Unrivaled Man

This week, as I saw my kids getting ready to go back to school, I caught myself thinking about the imminent routine changes we'll experience at home. I believe it is an excellent opportunity to surf on those changes' momentum and make adjustments in other areas of our lives. It is also a great opportunity to review our goals and expectations for the year, to check their progress, and make the adjustments needed.

In this episode, we talk about change, goals and expectations, inspiring leadership, and legacy. We travel back in time when I was in 6th grade, and our teacher, the wonderful Miss Dinning, impacted our lives by challenging us to be the best version of ourselves. We also talk about how we, as leaders, can inspire others and challenge ourselves and those we lead to be better every day. 

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• The first day of school might feel like the first day of the year (2:16)
• Re-evaluating how we can help those who need our help (4:18)
• Some of the values Miss Dinning taught us (6:25)
• What we can do to improve performances and happiness at work (8:51)

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There are things we say that might look harmless, but they are not. The incorrect use of absolutes is one of them. Words like never, always, or none tend to trigger an automatic defensive attitude, undoubtedly not beneficial, and in many cases, destructive. 

In this episode, we talk about the use of absolutes at work and at home. We analyze what kind of response they trigger on others and on us when we hear them. I share some domestic and professional experiences of the use of absolutes, both challenging in their unique way, both easily solvable with proper listening, and understanding what people are trying to say and not what they are saying. 

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• My 6 years old and absolutes (2:36)
• What kind of leader do we look like when we misuse absolutes (3:59)
• The importance of paying attention to the words we use at work (6:01)
• The temptation of being defensive when we hear someone using absolutes with us (7:46)
• What is a proper use of absolutes (12:46)

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Managing to have the patience necessary to accomplish long-term goals is not an easy task, to which the risk of becoming complacent adds more difficulty. However, we can use a secret weapon to assist us in this titanic labor: focus. 

In this episode, continuing our last week's discussion about patience, we will talk about focus. I'll share the story of Ben Hunt-Davis and the British national rowing team that won a gold medal in the Sydney 2000 Olympics. We will analyze that team's unique mentality, and we will dive deep into how we can implement that mentality in our lives and leadership style. 

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• You get what you focus on (1:11)
• What changed in the British national rowing team for the Sydney 2000 Olympics (2:16)
• A simple yet powerful question (3:02)
• What is the most important thing for us (5:11)

Resources:

• Quote: Ben Hunt-Davis - You get what you focus on. You don't have to work harder; it's not through doing more hours; it is by being more focused within those hours."
• Book: Ben Hunt-Davis, Harriet Beveridge - Will It Make The Boat Go Faster?: Olympic-winning Strategies for Everyday Success
• Will It Make The Boat Go Faster | Ben Hunt Davis. YouTube video

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Patience seems to be a luxury item in our constantly accelerating, fast-pacing society. We are so used to solving problems and accomplish essential tasks with a simple click that we forget not everything can be done effortlessly. However, being patient is easier when we have knowledge of what we are waiting for and when we have clear expectations about it. 

In this episode, we will discuss how clear expectations can modify our ability to be patient, and the role of information and knowledge in keeping us on track. We will dive deep into personal and professional goals and be patient about them without becoming complacent. We will also learn about being rigorous and checking in with ourselves regularly. 

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• Smoking meat and the stall. How used we are to be impatient with certain things (2:59)
• How having all the information needed can help us be more patient (5:56)
• How can we be patient with our goals and avoid complacency at the same time (9:09)
• Why it is essential to check in with ourselves (12:54)

Resources Mentioned:

• Book: Jim Collins - Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't
• Quote: Don Meyer - "Complacency is the forerunner of mediocrity. You can never work too hard on attitudes, effort, and technique."
• Quote: William James - "Act the part, and you will become the part."
• Quote: William James - "Every good that is worth possessing must be paid for in strokes of daily effort."

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The last two episodes about team meetings raised some thoughts I would like to share. I've noticed that after every team meeting, the ones required to take more actions, with extra tasks and perhaps new responsibilities, are always the same. And I've also noticed that those who get extra work after a meeting are the busiest. 

This episode is an invitation to reflect on the dependable people in our teams. We will talk about whether it is a good idea or not to keep loading our most effective assets with tasks we know they will solve, perhaps risking burnout. Then, we will think about how we can help our dependable team members and make them feel valued. 

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• Why some team members leave the meeting room full of things to do (1:36)
• Busy people and the go-to people in our company are synonymous (2:52)
• Why busy people are the ones that solve things (5:09)
• How can we make our dependable team members know we care about them (7:59)

Resources Mentioned:

• Quote: "If you want something done, ask a busy person" - Attributed to various people, including Benjamin Franklin, Lucille Ball, and Elbert Hubbard.

