The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk For details, Text LEARNERS to 44222 Full show notes can be found at www.LearningLeader.com Episode #350: Tom Rath - Answering Life's Great Question Tom Rath is an author and researcher who has spent the past two decades studying how work can improve human health and well-being. His 10 books have sold more than 10 million copies and made hundreds of appearances on global bestseller lists. Tom’s first book, How Full Is Your Bucket?, was an instant #1 New York Times bestseller and led to a series of books that are used in classrooms around the world. His book StrengthsFinder 2.0 is Amazon’s top selling non-fiction book of all time. Tom’s other bestsellers include Strengths Based Leadership, Eat Move Sleep, and Are You Fully Charged? Notes: Commonalities of leaders who sustain excellence: "They are the single best people at asking good questions." "They are amazing listeners. They make you feel like you are the only person in the room." Ask insightful questions that help others identify something they had not previously thought of How does one develop that skill? Spend time alone learning... Have a genuine intellectual curiosity... Write caring, handwritten notes Make sure your teammates know you care about them and show your gratitude I shared the story of Doug Meyer calling me simply to say "thank you" and how much it meant to me.  Be a thoughtful leader who leads with gratitude. Use specifics when describing why you appreciate someone Why did StrengtsFinder catch on? "We should not fall back to a resume.  We don't have a good language to describe what we do and our talents."  Strengths Finder does that for people As leaders, we should always be on the lookout for the unique talent in others Tom's Top 5 Strengths: Futuristic Analytical Relater Significane Activator My Top 5 Strengths: Learner - People who are especially talented in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. In particular, the process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them. Input - People who are especially talented in the Input theme have a craving to know more. Often they like to collect and archive all kinds of information. Intellection - People who are especially talented in the Intellection theme are characterized by their intellectual activity. They are introspective and appreciate intellectual discussions. Individualization - People who are especially talented in the Individualization theme are intrigued with the unique qualities of each person. They have a gift for figuring out how people who are different can work together productively. Achiever - People who are especially talented in the Achiever theme have a great deal of stamina and work hard. They take great satisfaction from being busy and productive. Individualize -- Send articles to specific people each day -- Write: "Hey, I was reading this and thought you might find it helpful." What you can contribute is more important that your passions. "There's an enormous mismatch in what the world needs and what's out there." Three big influences on Tom: Dr. Martin Luther King - “Life's most persistent and urgent question is: what are you doing for others?” Ben Horowitz's commencement speech His grandfather, Don Clifton -- "Our greatest contribution can be to teach others." There is a higher correlation in helpfulness when you can literally see the people you're helping (Tom shares the research to back this up).  This gives you motivation to see your impact.  We need a productive purpose. When feeling unfulfilled or unhappy at work? Instead of looking to leave the company, look for new ways to get to your intended outcome.  How could you re-write your job? Can you make the job you have today meaningful? The Peter Principle - The principle that members of a hierarchy are promoted until they reach the level at which they are no longer competent. Qualities Tom looks for in a leader: Desire to develop other people Vision Life's great question is: "What are you doing for others?" We need to align basic expectations: "How do each of us want to contribute?" Create - Have a challenger as part of your team.  Someone to push back and ask questions Relate - An energizer.  How do you get and stay charged up? What reminds you of the vision? Of the mission? How to have fun? Operate - Scaling... Reaching more people. Advice: Map what the world around you needs. Who are you? What are your talents? Interests? Motivators? --> Draw the connections.  Look where they intersect.

