1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,000 out for this month, this quarter, this week. 2 00:00:05,100 --> 00:00:08,420 I mean, like really just anything in the present future, 3 00:00:08,420 --> 00:00:09,260 Ethan. 4 00:00:10,260 --> 00:00:11,780 A lot of the people that I've talked to 5 00:00:11,780 --> 00:00:14,540 are actually quite excited about moving forward 6 00:00:14,540 --> 00:00:15,380 on their projects. 7 00:00:15,380 --> 00:00:17,620 I don't know why it's something that I was 8 00:00:17,620 --> 00:00:21,140 at a conference last night and it felt much more optimism 9 00:00:21,140 --> 00:00:23,060 that I've seen in the first quarter. 10 00:00:23,060 --> 00:00:25,120 So that I'm very excited about. 11 00:00:26,260 --> 00:00:28,620 And also just spring, 12 00:00:28,620 --> 00:00:30,380 just the world comes back alive 13 00:00:30,380 --> 00:00:32,220 and I start bicycling again. 14 00:00:32,220 --> 00:00:34,260 When I was younger, I definitely bicycled through the winter. 15 00:00:34,260 --> 00:00:36,620 I've definitely given that up as I've gotten older. 16 00:00:36,620 --> 00:00:39,820 So I am definitely more of a fair weather cyclist. 17 00:00:39,820 --> 00:00:40,940 I am ashamed to admit. 18 00:00:41,820 --> 00:00:43,740 I know, it's okay. I get it. 19 00:00:43,740 --> 00:00:45,580 It's just easier. 20 00:00:45,580 --> 00:00:47,720 You like your comfort as you get older. 21 00:00:48,980 --> 00:00:50,500 I live in Texas for a reason. 22 00:00:50,500 --> 00:00:51,340 Yep. 23 00:00:51,340 --> 00:00:52,780 Exactly. 24 00:00:52,780 --> 00:00:53,860 I like my heat. 25 00:00:53,860 --> 00:00:54,700 A lot of people don't like the heat. 26 00:00:54,700 --> 00:00:56,920 They hate the heat or you love the heat. 27 00:00:56,920 --> 00:00:59,260 I love my heat. 28 00:00:59,260 --> 00:01:02,060 Granted, I probably wouldn't if I didn't have an AC. 29 00:01:02,060 --> 00:01:03,060 Right, there's that. 30 00:01:03,060 --> 00:01:04,300 There's that reality. 31 00:01:04,300 --> 00:01:06,860 Spring in New York can be very, very special. 32 00:01:06,860 --> 00:01:08,100 The flowers are just coming up. 33 00:01:08,100 --> 00:01:10,380 The trees are getting their buds back. 34 00:01:10,380 --> 00:01:11,660 I live right by the ocean. 35 00:01:11,660 --> 00:01:13,360 So sometimes I'll just take the family 36 00:01:13,360 --> 00:01:15,980 and have picnics there and I can bike kind of anywhere. 37 00:01:15,980 --> 00:01:16,820 I can bike into the city. 38 00:01:16,820 --> 00:01:18,140 So it's pretty amazing. 39 00:01:18,140 --> 00:01:20,220 It's a pretty special time. 40 00:01:20,220 --> 00:01:21,060 That's awesome. 41 00:01:21,060 --> 00:01:23,660 I've only been during fall and that was amazing 42 00:01:23,660 --> 00:01:24,980 in and of itself. 43 00:01:24,980 --> 00:01:26,300 It was early fall. 44 00:01:26,300 --> 00:01:29,340 And man, that was something else I will never forget. 45 00:01:29,340 --> 00:01:31,260 I don't think I'll ever forget that experience 46 00:01:31,260 --> 00:01:33,940 of like, whoa, I'm 30 something years old 47 00:01:33,940 --> 00:01:35,580 and how the heck did this place blow my mind? 48 00:01:35,580 --> 00:01:38,140 I've been to Chicago, but never to nothing 49 00:01:38,140 --> 00:01:39,800 like going to New York City. 50 00:01:41,020 --> 00:01:43,460 I do a lot of traveling for my job. 51 00:01:43,460 --> 00:01:45,740 I've been to 89 countries and it's amazing 52 00:01:45,740 --> 00:01:48,940 that after I started getting going and coming home, 53 00:01:48,940 --> 00:01:50,740 I have this overwhelming sense of New York 54 00:01:50,740 --> 00:01:52,740 because it is legitimately one of the best cities 55 00:01:52,740 --> 00:01:53,560 in the world. 56 00:01:53,560 --> 00:01:55,460 I stand, I will defend that. 57 00:01:55,460 --> 00:01:56,420 And so it's pretty cool. 58 00:01:56,420 --> 00:01:57,980 So I have these great experiences around the world 59 00:01:57,980 --> 00:01:59,940 and then I love coming home. 60 00:01:59,940 --> 00:02:00,780 Love that. 61 00:02:00,780 --> 00:02:03,020 Well, yeah, I can't disagree with you. 62 00:02:03,020 --> 00:02:05,980 It's when you are one of the biggest, 63 00:02:05,980 --> 00:02:08,900 you did something right to become that big of a city 64 00:02:08,900 --> 00:02:10,380 and it's easy to point out flaws, 65 00:02:10,380 --> 00:02:14,980 but man, I really, really liked everything 66 00:02:14,980 --> 00:02:16,780 I've experienced in New York. 67 00:02:16,780 --> 00:02:17,620 People too. 68 00:02:17,620 --> 00:02:19,820 So a lot of my network is international 69 00:02:19,820 --> 00:02:21,460 and for one reason or another, 70 00:02:21,460 --> 00:02:26,100 the second quarter is when more of them 71 00:02:26,100 --> 00:02:28,300 than other times come to New York. 72 00:02:28,300 --> 00:02:29,420 So I'm getting hit up by a lot. 73 00:02:29,420 --> 00:02:31,180 I'm coming this week, I'm coming that week. 74 00:02:31,180 --> 00:02:33,140 So one of the amazing things about living in a city 75 00:02:33,140 --> 00:02:35,740 like New York is lots of friends come through. 76 00:02:35,740 --> 00:02:37,420 It's just lots of interaction. 77 00:02:37,420 --> 00:02:39,780 So that part I'm just really excited about 78 00:02:39,780 --> 00:02:42,380 because I get to see people, friends from Estonia, 79 00:02:42,380 --> 00:02:44,780 I'm on like I haven't seen in like a long time 80 00:02:44,780 --> 00:02:46,140 and I'm very excited about that. 81 00:02:46,140 --> 00:02:46,980 That's cool. 82 00:02:46,980 --> 00:02:47,900 I hadn't thought about that. 83 00:02:47,900 --> 00:02:50,900 And that's a really neat aspect for entrepreneurs 84 00:02:50,900 --> 00:02:53,820 that are often in isolation. 85 00:02:53,820 --> 00:02:56,220 That's why it's so helpful to live in places 86 00:02:56,220 --> 00:02:59,060 like even places international airports can help with that, 87 00:02:59,060 --> 00:03:03,900 but not like the effect of a New York city or Los Angeles. 88 00:03:03,900 --> 00:03:06,300 So that's really good. 89 00:03:06,300 --> 00:03:09,920 Yeah, I mean, investors and I don't fully agree, 90 00:03:09,920 --> 00:03:11,060 but I understand why they say it. 91 00:03:11,060 --> 00:03:14,260 So a lot of people very gung ho on San Francisco 92 00:03:14,260 --> 00:03:17,260 and the reason is the density of idea and innovation. 93 00:03:17,260 --> 00:03:19,940 So basically you literally cannot walk down a street 94 00:03:19,940 --> 00:03:21,740 in San Francisco and not be literally bombarded 95 00:03:21,740 --> 00:03:23,180 by a startup idea. 96 00:03:23,180 --> 00:03:24,860 But there's something to that. 97 00:03:24,860 --> 00:03:28,700 Whereas I've seen startups all over the world. 98 00:03:28,700 --> 00:03:30,940 And the one thing that separates the good environments 99 00:03:30,940 --> 00:03:32,380 from the bad is community. 100 00:03:32,380 --> 00:03:35,780 So I'd have to say like a definite actionable step 101 00:03:35,780 --> 00:03:38,500 that I tell every entrepreneur is find your tribe. 102 00:03:38,500 --> 00:03:40,220 Now, sometimes they might not have to be 103 00:03:40,220 --> 00:03:42,100 in your immediate geographic area, 104 00:03:42,100 --> 00:03:44,620 but between its mentors and peer, 105 00:03:44,620 --> 00:03:46,660 both are incredibly important. 106 00:03:46,660 --> 00:03:48,100 So the mentors are gonna help guide you 107 00:03:48,100 --> 00:03:49,420 in things you haven't done, 108 00:03:49,420 --> 00:03:52,940 but the peers are at the same stage of your life. 109 00:03:52,940 --> 00:03:56,580 And there's incredible ecosystems and communities 110 00:03:56,580 --> 00:03:58,180 that have forged up. 111 00:03:58,180 --> 00:03:59,780 They don't see each other as competition. 112 00:03:59,780 --> 00:04:00,620 They're really helping. 113 00:04:00,620 --> 00:04:02,580 I just did a pitch night last night 114 00:04:03,540 --> 00:04:04,900 for these young entrepreneurs. 115 00:04:04,900 --> 00:04:05,740 They're all in their early 20s 116 00:04:05,740 --> 00:04:07,340 and they're all supporting each other. 117 00:04:07,340 --> 00:04:09,180 I remember going to this, 118 00:04:09,180 --> 00:04:11,700 I was just in Tunisia recently in North Macedonia 119 00:04:11,700 --> 00:04:13,860 where the startup, they're friends. 120 00:04:13,860 --> 00:04:16,420 They're like, this is my second family, the founders, 121 00:04:16,420 --> 00:04:19,100 because you're going through the same kind of thing. 