The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk Full show notes can be found at www.LearningLeader.com  #321: Jay Acunzo Jay Acunzo is the founder of the media company Marketing Showrunners, author of the book Break the Wheel, and the host and producer of more than a dozen docuseries about creativity at work. He's a former digital media strategist at Google, head of content at HubSpot, and Vice President of Content and Community at the VC firm NextView.Jay’s work has been cited in courses at Harvard Business School and by writers at the New York Times, the Washington Post, FastCompany, Fortune, Entrepreneur, and more. Salesforce called him "a creativity savant," while the American City Business Journals named him as one of Boston's "50 On Fire.” Show notes: Leaders who sustain excellence = Curiosity gets you the ability to constantly reinvent yourself Ex: A basketball player who works on a new part of his/her game every summer (constantly adding to the game) Intrinsic motivation Telic type -- Get to level 1, 2, and going... "When you're curious you're constantly turning it over and over..." Be a sensitive skeptic -- Keeping dispirit ideas at the same time "You have to be open and at the same time question everything." Anthony Bourdain -- An inspiration -- Why does that inspire me?  What do I bring to the table?  Be open to all, but skeptical Bourdain -- He's able to sit with anybody and pull out emotional moments from what seemed a normal day. Parts Unknown is not about geography, but with people and their emotions.  "We experience his work with lots of emotion." Best interviewers: 2 types: Conversationalists: Bourdain, Bill Simmons, Conan -- They aren't about the clever question, it's about the environment they create, the trust they build. Questioners: Terry Gross, Kara Swisher - They are genius in the simple questions, and the follow ups... How do you feel leading up to a big moment? A specific anticipatory feeling.  Before getting on stage, think, "Wow, I get to do this." Not, I have to do this. Process to prepare for a speech: Wind down before the gig Rehearse in the office days before, film it, use it as game tape.  Practice, practice, practice. Create muscle memory -- "Don't memorize it, memorialize it." "When I make something, I want to feel something.  I have to put in the reps." Thoughts on "best practices?" "The image in my head is, 'that's the way we've always done things.'"  Must rather find the best approach How to do this? Don't run a faulty equation for your work Don't build on lagging indicators Don't miss variables... You must know the current context "Stop acting like an expert, start acting like an investigator." The 3 Psychological Barriers: Why we aren't making great decisions: The Pike Syndrome:  A feeling of powerlessness after repeated failure (named for the experiment of conditioning a pike to not eat minnows by hiding those minnows behind glass).  Solution: "first-principle"insights about customers The Foraging choice: The decision between exploiting your current position or exploring other possibilities (named for the idea that human decisions under high-stress condition often mirror foraging behavior in animals.  Solution: "Aspirational anchors" for you and/or your team Cultural Fluency: Your behavior when the world unfolds according to the expected norm (a concept honed by a man who ran experiments on his friends and family at a picnic).  Solution: "trigger questions" to add cultural disfluency How to help people develop intuition? Intuition is not an instant clarity generator -- "The ability to consider the environment." --> Ask great questions about context. Break into knowable parts You -- People doing work Customers -- Stakeholder -- who the work is for Resources -- to make it happen Ask useful questions: "Set aside the desire to be right for the desire to get it right." Common mistakes new managers make: They "have all the answers."  Ask questions, Remove ego. Emotion based decisions -- Surround self with the right people to help with deficiencies Qualities Jay looks for when making hiring decisions: Can you do the work? Can I understand who you are? Skip right to the good stuff -- "What's the best story you've ever written?" Want people with an intrinsic desire to create -- Love side projects like his sports blog Advice: Career path is BS -- It's laughable.  Your 20's are about exploration... "Try a lot of stuff."  Do side projects Bad advice: "The idea that being the best is a real thing.  It's ridiculous." Focus on your own body of work, not others.