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Today's episode is the second part of our series about meetings. As we mentioned in the previous episode, a successful meeting is similar to a good movie. They must force the participants to pick a side and be invested in the outcome; they must have conflict and, most importantly, be engaging. 

We will dive deep into the four types of meetings Patrick Lencioni mentions in his book "Death by Meeting." We will get into the details of length and structure the author suggests, what we should promote and what we should avoid guaranteeing successful, engaging, and productive meetings. We will also discuss the importance of fostering good conflict and ensuring no one is holding themselves back from the discussion. 

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• What makes a meeting engaging and interesting (1:17)
• Daily check-in. How to keep meetings short and sweet (2:46)
• Weekly tactical meeting. Setting the agenda once everyone has reported (4:18)
• Monthly strategic meeting. The perfect time to brainstorm, analyze, and decide (9:39)
• Quarterly off-site review. Setting the direction and taking a look to the long run (11:32)

Resources mentioned:

• Book: Patrick Lencioni - Death by Meeting: A Leadership Fable...About Solving the Most Painful Problem in Business

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Getting my kids' attention to discuss important family issues can sometimes be challenging; some other times, it feels impossible. If the subject is not appealing, we lose them in seconds. Something similar happens with meetings at work; when people attend to them because they have to, time starts dragging, and we see in their faces they would rather be anywhere else but that meeting. 

Today's episode was inspired by an article from Harvard Business Review that states that executives spend on average 23 hours per week on meetings. Next, we will talk about how to keep people engaged when we are leading a meeting, the reasons why most of them fly far with their minds when they are bored, and what we can do to prevent that from happening. Finally, we will dive deep into healthy conflict in meetings, incentivize participation, and the consequences of mediocre meetings.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• The different types of meetings scenarios (2:01)
• What can we do, as leaders, if we see we are losing people at a meeting we are leading (7:01)
• The similarities between movies and meetings (10:42)
• The best kind of meetings I've participated in (13:38)
• Don't ask people to bear with you; make it enjoyable (21:07)

Resources mentioned:

• Book: Patrick Lencioni - Death by Meeting: A Leadership Fable...About Solving the Most Painful Problem in Business
• Harvard Business Review article - Stop the Meeting Madness

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Getting a calculator to do simple math or feeling lost in our city when the GPS is offline are just a few symptoms of our dependence on technology, but there are not the only ones. We are so used to relying on gadgets and electronic devices that we don't realize how much they affect basic human activities, like having a conversation or remembering the author's name of a book we read a long time ago. 

In this episode, I want to share some interesting thoughts I came up with after a trip to the mountains with my family. The trip is a family tradition, and we take some days to connect with nature, fishing, hiking, and most importantly, stay for a few days unplugged from the internet. We will analyze one of the characteristics we share with our cellphones and computers; the solution to fix most of our problems is to reset, press the restart button and have a fresh start. 

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• Why we don't reset more often (2:21)
• We give up too fast nowadays; we are not used to remembering anymore (3:09)
• The first thing the IT guy tells us when we call them (5:37)
• What is the importance of reset and disconnect ourselves once in a while (7:29)

Resources:

• Quote: Peter Drucker - "The best way to predict the future is to create it."

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Today's episode is about the impact we have on others. Even when we can't see it immediately, or when we can't see the final product of what our actions inspired, everything we do as leaders impacts those around us. 

Throughout this episode, we will talk about the ripple effect our actions can have. So often, we are not conscious about the reach of our efforts, whether positive or negative, on others. We will also talk about the role of leaders in creating positive actions and turning negativity into something positive. 

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• The car before you paid your bill. The ripple effect starts (1:22)
• A leader's role in creating positive actions (3:16)
• The massive impact of someone taking the time to listen and help (6:51)
• Taking time to show appreciation and thank for the positive action that made us evolve (9:12)

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We can do many things as leaders that have an almost immediate impact on our teams, and we can enjoy the results right away. But with other things, regardless of how much we might want them, there is no option but to wait, sometimes for an extended period. 

In this episode, we will discuss the importance of working today to create a solid culture within our organization, even knowing that it'll be a long process and that we won't be around to reap all the benefits. We will talk about consistency and intentionality, and of course, patience. 

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• The greenhouse, the peach tree, and the long waiting (2:50)
• What kind of leader we want to become, and when (5:38)
• Diligence, intentionality, and patience (6:34)
• The sooner we plant the seed, the better (7:58)

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