The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk #261: Darryl Strawberry - MLB Superstar: World Series, Home Runs, & Substance Abuse Darryl Strawberry helped lead the New York Mets to a World Series championship and the New York Yankees to three World Series championships.  He was also suspended three times by Major League Baseball for substance abuse.  He was a nine time all star and he hit 335 home runs during his illustrious career. He is an ordained minister, speaker, and author.  He is taking his message to the masses with his new book, Don't Give Up On Me -- Shedding Light on Addiction. The Learning Leader Show "My Dad beat the crap out of me.  He told me I would never amount to anything. I believed him." -- Darryl Strawberry Show Notes: Sustaining excellence: A calming presence... Confidence in what you know Time spent learning to lead Davey Johnson and Joe Torre -- A measured, confident approach to understanding each individual and how they needed to be managed Best teammates? Gary Carter Keith Hernandez Lead by example type people... Those who are consistently doing the work every single day They understand how to prepare and do not get distracted from the work Darryl struggled to be consistent because of his wondering focus How to bounce out of a slump? "When you're 2 for 30, how do you get yourself out of a jam?  Go to the batting cage and do the work." What was the key to winning the World Series in 1986? "A complete team effort.  We were a WHOLE team. Complete.  Every guy did their part." Why did Darryl use drugs? "An emptiness. I've never been well on the inside.  Pain led me to greatness, but was also the cause for drug use." "My dad beat the crap out of me. He told me I would never be anything and I believed him." Why are so many world class athletes insecure? "They are yearning for love and do not always get it. I never had a good Dad.  I had to learn lessons on my own.  Nobody taught me." Advice to young people who do not have a Dad? "Listen to your mom.  I wish I would have.  Take her direction.  Allow mentors to help you.  Allow people to power into your life.  It was hard for me to trust people." Being a dad to successful athletes -- (His sons are professional basketball players and his daughters are scholarship volleyball players) "I did not coach them, but I encourage them continually work to get better. I didn't push them to play baseball." The Doc and Darryl 30 For 30 "I love Doc.  We are still good friends.  We've been through a lot." Why write Don't Give Up On Me? "There are so many problems in the world.  Addiction is everywhere.  I want to help people.  I was great, but broken at the same time." A defining moment? His wife said, "If you're ever going to get well, you have to take that uniform off."  Had to stop identifying as a baseball player "You must take responsibility for your actions" "You need people in your inner circle who will be honest with you and tell you no." Day to day work: Pastor, travel, bring hope to those who are struggling" Would you ever work in baseball again? "No... Unless Derek Jeter called and asked me to help his team." Toughest pitcher ever faced? Nolan Ryan Why were you a great hitter? Preparation... On deck circle.  Always getting ready "Focus on hitting line drives to the opposite field.  That's how you know you're on it" -- Keith Hernandez was very helpful "It's about people.  I should have been dead, had cancer twice, chased women, drug issues.  I have urgency everyday." Use the "Get To Know You Document" "It's about people. I should have been dead.  I had cancer twice, chased women, had drug issues.  I have urgency everyday." Social Media: Read: Don't Give Up On Me Connect with me on LinkedIn Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12 More Learning: Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon Episode 216: Jim Collins -- How To Go From Good To Great Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions Episode 234: Jocko Willink -- Why Discipline Equals Freedom

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk Episode #260: Mark Divine - How To Create An Unbeatable Mind At twenty-six Mark Divine graduated as Honor Man (#1-ranked trainee) of SEAL BUD/S class number 170. Mark served for nine years total on active duty and eleven as a Reserve SEAL, retiring as Commander in 2011.  His leadership of teams was so effective the government tasked him with creating a nationwide mentoring program for SEAL trainees.  He earned his MBA at NYU.  In 2007 he launched the SEALFIT program to provide transformational personal and team training experiences. The training utilizes an integrated warrior development model he developed, called Unbeatable Mind, which draws from his 20 years as a SEAL and business leader, 25 years as a martial artist and 15 years as yoga practitioner.  Mark has written has written four books, including The Way of The SEAL, and Unbeatable Mind. The Learning Leader Show "Do today what others aren't willing to do.  You're 20X more capable than what you think." Show Notes: Sustaining excellence: People who have practices that value excellence and practice it regularly Optimized training, sleep, and balance Mental health: Meditation, nature, learning, reducing potential to be stuck in biases Emotional health: Not afraid of going to therapy, spritual Why is therapy helpful? Mark married a therapist They can be an emotional coach "It's preventative maintenance" --> Must be proactive A "check up from the neck up" You should always be investing in improving your "self" Be mindful - yoga, zen.  