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk Episode #320: Rick Smith Full Show notes can be found at www.LearningLeader.com Rick Smith is the founder and CEO of Axon.  Axon currently employs over 1,300 people.  A pioneer of technology with the vision of making the bullet obsolete, Rick founded the original company, TASER, in 1993. As the TASER device became ubiquitous in law enforcement, Rick pushed the company beyond weapons technology and towards a broader purpose of matching technology to public safety needs in order to make the world a safer place. Under his leadership, the company has grown from a garage in Tucson to a NASDAQ-listed global market leader. Notes: Leaders who sustain excellence = Initiative -- "They see what needs to be done and they do it." Rick started the company out of his garage in Arizona in 1993 More on taking initiative: "Don't wait for people to tell you what to do.  Highlight it and fix it." Luke Larson was an individual contributor when the company had 250 employees.  He challenged Rick on an issue and offered a solution.  He is now the President of a 1,300 person company Mindset -- Build a culture that rewards challenging the status quo "Tell the ugly truth" "Anyone can challenge any idea" Qualities Rick looks for in hiring: Need to want to be with them Initiative - they need to step up and do work Intellectual curiosity - someone who seeks better answers No time for hierarchical people -- they cannot be threatened by 'up and comers' "You want to hire people that are literally better than you.  You have to learn to embrace that." "It's so liberating to know that I don't have to be right." Why try to eliminate the bullet? "In 1993, two friends were shot and killed.  I thought, 'why are bullets still a thing?'" "Don't wait until you have the perfect business plan.  Have a simple concept you believe in and get to work." "Focus on solving a big problem" The first seven years did not go well.  Rick was fortunate to have his dad fund it... However, it led to a difficult relationship when the business wasn't going well.  He had immense pressure for it to succeed. They fixed their core product and it began catching on with law enforcement agencies They own 100% of the taser market "I'm a libertarian guy. I don't want to take anything away from anyone." "But people romanticize guns.  The real world is messy.  We make mistakes." "Why use lethal force instead of a taser?" What about the phrase: "Don't take a knife (or taser) to a gun fight?" "How about, 'Don't get into a gun fight.'" The book (End Of Killing): "Our goal is to replace the gun long term.  The book is me sharing what I believe that nobody else believes." Have to respect ideas "It's a good sign if people initially think you're crazy" Keys to building a team at work that sees a higher mission? "You must have an authentic mission." "Don't say you're changing the world unless you actually are." "My goal is to inspire the right team and then get out of their way." "I'm now the chief storyteller of the business." Career advice: "Find a job where you get to feel the impact of what you want to create.  What are the big picture things you want to accomplish." "The people who are most effective see what needs to be done and they go and do it." Use the "Get To Know You Document" Why joining The Learning Leader Circle is a good idea

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk #319: Jim Clifton Full show notes can be found at www.LearningLeader.com  Personal Excellence 2.0 workshop: www.RyanHawk.me  Jim Clifton has served as CEO of Gallup, a global leader in consulting and public opinion research and analytics, since 1988. Under his leadership, Gallup has expanded from a predominantly U.S.-based company to a worldwide organization with 30 offices in 20 countries and regions.  Leaders who sustain excellence = They don't set out to get rich, they have a purpose that drives them The mission overpowers everything else They build advantages for themselves through compound learning -- Stack your learning Teach the "story of the day" Be part of really hard projects -- the front line war battles Advice to someone earlier in their career? Focus and double down on your strengths CEO of Gallup -- The beginning... Won a big account (Cargill) -- It was huge to create momentum for his new business Don Clifton (Jim's dad) built the StrengthsFinder -- And then bought Gallup in 1988 The StrengthsFinder was built from 34 themes Don was a scientist.  He went on bombing raids and was a war hero as a lead bomber.  A navigator. It's The Manager is the biggest discovery they've made When studying the truly great companies, the commonality is the management  How to create a high development culture? People want to be developed -- And then find the role that fits their unique strengths to maximize their potential What Jim looks for when making hiring decisions: Drive They love to practice... They like to work Where have your most talented people come from? "Stars were recruited by the managers themselves."  Great managers know great people.   "Presentations matter.  A manager must get good at it." Managers must be great coaches: "Coaching is sitting down and sharing purpose..." Shock and Awe visitors that meet at your office: "The entrance to your building show wow them."  Small details are very important.  Landscaping matters.  Pay attention to the feeling you get when you drive up to the building.  It helps with your internal employees as well. "People join because of the company and leave because of their boss." Currently, only 34% of works are engaged (according to Gallup poll) India/China are at 6% The issue with promoting the top performer at a role (Example: The #1 sales rep becomes the manager) The top individual contributor doesn't always make the best coach.  In fact, often times, they don't. Give superstar individual contributors bigger titles and more money as a way to promote them.  Don't force them to management when they don't show the desire or ability to lead others. "There must be two paths."  "Leaders need to see the future well, and excite others.  The good ones have an unusual relationship with risk." The Gender Gap Statistically, women run more engaged teams than men How to manage and nurture creativity? Need ideas from teams close to the action (have a front line obsession) You want intrapreneurship and foster an environment for that to pull out the great ideas The difference in two teams: The best negotiators are the ones who do their homework Present in a neutral way, calm, collected, ask questions, try to learn, better understand the other person's position When you work for a bad boss, you get cognitive contraction:  You lose levels of intelligence When you work for a great boss, you get cognitive expansion: You become smarter, innovate more, and do better work   A boss has incredible power.  And that power needs to be used for good.