122 00:04:19,100 --> 00:04:22,100 And that makes such a material difference on the journey. 123 00:04:22,100 --> 00:04:23,300 Huge, man, that's huge. 124 00:04:23,300 --> 00:04:24,860 That's the resource number one. 125 00:04:24,860 --> 00:04:26,540 Let's just call it, let's name it for what it is. 126 00:04:26,540 --> 00:04:29,460 I'm a huge fan and believer in community as well 127 00:04:29,460 --> 00:04:31,620 and that process of abundance. 128 00:04:31,620 --> 00:04:32,860 So that's number one. 129 00:04:32,860 --> 00:04:35,540 If you were to name two other resources for entrepreneurs, 130 00:04:35,540 --> 00:04:38,140 visionaries out there, what would they be? 131 00:04:38,140 --> 00:04:41,340 There's a book by Greg McQuinn called Essentialism. 132 00:04:41,340 --> 00:04:44,220 Props, approximately 50% of the store, 133 00:04:44,220 --> 00:04:47,020 one of the trappings of an entrepreneur is, 134 00:04:47,020 --> 00:04:48,580 so what does an entrepreneur have to do? 135 00:04:48,580 --> 00:04:50,340 They have to create this grand vision that's, 136 00:04:50,340 --> 00:04:52,580 let's be honest, almost delusional in nature. 137 00:04:52,580 --> 00:04:53,420 And that's okay. 138 00:04:53,420 --> 00:04:56,420 That's where you're going and that's where you need to go. 139 00:04:56,420 --> 00:04:58,700 Then the difference, they talk about execution. 140 00:04:58,700 --> 00:04:59,940 Well, what is execution? 141 00:04:59,940 --> 00:05:03,060 Execution is a well-defined step-by-step plan. 142 00:05:03,060 --> 00:05:05,700 This is where a lot of entrepreneurs get it wrong 143 00:05:05,700 --> 00:05:08,940 because they almost jump the gun, build too many products. 144 00:05:08,940 --> 00:05:11,500 The joke that I always tell people is, 145 00:05:11,500 --> 00:05:12,580 Amazon is a great example. 146 00:05:12,580 --> 00:05:14,020 Amazon owns football rights right now. 147 00:05:14,020 --> 00:05:16,940 Amazon owns the largest cloud service provider. 148 00:05:16,940 --> 00:05:18,700 Now, if Jeff Bezos had gone and said, hey, 149 00:05:18,700 --> 00:05:20,060 we're gonna conquer the internet, 150 00:05:20,060 --> 00:05:21,540 we're gonna do it through books and e-commerce, 151 00:05:21,540 --> 00:05:23,260 and we're also gonna own the NFL 152 00:05:23,260 --> 00:05:24,460 and we're gonna make our own movies 153 00:05:24,460 --> 00:05:26,540 and we're gonna own data centers around the world, 154 00:05:26,540 --> 00:05:27,460 he would have been laughed out 155 00:05:27,460 --> 00:05:29,060 and never would have gotten funded. 156 00:05:29,060 --> 00:05:32,540 So I appreciate and love your vision, 157 00:05:32,540 --> 00:05:37,540 but what are the things that actually move the needle forward? 158 00:05:37,740 --> 00:05:40,300 In my opinion, it's two things. 159 00:05:40,300 --> 00:05:43,300 Very simply, it's building long-term relationships 160 00:05:43,300 --> 00:05:44,140 because it's the only way 161 00:05:44,140 --> 00:05:46,060 you get anything done in this world. 162 00:05:46,060 --> 00:05:47,660 And it's about prioritization. 163 00:05:47,660 --> 00:05:48,780 And for prioritization, 164 00:05:48,780 --> 00:05:51,580 essentialism is your guide and resource. 165 00:05:51,580 --> 00:05:52,500 That's amazing. 166 00:05:52,500 --> 00:05:56,780 I'll contrast that with Ali, right? 167 00:05:56,780 --> 00:05:58,420 The boxer who claimed to be the best 168 00:05:58,420 --> 00:06:00,380 before he actually became the best. 169 00:06:01,740 --> 00:06:05,740 And that somebody once used that as a reference against me 170 00:06:05,740 --> 00:06:09,220 because I also am not a big fan of absolutism 171 00:06:09,220 --> 00:06:11,420 and absolute word choices. 172 00:06:11,420 --> 00:06:16,420 But there's, yeah, it is wise to share your vision 173 00:06:19,300 --> 00:06:21,940 with people who will appreciate it. 174 00:06:21,940 --> 00:06:23,100 The vision is not the problem. 175 00:06:23,100 --> 00:06:24,540 So take George Foreman, for example, 176 00:06:24,540 --> 00:06:25,540 if you wanna go boxing, right? 177 00:06:25,540 --> 00:06:26,980 George Foreman is this big boxer. 178 00:06:26,980 --> 00:06:29,740 He ended up making a cooking machine 179 00:06:29,740 --> 00:06:31,860 that a lot of us bought 20 years ago, right? 180 00:06:31,860 --> 00:06:33,340 The vision is not the problem. 181 00:06:33,340 --> 00:06:35,300 In fact, I love entrepreneurs that come out and say, 182 00:06:35,300 --> 00:06:36,860 we're revolutionizing mobility, 183 00:06:36,860 --> 00:06:38,580 we're revolutionizing communications. 184 00:06:38,580 --> 00:06:40,300 That part's not the problem. 185 00:06:40,300 --> 00:06:42,500 It's the problem is if you were George Foreman, 186 00:06:42,500 --> 00:06:44,260 I'm gonna be the best boxer in the world. 187 00:06:44,260 --> 00:06:46,420 And when I am, I'm gonna build cooking machines 188 00:06:46,420 --> 00:06:47,740 and I'm gonna do advertisements 189 00:06:47,740 --> 00:06:49,100 and I'm gonna do great investments 190 00:06:49,100 --> 00:06:50,260 and I'm gonna start businesses. 191 00:06:50,260 --> 00:06:53,180 That's the part where you lack focus. 192 00:06:53,180 --> 00:06:57,020 Be bold in your vision. 193 00:06:57,020 --> 00:06:59,800 I look at LeBron James and he's been pretty open 194 00:06:59,800 --> 00:07:00,740 about what he does. 195 00:07:00,740 --> 00:07:02,420 So I think we can agree to agree. 196 00:07:02,420 --> 00:07:04,260 Not in the very beginning. 197 00:07:04,260 --> 00:07:06,100 If you go back to high school for a couple years. 198 00:07:06,100 --> 00:07:07,860 We have to be in his head, so I know that. 199 00:07:07,860 --> 00:07:09,860 That's okay, but he didn't advertise that 200 00:07:09,860 --> 00:07:11,060 in the very beginning. 201 00:07:11,060 --> 00:07:13,400 He specifically focused very, very heavily 202 00:07:13,400 --> 00:07:16,220 on getting an MBA contract with a championship kind of thing. 203 00:07:16,220 --> 00:07:18,300 Like you didn't hear that from him in the beginning. 204 00:07:18,300 --> 00:07:20,020 To your point, maybe in private, 205 00:07:20,020 --> 00:07:22,860 I get you, I'm gonna build an empire, all about that. 206 00:07:22,860 --> 00:07:24,980 But the public persona, for instance, 207 00:07:24,980 --> 00:07:26,580 one of the reasons I say this to entrepreneurs 208 00:07:26,580 --> 00:07:28,500 is in order for you to succeed, 209 00:07:28,500 --> 00:07:30,220 you need people like Jackson and Ethan 210 00:07:30,220 --> 00:07:31,800 to understand your business well enough 211 00:07:31,800 --> 00:07:32,940 to tell it to other people 212 00:07:32,940 --> 00:07:34,780 because that's how ideas spread. 213 00:07:35,620 --> 00:07:38,220 So if your idea is succinct enough, 214 00:07:38,220 --> 00:07:40,340 Ali succeeds in that message, Boxer. 215 00:07:40,340 --> 00:07:42,660 So I don't care whether he's saying this the best or not. 216 00:07:42,660 --> 00:07:44,060 I can go away from that message and say, 217 00:07:44,060 --> 00:07:45,460 okay, I got this guy who's a Boxer. 218 00:07:45,460 --> 00:07:48,220 Oh yeah, Jack, my friend named Jackson likes Boxers. 219 00:07:48,220 --> 00:07:49,180 I'll tell him about him. 220 00:07:49,180 --> 00:07:51,460 You need the message to be that simple 221 00:07:51,460 --> 00:07:53,500 so that people like us can spread the message. 222 00:07:53,500 --> 00:07:55,340 When it gets to the prime points. 223 00:07:55,340 --> 00:07:58,060 From an ambassador standpoint, especially, 224 00:07:58,060 --> 00:08:00,260 from a communication amongst the team, 225 00:08:00,260 --> 00:08:03,340 it can be very important to be prudent with what's shared 226 00:08:03,340 --> 00:08:06,600 while holding, I like to say, 227 00:08:06,600 --> 00:08:08,400 keeping something sacred, not secret. 228 00:08:09,540 --> 00:08:11,100 That's one way to put it. 229 00:08:11,100 --> 00:08:12,580 But those are fantastic. 230 00:08:12,580 --> 00:08:14,980 Did we talk about three resources already? 231 00:08:14,980 --> 00:08:16,220 We've got a lot of great- 232 00:08:16,220 --> 00:08:19,140 So the book that I read pretty much at least once a year 233 00:08:19,140 --> 00:08:20,860 is How to Win Friends and Influence People. 234 00:08:20,860 --> 00:08:22,260 It's a very typical book. 235 00:08:22,260 --> 00:08:23,580 I'm sure a lot of people on your podcast 236 00:08:23,580 --> 00:08:25,660 will really think it's- 237 00:08:25,660 --> 00:08:26,780 I really think it's one of those. 