applied knowledge is power." Be decisive. Take action. "Decisions are final, but not permanent." Be adaptable like a frog. Frogs have survived five extinction level events. "If you don't adapt you will become a dinosaur." Rich has narrowed it down to 5 segments of attributes. They are: Grit, Mental Acuity, Drive, Leadership, and Teamability. Grit - Beware of the fearless leader (Courage), Fall 7 times get up 8 (Perseverance), Be Like the frog (Adaptability), The Benefits of Little Tragedies (Resilience) Mental Acuity -- The art of Vigilance (Situational Awareness), Wired for Efficiency (Compartmentalization), The Multitasking Myth (Task Switching), Forged in Plastic (Learnability) Drive -- Mastering the Pivot (Self-Efficacy), The Self-Disciplined Loser (Discipline), A Fish Is the Last to Discover Water (Open-Mindedness), The Princess and the Dragon (Cunning), It’s All about Me (Narcissism) Leadership -- No One Cares How You Feel (Empathy), If it Doesn’t Hurt, You’re Doing it Wrong (Selflessness), You Can’t Hide You (Authenticity), Many A False Step Is Made by Standing Still (Decisiveness), Don’t Be A Mediator (Accountability) Teamability -- The Subjectivity of Right and Wrong (Integrity), There’s Always Something to Do (Conscientiousness), Play Black, Not Red (Humility), Honor The Class Clown (Humor)