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk Full shownotes can be found at www.LearningLeader.com #318: Clark Kellogg - How To Take Control Of Your Personal Development *This episode was recorded live in front of a 200 person audience in Dayton, Ohio at the Sonny Unger Memorial Banquet. Clark Kellogg serves as one of the the premier voices in college basketball.  He works for CBS Sports. In 1997, Kellogg joined CBS Sports full-time as a studio/game analyst for college basketball coverage and was one of three in-studio hosts for March Madness.  In March 2010, Kellogg played a game of H.O.R.S.E. against U.S. President Barack Obama. The game, called "P.O.T.U.S." for the occasion, was won by Obama. Prior to that, Clark was an All-American at Ohio State University. In 1982, Kellogg declared for the NBA draft after his junior year of college and was a 1st round draft pick (8th overall) of the Indiana Pacers. In his first season, he was selected as a member of the NBA All-Rookie Team. Converse signed him to an endorsement deal, to release his own Converse "Special K" sneaker. Notes: Take control of your own development - This is YOUR responsibility.  That's your property.  Be intentional about growing and getting better and improving.  It's not just the big things.  It's the small things.  Who are you associating with?  How are you impacting them?  Who do you want to be?  There are a lot of distractions, there will be bumps, headwinds... Own your development." Control the controllables: your attitude, your effort, your faith. The most effective leaders are "others centered." This is a distinct and intentional process to help elevate others. Mindset: The battlefield for a lot of our challenges is in our own mind. Attitude impacts how we move forward. "Never major in minor things." Most of life's disappointments are not major in the context of the bigger picture. Don't make mountains out of molehills. Focusing on just one sport versus playing multiple sports. Growing up with a dad who was a policeman in Cleveland, OH. Advice to parents -- Expose your children to a variety of opportunities and support their passions Needs to be an interest and a desire on your kids part Having athletically talented kids (son played college basketball and professionally.  A daughter who plays college volleyball). Focus on fun and fundamentals: If you have an aptitude to go to the higher levels as you get older, then focus Discussed why he went to Ohio State -- Clark was a top three player in America at the time. The intensity of the rivalry with Indiana and playing against Bobby Knight What it was like getting a show named after him from Converse The makeup of a great coach: A passion for the role of leading people A willingness to adapt and adjust to the changes in the game and personalities on the team An effective communicator -- What you desire and what needs to be done Set the tone of humility of accountability Genuine -- They are themselves -- "Players can pick up on phonies quickly" This establishes trust "Are they getting better because you've been their coach?" -- That's the question a coach should always ask themselves A coach should always be developing their players What to look for in a teammate? Consistency of attitude and effort "Don't want the volatile person who is up and down.  I want consistency." Being able to accept criticism and coaching Able to constructively criticize others in a positive way "Who you are should not fluctuate based on where you are.  There should be a consistency in who you are.  That's something that should be worked on and you should be intentional about it.  Authenticity is powerful and impactful." The moment of having his career cut short (only 26 years old) because of a knee injury: "It was brutal initially, but came to peace with it after having multiple surgeries and realized I couldn't play anymore." Starting the next career -- TV broadcasting Humbling self and starting at Cleveland State as an analyst.  Back to the basics, starting from the bottom "I didn't become good at basketball right away.  If I'm going to do this well, I need to start where I need to start.  I got the reps.  Radio was great training.  You have to be fairly quick." The importance of having mentors and being a mentor for others "How do I become excellent at this thing I'm interested in?" "You need to be unique, but you need to be you."  You must be authentic. "Everyone can relate to food."  Use food analogies in basketball.  Using your personality as part of your craft to be relatable. Working with Charles Barkley: "It's exactly as it appears.  Charles is a personality, successful businessman, and very smart." Playing basketball at the White House with President Obama -- Losing to him in P.O.T.U.S How Larry Bird was the best trash-talker Clark played against How Clark prepares for a broadcast: "I'm consistent in the process to be ready in the moments as they unfold." Visit team's practices, review notes from prior year, watch a lot of games on TV, chart each game watched -- "You remember things better when you write it down.  I'm always taking notes when I watch games." Who are you associating with? Who do you want to be? What are you doing to be that? Live a life of gratitude. Salt water and fresh water can't come from the same spring. You cannot be thankful and hateful at the same time. Be grateful for what you have while striving to improve. Excellent leaders = Be "others" centered.  "Others" focused.  They want to help elevate others. Be available and giving of yourself to others.  Help mentor people earlier in their career. Good habits are hard to break.  Build good habits.  