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk Text LEARNERS to 44222 For full show notes go to: www.LearningLeader.com  #349 - An Inside Look At The Book Writing Process With Jay Acunzo Why this topic? We've both written books. And my book is out this week! Context on our books: Welcome To Management.  I wrote the book I wish I had when I first got promoted.  Jay's book is called Break The Wheel. "Write a book because you think it has to exist.  Not to be a best-seller. The Process: Research, outlining, fan interaction, drafting, publishing -- Why an outline is a vital piece of the process.  "The outline is the bones." "Doing research in public created a system to vet ideas and best practices." --> Using client interactions as real time research to help test ideas Podcasts - It was extremely helpful for me to be recording while I was writing the book: I was consistently doing research while writing the book.  Interviews, asking questions about writing/books, ideas, etc. I was working full time while I wrote this book and I think that made it better. It forced me to be disciplined with blocking time to write daily. Traditional vs. Self-Publish vs. Hybrid -- Jay chose a hybrid approach to publishing his book.  I chose to publish traditionally with McGraw-Hill.  I did a lot of research on the different paths for publishing and chose the traditional route because: I wanted to create options and leverage for myself.  And after I spoke with Casey Ebro from McGraw-Hill I was completely sold on accepting their offer. Superlatives: Platitude about writing/writing books/creativity that you found MOST true during this process? LEAST true?  Most true = Writers write (listen to the James & Kristy Clear story from dinner).  Least true = I’ve read from a few well known authors that you have to dedicate your life to nothing but writing the book.  I found that continuously working and building a business at the same time as writing was helpful. When I do q & a’s on stage after a keynote or on my podcast, I get ideas and prompts to write about... Most useful habit/routine: I learn through talking.  I had regular sessions where I would sit in a room with my Dad and/or my friend Lance (who was a prosecutor for 10 years).  They would give me prompts, ask questions, and we would talk out the book. I would type notes during our sessions, then I would go by myself and write.  In my very first session with my Dad, he said, “Remember, it’s a lot harder when you care.”  He meant this in the form of leading people… And he’s right. But the same is true for writing a book. It’s hard when you care so deeply about the topic of helping people lead others more effectively… Because I understand the ripple effect.  The wake left behind you as a leader. Most surprising lesson: You don’t fully know what you think or how little you know until you put pen to paper.  Writing REALLY forces you to be clear on what you believe. I outline sections and then would ramble on for pages.  The editing process was helpful. I hired an editor/writing coach to help. Best story from the book:   I sent an early copy to Ryan Holiday to read and offer feedback.  He called me said, “Dude, why is your best story in the middle of the book?  You should open the book with that story." And so I did... What was your editor's favorite part? Casey Ebro (from McGraw-Hill) said to me, "I read non-fiction business books for a living.  I've read hundreds of them.  And your section titled "You Have To Do All Three" in chapter six is the most unique and helpful view that I've read about leading, managing, and coaching."  -- That was a great moment. Additional Benefits: Publishing your work online is becoming the greatest networking tool in the world -- When done well, you attract the people you want to be around. (David Perell, James Clear have written a lot about this) Writing is the ultimate exercise to help you find clarity.  Sometimes you don’t realize how much you don’t know about something until you try to write about it.  -- This can help everyone (especially useful for leaders).

