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The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

We are celebrating episode #600 with Keith Hawk and AJ Hawk

• Tell a story about an awesome leader you worked with...
  • Ron Ullery – I’m a firm believer that people either live up to or down to your expectations. And most people set their expectations for themselves too low. So it’s on you as a leader to raise those expectations for them. Demand more because you know they can do more.
  • Tyler Cowen – The high return activity of raising others’ aspirations. Encouraged someone who was going for an MBA to get a Phd. At critical moments in time, you can raise the aspirations of other people significantly, especially when they are relatively young, simply by suggesting they do something better or more ambitious than what they might have in mind. It costs you relatively little to do this, but the benefit to them, and to the broader world, may be enormous.
• What helps you give a great speech? How do you prepare?
  • Ask, "What do I want my audience to do after seeing my speech?" Interview members of their team. Learn their terminology, challenges, what's going well, what's not, what are their goals, etc...
  • Practice, practice, practice. Say it out loud. Rehearse so that once you're on stage, you can let it rip.
• What did the best teams you’ve been on do differently than the average teams?
  • The best players on the best teams always practiced the hardest. They set the tone for the work ethic of the team. They chose extra work. They set high standards and they demanded others raise their level of performance.
  • The best teams hung out together outside of work. AJ was a Captain of the Green Bay Packers Super Bowl-winning team in 2010-2011... That team regularly hung out together outside of working hours, shared lots of meals, and knew each other extremely well. They trusted each other.
• Tell a story about how you’ve shown resilience… Failed and what did you do next?
  • The Miami/Ben Roethlisberger story - The world doesn't care what you think you deserve. The primary goal is focused on adding value to others' lives.
  • AJ shared a story from his sophomore year at Ohio State. His defensive coordinator, Coach Mark Dantonio sat with him 1 on 1 watching each play of the Michigan game. A day he’ll never forget for how hard it was, how upset he was, and how determined he was to respond. AJ never lost to Michigan again in his career after that.
  • Pistol shared a story about the time when the new CEO wanted to bring in his own head of sales (which was Pistol's job). Instead of complaining and leaving the company, he got creative and offered a new idea and a great way to leverage all the skills and knowledge he developed from being at the company for so long. It is amazingly rare for the head of sales to stay at a company after he’s been replaced. But he thrived in the role and made the company better.
• Front line obsession – Pistol’s story of the legendary Mert McGill going to the Supreme Court to demo LexisNexis and earning the most important sale in the company's history. I love stories about leaders proactively taking action and not being afraid to do the work.
• Update since Episode #500:
  • Built the Learning Leader Team -- Officially working full-time with Sherri Coale, Brook Cupps, Geron Stokes, and Eli Leiker. We are working with leaders from a wide variety of companies throughout the U.S.
• The magic of the Pat McAfee Show -- They are unafraid. They say what others are thinking but are too afraid to say. They are authentic and fully themselves. They have great role clarity. Everyone knows and embraces their roles and excels at them.
• The End of the Podcast Draft – You’re stranded on a deserted island. You have one iPad. On that iPad has 5 TV shows (and nothing else). Which shows do you choose? This is a competition with a clear winner and losers. The object is to win the draft.

Read our book, The Score That Matters https://amzn.to/3XxHi7p

Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com

• Sustaining Excellence
  • Good get at getting stuff done
  • Make a change from an expert to a learning machine
• Apply to be in my Learning Leader Circle
• Leadership is:
  • Teaching – sharing with others what they need to know, how to do something
  • Mentoring - Help them see the world from our eyes
  • Coaching - Help them see the world through their eyes. To do that, we must be good listeners, ask questions, and challenge them
• Follow what’s interesting to you… To figure out your passion, you have to do stuff. That’s the only way to fully learn what you’re good at and what you want to do. Have to be willing to try, fail, keep going, and figure out where you excel and what you’re curious about. That’s how you find your passion and do it for a living.
• They set up leadership dyads and triads at the Mayo Clinic. Group up a doctor, a nurse, and an administrator to help make decisions. This way you gain the perspective from different angles, people, and experiences.
• You have to context-shift radically, from an ER to a boardroom to a coaching session. Not everybody can wear all those hats, and yet Rick does it really well (with grace and humility).
• What’s the difference between a coach and a mentor?
  • When you mentor: You share your experience & subject-matter expertise. You help a colleague see the world & its potential—through your eyes.
  • When you coach: You help your colleague make sense of their world—from their perspective.
• Effective leaders:
  • seek diverse perspectives
  • recognize the bias of individual opinion
  • make decisions methodically
• Ineffective leaders:
  • make reflexive decisions
  • amplify the thoughts of a few
  • see alternate perspectives as obstacles
• Hiring -- What are the must-haves for a leadership role?
  • Knowledge
  • Fit with the team
  • Collaborate
  • Align with the values
• How to run 1:1s
  • Consent to an agenda
  • Ask useful questions
  • LISTEN
• Career and Life Advice:
  • Ask Who, How, What, Why
  • Seek multiple perspectives
• Atul Gawande's Checklist Manifesto is useful.