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk Episode #317: Susan Cain - The Power of Introverts In A World That Can't Stop Talking Join us for our annual workshop - Personal Excellence 2.0 -- Click HERE for dates and availability Full Shownotes can be found at www.LearningLeader.com  Susan Cain is the author of the world-wide bestseller Quiet: The Power of Introverts in A World That Can’t Stop Talking, which has been translated into 40 languages, is in its seventh year on the New York Times best seller list, and was named the #1 best book of the year by Fast Company magazine, which also named Cain one of its Most Creative People in Business. LinkedIn named her the 6th Top Influencer in the world. Leaders who sustain excellence = Understand that soft is hard and hard is soft.  Soft skills = essential skills.  They are hard, but essential to develop. Leaders in corporate America surprise Susan She expected a lot of resistance from others, but her ideas have been embraced. The responsibility Susan feels for making "introverting so hard" a cool thing to say... It wasn't before her book. People would hide the fact they were an introvert prior to Quiet being published and/or lie on personality tests The point is not to say that you should want to be an introvert or an extrovert -- We need both. Charisma = magic "The wind howls but the mountain remains still."  We moved from being --> To being a culture of personality. Susan's roots: A Harvard educated lawyer Building a Negotiation Consulting business after leaving the corporate world How can an introvert be a good negotiator? The best negotiators are the ones who do their homework Present in a neutral way, calm, collected, ask questions, try to learn, better understand the other person's position Romantic relationships - An extrovert and introvert getting married -- "you must really understand the other person's preferences are legitimate." When should you act more extroverted than you are? We should all step outside of our comfort zones, but be intentional about it.  An introvert who is a public speaker (like Susan) must do this to share the message with groups of people. What are your core projects?  When in service of others, do it. Restorative niches --> After a keynote (for an introvert), go to your hotel room and relax alone (to restore energy expended speaking) Why is cool overrated? In the Enron scandal, Vince Kaminski was the "uncool introverted nerd."  He was the unsung hero in the scandal.  He figured out what was happening in advance.  They told him, "You're like the police and we don't like that." The process to sell the proposal for Quiet: Started writing it in 2005. Agent shopped it an received 12 offers --> A bidding frenzy The importance of writing the "first crappy draft." Take the feedback as a gift Most successful authors have had a lot of help

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk #316: Cal Newport - How To Choose A Focused Life In A Noisy World Cal Newport is a computer science professor at Georgetown University who studies the theory of distributed systems. In addition to his academic work, he writes about the intersection of technology and culture.Cal is the author of six books, including, most recently, the New York Times bestseller, Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World.  Join us for our annual Personal Excellence workshop. Go to www.RyanHawk.me for details Full shownotes can be found at www.LearningLeader.com "Be unambiguously good at something important. Head's down with an apprenticeship mindset." Show Notes: Leaders who sustain excellence = They know what matters and get after it They are not easily distracted... They have the ability to be intensely focused on the task at hand at a tactical level Train to be so good they can't ignore you Concentrate intently -- Introverts are happier doing this.  But it's also a trainable skill. Cal's background: theoretical computer science computation group - Focus and master on a small number of things How to be "so good they can't ignore you?" They want a secret formula.  That's not how it works.  It's not about a life hack.  "The reality is simpler... 'Be relentlessly good at something valuable.' Deep Work = Focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task.  This skill is more valuable.  It's how you learn complicated things and produce at a high level. Culture-wise - We are getting worse at deep work We need to be able to be locked in to produce something valuable for work... Deep work can also be personal development.  There is overlap. Digital Minimalism Unexpected consequences of technology = Our attention is captured by glowing screens Phones = Completely banish solitude.  We are never alone with our own thoughts anymore. Do one or two things a day without your phone.  Force solitude. Why do we have a compulsive need to look at our phone?  Social media has been engineered to do this... Junk food is built the same way.  Cal has never had a social media account. A 30 day digital declutter: Be away from optional technology for 30 days. Detox -- Give yourself time and space to see what you value outside of work.  Then ask, "What technology do I want in my life?" What's the best way to use technology? For someone who loves Twitter (like me) for the gathering of interesting people? Create a curated reading list from Twitter.  Click all the useful links to articles, then block out time to just read those. The power of going on walks: "I walk a lot.  That's how I think." Walking with no phone -- It creates reflection, insight, thinking.  Do walking meetings. Get sun - get outside.  It's a form of 'productive meditation.' Focus on a single problem for that walk Thoughts on Kliff Kingsbury building in time every 30 minutes for his players to check their phones? "This is not good.  Concentration matters.  Especially in football." Use the "Get To Know You Document" Why joining The Learning Leader Circle is a good idea

The podcast discusses commonalities of sustained excellence in leaders, the concept of a 'North Star' for personal goals, the evolution of DuckDuckGo as an internet privacy company, using mental models for decision-making, building a successful career through unique skills, and exploring cargo cult thinking for a purposeful life.