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk Text LEARNERS to 44222 Full show notes can be found at www.LearningLeader.com Episode #348: Simon Sinek - Why Consistency Beats Intensity (Playing The Infinite Game) Notes: Leaders who sustain excellence: Humility - They don't believe their own hype. Their power is accumulated through helping others. "I'm fully aware I'm the same idiot I was back then." "Vision is like an iceberg.  The great leaders can see what's beneath the surface." "I never look at what I've done, I look at what I can do." "I tend to be very future focused." "People called me the 'why' guy... For my tastes, it's about new ideas, building on ideas." "We all need to find a vision." People should practice telling stories about real people, learn how to use metaphors Simon described the difference between the messaging at Apple vs. Microsoft Microsoft (during the Steve Ballmer days) were focused on their competition Apple was focused on helping teachers and designing beautiful products Stop thinking of others as competitors... Instead find worthy rivals In the late 1970's Milton Friedman said business should maximize profits for shareholders.  For some reason, this idea was adopted and it became the norm.  it was embraced.  It's terrible.  Prior to this, the idea of mass layoffs didn't exist as an option for a business. "We all have to become the leader we want to become." "Leadership is not rank, it's seeing those around you rise." "Business is one of the most personal things in the world."  You should never said, "it's not personal, it's just business."  It's ALWAYS personal. Great leaders are the ones who think beyond short term vs long term. They are the ones who know it’s not about the next quarter or the next election but about the next generation. The greatness of George Eastman - he was not just how great for Kodak,  but amazing for the game of business as a whole… He created a lot of employee incentives in 1912 that had not been happening up to that point. Stock options, sick days, college tuition reimbursement, etc. “Consistency becomes more important than intensity.” “Where a finite-minded player makes products they think they can sell to people, the infinite-minded player makes products that people want to buy. The former is primarily focused on how the sale of those products benefits the company; the latter is primarily focused on how the products benefit those who buy them.” “Being the best simply cannot be a Just Cause, because even if we are the best (based on the metrics and time frames of our own choosing), the position is only temporary. The game doesn’t end once we get there; it keeps going. And because the game keeps going, we often find ourselves playing defense to maintain our cherished ranking. Though saying “we are the best” may be great fodder for a rah-rah speech to rally a team, it makes for a weak foundation upon which to build an entire company. Infinite-minded leaders understand that “best” is not a permanent state. Instead, they strive to be “better.” "There is an entire section at the book store called "self-help," there should be a section called "help others." Why lead? --> "Because you want to see others grow. Your job may be 9 to 5, but leadership is 24-7." "If you like the idea of taking care of others, you may be suitable to lead."

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk Text LEARNERS to 44222 Full show notes can be found at www.LearningLeader.com Episode #347: Steven Strogatz - How Calculus Reveals The Secrets Of The Universe Leaders who sustain excellence: Have a willingness to be a beginner "When you're naive, you ask new questions" "They have the courage to be someone who's just starting" How do you fight the urge to live up to a prior reputation of being an expert at something? Be known as an adventurer.  Cannot have an ego. Six degrees of separation is a math problem The strength in weak ties It's important to connect with people outside of your typical orbit Action: Go to a strange party, play a new sport, go to a new gym, meet oddballs Collect "casual acquaintances" The value of being a helper: Be the assist person, help others, do little acts of kindness, promote someone else's work How Steven and I got to know each other: David Epstein's wife made an intro for David and Steven... And then from David to me. "Be the kind of person who remembers others names" Why should a normal person learn calculus? "The world has been turned upside down by calculus" "Calculus is the mathematical study of change" "It's a great intellectual adventure story" "Calculus is the language that God talks" --> The laws of nature are built in calculus How to be more creative? Be broadly interested in many different topics.  Take something from one area and apply it somewhere else. Advice Steven would give to a mid-level manager: "Getting high grades is jumping through hoops someone else sets" "As a PhD, you have to make your own hoops" "People need to be more adventurous, and then figure it out" Why you should study Improv as a leader: Use "Yes and..."  This helps with brainstorming and coming up with new ideas.  Put out a lot of wacky ideas to get to the good stuff. "I want people to be gripped irrationally by the imagination" The power of mentors: "Learn from both the great coaches and the bad ones" The value of friendships: The story of Mr. Joffray -- Physically impressive and wonderfully intelligent.  He took pleasure in Steven passing him. The value of teaching: It helps create empathy... It forces you to put yourself in the mind of someone else. "Bad teachers don't have empathy." How does Steven prepare for big moments? "I try to be myself.  And talk myself out of being intimidated." --->  The audience wants you to do well. Life advice: "Do what you care about most, what drives you the most, do the hard work to become skillful." Why joining The Learning Leader Circle is a good idea