It's an evolutionary skill to help you connect at a deeper level Why become a Navy SEAL? Got MBA and a CPA -- Got a job on Wall Street and hated it after three months Started Zen meditation... It changed his brain It created a structured program to look within himself and reflect Mark did not like what was happening in the outer world (with his job) He was meant to be a warrior and a leader Did he ever have doubts? No... Because he had prepared for the difficult moments through visualization and fully understanding his WHY "I created total certainty in my mind. 100% that I was going to become a SEAL. I won in my mind." This outlook helped him finish #1 overall in his BUD/S class How can we apply this to our world?  Outside of the military? You must deeply care about what you're doing... And then visualize your success. A "personal practice of excellence" "It must be something in your vision that you are really passionate about" "Visualize it as a completion.  Visualize doing it to completion." "You're the type of person who is worthy of completing that challenging task... Of achieving THAT" How do you respond to skeptics? The science backs it up... Do your research Give it a try... Why wouldn't you? VUCA = Volatility, Uncertainty, Complex, Ambiguous -- How to handle these situations Creating a decentralized organization -- Why this works in the military and in business (trust and certainty) Why you must "learn to embrace risk" -- Cannot be afraid of failure... And the plan must be flexible "Do today what others won't" -- 20X more capable than what you think "Society has weakened us... Everything is easy now.  You need to force yourself to do hard things." "Challenge leads to growth." "Your body will adapt to the new reality."  "Push it past where you think it can currently go" "You must challenge yourself every single day" Exercise - Write your own obituary.  Think "What would people say about me?" Do the deep self awareness work to "know thyself" "If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for everything" "Derive your passion around purpose. Create your set of principles." Originally, there was a scathing obituary written for Alfred Nobel... It was meant for his twin brother, but there was a mistake and someone wrote it about him.  It changed his life.  He was not aware of how badly he was thought of... And he became known for peace moving forward.  So much so... That they named a prize after him. How Brad Stevens and Bill Belichick have mastered the art of coaching Why the "hacking movement" is not good according to Mark There must be deep learning over many years to get to mastery level of anything Simplify = Be narrow on what you want, get rid of everything else. And focus Use the "Get To Know You Document" Social Media: Read: Unbeatable Mind Follow Mark on Twitter: @MarkDivine Connect with me on LinkedIn Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk Episode #259: Shane Snow - How To Build A Dream Team Shane Snow serves as Founder at Large at Contently, which works with Fortune 500 brands and has helped over 100,000 freelance journalists, artists, and photographers put food on the table. His writing has appeared in Wired Magazine, The New Yorker, GQ, Fast Company, Advertising Age, The Washington Post, and others. He's author of Smartcuts, and is now releasing his most important book yet: Dream Teams, a journey through history, neuroscience, psychology, and business to reveal what separates groups that simply manage to get by from those that get better together--and how we might make our companies and communities better by understanding the difference. Shane has been named one of Details Magazine's "Digital Mavericks," called a "Wunderkind" in the New York Times, and honored as a fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts. Originally from Idaho, he studied journalism at Columbia University and lives in New York City. The Learning Leader Show "Two heads are only better than one if they think differently." Show Notes: Sustaining excellence: 2 X @ Matrix chart Skepticism and credulity Optimism and pessimism They believe the world can be better, but they don't always take things at face value Be skeptical AND optimistic as a leader The leader should provide complete emotional AND intellectual support Be willing to push. Be okay with conflict. Be a "disagreeable giver" and create psychological safety How to improve? Get help? "I have a lot of faith in my self. A healthy ego.  But I'm paranoid about my blind spots. I want to learn so much.  I collect inputs that are critical from my business partner." Why write Dream Teams? The desire to study the best teams. The best cultures.  "I wanted to learn this for my own business." "When human beings come together, we can do incredible things." The impact his Dad on Shane - A nuclear engineer The importance of cognitive diversity "Two heads are better than one only if they think differently." The power of ragtag teams Buddy cops Street smart By the book Man/woman teams solve crimes better How to implement and execute? WHO is on the team? How you deal with problems/issues? "We need to re-frame how we think about this.  