Episode 191: Robert Herjavec - Shark Tank Investor + Listener Q & A Subscribe on iTunes  or Stitcher Radio The Learning Leader Show "You don't have to be born in this country to have success in this country." - Robert Herjavec In This Episode, You Will Learn: Common themes of leaders who sustain excellence: Have a deep passion for their craft They bring a unique value proposition You don't have to come from a big city to make something happen Leadership:  People don't want to be managed, they want to be led... You must provide value to the company Robert's thoughts on immigration and the fact that you don't need to be born in this country to be successful "It's a testament to hope... and it's really hard." "You Don't Have To Be A Shark" "You don't have to be mean to be effective.  Some sharks aren't nice.  Be yourself, be real..." Questions from YOU (the listeners) answered as part of the Q & A portion "What is it that inspired you to start The Learning Leader Show?" -- Mauricio Dulon from La Paz, Bolivia "How do you coach for disciplined execution when all you get from your client are excuses? -- Norma Scott Garrell from Olive Branch, Mississippi "How do you add value as the mentee in a mentor/mentee relationship? -- Ben Arwine from Chicago, IL "What benchmarks do you use to gauge how you're doing in your leadership journey?" -- Brian Westerfield from Troy, OH "Is there any one guest whose advice or experience haunts you (in a good way)? -- Shawn Fuller from Ontario, Canada "What has been the biggest surprise for you in this journey?" -- Ryan Jacobs Continue Learning: Follow Robert on Twitter: @robertherjavec Read: You Don't Have To Be A Shark Connect with me on LinkedIn Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12 You may also like these episodes: Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon Episode 071: Nate Boyer - Green Beret, Texas Football, The NFL Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why Did you enjoy the podcast? If you enjoyed hearing Robert Herjavec on the show, please don’t hesitate to send me a note on Twitter or email me. Episode edited by the great J Scott Donnell The Learning Leader Show is supported by FreshBooks: FreshBooks is offering a 30 day, unrestricted free trial to my listeners. To claim it, just go to FreshBooks.com/Learning and enter LEARNING LEADER in the “How Did You Hear About Us?” section.

Episode 190: Roger Martin - Playing To Win: Strategy Is A Choice Subscribe on iTunes  or Stitcher Radio The Learning Leader Show "Strategy is about making specific choices to win in the marketplace.  It requires making explicit choices to do some things and not others." In This Episode, You Will Learn: Common themes of leaders who sustain excellence: Relentlessly look at the future They have a curious mindset... Always asking questions They ask: "Is what we're doing sustainable?" Why A.G. Lafley was such a great strategic leader You should always ask the question, "How can I put myself out of business?  And think to innovate based on that answer Marrying innovation and strategic thinking: the dangers of doing this What era does all of our data come from?  The past... Think carefully about that You cannot always "prove" innovation.  You can't always base the future on the past. Aristotle -- Brought us analysis... How to prove/demonstrate something is true You can't ever analyze how to change the world... Steve Jobs would say "Imagine the possibilities." "Strategy is a choice.  Where to play and how to win." Roger explains how to test if you have a real strategy Best advice he's received and given: 1) "Don't start on the easy stuff.  Do the hard tasks first.  If you work on the hardest problems, you'll find that the easier ones seem to disappear 2) Less is more.  Figure out one thing you do really well and focus on it. 3) "Don't intellectualize people."  "Don't try to fool them, treat them as people... As you would want to be treated." Highly successful people make a list of the Top 10 things to do that day and tackle the toughest problems first Managing what matters most -- Must have a strategy to know what's most important Peter Drucker's work -- The Effective Executive "Too often CEO's will allow what's urgent to crowd out what's really important.  It's wrong to define strategy as following best practices.  This creates sameness and sameness is not a strategy.  It's a recipe for mediocrity." Continue Learning: Follow Carey on Twitter: @RogerLMartin Read: Playing To Win: How Strategy Really Works  Connect with me on LinkedIn Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12 You may also like these episodes: Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon Episode 071: Nate Boyer - Green Beret, Texas Football, The NFL Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why Did you enjoy the podcast? If you enjoyed hearing Roger Martin on the show, please don’t hesitate to send me a note on Twitter or email me. Episode edited by the great J Scott Donnell The Learning Leader Show is supported by FreshBooks: FreshBooks is offering a 30 day, unrestricted free trial to my listeners. To claim it, just go to FreshBooks.com/Learning and enter LEARNING LEADER in the “How Did You Hear About Us?” section.