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk Text LEARNERS to 44222 Full show notes can be found at www.LearningLeader.com #346: Cameron Mitchell is the founder & CEO of Cameron Mitchell Restaurants.  In 2018, they celebrated their 25th anniversary. He employees more than 5,000 people and his restaurants do $300m/year in sales. He is the author of Yes Is The Answer, What Is The Question?  He has been recognized as Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst and Young, as a Small Business Person of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration and as one of 50 New Taste Makers by Nation’s Restaurant News. Notes: "Leaders who sustain excellence believe in people.  They put trust in people." Must have strong culture and values Writing your core values -- The benefit of putting pen to paper and the courage to act on them (including firing a superstar if he doesn’t live up to the values set) His goals: Go to the Culinary Institute of America Become GM at age 24 Regional at age 26 VP of Operations at age 30 Be president of a restaurant company by age 35 Go to the Culinary Institute of America He woke his mom up at a 1:00am and told her his goals "When you share your goals, people want to hold you accountable to them..." He went to Culinary Institute of America. Same place as Anthony Bourdain. The CIA was the Harvard of culinary schools. He got turned down initially because of his low high school grades -- "I had the can do, but didn't have the want to initially" He once worked 100 days in a row without a day off (that included a 1 hour and 45 minute commute each way) "I equate it to the doll that you punch and it comes right back up." -- Must be resilient "You cannot build a life like this or be successful without a commitment to hard work" Years ago Cameron was a young man with a dream, a yellow note pad, and a pen.  He wrote down 5 questions and answers that articulated who he would be, why he would exist, and what he believed and did as a restaurant company. The 5 Questions: Who are we? What do we want to be? Why are we in business? What is your role? What is our goal? After those questions were answered, Cameron created their eight core values to live by... Fundraising (for people to invest in his new restaurant business) was a grueling process. He got rejected 9 out of 10 pitches when trying to raise money for his first restaurant.  Cameron shares everything he learned from so much rejection and failure... Initially Cameron was a bad boss and people threatened to quit because of him… He got help from Jim Collins and other mentors. Why the answer is always yes... --> Cameron shares the symbolism of a milkshake. To grow his business, he needed to hire great leaders to help him scale and run other restaurants... He shares the key qualities he looked for when making hiring decisions.  The first leader he hired 20+ years ago is still with him today. "I'm constantly pushing on where could we be?  Constantly thinking about how we can be better?" The Customer Comes Second -- Book by Hal Rosenbluth that impacted Cameron. Cameron gave 5% of the purchase price ($4.6m) to his associates (employees) when they sold a portion of their business to Ruth's Chris and gave a unique gift/experience to his senior leaders (paid for their kids college tuition, sent them on a European trip with their spouse) Associates must come first Cameron described with emotion the power of having children had on him... Before Cameron had even met his wife, he would tell people, "I'm working for a wife and kids I don't even know yet." The moment of clarity when you have that walk with your wife... When she's in the wheelchair holding your new baby. "You can't be successful at home if you're not successful at work.  You can't be successful at work if you're not successful at home." "Everyone sees the outward success.  But the family is the inward success." Their associates get 8 weeks paid vacation. The culture and values must hold up especially when times are tough Cameron tells the story of a time when his best chef used bad language towards another associate.  Cameron fired him within five minutes. "If we don't live those values every single day, then they become no good." General life advice: "Integrity takes years to build and minutes to ruin.  You must lead with integrity." "Cutting corners in life will get you nowhere."  Don't think of the easier way to do things.  "If it were easy everybody would do it.  I don't want the easy way, I want the right way." "Positive mental attitude.  It's what you do with your day that defines you.  Be constantly aware of that." Be unwavering with your work ethic.  "We're pushing forward every day."  