Set up a pool to make it as cognitively diverse as possible Perspective - How you view the world, who you are Heuristic - The way you approach solving problems. (eg: different university, different piano teacher) Think about solving problems how a movie director acts? Do they use the exact same actors for every movie they direct? No, it doesn't make sense.  They cast the best actors for each movie.  "If you're solving different problems, why would you cast the same people every time?" Shane explains why "culture fit" is not a good characteristic in hiring The disaster that was the Daimler-Chrysler merger Miscalculation on how much companies complimented each other Culture kills most - "It's the fact that they didn't speak to each other." Mergers that don't go well... People need to talk.  It's okay to fight and disagree.  It's ruined when people stop talking (just like a marriage) "Silence is the enemy of innovation" The Wright Brothers - They would argue one side of a point. Then have lunch... And switch sides of the argument.  It forced expansion of the way they thought about problems Wu Tang Clan - "Competition breeds excellence" Magic Johnson & Larry Bird DJ's in the Bronx Competing against Ben Roethlisberger Why is it okay to argue and compete? "An overriding cause that's worth it. A purpose. A passion... To win." Build an empire with people - Intense, full emotional support.  Learn each others stories, their motivations Blackrock - Form a new team, have everyone tell their personal stories, develop a sense of connectedness If you dislike a colleague (like Shane did): "I went to her house and met her family and friends. I learned about her life growing up and the people who support her.  It changed my perspective of her." Use the "Get To Know You Document" "Silence is the enemy of innovation." Social Media: Read: Dream Teams Follow Shane on Twitter: @shanesnow Connect with me on LinkedIn Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12 More Learning: Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon Episode 216: Jim Collins -- How To Go From Good To Great Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk 258: Jesse Itzler - Creating Your LIFE Resume (Living With The Monks) Jesse Itzler is the author of the New York Times bestseller, Living with a Seal, cofounded Marquis Jet, the world's largest private jet card company which he and his partner sold to Berkshire Hathaway/NetJets. Jesse then partnered with Zico coconut water, which he and his partner sold to The Coca-Cola Company.  His latest book is titled, Living With The Monks. He's a former rapper on MTV and wrote and performed the NBA's Emmy Award-winning "I Love This Game" music campaign and the popular New York Knicks anthem "Go NY Go." When he's not running ultra-marathons, eating vegan food or being a dad to his four kids, Jesse can be found at the NBA's Atlanta Hawks games, where he's an owner of the team. He is married to Spanx founder Sara Blakely. The Learning Leader Show "I invest in people... You must look into their eyes before making a decision." Show Notes: Sustaining excellence: Spending time around the 4,000 people who used Marquis Jet, "I always asked them about their habits." You have to create the system that works best for YOU: Attack fear, take risks Get up early in the morning Create daily wins, momentum Be a great connector, build relationships Run -- Create great exercise habits Winning habits, routines, mindset. A system for self For 27 years, Jesse has only eaten fruit before noon Relying on gut instinct... How to build this, make better? Must spend time alone, to think.  Running is where this happens for Jesse (in the car for Sara) Why? Awareness with time... Understand your own mortality A constant drive to build a "life resume" You only get 1 shot to do this thing Hiking Mount Washington -- Helps you feel "super alive... It's addicting." Have you always been this way? "I get bored easily. This has nothing to do with money." Always being urgent to accomplish something Always carving out time for yourself.  Carve at least 1 hour per day. Put parameters around your time YOU are the business plan. "I invest in people... Have you ever looked into his eyes?" "At the end of the day, people drive companies." Why live with the monks? "I did the physical part while living with a SEAL.  I needed to focus on the spiritual part." Lived in a monastery with 8 monks... 4 had been there for 50 years How living with the monks helped him handle "decision fatigue" How it free'd up so much energy "The power of cumulative work" "Always do something hard" It sets the tone for yourself Don't back away from challenges -- Build the grit muscle Do small things every day (clean, make the bed, finish tasks, do the dishes now) "I'm turning 50.  I only have 28 summers left if I'm lucky." The perfect day = Family time Wellness time (running) Business time "Get your heart rate up!" Social Media: Read: Living With The Monks Follow Jesse on Twitter: @the100MileMan Connect with me on LinkedIn Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12 More Learning: Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon Episode 216: Jim Collins -- How To Go From Good To Great Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk Episode #257: David Marquet - Intent Based Leadership (Turn The Ship Around!) Captain Dave Marquet is a 1981 U.S. Naval Academy graduate.  