238 00:08:26,780 --> 00:08:27,620 Yeah. 239 00:08:27,620 --> 00:08:28,460 Ready for this? 240 00:08:30,020 --> 00:08:33,460 This is 1936. 241 00:08:33,460 --> 00:08:34,300 That's the- 242 00:08:34,300 --> 00:08:35,140 Oh my God. 243 00:08:35,140 --> 00:08:37,060 That's the OG of lead magnets. 244 00:08:37,060 --> 00:08:42,060 So I lived 14 years in the town that he wrote that in. 245 00:08:42,380 --> 00:08:45,060 That was like my claim to fame, if you will. 246 00:08:45,060 --> 00:08:46,820 But it's such a good, 247 00:08:46,820 --> 00:08:49,140 look, not everything in there is exactly accurate, 248 00:08:49,140 --> 00:08:51,980 but what it does is it makes me step out of my own shell 249 00:08:51,980 --> 00:08:53,620 and ego and consider others. 250 00:08:53,620 --> 00:08:55,740 And that's what I think the biggest value is. 251 00:08:55,740 --> 00:08:56,580 It's huge. 252 00:08:56,580 --> 00:08:58,140 How to Win Friends and Influence People, 253 00:08:58,140 --> 00:09:02,020 Dale Carnegie, one of the absolute legends of influence. 254 00:09:02,020 --> 00:09:03,580 That way to throw down big. 255 00:09:03,580 --> 00:09:06,420 We are going to dive into the vision next, everybody. 256 00:09:06,420 --> 00:09:09,500 So stay tuned in, look those resources up 257 00:09:09,500 --> 00:09:12,020 while you have the chance, get them into your audible, 258 00:09:12,020 --> 00:09:14,740 and we'll see you right when we come back 259 00:09:14,740 --> 00:09:17,500 and talk about Ethan Mayer's vision. 260 00:09:17,500 --> 00:09:18,320 All right. 261 00:09:18,320 --> 00:09:21,760 Welcome in to Vision Pros Live with Jackson Calame 262 00:09:21,760 --> 00:09:22,780 I'm your show host. 263 00:09:22,780 --> 00:09:25,460 We'll be doing interviews for visionary entrepreneurs 264 00:09:25,460 --> 00:09:27,420 and guest leaders who are building 265 00:09:27,420 --> 00:09:28,940 fantastic visions out there. 266 00:09:28,940 --> 00:09:33,780 You can watch me from the show's edge, 267 00:09:33,780 --> 00:09:35,940 and this morning we talked about our project 268 00:09:35,940 --> 00:09:37,780 developer characteristic. 269 00:09:37,780 --> 00:09:40,760 Today I'm going to integrate vision and business 270 00:09:40,760 --> 00:09:43,060 into communication between our game developers 271 00:09:43,060 --> 00:09:58,320 and cases in the business 272 00:09:58,320 --> 00:10:01,200 looking at sustainable innovation as well. 273 00:10:01,200 --> 00:10:02,280 And we're gonna be debating that 274 00:10:02,280 --> 00:10:04,440 because there are so many angles 275 00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:06,040 to figure out these formulas 276 00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:09,740 and that's something that of course we specialize in too. 277 00:10:09,740 --> 00:10:12,160 And so when we bring great minds together, 278 00:10:12,160 --> 00:10:13,980 think of it like two mathematicians 279 00:10:13,980 --> 00:10:17,600 that are trying to conquer a formula as fast as possible 280 00:10:17,600 --> 00:10:19,600 in order to serve an audience of students. 281 00:10:19,600 --> 00:10:21,620 It's just like eating it up and watching them go at it. 282 00:10:21,620 --> 00:10:22,920 So it's gonna be what Ethan 283 00:10:22,920 --> 00:10:24,160 are gonna be doing today a little bit 284 00:10:24,160 --> 00:10:26,060 after we talk about his vision 285 00:10:26,060 --> 00:10:27,360 and his leadership experience 286 00:10:27,360 --> 00:10:28,840 because he has a plethora of that. 287 00:10:28,840 --> 00:10:30,600 It's been involved in a lot of cultures. 288 00:10:30,600 --> 00:10:32,400 So without further ado though, 289 00:10:32,400 --> 00:10:33,240 before I dive into that, 290 00:10:33,240 --> 00:10:34,960 I wanna make sure to talk about some of these other resources 291 00:10:34,960 --> 00:10:36,220 you guys can utilize. 292 00:10:36,220 --> 00:10:39,760 The first being the law spot with Melissa Gray. 293 00:10:39,760 --> 00:10:42,360 Melissa Gray came onto our show, blew me away. 294 00:10:42,360 --> 00:10:44,800 I almost canceled our show 295 00:10:44,800 --> 00:10:46,800 because I'm not a big fan of lawyers. 296 00:10:46,800 --> 00:10:48,480 They're typically kind of condescending 297 00:10:48,480 --> 00:10:50,040 and they kind of get under my skin 298 00:10:50,040 --> 00:10:52,400 and they talk over me. 299 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:53,360 She did the exact opposite. 300 00:10:53,360 --> 00:10:54,440 She's a nurturer. 301 00:10:54,440 --> 00:10:56,300 She helped me feel comfortable. 302 00:10:56,300 --> 00:10:58,400 And at the law spot, they teach people 303 00:10:58,400 --> 00:11:00,080 how to make legal not complicated 304 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:02,160 or rather that it can be simple. 305 00:11:02,160 --> 00:11:04,600 And that's so refreshing to see. 306 00:11:04,600 --> 00:11:08,120 She's now got this spot on business blueprint 307 00:11:08,120 --> 00:11:09,960 for entrepreneurs as well. 308 00:11:09,960 --> 00:11:13,000 We're hosting an event with her in Dallas on April 16th. 309 00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:15,600 That's gonna be a lot of funds coming up this coming week. 310 00:11:15,600 --> 00:11:17,880 And she's become a legitimate friend. 311 00:11:17,880 --> 00:11:18,720 And more so importantly, 312 00:11:18,720 --> 00:11:20,920 she's such a great leader for our team as well. 313 00:11:20,920 --> 00:11:22,700 The way that she interacts with the people 314 00:11:22,700 --> 00:11:23,800 who are working with her. 315 00:11:23,800 --> 00:11:26,280 It's a great insight by the way, 316 00:11:26,280 --> 00:11:27,660 for any company you might wanna hire 317 00:11:27,660 --> 00:11:30,760 is how do they treat the people who help them build things? 318 00:11:30,760 --> 00:11:32,640 Choosing a really great sign of what type of leader 319 00:11:32,640 --> 00:11:36,440 they'll be for your practice or your brand as well. 320 00:11:36,440 --> 00:11:38,800 So without further ado, I'll move on from that 321 00:11:38,800 --> 00:11:40,260 just for the last tidbit of 322 00:11:40,260 --> 00:11:42,440 if you already have legal counsel, then keep it. 323 00:11:42,440 --> 00:11:44,080 But if you're not super comfortable 324 00:11:44,080 --> 00:11:46,200 and not super excited about the legal counsel you have, 325 00:11:46,200 --> 00:11:49,220 consider her as you move into your wise stewardship 326 00:11:49,220 --> 00:11:51,040 of interviewing other options. 327 00:11:51,040 --> 00:11:53,160 And there's Andrew Sosin with Recovery Unplugged. 328 00:11:53,160 --> 00:11:54,380 He is not a client. 329 00:11:54,380 --> 00:11:55,520 He's somebody whose program 330 00:11:55,520 --> 00:11:56,880 we just have tremendous respect for 331 00:11:56,880 --> 00:11:57,720 and I love what he's done. 332 00:11:57,720 --> 00:11:59,960 He's got over 400 employees now. 333 00:11:59,960 --> 00:12:01,780 They're located in over four states, 334 00:12:01,780 --> 00:12:03,720 I believe five states now. 335 00:12:03,720 --> 00:12:05,540 And more importantly with COVID, 336 00:12:05,540 --> 00:12:07,080 they turn their program online. 337 00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:08,200 What they do is they help people 338 00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:10,280 with drug and alcohol addiction treatment. 339 00:12:10,280 --> 00:12:13,300 And I would say even there's more important addictions 340 00:12:13,300 --> 00:12:15,260 that aren't talked about a lot like Netflix 341 00:12:15,260 --> 00:12:17,440 and watching sporting events. 342 00:12:17,440 --> 00:12:18,600 And I'm talking about binge watching. 343 00:12:18,600 --> 00:12:21,240 I'm talking about getting stuck in apps for hours at a time 344 00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:22,860 in order to escape the reality of life. 345 00:12:22,860 --> 00:12:25,480 If you're in that situation and you know somebody who is, 346 00:12:25,480 --> 00:12:27,240 they've got this hotline you can call to talk 347 00:12:27,240 --> 00:12:29,700 and get professional advice on what can you do 348 00:12:29,700 --> 00:12:33,320 to maybe recover or stop from some of the traumas 349 00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:35,500 or the darknesses that life has presented you 350 00:12:35,500 --> 00:12:38,640 to where you feel like that's where your best life is. 351 00:12:38,640 --> 00:12:41,120 Our best lives aren't meant to be in an app, my friends. 