Full Show notes at www.LearningLeader.com

Read our book: The Score That Matters - https://amzn.to/3AAPyds

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

Ep # 598: Sam Parr

Notes

• Sam’s mantra (which he has tattooed on his thigh): “Bold. Fast. Fun.” It’s really hard to beat someone who moves fast, takes risks, and has fun doing it.
• Think big, but you have to get started. We see Hustle Con and the 2,500 people and think that’s just how it always was. It started as a small book club, then a small event that made a little money... And YEARS later it’s HustleCon which helped launch The Hustle, which then eventually sold for 10’s of millions. We have to get started and keep going.
• The most important skill set (according to Sam) is the ability to convince people of something. Persuading others. You have to believe in it yourself, be a clear thinker, and know how to communicate that to others to make them believe in it too. This skill will help you accomplish a lot.
• Writing – Write like you talk. Writing clarifies your thinking…
• Think in headlines – Thinking in headlines will make you a clearer thinker. It will help you see how an idea should be framed, identify different ways to tell your story, and show you the soul of your topic.
• Back against the wall - “I firmly believe in putting my back against the wall.” Deadlines, pressure, and harsh goals will pull out the best from you.
• Copy by Hand – Sam copied the best sales letters of all time by hand. Let the writing you admire pass through your fingers. This method is called copywork.
• What Sam learned backstage at his events with rich people/CEOs - "They weren't smarter than me." We're all just figuring it out as we go.: "
• Cold emails -- Work that muscle. AirBnB cold email story:
  • "I cold emailed this guy named Brian. And he had a company called Air Bed and Breakfast. I said, 'Hey, this sounds like a cool thing. I want to interview. I think I can help make it better by doing a few things.' And they said, 'Are you in the Bay Area?' 'Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm there.' And he said, 'Alright, great. Come to the office on Monday.' So I booked the flight and I flew out and got an interview there. That's how I got introduced to startups. And then I eventually moved to San Francisco."
• Sports - Love them because they are objective. The time doesn't lie. Same with business. The numbers don't lie.
  • You know you're going to feel pain (before running a 400m), but you do it anyway and push through it. That's what makes them great.
• How to raise tough kids? "I'm scared. I think about this all the time. Will need to remove the things that make my life easy like all the service providers have now."
• Hiring - Freaks, weirdos. The others. Want people passionate about something. Anything. Bottom 4th of the resume.
  • Be skilled at something, not a generalist.
  • Writing/communication - No typos. Clear writing = clear thinking. We want clear thinkers. Especially for leadership roles.
• Fame - "I don't want that anymore, but I still want to be taken seriously by the big boys. I'm still insecure about building something other than a media company."
• Advice: "Be a fucking animal." Don't let anything stop you.
• Excellence - "Like your shit. Enjoy it. Must have endurance. Be like a cockroach and stay alive. Survive. Don't quit. Don't be vanilla. Do dope shit."

Go to www.LearningLeader.com for full show notes

Read our book, The Score That Matters https://amzn.to/4dNLqoH

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

Episode #597 -- Daniel Pink

• How to give a great townhall speech:
  • Begin with the end in mind. What do you want the people in the audience to do?
  • Prepare, don’t wing it. Be ready. Practice
  • Sound like you. Don’t try to sound like Steve Jobs or someone else. When you’re on stage or presenting at work, sound like you. Be genuine.
• Ideas for persuading others:
  • Make it easy for others to say yes
  • Social proof - Show that others are doing it (this is why companies put the logos of their customers on their website)
  • Know when to appeal to the head or the heart. Typically, it’s the heart and emotion when speaking to those who work for you. And it’s your head when speaking to your boss. This is nuanced though and not black and white.
• Remember, there are two types of people: Those who make their boss's life easier or harder. Be the former.
• Pitching... Miles Teller in the TV show The Offer. Instead of trying to convince the mob boss to allow him to make the movie, he offered to show him the script and collaborate with him. The best pitches invite others to be co-creators.
• The motivation framework:
  • Autonomy: The desire to direct our own lives. Giving people more control over their work or tasks can enhance motivation and performance.
  • Mastery: The urge to get better at something that matters. People are more motivated when they see progress and can develop their skills.
  • Purpose: The feeling that what we do is important and has meaning. Connecting tasks or jobs to a larger cause can be a powerful motivator.
• "If you're not confident, don't be self-deprecating."
• To Sell is Human - "We're all in sales... Convincing, cajoling, persuading."
• Make it easy for people to say yes... That's what the best salespeople do.
• Social Cues -- From Robert Cialdini - People look around for cues. That's why companies put logos of their customers on their websites. So others look and say, "Oh, they are with them, I guess we can be too."
• Know when to appeal to the head or heart. "When managing up, it's usually their head. When managing down, it's usually their heart."
• Processing fluency - Make it sticky. Memorable. Rhyme. Repetition. Repetition. Repetition.