He served in the U.S. submarine force for 28 years. After being assigned to command the nuclear powered submarine USS Santa Fe, then ranked last in retention and operational standing, he realized the traditional leadership approach of “take control, give orders,” wouldn’t work. He “turned his ship around” by treating the crew as leaders, not followers, and giving control, not taking control. This approach took the Santa Fe from “worst to first,” achieving the highest retention and operational standings in the navy. Stephen R. Covey said it was the most empowering organization he’d ever seen and wrote about Captain Marquet’s leadership practices in his book, The 8th Habit. Captain Marquet is the author of Turn the Ship Around! A True Story of Turning Followers Into Leaders. Fortune magazine called the book the “best how-to manual anywhere for managers on delegating, training, and driving flawless execution.” "Leadership is not for the select few at the top. In highly effective organizations, there are leaders at every level. When we give our people more authority, we actually create more effective leaders." Show Notes: Sustaining excellence: "The ability to decouple from their personal feelings their personality. It can't all depend on one person. In a consistent organization, the leader is part of it, but not all of it." How parenting helps you become a better leader: "That's really interesting. As a parent, you're trying to create an independent decision maker." The United States Naval Academy definition of leadership = Leadership can be defined as directing the thoughts, plans, and actions of others... So as to obtain their command and obedience, their confidence, their respect, and their loyal cooperation." --> Why this is wrong and not effective. "I intend to..." -- Intent based leadership How to create the environment for the team to make decisions Intent based environment: People don't need to be told what to do. Lean back, team leans forward. Don't make yourself (as the leader) a bottleneck. Risks = Tune level of control to competence or confidence of the team... Expose my thought process (as the leader) to you to see how I put it together. Ask "what" and "how" questions... If you get hired as a new manager and did not get to choose anyone on your team? "Focus on what you can control.  Do we welcome each other? Do we care? Do we connect?" Making the jump from individual contributor to manager: "Talk less, don't have all the answers... Listen." "Push information to authority.  Be knowing, not telling." The job of the leader is to determine how the team works Minimize cognitive burden -- "The leader defines the structure." "We act our way to new thinking, not think our way to new acting."   Social Media: Read: Turn The Ship Around! Follow Captain Marquet on Twitter: @ldavidmarquet Connect with me on LinkedIn Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12  

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk Episode #256: Elena Botelho - How To Become A CEO Elena Botelho has been a Partner at ghSMART since 2007. Elena initiated and co-leads The CEO Genome Project® featured in a cover article of Harvard Business Review.  Her recent book, The CEO Next Door, is a New York Times Bestseller. The CEO Genome Project® is an extensive research and client practice supporting CEO's and executives on the path to CEO. The research explores paths and behaviors that lead to the top, typical setbacks CEO's encounter and ways to prevent them. Elena is a member of McKinsey M&A Integration Council – an invitation-only forum of senior executives from major corporations to share M&A best practices. Elena is a sought after speaker at leading industry events on leadership and M&A. The Learning Leader Show "Charisma is a myth when it comes to success as a CEO. The research suggests introverts are equally or more successful than charismatic extroverts" Show Notes: How do we define excellence? "Delivering results is how we define it" The keys to excellence (delivering results) Decisiveness - Conviction and speed Adapting proactively Relentless reliability - Delivering consistently -- This is the most powerful and important behavior Engage for impact Self assessments The lowest rated among 11,000 people Elena surveyed was: Reliability Why do people struggle with consistency? Consistency is hard across all domains of our lives Reliability - 3 keys Mindset - basic habits. How do we develop the correct mindset? -> Recognize that others need to be able to count on you. This translates to consistent habits Get an honest look in the mirror The WHO - Who are your surrounding yourself with? Process and culture you build The CEO Myths: Need to go to an Ivy League school (not true) CEO's were destined for greatness (nope) 70% of CEO's never set a goal to be a CEO Charisma - It helps you get the job, however when you look at results, it's not the way the ensure results Introverts are not less likely for success Advice to a current individual contributor: Having powerful mentors didn't seem to help them more than those who didn't Becoming a mentor to others does show it helps It forces you to be clear and become a teacher. Helps you get in the head of others and lead What are some mistakes first time managers make? "It can be messy" Be clear on what success looks like Is this the right team? Do personnel changes need to be made? What are the career catapults? 