    Episode 189: Jennifer Mueller - Why Leaders Should Embrace Creative Change Subscribe on iTunes  or Stitcher Radio The Learning Leader Show "If you're calculating risk, then it's not creative." In This Episode, You Will Learn: Common themes of leaders who sustain excellence: Mindset to learn Curiosity is the most important Thinking like an inventor... Curious by asking "What does this mean?" Why is their pressure to perform immediately? It's a followers mindset -- Anchor to the competitors and play the rat race game This does not allow you to break away from the competition If you want to change the status quo, you cannot think this way There are no shortcuts... Why write the book? Studied how people generated ideas Was cynical at first, but what Jen learned is that leaders don't know how to manage for innovation Why do ideas get rejected? "If you're calculating risk, then it's not creative." How to give yourself a better shot for the idea to get traction? Give a feedback pitch and not a selling pitch... Ask for feedback and advice Her famous study -- "The Bias Against Creativity" Overcoming the bias against creative leadership Backlash against the people who generate the idea -- It's not good Might be promoting people on out of date measures Mis-reading skill set "Creative Leaders have to ask questions and be curious" "Stop generating ideas, start making impact" Have a change circle... Talk about how you can push your idea through "Creative leaders must ask questions... And be curious." Continue Learning: Follow Jen on Twitter: @JennSMueller Read: Creative Change Connect with me on LinkedIn Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12 You may also like these episodes: Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon Episode 071: Nate Boyer - Green Beret, Texas Football, The NFL Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why Did you enjoy the podcast? If you enjoyed hearing Jennifer Mueller on the show, please don’t hesitate to send me a note on Twitter or email me. Episode edited by the great J Scott Donnell The Learning Leader Show is supported by FreshBooks: FreshBooks is offering a 30 day, unrestricted free trial to my listeners. To claim it, just go to FreshBooks.com/Learning and enter LEARNING LEADER in the “How Did You Hear About Us?” section.

Professor Finkelstein is a consultant and speaker to senior executives around the globe, as well as an executive coach, focusing on leadership, talent development, corporate governance, learning from mistakes, and strategies for growth. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Management and listed on the “Thinkers 50”, the world's most prestigious ranking of leadership gurus. He has been featured in the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Harvard Business Review, Business Week, the London Times, Toronto Globe and Mail, Inc, Fast Company, and CNBC, and is a regular columnist for the BBC. Episode 188: Sydney Finkelstein - How To Be A SuperBoss Subscribe on iTunes  or Stitcher Radio The Learning Leader Show "Confidence is the prerequisite to greatness." In This Episode, You Will Learn: Common themes of the best sales professionals: Curiosity - Always looking for answers Courage to go after opportunities They understand in order to be successful, you must help others be successful People who are unconsciously incompetent Not curious - They think they have all the answers Unwillingness to learn Superboss = Someone who helps others Bill Walsh - A bigger coaching tree than any other coach... Why? 1st coach to understand talent well Created a development program for African American coaches He would call other owners and tell them to hire one of his assistants... He helped his people leave him for bigger jobs The best people seek these types of leaders Why is this so rare?  Most think of ways to retain their talent instead of help promote them. This is wrong. You cannot control what other people do. Create an environment that makes people want to work for you. Help them. The difference between a male and female boss What do Superbosses do? They create master-apprentice relationships -- Leonardo DaVinci 1 on 1 conversations with your boss Find someone who will invest time in you and your career. Be that person if you are a boss Create opportunities for your people When you delegate, be hands on with the feedback. Be direct and involved to help Encourage collegiality and simultaneously drive internal competition: Sydney describes how to do this Lorne Michaels creates this at Saturday Night Live Think about the best bossses you've worked for... Why were they the best? What worked for them? For you? Then ask... Am I doing those things? How am I making it work for those who work for me? Each person is unique. Understand that Learn from your own personal experience Using a "Get To Know You" document every year. Personally invest in getting to know your people Continue Learning: Follow Sydney on Twitter: @sydfinkelstein Read: Superbosses  Connect with me on LinkedIn Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12 You may also like these episodes: Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon Episode 071: Nate Boyer - Green Beret, Texas Football, The NFL Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why Did you enjoy the podcast? If you enjoyed hearing Sydney Finkelstein on the show, please don’t hesitate to send me a note on Twitter or email me. Episode edited by the great J Scott Donnell The Learning Leader Show is supported by FreshBooks: FreshBooks is offering a 30 day, unrestricted free trial to my listeners. To claim it, just go to FreshBooks.com/Learning and enter LEARNING LEADER in the “How Did You Hear About Us?” section.