Read our book, The Score That Matters https://amzn.to/3XxHi7p

Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com

Notes:

• Arthur grew up with one goal - To be the world’s greatest French horn player. He learned that striving for something was fungible across all fields of life. It was a great laboratory for learning.
• Intrinsic vs Extrinsic motivation - Intrinsic motivation comes from an internal desire to accomplish a goal, while extrinsic motivation comes from external rewards and praise.
• "Misery comes from excessive auto-focus." Misery comes from thinking about yourself too much and not enough about helping others.
• The curse of the strive... All happiness comes from progress.
  • The arrival is not the goal.
• How to be happy while striving:
  • Be grateful - Write it down. Do it daily.
  • Always look to help others.
• "All research is 'me-search.'"
• The Four Idols:
  • Money, Power, Pleasure, and Prestige/Fame. We talked through ours… What are yours?
• The Four Focus areas to help with happiness
  • Faith
  • Family
  • Friendship
  • Serving Others
• Define your purpose. Write it down. Understand why you're here. Mine = "To inspire others to value and pursue excellence." Too many people are ok with mediocrity. We should strive for more.
• Oprah Winfrey is the same person everywhere she goes. She is genuine and authentic to all.
• Arthur's column helped Oprah stay positive and happy through the pandemic. So much so that she called him and asked to meet. And eventually, write a book together. That book became a #1 best-seller.
• #1 Life Hack: "Don't lie ever."
• Arthur is jacked (in great shape).
  • Taking care of your body helps with unhappiness.
  • Wake up 1.5 hours before dawn. Work out hard. Lift weights. Do challenging cardio.
• Life/Career Advice:
  • Don't worry too much about the first job out of college. Don't sacrifice relationships.
  • Bring love to every relationship and be great at what you do. Be excellent.
    • Emanate love and show excellence.

Read our book, The Score That Matters https://amzn.to/3XxHi7p

Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com

This episode is supported by Insight Global. Insight Global is a staffing company dedicated to empowering people. Please CLICK HERE for premier staffing and talent.

• “I looked at these guys (homeless) and demanded nothing but pure excellence from them. And it was almost as if they were waiting for someone to do that.” Set high expectations for people. Believe in them. Care for them. Support them. Love them. And watch what happens. This is leadership.
• Nobody runs by themselves. What a great life motto. We all need people. Anne believes in the importance of community and doing hard things together.
• Her mindset was fostered, in sometimes complicated ways, by her childhood home life, she says. At age 16, her parents divorced after her father gambled away their family savings. To cope, Mahlum started running and became hyper-focused on the idea of controlling her own life.
• When others are playing defense, go on offense. When others are scared, get aggressive (easier said than done). Anne did it.
• "Running is the vehicle we're using to create community and positive reinforcement."
• "If you want to make change, you have to help others see that they can do it. You can't force it on them."
• How to build a great non-profit:
  • Identity - Each group had team names
  • Need team leaders, people to map out logistics, and volunteer coordinators
  • Need to make day 1 incredible. Launch BIG.
  • Target the right people - In Anne's case, it was executives who were runners... Decision makers who appreciated running.
• Goals - Work backwards. Set a date and then do whatever it takes to hit that launch date.
• solidcore -- Anne thought big from the beginning. She was opening her second location almost the same time her first location went live. She always wanted to scale it and thought about it from Day 1.
• Important to hire great coaches. They needed a great personality and had to make every member feel welcome. Learn everyone's name. Say their name.
  • Anne learned from How to Win Friends and Influence People
• Risk-Taker - Step into uncertainty. That's how you build confidence.
  • "I always bet on myself."
• Action builds confidence. Push past the uncertainty. Create evidence for yourself. Make the things that were previously uncomfortable for you more comfortable now by taking action. When others are playing defense, go on offense. That creates your edge…
• Anne's plan was always to sell Solidcore... Her strength is in bringing concepts to life and building communities, rather than sustaining them over time. The same month she exited the company, she opened her next venture, a New York-based fitness studio chain called Ambition.

Read our book, The Score That Matters https://amzn.to/3XxHi7p

Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com

This episode is supported by Insight Global. Insight Global is a staffing company dedicated to empowering people. Please CLICK HERE for premier staffing and talent.

