SkillDing -Learn by Doing

Do you wish you had reacted differently (or better) to a situation? It might not have been your fault. It might have been your chimp. We all have 3 parts to our brains, a human, a chimp and a computer brain. The human is logical and rational. That is who you wished had written the reply to that email you shouldn't have sent! But it was the chimp, the emotional, fly-off-the-handle no thought annoyance. But according the author Prof. Steve Peters, this chimp can be controlled and can actually be used to our advantage. In this episode, learn how to get the 3 parts of your brain to work together.

Navy seals are the best trained soldiers in the world. They operate in absolutely chaotic situations where miscommunication can mean death. Unclear directions or an individual going on a solo run can mean death. For navy seals, leadership matters. Their rules of leadership are at the core of the book written by Jocko Wilink and Leif Babin. In this episode we go deep on these rules and how they apply to business. The toolkit mentioned at the end of this episode will be available in the next couple of weeks. Sign up at www.usebecause.com/subscribe to get an alert when it goes live.

Over 25 million copies of this book have been sold and with good reason. In this episode we figure out how to apply these 7 habits to our own professional and personal lives. The author groups his 7 habits into 3 categories - independence, interdependence and continuous improvement.  The habits are laid out in a way that are simple to follow. However 'simple to follow' does not necessarily equate to easy to do. At the beginning of the book he talks about what it will take to really make positive change in your life. You must work on your skills but more importantly you must work on your character. Are you up for the challenge? 

What does it mean when someone cross their arms? It means they're being defensive. Or when someone cannot make eye contact? - they're being deceptive. In fact, this is all nonsense. As a species, we are terrible at reading body language. Who knows why someone crosses their arms or doesn't make eye contact. We need more information before we can make a judgement. However, there are things we can do to move the needle in the right direction. We can find areas of interest that we can then probe further. In his book, The Truth About Lying, Walters puts forward 7 keys to understanding a persons verbal and non-verbal output. With these keys you can get a lot closer than most to spotting when someone is lying to you. 

Combining three previous episodes into one this reissued episode focuses on the powerful sales book by Dan Pink. We dive into the new way to look at sales and come to the conclusion that we are all, like it or not, in sales. Part i: Sales has changed, he provides a set of tools to succeed in this new era of sales and reveals tips and exercises to navigate this landscape. Part ii: The Glengarry Glen Ross approach of ABC… Always-Be-Closing is gone because we have information parity. Dan Pink puts forward a new ABC… Attunement, Buoyancy, Clarity Part iii: In this final part of this mini series we discover how Pixar can help you persuade someone, how improv class can help your sales technique and the true meaning behind sales.

Habits can serve us when they help us to achieve our goals. But they can also hold us back from getting where we need to get to. In Atomic Habits, the author James Clear builds on another great book about this topic (The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg) and delves into what causes us to develop habits in the first place. And then most importantly he discusses what he considers the four steps to build excellent habits.

Being new to leadership can lead to a lot of questions about how to approach your new direct reports. Should you focus on being liked to get the best out of them or are bottom line results all that matter? According to author Kim Scott, the answer lies somewhere in the middle. Radical candor addresses these questions and more. The tagline for the book, 'how to get what you want by saying what you mean' sums it up. Leadership is not a zero sum game where you are either well liked or completely results driven at the expense of team moral. It is about being clear in your expectations while genuinely caring about the wellbeing of your team. In this episode we discuss these ideas and more including most importantly, finding the balance between being caring and being direct. 

Leadership is hard. What are the traits you should look to emulate from others? How will you know you are doing a good job? Another question is how do you prepare for inevitable disasters? In their book The Ostrich Paradox the authors Robert Meyer & Howard Kunreuther discuss this aspect of underpreparation in depth. We as individuals, organisations and societies generally underprepare for disasters. In this podcast episode we take a peek inside their findings and discuss the 6 biases that they say lead to this lack of preparation. Whether you are new to leadership or are looking to audit your skill set, this episode has something for you.

We all have vices, habits and routines that we would like to wrestle back under our control. Why is it that some people and companies struggle for years to enact real and lasting change where as others seemingly perform the desired change overnight? Author Charles Duhigg goes deep on the mechanics of habit, how they are formed and more importantly how they are permanently changed.... Never miss an episode subscribe to our mailing list at UseBecause.com/subscribe

Two books, one topic. When it comes to leadership can there ever be consensus? In both of these books there is a lot of overlap in what the authors consider and look for in a leader. Namely, it is not the charismatic superstar or the one who give rousing speeches. It is more subtle than that. When you are looking for a leader you are looking for the one who will perform very specific tasks.... Legacy: Learn to lead like an All Black. 15 key components from the inner workings of the greatest team in Rugby. In this episode we dive into how the All Blacks cultivated an atmosphere of humility and self-discipline both on and off the pitch and used it as a strength to conquer their sport. The Captain Class: There is a wealth of information on what leadership looks like. But I really believe this book hits upon an aspect of leadership that you might not have considered. Author Sam Walker devised stringent criteria for choosing 16 top performing sports teams and asked himself a very definite question - 'What, if anything, do these teams have in common?'.