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk Tex LEARNERS to 44222 Full show notes found at www.LearningLeader.com #345: Kamal Ravikant - Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends On It Notes: Commonalities of leaders who have sustained excellence: A belief in the power of commitment to self: WHO am I going to be that day? Don't just float through life "Excellence means continuing through imperfect days." --> Moving forward: It's a mindset How to learn how to keep pushing forward? "Don't wait until you're qualified to do it.  Jump in, learn to swim." Kamal's process for selling: "You have to believe it." Writing process -- Forced Kamal to deal with rejection... It was part of the process to get better. Studied the greats: Hemingway - Clear, simple, prose. "Writing is more rewarding than anything.  It's just you and the blank page." "Love yourself like your life depends on it."  It's story about responding to failure. How does this work with someone who already feels great about themselves? "Fundamentally, this is about how to be better.  Learn from the maps of humanity."  It's all about what's intside. "The internal impacts the external." Kamal had to come to terms with his tough childhood.  He appreciates the strength developed from sleeping in a car (temporarily homeless) What was learned from boot camp (in the Army)? "I can handle anything thrown at me."  It teaches the value of mission and responsibility. Leading a team in business: "Hire people for what they're best at."  And then support them to do that work. "The best leaders are those that have actually done stuff."  They understand the nuance of the industry and the work. Must be hungry. Why walk across Spain? Having the mentality of, "No matter what, I'll figure it out... Take chances in life.  Go beyond comfort zones." How has a life altering event (a surgery that went bad) impacted perspective on life? "I feel blessed and lucky." "You can become a mess or become awesome." What Kamal learned from spending time with monks? "The construct of self disappears." "Love and compassion." Advice: "Excellence requires persistence."

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk Full show notes can be found at www.LearningLeader.com Text LEARNERS to 44222 #344: Jesse Cole Jesse Cole is the founder of Fans First Entertainment and owner of the Savannah Bananas. His teams have welcomed more than 1 million fans to their ballparks and have been featured on MSNBC, CNN and ESPN. Cole’s teams have been awarded Organization of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Year, Business of the Year and have won three CPL Championships. The Savannah Bananas currently have sold out every game for three straight seasons and have a waiting list in the thousands for tickets.  In 2018, Fans First Entertainment made the INC 5000 list as one of the fastest growing companies in America. Jesse wrote Find Your Yellow Tux – How to Be Successful by Standing Out.  The book launched #1 in three categories on Amazon and has been sold in 18 countries.   Staying true to his mantra, “ Whatever’s Normal, Do the Exact Opposite,” Jesse launched the book with a World Book Tour….at Epcot.  Notes: How do we define excellence? Hunger like PT Barnum and Walt Disney Curiosity Sustain energy -- Always "bring the energy." --> "When I'm at work, it's show time." Understand what brings you energy -- Write it down "It was right in front of me.  We sold our house... We needed to create attention.  We couldn't do marketing like everyone else." The daily practice of writing Thank You notes: The "thank you experiment."  One per day, every day.  Look for people you're grateful for... Tell them. Love:  "Love is something not talked about enough."  Jesse learns the love languages of all of his employees. Long term values -- They call all people who buy tickets to his games.   Be intentional about EVERYTHING. "We don't invest in marketing, we invest in experiences." Relate to the normal person: With the hold music Your email signature Business cards Name tags Make everything remarkable Write a letter to the parents of young people who work for you.  How are you recognizing people?   "Be patient in what you want for yourself, but be impatient in how much you give to others." Core beliefs: Always be caring Be different Write your future resume (what do you want to experience) "Red flags never go down."  If you find a red flag in the interview process, it's time to move on. "We want people who 'do and learn.'" "You don't fail, you discover things." Build your idea muscle -- Write 10 ideas a day, every morning. "I believe in learning by doing." Wrote 159 blogs before publishing any of them... "Stop standing still, start standing out." "It's a lot easier to fit in than stand out." Create "You wouldn't believe" moments Write the normal list and then do the opposite -- Do the remarkable (like going on a world book tour at Epcot) Magic Castle -- "Listen carefully, respond creatively." Advice: What makes you different? What makes you stand out?  Be okay with standing for something.  Don't just try to be a little better than someone else. Experiment -- Throw darts until you hit the bulls-eye