• Ask deep questions – A deep question asks about someone’s values, beliefs, judgments, or experiences, rather than just facts.
  • A deep question asks people to talk about how they feel.
  • Asking a deep question should feel like sharing.
• NASA listened to how people laughed and if they possessed a genuine matching quality. Not performative or inauthentic, but people who connect with others by matching their energy.
• The 4 Rules of a learning conversation:
  • Pay attention to what type of conversation is occurring
  • Share your goals, ask what others are seeking
  • Ask about others' feelings and share your own
  • Explore if identities are important to this discussion
• The How Do We Feel conversation: What can we learn about listening from Nicholas Epley? (Psychology Professor). (Everyone knows how to listen deeply. If a podcast or something is interesting, nobody struggles to listen). Epley didn’t teach them how to listen. He urged them to have more interesting and meaningful conversations. To talk about feelings. When we talk about feelings, something magical happens. Other people can’t help but listen to us.
• Practical actions to take:
  • Ask Deep Questions: Instead of sticking to surface-level topics, ask questions that invite people to share their values, beliefs, or significant experiences. For instance, if someone mentions they are a doctor, ask them what inspired them to pursue medicine.
  • Prove You're Listening: Demonstrate that you are actively listening by asking follow-up questions or repeating back what the other person has said to ensure understanding.
  • Match Emotional Tone: Pay attention to the other person's emotional state and match it appropriately. If someone is sharing something emotional, respond with empathy rather than attempting to offer solutions immediately.
  • Understand the Social Identity: Be mindful of the social identities that might be important in a conversation. This awareness can enhance understanding and connection by showing respect for the experiences and viewpoints shaped by those identities.
• Charles shared that understanding whether a conversation is emotional, social, or practical is crucial, especially in leadership and educational settings. Teachers, for instance, are taught to ask students if they want to be helped, heard, or hugged—a reminder that recognizing the intent behind communications is key to providing appropriate support and connection.
• Time Stamps
• 01:06 Educational Choices and Parental Guidance
• 02:03 Reporting from Iraq: A Journalist's Perspective
• 03:41 The Bike Messenger Experience
• 05:47 The Harvard Study and Its Impact
• 09:23 Felix Sagala: The Art of Deep Communication
• 13:30 Mastering the Skills of Super Communication
• 20:25 Connecting with Strangers: Nicholas Epley's Experiment
• 21:20 Emotional Intelligence in Space: NASA's Challenge
• 24:51 The Matching Principle: Authentic vs. Fake
• 32:27 Insights from The Big Bang Theory Writers
• 35:36 The Art of Learning Conversations

Read our book, The Score That Matters https://amzn.to/3XxHi7p

Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com

This episode is supported by Insight Global. Insight Global is a staffing company dedicated to empowering people. Please CLICK HERE for premier staffing and talent.

Episode #593: Kim Campbell - Contingency Planning, Responding to Adversity, Earning Trust & Respect, Flying in the Face of Fear, and How To Run a Debrief

• Aviate, Navigate, Communicate - "Aviate, navigate, communicate" is a fundamental principle in aviation that pilots learn early in flight training. It's a priority order that helps pilots stay focused and in control, even when they're under pressure or distracted:
  • Aviate: Keep the plane flying
  • Navigate: Figure out where you are and where you're going
  • Communicate: Talk to air traffic control (ATC) or someone else as needed
• On March 20, 2003, Kim wrote letters to her loved ones in case she died in battle.
• Prepare, practice, and plan for contingencies. My college football coach, the late great, Terry Hoeppner used to always say, have a plan, work the plan, plan for the unexpected. As leaders, it’s on us to prepare, practice, and plan for contingencies. You don’t have to get ready if you stay ready.
• I love the way Kim’s dad helped support her dream to be a fighter pilot. If you want to do this, you have to put in the work. Run hills, and do pull-ups every time you go to the bathroom. He didn’t just tell her you can do whatever you want… He created opportunities for Kim to do the necessary work to achieve what she wanted.
• Kim’s telling of the story of how she was hit and how she responded. An amazing example of responding in the face of fear, dealing with adversity in a calm, poised manner, and making a tough decision. Kim’s training and her attitude is what set her apart and saved her life.
• Response to Rejection: Initially Kim was rejected by the Air Force Academy because of a low SAT score. In response, instead of quitting and moving on, she wrote a letter to them every week stating why they should accept her… Which they eventually did.
• Dealing with fear: What's most important is what we do in the face of fear. We can't freeze. We must take action.
• The Debrief:
  • Check your rank and ego at the door.
  • Write all the objectives down. Next to each one, grade it a plus or a minus. Find the root causes of each mistake.
  • What lessons can we learn from our mistakes?
  • What will we change for our next mission based on what we learned?
  • Share lessons learned beyond that room.
• Johnny Bravo - Be humble, approachable, and credible. That's how you earn trust and respect and inspire others to follow.