Unrivaled Man

Most cliches about life and the human experience carry a significant portion of truth; we tend to ignore them because they're pretty obvious, but they can also be helpful. Like when our life is in danger, we see how trivial are the rest of our worries. Getting into that level of introspection is only possible when we stop for a moment to reflect and analyze our lives, our priorities, our goals, and dreams. 

In this episode, after welcoming a healthy new baby girl into my family, I caught myself on one of those cliche thoughts, what is essential in my life? I've concluded that all of us need time for a pause. We need time to stop for a minute and think about our personal WHY and if it is worthy of our time and sacrifice. Following Peter Drucker's advice, we must follow effective action with quiet reflection. And from that quiet reflection, after we reassessed our direction, the following action will be even more effective. 

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• Finding immense gratitude after every new child in the family (1:48)
• The moments we stop to think about what is essential in life (2:13)
• Asking ourselves what we care about (4:02)
• What occupies our thoughts leads our actions (4:21)
• Asking ourselves if our personal WHY is worth fighting for (4:45)

Resources:

• "Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action." - Peter Drucker.

Let's Connect!

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• Facebook

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The secret of almost any successful activity lies in a couple of elements combined; these are variation, consistency, and balance. For instance, if we want to build muscle, we need a variety of exercises, we need to be consistent in training, and we need to rest; otherwise, we won't grow any muscle. This principle applies to learning, playing music, practicing a sport, leading a company, and the list goes on. Being consistent in pursuing our goals is fundamental but not enough; we also need variation and rest to walk a healthy path towards our objectives. 

This episode is about being aware, as leaders, that finding time to rest and making something different with our working hours is up to us, and it is also a great way of demonstrating leadership. It is about the work-life harmony principle, working hard to achieve our goals while working hard to have a full life. We will also talk about what happens when we don't add variation to our routines and the importance of being intentional with our resting time. 

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• The elements that make music beautiful and great (3:30)
• Why work-life harmony is essential (6:24)
• Being intentional during vacation time (8:50)
• Resting is required to getting stronger (11:19)
• We need a daily dose of peace in our minds (14:05)

Resources:

• Book: Jim Collins - Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck -- Why Some Thrive Despite Them All

Let's Connect!

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It might happen that when we are chasing our goals, whether they are very ambitious or not, we lose focus at some point, or we start missing the vision we had when we set them. Perhaps we start the journey aggressively, taking significant steps, and then our passion dilutes; we find ourselves tired or poorly motivated. One of the reasons could be our approach to every new project. Once we start our plan with the end in mind, a possible solution is "consistency," plain and simple; taking little steps every day, no rush, no pause.

In this episode, after three months into the new year, I've decided to check on new year resolutions. How many of them are delayed, how many failed, how many are on the right track? We will talk about the difference between setting big and small goals and achieving great things by consistently taking small steps. We will put some thought into why 90% of new year resolutions tend to fail and what we can do to prevent it from happening to us. 

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• Being in the good company of 90% of people (1:05)
• Why sometimes it's hard to focus on our goals (2:40)
• The 20 miles march (3:01)
• The moment we get burnout (5:39)
• What inconsistency can do to us (6:57)

Resources:

• Book: Jim Collins - Great By Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck - Why Some Thrive Despite Them All 

Let's Connect!

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• LinkedIn
• Instagram 
• Facebook

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Our brain has a mechanism to store and organize the information we receive daily called schema. This mechanism also shapes our minds' structure; it determines how we understand the world and assimilate new concepts. It is also responsible for the interaction between new and preconceived ideas.

In today's episode, we will discuss why it is so difficult to accept new ideas, different ways to do things, or new technologies. Through a simple example of how the world is presented to us when we are children, we will talk about what happens when we receive information that contradicts our preconceived ideas, our schema. We will also talk about how our schema might prevent us from seeing new things around us; as we are so used to how things are, new information or data could pass undetected in front of us. 

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• What color are eggs? (2:01)
• How we see the world and why. Schema (4:02)
• Reality as we perceive it is (8:04)
• Having lots of information is vital to make decisions (11:46)
• Sometimes being comfortable is an indicator that something is wrong (12:53)

Let's Connect!

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• LinkedIn
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• Facebook

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There are lots of parallelisms between leading a family and a business. As business leaders, it is our job to show individual appreciation, motivate our staff correctly to help them reach their goals, and find the right way to leverage their unique abilities. The same criteria apply in our family to our kids. Still, the secret to success is having a clear vision and strategy of what we want to achieve, how do we want the future to look like for us, our company, and our family. 