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk Full show notes can be found at www.LearningLeader.com Episode #343: Kelly McGonigal Kelly McGonigal is a health psychologist and lecturer at Stanford University who specializes in understanding the mind-body connection. As a pioneer in the field of "science-help," her mission is to translate insights from psychology and neuroscience into practical strategies that support personal well-being and strengthen communities.  She is the best-selling author of The Willpower Instinct and The Upside of Stress. You might know her from her TED talk, "How to Make Stress Your Friend," which is one of the most viewed TED talks of all time, with over 20 million views.  Her new book, The Joy of Movement, explores why physical exercise is a powerful antidote to the modern epidemics of depression, anxiety, and loneliness.  Her identical twin sister is the well-known game designer and futurist Jane McGonigal. Notes: How do we define excellence? What's the metric? It's about contributing to the world consistent and personal values.  A sense of who Let your strengths and talents be what guides you Trust in self, intuition, take risks Kelly has a strong sense of direction.  She's had that for a long time.  When to say yes or no?  She discovered she loved teaching. The story/science approach -- "I want to connect you with a stranger."  Help people connect with others. "The science reveals something about human nature." Willpower -- "The ability to make choices to do what you want even when part of you doesn't want to do it." Immediate gratification combined with an investment if your future.  Both are important.  "This is a skill that can be developed." Be clear about your values and goals.  Know what you want.  "Every morning, do a 30 second commitment to what's important to you."  Remember who you are. "Create an environment that reminds me of my goals and makes it easier to accomplish them." Disciplined people do what they say they will do.  "They are clear about what they want to do.  Create an environment that supports them.  Have a sense of purpose." "Anyone can develop discipline if they are clear on what they want." "Stress is what happens when we care/have a lot at stake." "Stress is what gives you energy.  It reminds you that it matters." Think, "How is stress trying to direct me?" "What is my body and brain trying to nudge me towards?" "Figure out your healthy stress responses." Real life example:  How to prepare for your first meeting with your new team (that you are leading): Get rid of the idea that you shouldn't be stressful.  It is part of the process.  It's a signal that you care. Bigger than self-perspective.  Go beyond the ego.  Think it's allowing the team to have a moment.  Support the mission.  Think bigger than just making a good impression.  It helps you connect with clear intentions.  It's a mindset shift. Always assume others have something as valuable as you.  They have wisdom.  Let it be co-created with others. "Being a leader is bringing what's best in the room.  People will rise to the expectations of them." Thoughts Kelly had in her mind prior to her TED Talk (that has since gone viral): The woman that went before her had a panic attack.  Kelly noticed that the crowd had incredible goodwill towards the speaker.  They wanted the speaker to do well. "Breathe in anxiety, breath out encouragement." "I'm going to put the audience at ease.  I got you." The joy of movement:  When you go from sedentary to active, when you move your body, there is increased optimism, hope, connection. The story about my mom working as an aerobics instructor when I was a kid -- Moving your body to the beat of the music is powerful and helpful. Walking in nature:  "When you're in nature, the brain shifts to the present moment."  Take more walks. The "Runner's High"-- Persistence is high, put the body in motion and just keep going.  Your brain releases chemicals to provide pleasure, reduce pain.  It creates energy and optimisim "We learn from movement.  We endure.  We learn what we're capable of." General advice: Take care of your self -- invest in your well being.  It will help you deal with challenges Tell me about someone who's made a positive influence on your life Don't wait for permission.  Start it.  Do it.  You need feedback.

Guest Shane Snow, an effective leader with intellectual humility, discusses the importance of intellectual humility in effective leadership. He explores the challenges of changing one's mind, the role of ego, and the significance of cognitive diversity. Practical ways to develop intellectual humility are highlighted, along with the importance of intentional communication and reading.

Jay Acunzo, a key figure behind the Learning Leader Show, shares insights alongside leadership expert Jim Collins and author David Epstein. They discuss the most challenging interviews and the growth of the show, highlighting its most-downloaded episodes. Acunzo reflects on the art of interviewing and the evolution of his conversational skills. The importance of listener engagement and the transformative power of gratitude in creative work are emphasized. They also delve into the challenges of leadership and the necessity of fostering genuine connections within teams.