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk 314: John Calipari & Michael Lombardi - Building & Sustaining A Culture Of Excellence Full show notes found at www.LearningLeader.com John Calipari has been the head coach of the University of Kentucky basketball team since 2009, with whom he won the NCAA Championship in 2012. He has been named Naismith College Coach of the Year three times (in 1996, 2008 and 2015), and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015. Calipari has coached Kentucky to four Final Fours, in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015. Michael Lombardi was an assistant to the coaching staff of the New England Patriots (until 2016) and is a former analyst for the NFL Network and sportswriter at NFL.com.  Lombardi also previously served as an NFL executive with the San Francisco 49ers working withBill Walsh, Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles, and Oakland Raiders working with Al Davis.  This was recorded in front of an audience at an event called the NCAA Final Four Coaching Consortium.  The people in the audience were college basketball coaches and athletic directors. Notes: The "Players First" credo: "When I worked for Larry Brown he told me, if you care about the kids and you really care, you'll always have a job." "Larry was a coaches coach, but a players coach, who wasn't afraid to coach.  Right now, we're moving in a direction where we're afraid to coach.  Correcting in real time is so important." "Everyone said the 1 and done rule would ruin college basketball, they wanted to replace me." "If you're about your kids, whatever happens good for them, will not be a negative for you.  It's about them first.  It's about us second.  If you want them to be servant leaders, they have to see it in you." "If they don't see you getting involved in the community, they won't get involved in the community."  Players first is not just them playing basketball, it's everything. "We all should be reading.  The more curious you are, the more curious your players will be.  Read books, give your players books to read." Lombardi -- Coach Walsh was all about the players, he was the first to go on fishing tournaments with players.  He bought Bubba Smith a big tv, he made Michael sit and eat all meals with him. Bill Walsh had a book club in San Francisco Bill Belichick is all about the history of the game and the history of our country.  When you go in the cafeteria and you see the great players on the wall, he expects you to know the history and the culture of your team. You should ask all coaches, "who assigns the jersey numbers?"  The coach should assign those numbers, not the equipment manager.  Your player needs to know the history of that number. Calipari -- Process on getting guys to want to play as a team: It all starts in recruiting.  "If you promise every kid 25 shots, good luck.  Because at some point, someone will be upset.  If the relationship starts with a lie, you'll never recover." "Whatever you do here is earned.  If you're good enough you'll start, but you'll decide that." "If you want them to be great teammates it starts immediately when you meet them.  They have to earn it." You can't oversell and under deliver.  People will not buy in to that. "Pat Riley gave me one of the best compliments ever, he said, 'Your players are some of the best teammates in the NBA.'" Marcus Camby -- "I said, what position do you want to play?"  he said, "Shooting guard."  I said, "Okay, but we do post up our shooting guards a lot." Lombardi -- Putting together a great roster -- Roster construction: The law of 3's Whenever you take over a team you have three groups of people One -- They'll do anything you want them to do Two -- They're unsure Three -- They are never happy Focus on the people in group one and you'll win the whole team. The Four areas of leadership Command of self -- Must be discipline Command of plan Command of meaning/message Command of trust -- You cannot lie.  If you lie, you'll lose the player forever Calipari -- Took over UMass -- Terrible team at the time When he left, he got advice from a business man (Pat Nardelli) "You can a have bad deal with good people.  Stuff happens.  But you can never have a good deal with bad people." "The reason I've had success, I've had the best staffs.  Top to bottom.  When you get your job, you surround yourself with great people." "Assistant coaches must be able to work together.  They are each other's PR machine.  Each guy needs to promote the other guy." Was on football field with Bill Parcells -- Could coach all 22 guys on a football field.  He had incredible vision. The importance of mentors in your career-- Calipari "Who's your kitchen cabinet?  Who do you go to when things aren't going well?"  Who can you listen to? Ken Blanchard - The One Minute Manager Decision making -- you need to run it by someone.  Don't make big time decisions when you're still emotional. "I'll take the job the grass is greener.... Well you have to cut the grass on both sides." You need people to say, "Stop.  Tell me what you're thinking..." Lombardi -- Meeting with George Raveling "This man reads more than any human being alive." Take an hour a day to read Calipari -- Look at adversity as a challenge and failure as a learning opportunity "How does someone look when things aren't going well?  That's what I need to know." "The best moments are when things aren't going well.  Give me four games in a row when you lose... Now, I want to see what kind of person are you?"  