352 00:12:41,120 --> 00:12:42,980 They're meant to be out with great people. 353 00:12:42,980 --> 00:12:45,080 And so if this even helps one person, 354 00:12:45,080 --> 00:12:46,860 I'm just really happy that we were able 355 00:12:46,860 --> 00:12:48,320 to get the message out there. 356 00:12:48,320 --> 00:12:50,920 And then there's the Water Project. 357 00:12:50,920 --> 00:12:53,160 The Water Project is something 358 00:12:53,160 --> 00:12:54,960 that I just never ever wanna forget. 359 00:12:54,960 --> 00:12:56,520 There's millions of people out there 360 00:12:56,520 --> 00:12:59,280 who don't even have access to this. 361 00:12:59,280 --> 00:13:02,560 And that simultaneous, one thing, it breaks my heart. 362 00:13:02,560 --> 00:13:04,840 Two, it reminds me of my responsibility 363 00:13:04,840 --> 00:13:06,960 to not cry about it, to get up and do something about it. 364 00:13:06,960 --> 00:13:08,680 Maybe help draw some attention for this. 365 00:13:08,680 --> 00:13:10,680 And of course, raise some funds for this. 366 00:13:10,680 --> 00:13:12,240 What I love about the Water Project 367 00:13:12,240 --> 00:13:14,280 is they take that money, 368 00:13:14,280 --> 00:13:15,960 you get to apply it to a specific community 369 00:13:15,960 --> 00:13:17,080 that you wanna support, and you get to see 370 00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:18,980 how many people are gonna be affected by it. 371 00:13:18,980 --> 00:13:21,020 And they show you the outcome of the results 372 00:13:21,020 --> 00:13:21,860 of what they do. 373 00:13:21,860 --> 00:13:23,120 And that transparency is something 374 00:13:23,120 --> 00:13:25,280 that greatly inspires me. 375 00:13:25,280 --> 00:13:28,200 And to know that when I'm creating 376 00:13:28,200 --> 00:13:30,440 or helping create with some small contribution, 377 00:13:30,440 --> 00:13:32,960 a borehole well or a sand dam, 378 00:13:32,960 --> 00:13:35,000 I know that that resource has the potential 379 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:38,660 to help that community for decades. 380 00:13:38,660 --> 00:13:40,480 And the transformation that occurs 381 00:13:40,480 --> 00:13:42,820 when children are educated without interruption, 382 00:13:42,820 --> 00:13:44,560 when parents are able to work 383 00:13:44,560 --> 00:13:47,800 and provide for their family without interruption again, 384 00:13:47,800 --> 00:13:52,240 and when we're not losing people to unnecessary deaths, 385 00:13:52,240 --> 00:13:53,760 the whole world improves with that. 386 00:13:53,760 --> 00:13:56,040 So if you aren't in a position financially 387 00:13:56,040 --> 00:13:56,960 to give back to this, 388 00:13:56,960 --> 00:13:59,640 my request is that if that moved you, you share this. 389 00:13:59,640 --> 00:14:00,720 Or if you think of somebody like, 390 00:14:00,720 --> 00:14:02,280 man, I know somebody would like that, 391 00:14:02,280 --> 00:14:04,880 just tag them in this and give them the opportunity 392 00:14:04,880 --> 00:14:07,880 to see and learn about what the Water Project is up to. 393 00:14:07,880 --> 00:14:10,840 And if you have a cause that is near and dear to your heart, 394 00:14:10,840 --> 00:14:12,000 that is that you're like, 395 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:13,840 man, no, why doesn't he talk about this? 396 00:14:13,840 --> 00:14:14,980 Just drop that in the comments. 397 00:14:14,980 --> 00:14:17,240 Give us the chance to also participate 398 00:14:17,240 --> 00:14:18,360 and perhaps give back to that. 399 00:14:18,360 --> 00:14:21,360 Maybe we will also include that cause 400 00:14:21,360 --> 00:14:22,880 in our show in the future as well. 401 00:14:22,880 --> 00:14:25,000 And we never know how many people will reach 402 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:26,320 when we just simply try. 403 00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:28,360 So I hope you try with me and give back. 404 00:14:28,360 --> 00:14:31,120 We've got 8 billion people in this world to help. 405 00:14:31,120 --> 00:14:32,680 And it's an awesome opportunity 406 00:14:32,680 --> 00:14:35,060 we can step up and do something to do just that. 407 00:14:35,060 --> 00:14:39,300 So without further ado, Ethan Mayers, 408 00:14:39,300 --> 00:14:41,040 thank you for joining me on Vision Pros Live, man. 409 00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:42,480 I'm so happy to have you here. 410 00:14:42,480 --> 00:14:43,320 Thank you so much. 411 00:14:43,320 --> 00:14:45,120 I'm so happy to be here. 412 00:14:45,120 --> 00:14:46,040 Yes, sir. 413 00:14:46,040 --> 00:14:47,560 I love that you use that word too. 414 00:14:47,560 --> 00:14:49,920 When you came on and right before we got started, 415 00:14:49,920 --> 00:14:51,840 you talked about being happy to be here. 416 00:14:51,840 --> 00:14:54,640 And that is an emotion that a lot of people 417 00:14:54,640 --> 00:14:57,440 may not be able to gravitate towards. 418 00:14:57,440 --> 00:14:58,960 They may be blocked from it. 419 00:14:58,960 --> 00:15:02,560 But what is happiness to you? 420 00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:06,140 I will answer that, but I'll tell you why I do it. 421 00:15:06,140 --> 00:15:07,120 Because it's actually important. 422 00:15:07,120 --> 00:15:08,120 Because before we started, 423 00:15:08,120 --> 00:15:10,560 we also talked about doing actionable steps. 424 00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:11,800 Yeah. 425 00:15:11,800 --> 00:15:14,040 I'm not always happy when I say it. 426 00:15:14,040 --> 00:15:16,880 And so there's a lot of research about this 427 00:15:16,880 --> 00:15:19,940 that what a lot of people do is they say things like, 428 00:15:19,940 --> 00:15:21,840 well, when I'm happy, I'll express that. 429 00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:23,400 Or when I'm happy, I'll play guitar. 430 00:15:23,400 --> 00:15:25,600 Or when I'm happy, I'll do whatever. 431 00:15:25,600 --> 00:15:27,440 And the research seems to be pretty clear. 432 00:15:27,440 --> 00:15:30,120 No, no, you play guitar and then you become happy. 433 00:15:30,120 --> 00:15:33,120 So a lot of that is me practicing and training myself 434 00:15:33,120 --> 00:15:35,580 because happiness is a desire of state. 435 00:15:35,580 --> 00:15:37,600 I have a particular opinion on what it is. 436 00:15:37,600 --> 00:15:40,320 In Hebrew, happiness comes from the word Asher, 437 00:15:40,320 --> 00:15:42,540 which has a very specific definition. 438 00:15:42,540 --> 00:15:44,280 It means one without want. 439 00:15:45,320 --> 00:15:46,760 One without. 440 00:15:46,760 --> 00:15:49,320 A variation of that is content with one's lot. 441 00:15:50,760 --> 00:15:51,600 Yes. 442 00:15:53,600 --> 00:15:55,520 So you can think of happiness in a couple of different ways, 443 00:15:55,520 --> 00:15:58,320 but one of them is what eliminates happiness? 444 00:15:58,320 --> 00:16:00,600 Well, wanting what someone else has 445 00:16:00,600 --> 00:16:03,000 is a surefire way to be unhappy. 446 00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:04,840 Not living your life's purpose 447 00:16:04,840 --> 00:16:06,440 is a sure way of being unhappy. 448 00:16:06,440 --> 00:16:08,900 Not taking care of your mental and physical health 449 00:16:08,900 --> 00:16:10,440 ways to be unhappy. 450 00:16:10,440 --> 00:16:13,600 Sometimes you have to put it out there 451 00:16:13,600 --> 00:16:14,760 and the real feelings lag. 452 00:16:14,760 --> 00:16:18,200 So what I practice is something called active gratitude. 453 00:16:18,200 --> 00:16:20,160 And I don't always feel it, 454 00:16:20,160 --> 00:16:24,280 but I want to err on that side of the fence. 455 00:16:24,280 --> 00:16:27,000 And basically what I'm hoping is the rest of me catches up. 456 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:29,440 Today I particularly am happy 457 00:16:29,440 --> 00:16:31,400 because I'm very happy to be talking to you in the audience, 458 00:16:31,400 --> 00:16:32,720 but other days I'm not. 459 00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:34,960 And basically what you also feel, 460 00:16:34,960 --> 00:16:36,280 just one more point on this, 461 00:16:36,280 --> 00:16:38,940 is that these things are socially contagious. 462 00:16:38,940 --> 00:16:39,780 Yes. 463 00:16:39,780 --> 00:16:42,760 Because if I say happy and it's great to see you, 464 00:16:42,760 --> 00:16:44,660 you're more likely to have a positive response. 