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William von Hippel grew up in Alaska, got his B.A. at Yale and his PhD at the University of Michigan, and taught for a dozen years at Ohio State University before finding his way to Australia, where he is a professor of psychology at the University of Queensland. He’s the author of multiple books. A few months ago, he published The Social Paradox: Autonomy, Connection, and Why We Need Both to Find Happiness.

Notes

• Why do people who have comfortable lives filled with freedom and abundance still feel unhappy? Need two things… Connection and autonomy.
• Are leaders born or made? Yes. Like most things, it’s not a black and white answer. The key is to use your unique strengths to effectively inspire others to do the work that must be done to achieve the goals of the team or company.
• How happy is Bill? He scores high on the genetics polygene(?) score. Some people are more genetically wired to be happy than others.
• You can fight against your genes and win. It’s just harder for you than others with better genetics. What’s my path of genetic least resistance? If you have low willpower, get the potato chips out of the house. Know yourself.
• Be yourself plus 20%. Overconfidence can be a good thing. Especially earlier in your career.
• Fake it til you make it. It can be good a lot of the time. He was overconfident as a new assistant professor, and it helped him.
• How you receive feedback is critical.
• Be honest, be kind
• His dad moved the family to Alaska because he didn’t love being told what to do. He was a heart surgeon.
• Bill moved to Australia. A hard place to make friends because they don’t move around much. He made connections with others who had moved there from out of the country.
• Life/Career advice: Too many choices can be bad. What are the elements of a job that I enjoy? What are my strengths?
• Leaders - It’s lonely at the top. You need a group you can trust and enjoy their company. Google study - They do everything in teams. What’s needed? Psychological safety. You need to be able to disagree with each other. Give feedback. It’s on the leader to create healthy disagreement. And receive feedback in a way that encourages more of it.
• I was surprised by how much of our happiness, health, and strength were based purely on our genetics. Some people are just born happier, healthier, and stronger than you. It doesn’t mean you can’t be happy, healthy, or strong. It just means that you need to work harder to make it happen. That’s life!

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Rich Gotham is the President of the Boston Celtics. He is responsible for all aspects of the Celtics' business operations. In addition, he works closely with Celtics ownership, basketball operations staff, and the NBA on basketball-related matters, as well as team and league initiatives. He succeeds “Red” Auerbach as Celtics team President and serves on the NBA Board of Governors. Since joining the Celtics in 2003, he’s helped grow team revenues by over 300%, and they’ve won two NBA championships.

Notes:

• Must-haves when making hiring decisions for a leadership role: Work ethic, self-awareness, a catalyst for positive energy, purpose-driven, and care ("give a shit").
• At the time, the Celtics were run like a mom-and-pop shop. Rich was brought in to help them run like a professional business.
• Rich was recruited to the Celtics by new owner (at the time), Wyc Grousbeck. 3 different people told Wyc that he should talk to Rich. – Add value. Leave people better than you found them. They will refer you to others for big jobs without you even knowing it.
• Celtic pride - grew up there, made you proud to be from Boston.
  • "Different here." 18-time champs.
• Pressure from fans to win: It beats indifference.
• Making bets on potential - Hiring Brad Stevens.
• Danny Ainge did a great job selling it to Brad.
• Watching Payton Pritchard warm up. He cares.
• Working with the Bruins and Red Sox leaders – Lower the ego, put yourself in their shoes. Seek first to understand. And find a way to get it done. Rich went outside of the office to meet regularly with a leader of the Boston Bruins to get their lease squared away. That had been an issue for decades, and he helped get it figured out so both sides could win.
• Advice - You have to have self-belief, believe in your ability. Don't let that get chipped away. Why should they pick you? Be vulnerable.
• Leave others better than you found them.

The Learning Leader Show with Ryan Hawk

Go to www.LearningLeader.com for full show notes.