You're on the stage by yourself, you're looking for friends." "You have issues?  People have their own issues.  They aren't worried about you."  It's about "How do I get restarted?  What's my next step?  Ask an AD, how can I be better?" "When you get fired, make amends with the people who fired you.  The next job you want?  They're going to call those people who fired you." Be a 'pay it forward' person.  The opportunities we have to change lives... And the ripples it causes from it. Lombardi -- The Obstacle Is The Way How to bounce back when you're wrong? When you get a new job, figure out why you got the job and why the person before you got fired.  Take the time to understand the mistakes made. "The only way you'll correct them is to learn them." There's two kind of jobs:  Jobs you can grow from and jobs you can make a difference in. Al Davis would ask Mike -- "Do you know why we won today?"  He wanted to know why the team won and lost and put it on paper. Bill Belichick does an autopsy after every game (win or lose).  You need to understand why the outcome happened (good or bad).  Take stock of your career every single day.  Every obstacle needs to be used to your advantage. Calipari -- "I will not coach if I'm cheating these kids." He signed a lifetime contact with Kentucky "My leverage has always been the job I've done." Why talk to other teams? "I want to help someone I know.  A player or another coach.  The whole thing we do is about relationships." If LeBron James calls you and asks you to coach his team, what will you say? "I'm not doing it.  Pat Riley said Coach Cal coaches and corrects in real time during a game.  He takes a guy out, corrects, puts him back in. You can't do that in the NBA." Lombardi -- At college pro days Belichick observed Coach Cal during a game... Watching him coach "It was so impressive, Belichick was admiring how much Cal was coaching." What skills should we develop?  The commonalities among the most successful coaches: Curious minds -- not a single playbook.  The sport moves.  Adapt. They are about other people -- Servant leaders Wired and driven to work - they love practice more than the games Smart -- Lombardi -- Divergent in thought.  Figure out what's needed with that team.  Passion. "The greatest reward for winning is the opportunity to do it more."

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk #313 - Listener Supported (Q & A) Episode -- Build Confidence Like Beyonce, How To Ask The Right Questions, & When To Make A Job Change Full show notes can be found at www.LearningLeader.com Notes: Leaders who sustain excellence = Have a mindset of growth They assume they have so much to learn Question from Ed Arnston -- Lt. Col in The United States Army -- "All of your guests are excellent and offer a lot of wisdom, but as you've done more than 300, what are the top 5 in power rankings of guests on your show? Kat Cole - Courage & Confidence + Curiosity & Humility George Raveling - The curiosity of a 5 year old, he is a learning machine Brian Koppelman - Follow your curiosity and obsessions with great rigor Jim Collins - Who is YOUR WHO? General Stan McChrystal - “Your character is something you can control.  You can decide what your character is.  Nobody can take it from you.” Questions from CaSaundra Garber -- Technical Project Manager, Portland, Oregon -- Who have you always wanted to have on your podcast that you haven't made happen yet?  Reading The Alliance, what are your thoughts on it? Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Oprah, a panel with Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady "You are the sum of your experiences."  A lot of the learnings of my life have come from the great coaches I've played for in my life. One of the biggest parts of The Alliance is the idea of doing "a tour of duty."  Changing jobs and learning new skills and the benefits of it.  Tour of duty = What do you want to learn and gain in this specific area of business?  Don't get a job just to have a job, take a job that will give you a tour where you come out of it in a planed time frame and you've learned something new. --> David Epstein writes about this in Range and on THIS episode.  People that earn roles in the C-suite have a variety of roles on their way to that position.  Open your mind more to take on a role that is currently completely outside of what you do.  This also helps you walk a mile in the shoes of others and creates compassion/empathy. Question from Daniel Jellings -- Manager Local Government, Adelaide, Australia -- Career has been linear, regular promotions along the way, became a manager about five years ago.  What are your thoughts on proactively exploring other roles that are outside of my current skill set (that could be a side step) in order to eventually become a General Manager? Learn as much as possible about the people you may go work with... Try as best you can to simulate what it will be like to work with those people. "You have to mow the grass in both places."  There are a lot of advantages to seeking opportunities that force you to stretch and learn.  They are initially uncomfortable.  "If you want something extraordinary to happen to you, you're going to have to take a an uncomfortable risk in every dimension of your life." -- Scott Galloway Question from Ryan Ogle -- Championship Director for PGA of America, Bend Harbor, Michigan -- What is your current morning and evening routine?  What is your process for utilizing a daily journal? Wake up at 4:45 -- Drink water, stretch, read, journal, workout, breakfast with family, drive daughters to school, work.  