25% went to a top business school 97% of them did one of these three sprinters: 60% "went small to go big" -> Took a smaller role at an organization that led to something big They took on a big mess and fixed it The big leap - Take a role well before you're ready --> Take a risk Adapting proactively Being able to let go of a profitable business in order for long term success (give up short term for the long term) Key learning = the ability let go of the past "Becoming a mentor to others forces you to be clear and become a teacher." Social Media: Read: The CEO Next Door Go to: ghsmart.com Connect with me on LinkedIn Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk Episode #255: David Burkus - The Hidden Networks That Can Transform Your Life (Friend Of A Friend) David Burkus is a best-selling author, a sought after speaker, and business school professor. In 2017, he was named as one of the world’s top business thought leaders by Thinkers50. The Learning Leader Show "The fundamental element that defines the quality of our lives are the people we surround ourselves with and the conversations we have with them." Show Notes: What defines a happy life? "The fundamental element that defines the quality of our lives are the people we surround ourselves with and the conversations we have with them. That's how you live a happy life." Adam Rifkin - The "strength of weak ties" The research suggests you have better odds of getting a job through a loose acquaintance than a close friend "Dormant ties" are very valuable to have in your life.  Make a deliberate effort to reach back out to those people.  Use a system to keep track of those relationships This is the "what" and the "how" to get it done From "science" to "practice" -- The key to success is to be prescriptive.  Give actionable advice The story of Michelle McKenna Doyle -- How she created her dream job in the NFL. 1 dormant tie - 1 degree of separation.  "Most of us are only 1 or 2 introductions away from what we want..." Clusters - People tend to cluster around like minds.  There is amazing power of small communities "Build your own stage, your own community" Super connector - Dunbar's # -- Brian Grazer Having regular curiosity conversations -- That is how he met Ron Howard Never ask the question, "How can I help you?"  Figure out how you can help someone else, then help them.  Don't put the onus on them. Always think, "who does this person need to meet?" And make connections In a networking situation, don't just ask - "What do you do?" -- Try to learn more about them as a person, not just their job "What excites you right now? Who's your favorite super hero?" Where did you grow up?" Be interested in order to be interesting "We feel guilt when we no longer want to associate with old friends and colleagues who haven't changed. The price, and marker, of growth." - Naval Ravikant How David and his wife measured their friendships and peer group -- They made lists How to give a TED Talk? -- Practiced it hundreds of times, hired a coach Go to www.DavidBurkus.com/Ryan Social Media: Follow David on Twitter: @davidburkus Read: Friend of A Friend Go to: DavidBurkus.com/Ryan Connect with me on LinkedIn Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk Episode 254: Robert Kurson - How To Be A Master Storyteller: Rocket Men, The Most Daring Mission In NASA History Robert Kurson is an American author, best known for his 2004 bestselling book, Shadow Divers, the true story of two Americans who discovered a World War II German U-boat sunk 60 miles off the coast of New Jersey. Kurson began his career as an attorney, graduating from Harvard Law School, and practicing real estate law. Kurson’s professional writing career began at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he started as a data entry clerk and soon gained a full-time features writing job. In 2000, Esquire published “My Favorite Teacher,” his first magazine story, which became a finalist for a National Magazine Award. He moved from the Sun-Times to Chicago Magazine, then to Esquire, where he won a National Magazine Award and was a contributing editor for years. His stories have appeared in Rolling Stone, The New York Times Magazine, and other publications.  His latest book is titled, Rocket Men: The Daring Odyssey of Apollo 8 and the Astronauts Who Made Man's First Journey to the Moon. Show Notes: How Rob quickly realized going to Harvard Law School was a mistake "The people who liked being at Harvard Law School are the people I liked the least." Following that, he got a job at a large law firm in Chicago -- "Made a lot of money, bought a BMW, a stereo, a bicycle... And I was miserable" The big corporations/large law firms "punished creative thinking" Writing... "It all started with a basic curiosity that would grow into love." --> "You can't hate what you do and be happy" The theme of writing stories -- "Freedom... Being unbound.  