465 00:16:44,660 --> 00:16:47,240 And that's one of the small tiny effects 466 00:16:47,240 --> 00:16:48,760 that we can have on each other 467 00:16:48,760 --> 00:16:50,960 of building this positive momentum. 468 00:16:50,960 --> 00:16:52,360 You call it small and tiny. 469 00:16:52,360 --> 00:16:53,680 I call it fundamental. 470 00:16:54,720 --> 00:16:56,120 And I get to be the color commentator 471 00:16:56,120 --> 00:16:58,000 that makes everything sound a little bit awesome. 472 00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:00,600 And it's like, no, you set the stage for this. 473 00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:01,840 So I ask you about happiness. 474 00:17:01,840 --> 00:17:03,760 Somebody might say, some of you guys listening, 475 00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:07,280 it might be like, wow, like that, 476 00:17:07,280 --> 00:17:08,860 couldn't you have just said you're happy? 477 00:17:08,860 --> 00:17:11,040 They would want to oversimplify that. 478 00:17:11,040 --> 00:17:13,400 No, no, no, you just went to the depth 479 00:17:13,400 --> 00:17:15,640 of the appreciation for not only the word, 480 00:17:15,640 --> 00:17:18,320 but the concept, which guided us to new knowledge 481 00:17:18,320 --> 00:17:20,720 about how to embrace it even further. 482 00:17:20,720 --> 00:17:23,640 And again, that's back to that genius aspect. 483 00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:26,080 The other day I was realizing I had an epiphany, 484 00:17:26,080 --> 00:17:27,880 probably late to the game on the epiphany, 485 00:17:27,880 --> 00:17:30,040 but I realized in the English language, 486 00:17:30,040 --> 00:17:33,880 we have absolutely destroyed the virtue of humility. 487 00:17:33,880 --> 00:17:36,160 Like the definition of humility in English 488 00:17:36,160 --> 00:17:38,880 has nothing to do with the original context 489 00:17:38,880 --> 00:17:41,560 of what humility actually is. 490 00:17:41,560 --> 00:17:43,560 And I already knew that that was the case 491 00:17:43,560 --> 00:17:44,680 with the word hope. 492 00:17:44,680 --> 00:17:47,240 We use hope like it's an awful thing. 493 00:17:47,240 --> 00:17:49,680 I hope he doesn't screw that up. 494 00:17:49,680 --> 00:17:51,000 Like we've convinced ourselves, 495 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:52,820 one of the greatest powers in the world 496 00:17:52,820 --> 00:17:56,520 is something that is meant to be used in darkness. 497 00:17:56,520 --> 00:17:59,880 So with humility, the definition of it, as I looked up, 498 00:17:59,880 --> 00:18:02,280 was pretty much synonymous across the dictionaries 499 00:18:02,280 --> 00:18:06,360 with having a low esteem for self. 500 00:18:06,360 --> 00:18:10,220 And I was like, oh my gosh, like that's like no way. 501 00:18:10,220 --> 00:18:13,220 So I went and looked up the definition in Aramaic. 502 00:18:13,220 --> 00:18:16,420 I went and looked it up in Hebrew and what else? 503 00:18:16,420 --> 00:18:17,760 And Judaism. 504 00:18:17,760 --> 00:18:20,480 And ultimately the definition that really aligned 505 00:18:20,480 --> 00:18:25,480 with my heart was in a complete appreciation for self. 506 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:29,600 And I was like, wow, that is a very different reality 507 00:18:29,600 --> 00:18:33,240 than people who think they're supposed to self deprecate 508 00:18:33,240 --> 00:18:34,840 in order to be humble. 509 00:18:34,840 --> 00:18:37,720 Like that doesn't quite work for me. 510 00:18:37,720 --> 00:18:40,000 So again, thank you for diving into the depths 511 00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:43,560 because it is getting beyond the word, right? 512 00:18:43,560 --> 00:18:46,240 It's getting beyond the label 513 00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:48,640 that we've created in our languages 514 00:18:48,640 --> 00:18:53,080 and moving towards that, for me, the abundance of feeling, 515 00:18:53,080 --> 00:18:54,600 the abundance of being. 516 00:18:54,600 --> 00:18:56,800 And you helped me achieve that 517 00:18:56,800 --> 00:18:58,080 and a new level with happiness. 518 00:18:58,080 --> 00:19:00,320 And I am gonna be forever grateful for that. 519 00:19:01,160 --> 00:19:02,000 Thank you. 520 00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:04,120 I'm a huge curiosity advocate. 521 00:19:04,120 --> 00:19:05,480 We could probably do a whole show on that, 522 00:19:05,480 --> 00:19:07,280 but what I say about that is, 523 00:19:08,280 --> 00:19:11,480 etymology is one of the most important words I ever learned. 524 00:19:11,480 --> 00:19:13,920 E-T-Y-M-O-L-O-G-Y. 525 00:19:13,920 --> 00:19:16,200 Etymology is where words come from. 526 00:19:16,200 --> 00:19:18,240 So I can say that on my app. 527 00:19:18,240 --> 00:19:20,560 I'm probably using etymology. 528 00:19:20,560 --> 00:19:23,200 I'll literally type into Google etymology happiness, 529 00:19:23,200 --> 00:19:26,280 etymology community once or twice a day. 530 00:19:26,280 --> 00:19:29,360 And it's given me a lot of context. 531 00:19:29,360 --> 00:19:31,240 Well, I'll give you a great example 532 00:19:31,240 --> 00:19:33,000 from my travels around the world, 533 00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:34,520 phrase we use in English mostly. 534 00:19:34,520 --> 00:19:37,120 So let's say we have a great podcast 535 00:19:37,120 --> 00:19:38,600 and we decide to go to this popular place 536 00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:40,360 and we're not sure if it's open, right? 537 00:19:40,360 --> 00:19:41,880 In America, we'll say we'll see, 538 00:19:41,880 --> 00:19:43,800 and it has a negative connotation. 539 00:19:43,800 --> 00:19:46,160 Basically it says, well, I'm not that hopeful 540 00:19:46,160 --> 00:19:50,120 and I don't know and we'll see what happens. 541 00:19:50,120 --> 00:19:51,680 But in a lot of other cultures, 542 00:19:51,680 --> 00:19:53,960 mostly actually has a positive connotation. 543 00:19:53,960 --> 00:19:56,240 What it means is I've done all I can. 544 00:19:56,240 --> 00:19:58,960 There is nothing further to do except perform the action. 545 00:19:58,960 --> 00:20:01,680 So we shall see whatever happens happens. 546 00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:04,880 It's actually almost like a surrender kind of conflict. 547 00:20:06,280 --> 00:20:09,240 So it's very different, same words, 548 00:20:09,240 --> 00:20:11,200 completely different. 549 00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:12,800 Yes, absolutely. 550 00:20:12,800 --> 00:20:15,720 And that, for me, I gain that appreciation 551 00:20:15,720 --> 00:20:18,120 through the study of language, speaking Spanish and English, 552 00:20:18,120 --> 00:20:21,600 realizing just how nuanced the relationships 553 00:20:21,600 --> 00:20:22,960 and cultures are. 554 00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:25,560 And it takes a tremendous amount of humility 555 00:20:25,560 --> 00:20:29,120 and reverence to be patient enough to appreciate that. 556 00:20:29,120 --> 00:20:30,440 So thank you again for that. 557 00:20:30,440 --> 00:20:33,480 What is your vision, Ethan, for those that you serve? 558 00:20:34,360 --> 00:20:37,760 So I've come up with a really good vision. 559 00:20:37,760 --> 00:20:39,920 And one of the things, the reason I say that is 560 00:20:39,920 --> 00:20:41,840 I'm proud of myself for realizing I've acted on it, 561 00:20:41,840 --> 00:20:44,120 but I didn't have the words only until a couple of years. 562 00:20:44,120 --> 00:20:45,600 And I think one of the messages, 563 00:20:45,600 --> 00:20:47,200 it's kind of like a pre-message I wanna say, 564 00:20:47,200 --> 00:20:49,480 is I think we're all on a path 565 00:20:49,480 --> 00:20:51,720 and sometimes we don't have the word, 566 00:20:51,720 --> 00:20:54,160 the narrative, the story will evolve over time. 567 00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:55,840 And it's funny because then you'll look back and say, 568 00:20:55,840 --> 00:20:57,120 I was always on this path. 569 00:20:57,120 --> 00:20:59,960 I just didn't have the concepts of words. 570 00:20:59,960 --> 00:21:03,600 So my core belief is wisdom diffusion. 