When finishing manuscript, I wrote a lot during the early hours of the day.  At night, I like to read out of books (Kindle in the morning and at the gym). Discussed my preparation process for a podcast. A daily journal is helpful to remind yourself of your mindset at that particular time of your life.  It helps you remember what it was really like at that time.  And why I use technology (instead of paper and pencil) to write in my journal. Why I'm fascinated by The Wright Brothers... -- "If you're trying to do something of significance, you will have people who question you, who may think you're nuts." Question from Andrew (Opie) Brodbeck -- Former professional baseball player, Clearwater, Florida  -- What skills from playing football helped you in your business life off the field?  Took a personality test and didn't pass it based on the company feedback?  How to deal with that and develop confidence in yourself in something off the field?  How to lead a dysfunctional team that lacks trust (Chelsea)? It's important to properly set your expectations and realize you'll never get the rush of playing in front of 105,000 people again. Some of the skills that translated: How to prepare, how to deal with adversity, how to be resilient, how to develop the willingness to work... I was able to share what I learned from the best coaches.  Showing that you're coachable.  you must be coachable to learn something new.  Being comfortable with a daily scoreboard (which we had in a sales environment).  On the first day of employment, I asked the VP, "who's the best?"  And then shadowed that person. Confidence -- How to build it like Beyonce?  "Confidence is built through a series of successful events in your life."  Those successful events were built through preparation.  Run a success autopsy -- Why did we win?  Why did it go well?  Create momentum in your life.  Create success in multiple life categories -- Those people take their framework wherever they go to create success.  No only means "not yet." Read Pat Lencioni's work on the dysfunction of a team Question from Lizzie Merritt-- Manager/Leader, Jacksonville, Florida. (and member of my Leadership Circle)  --The quality of your leadership depends on the quality of your questions. I imagine there are plenty of examples of massive failures that can be traced back to a leader not asking the right questions.While this concept is simple on the surface, it gets tougher in practice.  As a leader, how do you respond with questions instead of answers?  How do you know the right questions to ask? Leading with questions -- As a new manager, you may have the need to "always have the answers."  As you develop more wisdom and confidence, you'll stop doing this.  The greatest mentors in our lives are the ones who don't give the answers, they are the ones who help me figure out the answers.  They ask the poignant questions to help me figure it out.  The first questions are good, but the best questions are the follow ups.  Listen, distill, synthesize, ask more, then go deeper....  Don't script questions, but prepare with notes on that person and what they're doing, be an active listener (think like a trampoline)... Write down the qualities of leaders you admire, like, look up to, and write down the qualities of the leaders you feel the opposite about.  Review it regularly... Dealing in uncomfortable conversations -- Crucial Conversations (book).  It should never be a surprised when giving someone bad news about their performance.  The feedback should be happening on a regular basis.  "It is in our best interest for you to improve."  Kim Scott's book Radical Candor  "It's a lot harder when you care" -- "Because I care about you, I need to tell you something difficult." Question from Eric Liddic-- Print broker, Dayton, Ohio -- What advice would you give to someone who hasn't sold in the past, but needs to sell now? Great sales people: are fantastic listeners, they care, and they try to help.  Read Dan Pink's book To Sell Is Human Analyze why you've won each deal in the past.  Understand how you can replicate that. Create a reason for people to call you (put useful material out in the world: podcast, blog, do a project for free) Why Joe Girard was the greatest car sales professional of all time -- "If you get a lemon, it gives me the opportunity to show off." Question from Marietta Sanders -- Lt. Colonel, Squadron Commander, US Air Force, stationed in United Arab Emirates -- What are the common areas you see the best leaders focus on within their businesses? The WHO -- Who will you surround yourself with?  The WHO is the biggest determining factor in your long term success.  Consistently surround yourself by people who are smarter than you. Great leaders have an ability to help "see around the corners."  They share their vision to make their followers feel better about where they're going.  They have vision. Great communication skill -- You have regular moments where you need to share the vision with vivid clarity.   How to attract and retain top talent -- When someone is looking outside of your organization for another job is because those people don't have clarity of their future within your organization.  The leader's job is to provide clarity for the people that they lead.  Great leaders are always on the look out for compelling stories... Then taking the story, distilling it to it's essence (the core themes), and then relating it to my specific role (the "what's in it for me?" OR "why should I care?")