When I was writing stories, the time would go so fast." "Whatever it cost me, I was going to get out of practicing law, and be a writer." "I begged for any job.  I'm incredibly persistent.  I came in on the weekends and took high school football scores as my first job working for a newspaper as a writer" How can others follow their love/passion? "Never give up, do it at night, weekends, refuse to take no for an answer." "I was unwilling to see my life go that way.  I would never stop trying, no matter what.  There was no choice, that's what I was going to do." Key ingredients to being a great story teller? Understand the structure, the arc, the format: inciting incident, challenge, the heroes journey, the battles --> The beginning, middle, and end How the long car rides with his dad gave him a prime example for story telling -- "My dad was a travelling salesman and he would often take me with him.  He's the greatest story teller I've ever known" Why write about the Apollo 8 mission? -- "They are the first 3 men to leave earth and go to the moon.  The people at NASA say Apollo 8 was the most daring mission of all time.  They orbited the moon 10 times.  It was the most rushed mission in history."  They needed to beat the Soviets and rushed it because of that and President JFK George Lowe - The NASA manager had the idea to go without the lunar module The 3 astronauts refused to give up.  No matter what happens, they wont' give up.  Most of the astronauts were fighter pilots in the war.  They developed a psychology that "it won't happen to me."  They were fearless.  They had self-delusion and irrational confidence.  That fueled them.  They were not afraid to fail and had already failed many times in their lives Neil Armstrong crashed on a test flight... Just an hour later, he was seen in his office doing paperwork as if nothing happened.  The best astronauts were not phased What Rob enjoyed most -- Meeting each of the 3 astronauts.  All 3 are alive and still married (rare in the astronaut program).  They are down to earth, humble leaders Rob describes what it was like flying with Frank Borman What it was like watching Apollo 13 with Jim Lovell (who was also on Apollo 8) The power of constraints -- "Deadlines can help us do incredible things.  Construct them for yourself." Rob's routine -- At desk by 6:00 am and work until 2:00.  "After that, my work isn't very good." Structure it first, organize, and storyboard it Take a lot of walks with a digital recorder and speak the story out Rocket Men has been optioned by Netflix "Deadlines can help us do incredible things.  Construct them for yourself." Social Media: Follow Robert on Twitter: @robertkurson Read: Rocket Men Connect with me on LinkedIn Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk Episode 253: Aubrey Marcus - Total Human Optimization (Own The Day, Own Your Life) Aubrey Marcus is the founder and CEO of Onnit,  a lifestyle brand based on a holistic health philosophy he calls Total Human Optimization. Onnit is an Inc. 500 company and an industry leader with products optimizing millions of lives, including many top professional athletes around the world. Aubrey regularly provides commentary to outlets like Entrepreneur, Forbes, The Doctors and The Joe Rogan Experience. He has been featured on the cover of Men’s Health, is the author of the life-coaching course Go For Your Win, and his first book is Own The Day, Own Your Life  from HarperCollins. The Learning Leader Show "If you have 5 employees, don't focus on growing to 180 employees. Focus on #6, and the #7. Just the next one. You must surrender to the process." Show Notes: Commonalities of leaders who sustain excellence: Mental Override They are willing to do the thing you don't want to do (ex. turn the knob to COLD in the shower) Focus on the little things... The little things become the big things Instead of thinking of your life as a whole, focus on making this one day great... OWN the day, own your life Identify the process and structure you need for your ideal day... Do it one day at a time The ability to create you environment and "own your current space" regardless of the environment The difference between 2012 (with 5 employees) and today (180 employees) "Then I did everything, I had to.  Now, I have an incredible team to help." "If you have 5 employees and you want to grow, don't focus on 180 employees. Focus on #6, and then #7. Focus on your team and your customers." "Surrender to the process." Aubrey is a questioner... Why? "I'm constantly reminded how much I don't know" "I'm always open to continued learning. I have a curiosity mindset." "I was down to my last $110K which was loaned to me. If AlphaBrain failed, we were done... Fortunately, it sold out quickly." The importance of Joe Rogan "I was completely all in." "Instead of focusing how to be friends with Joe, I focused on who I was as a person... And becoming a person that people would want to have around." Focus on yourself "The 30 minute coffee with Joe turned in to a 4 hour dinner" "People will detect and know if you're not genuine" -- You must be yourself "Rules are for dogs. Human beings should be driven by morality. By what's right and wrong." How about rules at Onnit? -- There are some that are necessary (talking about sex, or safety.  