This is brought to you by Insight Global. If you need to hire 1 person, hire a team of people, or transform your business through Talent or Technical Services, Insight Global's team of 30,000 people around the world have the hustle and grit to deliver. Go to www.InsightGlobal.com/LearningLeader

Notes

• "Average players want to be left alone. Good players want some coaching. Great players want the truth."
• It is not a company’s job to give work-life balance to someone. And he is not balanced. He’s on 24/7. It was refreshing to hear the real story from someone who is running a company. As Dr. Julie Gurner said on episode #538, “People will tell you in books that you have to live a 'balanced life,' but if we are completely honest, almost all great things are born from periods of imbalance.”
• Make the most of your 2% moments. 98% of the time, life is just happening… But every once in a while, you’ll have the 2% opportunities. Like when he met his wife, or interviewed with Kendra Scott. It’s on us as leaders to be ready to make the most of those 2% moments.
• Tom's relationship with Kendra: “We’ve been through so many hard things together.” Those hard times can forge a strong relationship, or they can break you. Remember that the next time you’re going through something tough with someone else. It’s an opportunity to fortify a relationship.
• Hiring - Play your position well. Know what you're good at. Don't have to like teammates, but do need to love them. Learn from mistakes.
• Work is like family. But you don't fire your family... Discipline comes from a place of love.
• Read: The Way of the Shepherd
• Goal maniac - After failing at his first job interview, he asked for another shot and showed up the next day with pages of goals.
• Tom's Strengths - immediate urgency, insatiable need to win, good problem solver, better when things are hard.
• How do you navigate slow walkers? It's hard. Need patience and thoughtfulness too.
• What are the must-haves to be hired as a leader with Tom? Good human. Win + Kindness + Compassion.
• Tom claims that he is not a good interviewer. Gets help from the team. It is a rigorous process.
  • He wants people who have gone through hard things. "Living through struggle makes people better." Grit.

The Learning Leader Show with Ryan Hawk

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This is brought to you by Insight Global. If you need to hire 1 person, hire a team of people, or transform your business through Talent or Technical Services, Insight Global's team of 30,000 people around the world have the hustle and grit to deliver. Go to www.InsightGlobal.com/LearningLeader

Stanley McChrystal is a retired four-star general. Stan is the former commander of the nation’s premier military counter-terrorism force, Joint Special Operations Command (also known as JSOC). His command included more than 150,000 troops from 45 allied countries. Since he retired from the Army, Stan has written multiple best-selling books including, Team of Teams, and most recently, On Character.

• The most crucial discipline is to think for yourself. To a sad degree, we’re lazy. People comment on things they haven’t watched or read, but have seen comments by others who align with their political party. They aren’t thinking for themselves (this is why it’s almost impossible to align completely with one political party for me). If you find yourself saying “I just do” or “that’s what I heard,” that’s not thinking.
• Being Obsessed – “I am convinced that few truly great achievements are reached by individuals with an impressive work-life balance, and the price of greatness, in a word, is great. In the end, I’m an advocate for obsession."
• The Ranger Effect – The value of unwavering standards.Created near the end of Vietnam when the Army had lowered its standards. They created 2 units of Rangers to raise the standard. It permeated the entire Army. How does a leader do this in Corporate America? Clearly establish expectations. You cannot have a “say-do” gap. The leader must demonstrate the values on a constant basis. BE what you want. Discipline to hold people accountable.
• “My major takeaway at almost 70 years old is conclusive. I wish I’d thought more, been more contemplative about my convictions, and been more deliberate about the person I sought to be.”
• Stan's mom — she died on New Year’s Day 1971 at age 45. Stan was 16. Had 6 kids. Mary Bright McChrystal. Writes about her in the civil rights chapter.
• “I accept no belief or claim to truth automatically or unconditionally.”
• White Water Rafting – When the subject of America’s involvement in Afghanistan arises, Stan is frequently asked, what he might do differently if given the chance to do it all over again. Answer: “Go white water rafting.”
• In Patient Pursuit of Greatness – In the spring of 2012, Stan was teaching a leadership class at Yale. That’s when he met their football coach, Tony Reno: “Not many things materially affect my trajectory. But this time was different. What was different? Coach Reno.”
• Choosing to Lead – Leadership is not a title or position. It’s a choice.
• “Embrace the suck” – “Why suck a little, when you can suck a lot?”
• Eat one meal a day. It’s built on being undisciplined with food. If you only eat dinner, you can eat a lot for that one meal.
• Self-Discipline - Most important attribute for a leader.
• Wife Annie - Dependent on her. Kind, thoughtful, caring.
• Life/Career Advice: Have the discipline to decide want you want to be. Be intentional. LISTEN: Don’t just talk. Be respectful. Don’t be afraid to fail. Try it, get back up. Try again.