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk Full show notes can be found at www.LearningLeader.com  #312: Zvi Band Zvi Band is the co-founder & CEO of Contactually, the top CRM which empowers professionals in real estate, consulting, and other professional industries to build authentic relationships. Having founded Contactually in 2011, Zvi has led Contactually to $12M in venture backing, 75 employees, and tens of thousands of customers, including 8 of the top 20 real estate brokerages in the country. An engineer, a seasoned entrepreneur, developer, strategist and startup advisor, with unique both technical and non-technical operations. Thrice named a Washingtonian Tech Titan, featured in the New York Times, The Washington Post, and Washington City Paper, Zvi was also a finalist for Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year. Zvi is a passionate speaker and author whose writing has appeared in Forbes, Inc, Inman News, and many other outlets. He's the author of the newly released book, Success Is In Your Sphere.  Published by McGraw-Hill (Zvi and I share the same agent, publisher, and editor). Notes: Leaders who sustain excellence = They have a level of introspection This creates self-awareness and mindfulness Take a step back... Analyze, pick apart.  Understand why something happened based on the decisions you made They are tactical 5x7 notepad -- Take blank sheet and write the exact things you need to do each day Weekly wrap up -- Capture what happened Use a daily journal to understand how you felt at that moment "It's way too easy to be reactionary."  It's not productive.  Be thoughtful and intentional Zvi at 25 years old: Quit his job His dad's cancer came back and he died The same day was officially declared a recession in 2008 How to respond? Zvi was interested in a startup "I emailed my network, and the CTO of an enterprise software company helped me out" "Relationships are our most important asset" Zvi realized he wasn't good at managing his relationships.  He was using Evernote. He wanted a proactive CRM (customer relationship management) tool to proactively work for the relationship driven professional That was how Contactually was created "It's not about staying in touch.  It's about being of value." How to make the right hiring decisions: It's values based: Be user first - solve problems for others Ownership - entrepreneur types Learn & innovate - embrace failure and learn Demonstrate the ability to learn Be excellent with each other -- "If a company has a named 'No Asshole' rules then that usually means they have a lot of assholes there."  It's a red flag. Keep it simple Be real -- Transparent How does someone demonstrate the ability to learn? Run a mock call, give feedback.  They must be coachable.  How do they respond to the coaching? Ask, 'what are you learning? We want readers We want people who are intellectually curious We want people who have a "general dissatisfaction with their current skill set." Mentor advice: Leverage your experience to know the right questions to ask. Teach them how to navigate the issues, don't just give them the answers. "Relay experience.  Don't give advice."  Don't give a prescription. Mentee advice: Establish a feedback loop Establish what to do -- follow up "Must show that you took their insights to heart and acted on them." The 'icky' feeling of relationship marketing: Avoid this.  Don't just exchange business cards. "Relationships are our most important asset." Collect intelligence on those people important to you.  Listen for the little details they share.  Pay attention.  Take notes after you talk with them so you can ask about them later. Consistency - Play the long game: Create habits:  what are your relationship goals? "We're wired to think short term."  Zag when others zig.  Think long term. Build genuine, real relationships: When we look back at success, we realize it's because of relationships Invest in them long term Contactually got acquired by Compass Zvi and his investors have been rewarded for their work