Both are important and there are strict rules) Having an open relationship with his fiance, Whitney "I questioned the nature of love. What is true genuine love? How does that look? It's wild... And challenging." "This isn't a fairytale. It can feel like you got struck by lightening in the solar plexus." "Having an open relationship is not for everyone and I don't advocate it.  I'm an advocate for understanding relationships." The importance of writing Own The Day, Own Your Life "All of our work needed to be documented. There are over 300 clinical references in the book." Process? "You must show up and write... Even when you don't feel like it. You have to have the mental override." "I know nothing. But every day I ask questions and take a seat at the table where Truth likes to have snacks." - Aubrey Marcus Social Media: Follow Aubrey on Twitter: @AubreyMarcus Read:  Own The Day, Own Your Life Connect with me on LinkedIn Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12 More Learning: Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon Episode 216: Jim Collins -- How To Go From Good To Great Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions Episode 252: Tom Peters - In Search Of Excellence  

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk Episode #252: Tom Peters - In Search Of Excellence Tom Peters is co-author of In Search of Excellence—the book that changed the way the world does business, and often tagged as the best business book ever. Sixteen books and almost thirty years later, he’s still at the forefront of the "management guru industry” he single-handedly invented. What’s new? A lot. As CNN said, “While most business gurus milk the same mantra for all its worth, the one-man brand called Tom Peters is still reinventing himself.”  Tom’s bedrock belief: “Execution is strategy—it’s all about the people and the doing, not the talking and the theory.” (Keep up with Tom at tompeters.com, ranked #9 among “The Top 150 Management and Leadership Blogs.”) His most recent effort, released in April, 2018 is titled, The Excellence Dividend. "Excellence is the next 5 minutes... Or not." Show Notes: Commonalities of those who sustain excellence: They are "thoroughly decent human beings" They help other people grow They really care about the people they work with and help them get better everyday Quotes from Tom Peters: "Arguably the eight most important words a leader can utter: “THANK YOU.” “I’M SORRY.” “WHAT DO YOU THINK?” "Priority #1, #2, #3: Culture. Culture. Culture. "It IS the game," Lou Gerstner on IBM turnaround. "My 20-year-old "agile": WTTMSASTMSUTFW/Whoever Tries The Most Stuff And Screws The Most Stuff Up The Fastest Wins. "Every meeting that does not stir the imagination and curiosity of its attendees is what I like to call a PLO: a Permanently Lost Opportunity. I am all in favor of eliminating unnecessary meetings!" The big corporations/large law firms "punished creative thinking" "You must create space for people to be better than they ever have." "Excellence is the next 5 minutes... Or not." The key to being a great manager? "MBWA" -- "The minute those words came out of his mouth, my life changed (Managing By Wandering Around) The importance of being intentional and thoughtful My Dad is a huge fan of Tom's work and told me to read his work "Your culture is managed every minute of every day" The process to prepare for your week as the leader (Sunday night work) Start your meetings with "Good morning" "Find a smile, find the energy" --> Your team will follow your attitude and behavior. "It's your duty to be in a good mood." How to run a world class meeting? A meeting can and should be excellent" --> It sets the stage for the next 5 days. Think about it and prepare. Will it be an upper or a downer? Should have civility and thoughtfulness --> "No smartassery" The definition of a great teacher is "someone who is desperate to help their students succeed." How to choose better people to promote? "First line leadership is of supreme importance" "We always hire for character." --> Theo Epstein: Look at the analytics and combine them with culture and character to decide Training -- "Practice should be harder than the games" Neighbors with Bill Walsh -- "The Score Takes Care of Itself" He spent the first 18 months as the coach of the 49ers developing a new culture John Wooden -- Similar story about culture building Jerry Seinfeld spends six months at very "out of the way" clubs in order to add a new 2 minutes to his stand up routine -- Be that deliberate Tom's training and preparation for a speech (even after doing 3,000+ of them!) Read on the company and the industry in depth Read what's going on in the world - stay up to date Read about the specific city where the speech is being delivered, read the local paper, pick up little vignettes Awake at 2:00 am rearranging the PowerPoint slides -- "I make about 700 changes" How do you feel 30 seconds before you go on stage? "Pure fear, there is enormous pressure for me to deliver for them" Why you should always write thank you notes Campbell's Soup CEO wrote 30,000 thank you notes Home Depot CEO wrote them every Sunday Social Media: Follow Robert on Twitter: @tom_peters Read: The Excellence Dividend Connect with me on LinkedIn Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12