Joining me today is my wife, Angie, and we discuss our family's vision and strategy, what we believe is the best way of growing up as leaders, and what challenges we faced along the way. We also discuss the relationship between clear expectations and positive results, consistency, and the importance of sharing a meal, spending time together, and learn from our kids and get to know them better. 

We've observed that we got the best outcomes when our kids' responsibilities were clear and independent from their siblings. When someone receives clear instructions of the work to do, and its completion is not attached to someone else's previous actions, the chances of getting the job done increases, and it also feeds the sense of responsibility.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• Begin having the end in mind (2:32)
• One of the biggest surprises of parenthood (4:27)
• Wearing a lot of hats, but only one at a time (7:42)
• Creating a village to raise a child (11:24)
• The importance of consistency (13:46)
• Sometimes we need to shake up motivation (16:36)

Let's Connect!

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• LinkedIn
• Instagram 
• Facebook

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When we are responsible for leading a team, we might find hundreds of exciting ideas to implement and get the best out of our teams. Perhaps we hear or read about a revolutionary leadership style, or we see someone we admire succeed using it, and when we put it in action, it fails, and we end up causing harm instead of solving a problem. 

In today's episode, I want to talk about the right way of implementing leadership ideas. We will go through the risks of implementing an idea without knowing the principles behind the actions we decide to take, the importance of having all the pieces before imitating someone else's leadership tactics, and the value accountability and work have in a successful process. 

Before starting using a new leadership method, it is essential to consider whether this new method is indicated to achieve the goal we want to achieve. Once we have the full picture, the reach of this method, its effects, and its consequences, we will be ready to put it into practice. What worked fabulously for other leaders will not necessarily work for us as well. 

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• The bucket of flour and the inexperienced baker (1:48)
• We need the full picture (4:15)
• When a leadership idea is not implemented correctly (6:17)
• Being busy doesn't mean being effective (7:39)
• The difference implementation can make (9:09)

Let’s Connect!

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• LinkedIn
• Instagram 
• Facebook

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The ultimate goal for every leader should be to help their subordinates reach their goals and accomplish their dreams. A magnificent tool for this is to show them we care about them and their success. How do we achieve that is quite simple, by improving our ability to prove our love. 

In today's episode, I want to talk about the teachings I've got from a book that helped me a lot in the past, The 5 Love Languages, by Gary Chapman. The book explains that there are five different ways to accept and demonstrate love better. Each person is unique and has a singular reaction to every love language. 

Some people feel love and care when they receive encouraging words about their work; others might prefer to receive a gesture, a gift, or simply be heard for a couple of minutes. The challenge for us, leaders, is to identify which one of the five languages of love the people working with us speak and show them our support in that same language. 

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• Why it is essential to improve the way we show love (2:04)
• Every person speaks a different love language (3:50)
• The weight that words of affirmation can have (4:36)
• Actions speak louder than words most of the time (6:06)
• A tiny gesture that says a lot (7:23)
• The effect of spending some time with an employee (8:29)
• The importance of feeling connection (11:18)
• People tend to speak the love language they prefer (14:50)

Resources:

• Book: Gary Chapman - The 5 Love Languages

Let's Connect!

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Instagram 
• Facebook

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If we look at a list of the most undesirable situations to experience in a company, perhaps conflict is first. The word has such a negative connotation that most leaders and team members try to avoid it at all costs. But should they?

A conflict demonstrates a difference, a dissent of thoughts, but it also manifests engagement, passion, and shared values and goals. When a team's level of trust is high, it is possible to generate positive conflict, where leaders' and managers' contest is about the pursuit of truth, not about being right or wrong. 

Joining me today is Chris Orvin, Founder and Managing Partner at Certified Fire and Security. We talk about the importance of positive conflict, how to deal with it, and the best way to generate a propitious environment for it. He shared his experience dealing with conflict in his vast managerial career and the price a company can pay when there is no conflict. 

Tune in and learn about the benefits of positive conflict, the role of vulnerable leaders, and what to do when a team member makes a call and fails.