    Episode 187: Jeb Blount - How To Never Have An Empty Pipeline (Fanatical Prospecting) Subscribe on iTunes  or Stitcher Radio The Learning Leader Show "Repetition is the mother of learning." In This Episode, You Will Learn: Common themes of the best sales professionals: They have high Emotional Intelligence AND Sales Intelligence A full pipeline The #1 Reason for failure is an empty pipeline Ultra High Performers: They prospect constantly -- driven to keep the pipeline full: it builds confidence Focus on deals they can win -- they are a good judge of win probability Have the luxury to choose the deals they work on High EQ -- they have the ability to manage their emotions Average sales people focus on a linear sales cycle... The ultra successful focus on the buying process, they shape the buying process, decision making process, and they are masters at influencing decision makers You CAN move from great to ultra performer -- with work Hiring process: The culture must support ultra high performers Using Sales Drive -- An assessment to learn if people will hunt. Must have intelligence/competitiveness, an optimism to hunt  4 Parts -- Interview process 1) Intelligence - must be able to connect the dots that don't seem connectable  2) Acquired Knowledge - desire to build knowledge, growing, learning, curious 3) Technology Intelligence - have to build new technology into your life 4) Emotional Intelligence - management of emotions, situational awareness Why the average sales person is good in an interview Examples of great "Turnaround Statements" A live discussion of the cold email I sent Jeb to get him on my show (really interesting part) You have 2 seconds to get their attention Hook in the subject line 1st sentence -- talk to them, not you. Relate to them. Don't write "Hey Jeb," write "Jeb" Situation -- bridge -- connect the dots, then ask Social selling Must have a great social profile Monitor what you say DO NOT tweet about politics or religion Connect with people in your industry on LinkedIn Continue Learning: Follow Jeb on Twitter: @SalesGravy Read: Fanatical Prospecting  Connect with me on LinkedIn Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12 You may also like these episodes: Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon Episode 071: Nate Boyer - Green Beret, Texas Football, The NFL Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why Did you enjoy the podcast? If you enjoyed hearing Jeb Blount on the show, please don’t hesitate to send me a note on Twitter or email me. Episode edited by the great J Scott Donnell The Learning Leader Show is supported by FreshBooks: FreshBooks is offering a 30 day, unrestricted free trial to my listeners. To claim it, just go to FreshBooks.com/Learning and enter LEARNING LEADER in the “How Did You Hear About Us?” section.

Jason Van Camp, Green Beret and Founder/Chairman of Mission 6 Zero, talks about decision-making in combat missions, starting a business, and getting comfortable with discomfort. He also shares his transition after deployment and pursuit of an MBA. The chapter highlights the importance of simplicity and authenticity in sustained excellence and introduces online resources for veterans starting their own business.