The Learning Leader Show with Ryan Hawk

Go to www.LearningLeader.com for full show notes

This is brought to you by Insight Global. If you need to hire 1 person, hire a team of people, or transform your business through Talent or Technical Services, Insight Global's team of 30,000 people around the world have the hustle and grit to deliver.

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Episode #632: Nick Huber is an entrepreneur who owns stakes in 11 companies, including a real estate private equity firm and several agencies. His portfolio of companies employs over 325 people living all over the world. Nick lives with his wife and 3 children in Athens, Georgia. He’s the author of the book, The Sweaty Startup: How to get rich doing boring things.

Notes:

• Sales is the foundation of Every Business. From Nick’s mentor, Dan Cohen: “If you don’t like sales, I suggest you give up now and go get a regular job. You’re wasting your time.”
• “Life as an entrepreneur is sales.” To succeed in this world, you must have the cooperation of other people.
• The attributes of winners:
  • Abundance mindset
  • A sense of urgency
  • Not afraid to stand up and call you out. The story of his VP of Finance, Kevin. He called Nick out on deals he tried to make while Kevin was on vacation.
  • Make good decisions
  • Aren't afraid to get their hands dirty and do the work
• The Four Fundamental Truths of Life
  • 1. You can’t do it alone.
  • 2. You can’t make people do anything.
  • 3. Everyone in this world is selfish.
  • 4. It isn’t about you.
• So how do we use these four fundamental truths of life to get what we want? Sales. We sell ourselves and our ideas. We convince other people that their lives will be better if they trust us, work for us, buy from us, and more.
• Networking. Don’t go to events telling others to help you. Become someone worth knowing.
  • Do something of value that makes others want to come to you…
  • The story about the guy wrangling carts on a cold night at the Walmart in Ithaca, New York
• Nick credits a lot of his success to his parents, Tim and Susan, for raising him around a dinner table of positivity and curiosity. They made him feel as if he could accomplish anything and taught him to see the world through a lens of opportunity.
• Change your mind: Nick has a note taped to his mirror in the bathroom that says, “Change your mind on something today.”
• The most valuable trait of an entrepreneur: A sense of urgency. Most people walk slow, think slow, move slow, and make decisions slow. They lollygag around life. No energy. No excitement.
• Do uncomfortable things. Make the calls. Start a lawn care business if you're a kid.
• Decision making - You have to practice it. It’s a muscle
• Decathlon at Cornell - Brutally hard. 10 events. You never do your best in all of them. You take L’s. Have to respond and go to the next event. Struggle with grace.
• Ego - Need to balance belief with humility.
• There are two types of people in the world. Those who are humble. And those that are about to be humbled.
• “You’re interviewing for your next job every single day.”
• Hiring is like hunting. Always looking.
• Life/Career Advice: "Don’t be a doctor or a lawyer. What game are you playing? What does winning look like? Most people aren’t thoughtful enough about that."

Go to www.LearningLeader.com for full show notes

This is brought to you by Insight Global. If you need to hire 1 person, hire a team of people, or transform your business through Talent or Technical Services, Insight Global's team of 30,000 people around the world have the hustle and grit to deliver. www.InsightGlobal.com/LearningLeader

Bio: As an owner of IMPACT, Marcus Sheridan has established one of the country's most successful digital sales and marketing agencies. He is the author of the international best-seller They Ask, You Answer… His new book is called Endless Customers: A Proven System to Build Trust, Drive Sales, and Become the Market Leader.

Notes:

• The 4 Pillars of a Known and Trusted Brand:
  • Say what others won’t say
  • Show what others won’t show
  • Sell how others won’t sell
  • Be More Human than others are willing to be
• 75% of all buyers prefer a seller-free sales experience. Create great self-service tools to help your buyers make buying decisions.
• The buyer's journey - They want to know what it will cost. So, tell them.
• Have a client story for every objection. Collect them. Tell those stories.
• The story of Steve Sheinkopf and Yale Appliance… ($37m to over $100m).
  • “That means obsessing over their questions, fears, worries, and concerns. Answer every single question honestly and transparently, right there on your website, for everyone to see.”
• “Tackle topics your competitors are afraid to touch. Break the unwritten rules of your industry. When you focus solely on empowering your buyers with the information and experience they crave, something incredible will happen: You’ll earn their trust. And when you earn their trust, you earn their business. Do this consistently, and you’ll capture the market’s attention, transform your company, and see numbers you never imagined.”
• The 5 Components of Endless Customers:
  • The Right Content
  • The Right Website
  • The Right Sales Activity
  • The Rich Technology
  • The Right Culture of Performance
• Path Finders - Help others come up with solutions. Your favorite mentor didn't tell you the answers, they helped you figure it out on your own (by asking you questions).
• The #1 thing that will dictate your income is your ability to communicate. As Morgan Housel would say, “Best story wins.” It is worth it to work on this skill. The excuse that you don’t have enough time is lame and not true. Focus on becoming a better writer and speaker. It’s too important not to.
  • Piece of feedback most often given - Say that, but in half the words. Be concise.
• Be willing to say what others won’t. And the idea of going direct. Go Direct – Viral essay written by LuLu Cheng Meservey. Going direct means crafting and telling your own story, without being dependent on intermediaries.
• Marcus called me by my name (both Hawk and Ryan) a lot during our conversation. It felt natural and flowed well. It worked. This is taught in sales training and can feel manipulative if not done well. Listen to how Marcus used my name enough to make me feel special, but not too much that it felt like a sales tactic to get me to like him.
• Book title = "I want. I wish." I want Atomic Habits. I wish I had "Endless Customers."

The Learning Leader Show with Ryan Hawk.

Go to www.LearningLeader.com for full show notes.

This is brought to you by Insight Global. If you need to hire 1 person, hire a team of people, or transform your business through Talent or Technical Services, Insight Global's team of 30,000 people around the world have the hustle and grit to deliver. Go to www.InsightGlobal.com/LearningLeader

• At 27, Anne-Laure had her dream job at Google. She quit. "Are you sure?" "No."
  • She was focusing on a narrow vision of success.
• Anne-Laure was most curious about the brain, neuroscience, and why we think the way we do. She went back to school to learn more.
• Writing - First, to clarify thinking. Works as a forcing function for that. You need to create your own version of it. You do that by writing. The generation effect. You remember it better that way. Next, it created a magnet of people to her.
• The meaning behind the name "Ness" is "The state of being."
• Goal setting - What are the traps of linear goals? We think we know what we want. We assume we'll always want the same thing. The arrival fallacy. Think we'll be so happy when we get it, but usually we aren't. Instead focus on the process, the daily behaviors. And run continual experiments. Through those experiments, you’ll probably figure out what you want to accomplish. Or you might even stumble into it.
  • Practical goals - Was it useful? Focus on the process. There is nuance. How do you hold others accountable? It's more than just the number. Do the work to understand the nuance, the details behind the number. Too many managers are lazy.
• Collaborate with uncertainty. Understand why you're scared of it. Comes from a long time ago. That's no longer a thing. You don't just want your team to survive. You want them to thrive. Don't cling to the first obvious conclusion. Do more work.
• What about vision for a CEO? Instead of focusing on being #1 in the marketplace, focus on your approach. Your values, your mission. Focus on your company's daily behaviors more than beating someone else. Be curious and ambitious.
• Escape the tyranny of purpose. People are obsessed with finding theirs. People have more than one purpose. It changes over time. You can reinvent yourself. It can make people miserable if they haven't found it.
• I suggested that hers is what she has on Ness Labs website: "To help people become the scientist of their own lives." She said that it is for her work.
• Procrastination - Instead of getting rid of it, reframe it. Say hello, you're here again; what are you telling me? A tool for it: Triple check - Head, Heart, Hand.
• Her grandmother Oma was the final person she thanked in her acknowledgement. Moved from Algeria to France. Didn't speak the language.
• Her parents always encouraged her that she could do anything. Show up. Do it. Try.
• How do you keep going after the honeymoon of a new project or idea? Keep iterating and trying new things. Have others help you. Sergey Brin got tired of the ad business at Google, so he had someone else run it and he created a lab inside of Google for new ideas.
• Don’t let anyone rob you of your imagination, your creativity, or your curiosity. It’s your place in the world; it’s your life. Go on and do all you can with it, and make it the life you want to live.—Mae Jemison, American engineer, physician, and former NASA astronaut