Some Questions I Ask:

• Have you had this seen fear to conflict in your experiences in the past? (1:35)
• Did you find later where the conflict was missing? (4:34)
• How do you know when you have a conflict that counts? (14:26)
• How does someone that doesn't have that healthy conflict on their team develop it? (26:36)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• What happens when there is (apparently) no conflict (2:20)
• Seeing conflict as a demonstration of engagement (5:05)
• Conflict is also chasing the truth (10:30)
• Having enough trust to ask questions that might hurt (10:55)
• When feeling the dumbest guy in the room is a good thing (12:00)
• To stripe the pride away and listen (20:20)

Connect with Chris Orvin:

• LinkedIn

Let's connect!

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• LinkedIn
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• Facebook 

Resources:

• Book: "The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else In Business" by Patrick Lencioni

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All of us have a to-do list somewhere, and most of us have some items sitting on that list for a long time, unresolved. 

The thing is that every item on that list takes brain power and steals energy from us. Think about the oldest in that list - for how long has it been stealing energy from you?

The best way to deal with a to-do list is by prioritizing the tasks on that list. We must find one top priority for the day, the week, the month, the year. After we confront the urgent vs. the important, we resolve the urgent and important, put time in what is important but not urgent, delegate what is urgent but not important, and eliminate what is both not urgent and not important. 

Tune in and learn about the five reasons why you should prioritize your tasks and the importance of identifying one top priority task for each day. 

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• The effect of the oldest item on your list (1:25)
• The urgent vs. the important (3:23)
• Focusing on one thing at the time (9:00)
• Top 5 reasons why you should prioritize your tasks (12:30)
• Identifying the top priority brings clarity (17:40)

Let’s connect!

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Instagram 
• Facebook 

Resources:

• Book: Stephen R. Covey - The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
• Book: David Allen - Getting Things Done

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What are your leadership fundamentals? Following true leadership principles is the best way to see successful results within your team, in a consistent manner. 

As you might know by now, I am fascinated by food, and cooking - with everything that it entails. And I am all about developing great leadership skills to be able to guide my teams. And in some ways, these two passions of mine intertwine and give me great insights. 

Just how you need to follow a cooking recipe to obtain a product that tickles your taste buds, the same happens with leadership. There are certain principles that if applied, can create a lasting foundation that will make you a better leader. In today's episode, I talk about how true leadership principles can impact our rate of success and how to apply them.

Tune in to hear about a holiday baking tradition in my family that is a great comparison to leadership, my personal recipe for leadership success, why principles are important to follow, and how to practice being a leader. 

In This Episode You Will Learn

• A leadership analogy from one of my holiday traditions (0:51)
• The importance of following principles (7:42)
• What tacit knowledge is (9:20)
• How to use mistakes as an opportunity (11:30)
• How to practice leadership (13:17)

Let’s connect!

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• LinkedIn
• Instagram 
• Facebook 

Resources:

• Article: “Secrets to Successful Fudge”, by Christina Blais

Aunt Grace’s Divinity Fudge (This is NOT a recipe for traditional divinity; this is a delicious fudge in the shape of divinity. It will have the look of divinity where each dollop will have beautiful imperfect swirls.)

Ingredients: 

3 cups white sugar

2 cups heavy cream

5 Tablespoons dark corn syrup

1 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

• Use a heavy pan and add the sugar, heavy cream, and dark corn syrup. 
• Heat on Medium stirring gently until the ingredients combine and sugar is dissolved. You must not stir at all once the sugar is dissolved or you risk having grainy fudge.
• Cook until softball stage. For best results, use a candy thermometer (you really should just get one, if you don’t have one!). Heat the fudge to between 234 to 237 °F or softball stage and immediately remove from heat to let the mixture cool. Grease two cookie sheets and set aside. Chop pecans.
• Once the mixture is cooled to 110 to 113 °F, add the pecans and begin to beat with a wooden spoon or with an electric beater (with a single beater attached). Stop beating once the mixture begins to lighten in color and become creamy. This will take 2-3 minutes with an electric beater, a bit longer with a wooden spoon. Do NOT overbeat or the fudge with set and become firm before you can place it on the cookie sheets. 
• Working quickly, spoon the mixture one dollop at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. My wife likes to make sure the top has pretty dollops with a swirl on top, but there is no wrong way to do this. We enjoy having imperfect dollops of different sizes and shapes but most are about 1TB in size. 
• Enjoy and don’t forget to share some with a friend. We hope you love this recipe as much as our family does. 

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