  Episode 185: Haben Girma - The First Deafblind Harvard Law Graduate, Champion Of Change An internationally acclaimed accessibility leader, Haben Girma has earned recognition as a White House “Champion of Change”, Forbes 30 under 30 leader, and BBC Women of Africa Hero. The first Deafblind person to graduate from Harvard Law School, Haben champions equal access to information for people with disabilities. She has been honored by President Barack Obama, President Bill Clinton, and many others. People with disabilities represent the largest minority group, numbering one billion worldwide. Reaching a group of this scale creates value for everyone. Organizations that prioritize accessibility benefit by gaining access to a much larger user base, improving the experience for both disabled and non-disabled users, and facilitating further innovation. Watch Haben teach 4,000 developers the connection between Disability & Innovation at Apple’s 2016 Worldwide Developers Conference. Haben has been featured extensively in media round the world, including the BBC, CBS, Forbes, the Washington Post, MTV, NPR, and many more. Haben grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area where she currently lives. She holds a B.A. in Sociology/Anthropology from Lewis & Clark College and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. In addition to her accessibility work, she enjoys salsa dancing, surfing, and traveling the world. Episode 185: Haben Girma - The First Deafblind Harvard Law Graduate, Champion Of Change Subscribe on iTunes  or Stitcher Radio The Learning Leader Show "Excellent leaders are honest about their strengths and weaknesses." In This Episode, You Will Learn: Common themes to sustain excellence: Honest about strengths and weaknesses Great problem solvers High level of self-awareness Haben is Deafblind - she understands her strengths and weaknesses very well Her TED Talk - Advocating for others -- How and why she champions equal access to information for people with disabilities Communicating and hugging President Barack Obama How she communicates -- The use of braille.  For our talk on this podcast, she had an interpreter listen to what I said and then type it out for her to read in braille What are the best ways to communicate with people who are deaf -- Haben helps me understand Why you should never tell her that her story inspires you How chocolate cake played a role in her becoming an advocacy attorney What advice given to others who want to go into advocacy? Start with yourself. Maybe there is a gender bias, religious, or racial. Build up from there... Haben describes how she experiences movies The best piece of advice she's received: Don't insist on doing something by yourself. Ask for help. Work smart. Sometimes it's better to be helped by others What she hopes people learn from her speeches? That she continually adds value to others Haben's thoughts on Helen Keller - She's brilliant Haben's brother is also Deafblind -- He works in technology How she actively makes a choice to ignore fear Why Uber denied her a ride 3 times and what happened Her Goals: Change our culture -- Disability adds value... Trainings & Workshops Continue Learning: Go to Haben's website: habengirma.com Follow Haben on Twitter: @HabenGirma Connect with me on LinkedIn Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12 You may also like these episodes: Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon Episode 071: Nate Boyer - Green Beret, Texas Football, The NFL Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why Did you enjoy the podcast? If you enjoyed hearing Haben Girma on the show, please don’t hesitate to send me a note on Twitter or email me. Episode edited by the great J Scott Donnell The Learning Leader Show is supported by FreshBooks: FreshBooks is offering a 30 day, unrestricted free trial to my listeners. To claim it, just go to FreshBooks.com/Learning and enter LEARNING LEADER in the “How Did You Hear About Us?” section.

Episode 184: Scott Harrison - CEO of Charity Water "The Power of Storytelling" Scott Harrison is the founder and CEO of charity : water. With virtually no experience outside of throwing parties, Scott founded Charity Water by charging $20 cover for his 31st birthday party. 10 years later, they've turned that $20 into $240 million, and brought clean water to 6.4 million people.  Scott believes in: Radical Transparency, Technology & Innovation For Good, and The Power of Storytelling. charity: water is a non profit organization that works to bring clean and safe water to people in developing nations. charity: water uses all public donations to directly fund water projects such as building wells and sanitation facilities. Since its founding, charity: water has established 25 local partnerships, funded approximately 17,673 projects in 24 countries and provided roughly 6.4 million people with clean water. charity: water tackles the water crisis by working with local experts and community members to find the best sustainable solution in each place where they work, whether it’s a well, a piped system, a BioSand filter, or a system for harvesting rainwater. And with every water point they fund, their partners coordinate sanitation and hygiene training, and establish a local Water Committee to help keep water flowing for years to come. The organization's goal is to bring clean water to 100 million people by 2020. Episode 184: Scott Harrison - CEO of Charity Water "The Power of Storytelling" Subscribe on iTunes  or Stitcher Radio The Learning Leader Show "Human Beings Are Creatures Of Stories." In This Episode, You Will Learn: Common themes to sustain excellence: Why it's vital that you first value excellence before sustaining it -- Unfortunately not everyone values it Then you must have integrity and generosity The "ism's" created at Charity Water Design is vital in everything they do They care deeply about details There must be no typo's All PowerPoint presentations must be designed (no exceptions). Internal and external presentations are treated with equal importance Always asking the question, "Was that excellent?" What it means to be radically transparent Telling and showing people exactly where their money is being spent (using GoPro's to help tell this story) Why Scott wanted to reinvent charity... How to build trust Scott's hiring process -- The need for creative people that are likable and smart Note: They had 500 people interview to be their receptionist Using technology to improve donations (use of VR) The power of story-telling In hiring -- "It's either a Hell Yeah! or a No" Favorite interview question -- "What are the most important values you live by?" He wants to know that they actually have values and have taken the time to think about what they are Dan Pink - Autonomy, Mastery, Purpose Scott will read their last 500 tweets to see if they are a happy person or if they are cynical and "hate" on others Scott's advice on giving and why we should do it “What Are The Most Important Values You Live By?" Continue Learning: Go to charity water to donate: charitywater.org See why over 84,000 people follow Scott on Twitter: @scottharrison Connect with me on LinkedIn Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12 You may also like these episodes: Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon Episode 071: Nate Boyer - Green Beret, Texas Football, The NFL Episode 073: Jay Bilas - World Class ESPN Basketball Broadcaster, Toughness, Fixing The NCAA Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why Did you enjoy the podcast? If you enjoyed hearing Scott Harrison on the show, please don’t hesitate to send me a note on Twitter or email me. Episode edited by the great J Scott Donnell The Learning Leader Show is supported by FreshBooks: FreshBooks is offering a 30 day, unrestricted free trial to my listeners. To claim it, just go to FreshBooks.com/Learning and enter LEARNING LEADER in the “How Did You Hear About Us?” section.