571 00:21:03,600 --> 00:21:05,680 What I believe we're here to do, 572 00:21:05,680 --> 00:21:06,880 it's not just knowledge diffusion 573 00:21:06,880 --> 00:21:08,880 because knowledge is not that difficult 574 00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:12,640 because knowledge is what year is the US founded? 575 00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:13,960 And that's a Google question. 576 00:21:13,960 --> 00:21:17,560 Wisdom is nuance and it's always human-centric. 577 00:21:17,560 --> 00:21:20,120 And it's basically about a shared or lived experience. 578 00:21:20,120 --> 00:21:22,720 And wisdom also does not mean, 579 00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:24,760 it's kind of like the law, 580 00:21:24,760 --> 00:21:27,440 like these won't guarantee your results, 581 00:21:27,440 --> 00:21:29,840 but it's more of like when I was in a similar situation 582 00:21:29,840 --> 00:21:32,520 as yours, this is what happened. 583 00:21:32,520 --> 00:21:34,440 This is how I acted, behaved. 584 00:21:34,440 --> 00:21:36,840 This is how other people acted and behaved. 585 00:21:36,840 --> 00:21:38,160 And I'm giving that to you as a gift. 586 00:21:38,160 --> 00:21:40,120 And obviously you do with it what you need. 587 00:21:40,120 --> 00:21:43,600 I believe so much in wisdom diffusion 588 00:21:43,600 --> 00:21:46,040 as especially a key to entrepreneurial behavior. 589 00:21:46,040 --> 00:21:48,080 Entrepreneurs often have, they lack time, 590 00:21:48,080 --> 00:21:50,720 they lack resources, but the one thing they can do 591 00:21:50,720 --> 00:21:52,560 is kind of learn from those who basically 592 00:21:52,560 --> 00:21:54,320 have failed and succeeded. 593 00:21:54,320 --> 00:21:57,240 Both are equally important because there's no reason, 594 00:21:57,240 --> 00:21:59,480 I kind of joke, make your own mistakes. 595 00:21:59,480 --> 00:22:02,280 Try and learn from all the other mistakes in the world 596 00:22:02,280 --> 00:22:04,400 and make completely new ones if you're possible. 597 00:22:04,400 --> 00:22:07,680 So that, and my vision is twofold. 598 00:22:07,680 --> 00:22:09,600 You receive wisdom and you share it. 599 00:22:09,600 --> 00:22:11,400 We need to create this cycle 600 00:22:11,400 --> 00:22:13,880 where we're constantly diffusing wisdom to each other, 601 00:22:13,880 --> 00:22:16,920 to the next generation, just all around. 602 00:22:16,920 --> 00:22:17,760 I love that. 603 00:22:17,760 --> 00:22:20,480 I can see how somebody who embraces 604 00:22:20,480 --> 00:22:23,760 and appreciates mistakes would gravitate, of course, 605 00:22:23,760 --> 00:22:25,960 towards innovation and vice versa. 606 00:22:25,960 --> 00:22:28,360 I mean, all those aspects go hand in hand. 607 00:22:28,360 --> 00:22:29,720 What's your vision for you? 608 00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:33,400 No, I mean, it's tied in. 609 00:22:33,400 --> 00:22:35,280 It's kind of one and the same. 610 00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:36,440 So basically- 611 00:22:36,440 --> 00:22:37,280 Well, I get that. 612 00:22:37,280 --> 00:22:39,160 I mean, the visions are certainly going 613 00:22:39,160 --> 00:22:42,880 to be paralleled in there, but I guess more so pointed. 614 00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:45,480 What do you see for yourself on the horizon? 615 00:22:45,480 --> 00:22:47,400 Yeah, I mean, my skill set is in technology. 616 00:22:47,400 --> 00:22:50,080 I built B2B software for most of my career. 617 00:22:50,080 --> 00:22:52,040 I've led companies. 618 00:22:52,040 --> 00:22:53,600 I'm very lucky to be a mentor 619 00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:55,680 for many companies around the world. 620 00:22:55,680 --> 00:22:58,640 And so my vision myself is to basically apply that. 621 00:22:58,640 --> 00:23:00,760 Basically how I describe myself on LinkedIn 622 00:23:00,760 --> 00:23:03,080 is I want to use technology to solve 623 00:23:03,080 --> 00:23:05,840 some of the most entrenched conditions of humanity. 624 00:23:05,840 --> 00:23:07,280 And I think that if, you know, 625 00:23:07,280 --> 00:23:10,240 whatever bite I can make of that, I will have done well. 626 00:23:10,240 --> 00:23:13,200 And secondarily, second to this vision is 627 00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:14,920 I hope that I inspire others, 628 00:23:14,920 --> 00:23:16,520 because if we can inspire others 629 00:23:16,520 --> 00:23:18,920 towards positive movements and positive actions, 630 00:23:18,920 --> 00:23:20,600 that's how we create real change. 631 00:23:21,680 --> 00:23:22,680 Yeah, absolutely. 632 00:23:22,680 --> 00:23:26,560 And that would also go back to that essence of community too, 633 00:23:26,560 --> 00:23:29,000 you know, and that generates that community, 634 00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:30,080 the process of belonging. 635 00:23:30,080 --> 00:23:32,640 I love that you talk about some of your friends visiting, 636 00:23:32,640 --> 00:23:34,200 you know, going through New York 637 00:23:34,200 --> 00:23:35,360 and giving you a call about that. 638 00:23:35,360 --> 00:23:37,960 And it's really helpful when, again, 639 00:23:37,960 --> 00:23:39,920 especially for the entrepreneurs and the visionaries, 640 00:23:39,920 --> 00:23:42,680 with your vision and with your entrepreneurship stuff, 641 00:23:42,680 --> 00:23:45,520 your everyday relationships 642 00:23:45,520 --> 00:23:48,800 aren't necessarily going to understand that at all. 643 00:23:48,800 --> 00:23:51,520 And you can have great relationships with them 644 00:23:51,520 --> 00:23:56,520 over normal everyday interactions that also occur. 645 00:23:56,560 --> 00:24:01,360 And it's very helpful to get out of the isolation 646 00:24:01,360 --> 00:24:04,960 and into a hub of people who really love and appreciate 647 00:24:04,960 --> 00:24:05,800 your vision and what you're up to. 648 00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:06,920 Do you have any thoughts on that 649 00:24:06,920 --> 00:24:09,840 before we move on to leadership topics? 650 00:24:09,840 --> 00:24:11,200 Well, I think it's communicate, 651 00:24:11,200 --> 00:24:12,120 I could not agree more. 652 00:24:12,120 --> 00:24:13,200 It's all about community. 653 00:24:13,200 --> 00:24:17,040 And I'll go even a step further if you would allow. 654 00:24:17,040 --> 00:24:18,520 It's relationships over transactions, 655 00:24:18,520 --> 00:24:19,800 relationships over commerce. 656 00:24:19,800 --> 00:24:23,120 I can tell you countless, countless stories 657 00:24:23,120 --> 00:24:24,480 that if you're playing the long game, 658 00:24:24,480 --> 00:24:27,240 which by the way, everybody listening should be, 659 00:24:27,240 --> 00:24:30,200 then it's about creating and fostering relationships. 660 00:24:30,200 --> 00:24:32,200 I cannot tell you that most of the best opportunities 661 00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:33,960 I've had in my life were from relationships 662 00:24:33,960 --> 00:24:36,040 that I fostered for multiple years. 663 00:24:36,040 --> 00:24:37,800 I was just talking to some guy yesterday 664 00:24:37,800 --> 00:24:41,000 and he said he got a call out of the blue six months ago 665 00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:42,720 from somebody he hadn't worked with or talked to 666 00:24:42,720 --> 00:24:44,440 since 2019. 667 00:24:44,440 --> 00:24:46,360 Opportunity came up, woman called and said, 668 00:24:46,360 --> 00:24:49,200 I remember how good of a job you did, sorry I haven't called, 669 00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:51,080 life gets busy, but can you bring, 670 00:24:51,080 --> 00:24:54,120 and it was one of the bigger projects of his life. 671 00:24:54,120 --> 00:24:56,560 And this has happened to me countless and countless times. 672 00:24:56,560 --> 00:24:59,920 If you wanna play the long game, build relationships. 673 00:24:59,920 --> 00:25:01,920 And the way that you do that is actually care 674 00:25:01,920 --> 00:25:04,400 about another human and see how you can help them. 675 00:25:04,400 --> 00:25:06,040 Techstars, for instance, I went through Techstars 676 00:25:06,040 --> 00:25:08,720 in 2018 in Berlin and their thing is give first. 677 00:25:08,720 --> 00:25:10,040 I actually believe that. 678 00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:12,320 So just one quick note on that, in game theory, 679 00:25:12,320 --> 00:25:13,760 they do all these simulations 680 00:25:13,760 --> 00:25:15,080 and it works always the same way. 681 00:25:15,080 --> 00:25:17,040 The best way to play game theory 682 00:25:17,040 --> 00:25:19,560 is basically be kind reciprocity. 