Episode 183: Barry Schwartz - The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less Barry Schwartz studies the link between economics and psychology, offering startling insights into modern life. Lately, working with Ken Sharpe, he's studying wisdom. In his 2004 book The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz tackles one of the great mysteries of modern life: Why is it that societies of great abundance — where individuals are offered more freedom and choice (personal, professional, material) than ever before — are now witnessing a near-epidemic of depression? Conventional wisdom tells us that greater choice is for the greater good, but Schwartz argues the opposite: He makes a compelling case that the abundance of choice in today's western world is actually making us miserable. Infinite choice is paralyzing, Schwartz argues, and exhausting to the human psyche.It leads us to set unreasonably high expectations, question our choices before we even make them and blame our failures entirely on ourselves. His relatable examples, from consumer products (jeans, TVs, salad dressings) to lifestyle choices (where to live, what job to take, who and when to marry), underscore this central point: Too much choice undermines happiness. Episode 183: Barry Schwartz - The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less Subscribe on iTunes  or Stitcher Radio The Learning Leader Show "When you have infinite choice... Instead of being liberate, you get paralyzed." In This Episode, You Will Learn: Common themes to sustain excellence: People really care about what they're trying to achieve They want to change people's lives Why the leaders of organizations must give their employees opportunities to stretch, and demonstrate mastery Why Barry wore shorts during his legendary TED Talk People think the more choices we have, the better we'll be. It has limits... The consequences with ease of communication -- "People are thinking less, and talking more." Why Twitter is bad Daniel Kahneman's work -- System 1 and System 2 Why are movies on an airplane better? The proper way to set expectations The secret to happiness How to manage expectations: Make the rare not common - ie: Deliberately drink great win infrequently Why are people affiliated with organized religion happier? -- Less to do with religion and more to do with community. Most religions are full of constraints "Why We Work" -- Dan Pink's work on this is fantastic The future of work -- A world full of contractors “The secret to happiness is low expectations." -- Barry Schwartz Continue Learning: Watch Barry give a TED Talk Wearing Shorts (9m+ views): The Paradox of Choice  Follow Barry on Twitter: @barrysch  Connect with me on LinkedIn Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12 You may also like these episodes: Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon Episode 071: Nate Boyer - Green Beret, Texas Football, The NFL Episode 073: Jay Bilas - World Class ESPN Basketball Broadcaster, Toughness, Fixing The NCAA Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why Did you enjoy the podcast? If you enjoyed hearing Barry Schwartz on the show, please don’t hesitate to send me a note on Twitter or email me. Episode edited by the great J Scott Donnell The Learning Leader Show is supported by FreshBooks: FreshBooks is offering a 30 day, unrestricted free trial to my listeners. To claim it, just go to FreshBooks.com/Learning and enter LEARNING LEADER in the “How Did You Hear About Us?” section.

Vinh Giang, a motivational keynote speaker and magician, discusses sustaining excellence, facing fears, building an online magic school, the power of video, perspective and gratitude, goal setting, self-care, voice training, and enthusiasm for collaboration.