683 00:25:19,560 --> 00:25:22,240 So in game theory, they simulate all sorts 684 00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:23,080 of different conflicts. 685 00:25:23,080 --> 00:25:24,960 So when you're a jerk, I'll be a jerk back, 686 00:25:24,960 --> 00:25:27,080 but in equal forces, if you will, 687 00:25:27,080 --> 00:25:29,080 but it's always be kind first. 688 00:25:30,040 --> 00:25:32,160 Assume the better and give first. 689 00:25:32,160 --> 00:25:35,480 So look, when someone shows me their quote unquote nature 690 00:25:35,480 --> 00:25:38,600 and they're givers and takers in this world. 691 00:25:38,600 --> 00:25:39,520 So this is what I say, 692 00:25:39,520 --> 00:25:41,000 as an entrepreneur, you're gonna be successful. 693 00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:44,000 Be a giver, identify your takers and give them less energy. 694 00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:45,000 Absolutely. 695 00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:48,560 I can see that you've experienced many opportunities 696 00:25:48,560 --> 00:25:51,320 for the best and worst of leadership. 697 00:25:51,320 --> 00:25:52,360 We're gonna dive in first. 698 00:25:52,360 --> 00:25:54,600 What is the worst leadership experience 699 00:25:54,600 --> 00:25:55,600 that you've ever had? 700 00:25:56,600 --> 00:25:57,600 Oh, wow. 701 00:25:57,600 --> 00:25:59,400 That's a good one. 702 00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:04,400 I mean, so I'll be careful because I've had a lot. 703 00:26:04,400 --> 00:26:06,840 So I'll tell you what actually just came to mind at first. 704 00:26:06,840 --> 00:26:11,840 So I had a leader, it was an EdTech organization 705 00:26:11,840 --> 00:26:16,840 and basically he got this idea, which was a fine idea 706 00:26:16,920 --> 00:26:18,920 that he wants to run a flat organization. 707 00:26:19,840 --> 00:26:22,080 And he came in one day and announced 708 00:26:22,080 --> 00:26:23,840 that he was getting rid of all titles. 709 00:26:25,240 --> 00:26:28,080 And except that he didn't get rid of his own titles, 710 00:26:28,080 --> 00:26:30,440 he gave himself two titles, which was CEO and founder, 711 00:26:30,440 --> 00:26:33,280 and no one else could have a title in the company. 712 00:26:33,280 --> 00:26:34,840 And we actually spent two weeks 713 00:26:34,840 --> 00:26:36,280 not being able to talk to each other 714 00:26:36,280 --> 00:26:38,040 because he also banned several words, 715 00:26:38,040 --> 00:26:39,720 like the word like sales, 716 00:26:39,720 --> 00:26:42,040 because he didn't consider that in line with his philosophy. 717 00:26:42,040 --> 00:26:44,280 So you couldn't say anymore that you weren't sales. 718 00:26:44,280 --> 00:26:47,120 So I would come to you Jackson and I would say things like, 719 00:26:47,120 --> 00:26:48,920 because there's a lot, not a lot, 720 00:26:48,920 --> 00:26:50,560 a hundred and something people organizations, 721 00:26:50,560 --> 00:26:51,520 we didn't know each other. 722 00:26:51,520 --> 00:26:54,680 So I'd be like, well, I help customers 723 00:26:54,680 --> 00:26:57,520 facilitating their initial progress 724 00:26:57,520 --> 00:27:01,520 as they interact with their systems on Boarding Specialist. 725 00:27:01,520 --> 00:27:03,680 So that wasn't my job, but I'm giving examples 726 00:27:03,680 --> 00:27:04,720 of how people would talk. 727 00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:07,680 So it was after two weeks and he kept two titles for himself. 728 00:27:07,680 --> 00:27:11,520 So basically the entire company not only lost faith with him, 729 00:27:11,520 --> 00:27:14,120 but we didn't know how to really act or speak. 730 00:27:14,120 --> 00:27:16,280 And he basically ground productivity to a halt. 731 00:27:18,760 --> 00:27:21,920 Whoa, that you threw down. 732 00:27:21,920 --> 00:27:26,920 Oh, so many lessons we can learn from history 733 00:27:28,560 --> 00:27:30,520 on that situation. 734 00:27:31,520 --> 00:27:33,080 I gotta move us into the next one though. 735 00:27:33,080 --> 00:27:34,920 We might circle back to some of those concepts, 736 00:27:34,920 --> 00:27:37,760 but what's the best leadership experience 737 00:27:37,760 --> 00:27:38,680 that you've ever had? 738 00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:42,680 Again, the same thought, like I'd have to rate them, 739 00:27:42,680 --> 00:27:44,280 but I'll tell you what I first thought. 740 00:27:44,280 --> 00:27:46,320 So back early in my career, 741 00:27:46,320 --> 00:27:49,520 I really wanted to be a television producer 742 00:27:49,520 --> 00:27:51,120 and I was also a single parent. 743 00:27:51,120 --> 00:27:53,120 So at the age of 27, I became a single parent 744 00:27:53,120 --> 00:27:55,520 to a four-year-old and I had custody. 745 00:27:55,520 --> 00:27:58,320 And getting a job in TV New York is really hard, 746 00:27:58,320 --> 00:27:59,520 especially since the hours. 747 00:27:59,520 --> 00:28:03,920 And I had a job and I was with my parents 748 00:28:03,920 --> 00:28:06,520 and I was with a kind of famous personality. 749 00:28:07,320 --> 00:28:11,280 And the show was taping at around six o'clock 750 00:28:11,280 --> 00:28:12,840 in the evening and it was fine. 751 00:28:12,840 --> 00:28:14,600 It was tight, but it worked. 752 00:28:14,600 --> 00:28:16,360 They decided to change it to a late night show. 753 00:28:16,360 --> 00:28:18,440 So it became an 1130 taping. 754 00:28:18,440 --> 00:28:21,520 This effectively meant that my job was over 755 00:28:21,520 --> 00:28:23,720 because it was impossible for me to get daycare. 756 00:28:23,720 --> 00:28:26,080 It just wasn't possible. 757 00:28:26,080 --> 00:28:28,680 He literally went out of his way because he valued me 758 00:28:28,680 --> 00:28:31,320 and he valued community and he showed me what leadership is 759 00:28:31,320 --> 00:28:32,680 to essentially make an exception. 760 00:28:32,680 --> 00:28:34,920 And the whole staff kind of rallied around me 761 00:28:34,920 --> 00:28:37,800 to make sure that I was able to get home for my kid 762 00:28:37,800 --> 00:28:40,840 to show that you can have work-life harmony. 763 00:28:42,280 --> 00:28:44,920 Oh man, that's amazing. 764 00:28:44,920 --> 00:28:48,800 That is so rare in the business world. 765 00:28:50,080 --> 00:28:52,080 Probably in many other types of worlds too, 766 00:28:52,080 --> 00:28:56,880 but like as a just single father of four, 767 00:28:56,880 --> 00:28:58,680 you know, like I get that. 768 00:28:58,680 --> 00:29:00,080 I appreciate that. 769 00:29:00,080 --> 00:29:01,400 It would be so awesome. 770 00:29:01,400 --> 00:29:03,040 That would be clear. 771 00:29:03,040 --> 00:29:04,160 I was working still. 772 00:29:04,160 --> 00:29:06,560 I would just be home with the kid on the computer. 773 00:29:06,560 --> 00:29:09,440 I used to, I worked like 24 seven for this guy. 774 00:29:09,440 --> 00:29:11,800 So that's part of it was I was good at my job 775 00:29:11,800 --> 00:29:13,320 and I was always there. 776 00:29:13,320 --> 00:29:15,640 It's just that physical requirement became difficult. 777 00:29:15,640 --> 00:29:17,880 So they said, you know, we're going to go out of your way. 778 00:29:17,880 --> 00:29:19,600 And he didn't have to. 779 00:29:19,600 --> 00:29:21,280 He has a sat chair. 780 00:29:21,280 --> 00:29:22,720 A thousand people would have lined up 781 00:29:22,720 --> 00:29:24,440 to take my job in a heartbeat. 782 00:29:24,440 --> 00:29:27,920 It could have been far easier to do many other choices. 783 00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:29,640 We were all in that situation. 784 00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:32,320 I remember when, you know, 785 00:29:32,320 --> 00:29:35,680 going as a kid to Six Flags Fiesta, Texas, 786 00:29:35,680 --> 00:29:38,120 you know, I remember a lot of the people 787 00:29:38,120 --> 00:29:41,000 who were at the gates taking tickets were disabled 788 00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:42,600 in some form or another. 789 00:29:42,600 --> 00:29:45,800 And I thought that was really neat how, you know, 790 00:29:45,800 --> 00:29:48,360 they specifically chose to make sure 791 00:29:48,360 --> 00:29:50,160 that they were giving jobs to people 792 00:29:50,160 --> 00:29:51,840 who were often probably overlooked 793 00:29:51,840 --> 00:29:53,600 in other job environments, 794 00:29:53,600 --> 00:29:55,960 even though there was plenty of capacity for them 795 00:29:55,960 --> 00:29:58,520 to learn and do things, to be productive 796 00:29:58,520 --> 00:30:00,160 and in a work environment. 797 00:30:00,160 --> 00:30:03,840 So it's whether it's a single father or a single mother 798 00:30:03,840 --> 00:30:06,240 or somebody who needs to be a stay at home parent. 799 00:30:06,240 --> 00:30:09,760 There are so many ways today to create abundance. 800 00:30:09,760 --> 00:30:14,600 And the byproduct of that was probably exponential growth 801 00:30:14,600 --> 00:30:16,000 and other forms and fashions. 802 00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:18,280 Cause when we do what is hard, but right, 803 00:30:19,800 --> 00:30:22,560 there's always a law of the harvest associated with it, 804 00:30:22,560 --> 00:30:25,240 even if it's not immediate, sometimes it is. 805 00:30:25,240 --> 00:30:29,200 I guess, yeah, no, I just, thank you for asking 806 00:30:29,200 --> 00:30:30,040 cause it's bringing me up. 807 00:30:30,040 --> 00:30:32,160 And I just wanted to tell one quick anecdote, 808 00:30:32,160 --> 00:30:34,680 which is very, very early in my career, 809 00:30:34,680 --> 00:30:35,680 I worked for Pat Summit, 810 00:30:35,680 --> 00:30:38,240 who was a winning basketball coach in Tennessee. 811 00:30:38,240 --> 00:30:40,440 And one of the lessons that I learned from her 812 00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:42,160 and she was very much, it was great 813 00:30:42,160 --> 00:30:43,440 because I've kept it with my leadership. 814 00:30:43,440 --> 00:30:44,680 I'm not sure that I always do well with it, 815 00:30:44,680 --> 00:30:45,680 but I always think of her. 816 00:30:45,680 --> 00:30:49,040 It's very simple for you, it's Thursday afternoon 817 00:30:49,040 --> 00:30:51,080 for the person you're talking to, you're the CEO, 818 00:30:51,080 --> 00:30:52,920 you're the celebrity, you're the big cheese. 819 00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:54,960 They're gonna think about what you said all weekend, 820 00:30:54,960 --> 00:30:56,760 all week, all month. 821 00:30:56,760 --> 00:30:59,320 Be careful with the economy of your vocabulary, 822 00:30:59,320 --> 00:31:02,560 say as little as possible as a leader and let your, 823 00:31:02,560 --> 00:31:04,400 no, that's why there's a lot of CEOs 824 00:31:04,400 --> 00:31:07,440 that they have their five to 10 staff. 825 00:31:07,440 --> 00:31:08,920 They're the ones doing most of the work 826 00:31:08,920 --> 00:31:11,360 because I just talked to my friend and he's like, 827 00:31:11,360 --> 00:31:14,400 I rode the elevator with the big boss, who's a billionaire. 828 00:31:14,400 --> 00:31:15,220 He remembers that. 829 00:31:15,220 --> 00:31:17,380 For that guy, it's Tuesday at three o'clock. 830 00:31:19,440 --> 00:31:22,400 Wow, for the big boss is Tuesday at three o'clock. 831 00:31:22,400 --> 00:31:25,160 But for the person who's working with them, 832 00:31:25,160 --> 00:31:27,520 it is an experience of a lifetime. 833 00:31:27,520 --> 00:31:29,920 Right, that he's telling me, that he's telling stories 834 00:31:29,920 --> 00:31:31,960 to his friends and family about that. 835 00:31:31,960 --> 00:31:36,560 So as a big boss, when you have those interactions, 836 00:31:36,560 --> 00:31:41,400 be kind and give them, just keep that in mind. 837 00:31:41,400 --> 00:31:45,060 So interestingly enough, what she said to me a little bit 838 00:31:45,060 --> 00:31:47,000 was, and now I paid attention, 839 00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:48,340 when the girls were on the court, 840 00:31:48,340 --> 00:31:50,380 when there was a specific shot, 841 00:31:50,380 --> 00:31:52,040 she would yell at them or whatever. 842 00:31:52,040 --> 00:31:53,480 But if it was a little more than that, 843 00:31:53,480 --> 00:31:55,120 the assistant coaches would all do it. 844 00:31:55,120 --> 00:31:57,720 Basically, she was attempting to say as little as possible 845 00:31:57,720 --> 00:31:59,440 because she felt that leaders 846 00:31:59,440 --> 00:32:01,800 have extraordinary power of words 847 00:32:01,800 --> 00:32:04,940 and needs to use that power very scarcely 848 00:32:04,940 --> 00:32:05,940 and very carefully. 849 00:32:07,040 --> 00:32:08,100 That's brilliant. 850 00:32:09,840 --> 00:32:12,320 I remember when, you know, Jeff Van Gundy is, 851 00:32:12,320 --> 00:32:13,200 for those who don't know, 852 00:32:13,200 --> 00:32:16,640 he's a broadcaster, former basketball coach. 853 00:32:16,640 --> 00:32:18,440 And I'm working at this restaurant, 854 00:32:18,440 --> 00:32:20,600 it was my software for the restaurants. 855 00:32:20,600 --> 00:32:22,920 And he walks into the door, 856 00:32:22,920 --> 00:32:24,760 and I'm such a basketball nerd. 857 00:32:24,760 --> 00:32:29,280 And I lost my brain because I go, 858 00:32:29,280 --> 00:32:31,640 finally, I get to meet you. 859 00:32:31,640 --> 00:32:33,200 I didn't even know what I said. 860 00:32:33,200 --> 00:32:35,600 He looked at me as bewildered as could be like, 861 00:32:36,480 --> 00:32:37,320 what? 862 00:32:37,320 --> 00:32:39,680 I was like, your table's this way. 863 00:32:39,680 --> 00:32:40,520 They'll take care of you. 864 00:32:40,520 --> 00:32:41,340 I'm getting out of the way. 865 00:32:41,340 --> 00:32:44,520 I'm like, what did I just say? 866 00:32:44,520 --> 00:32:46,840 I meant to say something eloquent, 867 00:32:46,840 --> 00:32:48,720 or something like, 868 00:32:48,720 --> 00:32:51,680 I'm so impressed with your career and like what you do. 869 00:32:51,680 --> 00:32:54,840 It's anything, but I was out of my element. 870 00:32:54,840 --> 00:32:56,600 And it goes back to that, 871 00:32:56,600 --> 00:32:59,000 certainly back to humility a little bit. 872 00:32:59,000 --> 00:33:02,360 If you appreciate yourself and where you're at, 873 00:33:02,360 --> 00:33:05,240 and we learn to stop self-deprecating as leaders, 874 00:33:05,240 --> 00:33:06,720 or putting this down or saying, you know, 875 00:33:06,720 --> 00:33:09,600 well, I'm not anybody great. 876 00:33:09,600 --> 00:33:11,680 You know, why aren't we all great, first off? 877 00:33:11,680 --> 00:33:14,920 You know, let's just move that to that category. 878 00:33:14,920 --> 00:33:17,720 But it's impossible to recognize your impact 879 00:33:17,720 --> 00:33:19,440 as a leader with words, 880 00:33:19,440 --> 00:33:21,760 if you do not view yourself as a leader. 881 00:33:21,760 --> 00:33:24,880 So we're going to write into a new lesson on that. 882 00:33:24,880 --> 00:33:26,320 Let's change gears completely. 883 00:33:26,320 --> 00:33:28,560 Ethan, you shared a powerful lesson right there, 884 00:33:28,560 --> 00:33:30,500 but if this was the last lesson, 885 00:33:31,640 --> 00:33:33,960 last powerful lesson you can share with visionaries, 886 00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:35,960 what can they learn from your experience? 887 00:33:36,840 --> 00:33:39,440 This is good timing because when you told me the best, 888 00:33:39,440 --> 00:33:42,040 and then I said the worst, the best, 889 00:33:42,040 --> 00:33:43,040 and then I thought of two others. 890 00:33:43,040 --> 00:33:43,960 So this is like great. 891 00:33:43,960 --> 00:33:45,640 So now I get to go. 892 00:33:45,640 --> 00:33:49,120 So, you know, understand people come 893 00:33:49,120 --> 00:33:52,160 with their full emotional selves and treat them well, 894 00:33:52,160 --> 00:33:54,600 be respectful and economic with the words. 895 00:33:54,600 --> 00:33:56,080 And the third one was an interesting one. 896 00:33:56,080 --> 00:34:00,280 So early in my career, I got to work with a guy 897 00:34:00,280 --> 00:34:02,200 who essentially was one of my first mentors 898 00:34:02,200 --> 00:34:03,300 and almost like my hero. 899 00:34:03,300 --> 00:34:06,320 And I looked up to him probably in unhealthy ways, 900 00:34:06,320 --> 00:34:07,280 if you would. 901 00:34:07,280 --> 00:34:09,960 So he brings me on to this project to produce a show. 902 00:34:09,960 --> 00:34:13,280 He's kind of the executive above it, right? 903 00:34:13,280 --> 00:34:15,480 And he's giving me a lot of power, 904 00:34:15,480 --> 00:34:17,840 like a lot more than I think maybe I deserve. 905 00:34:17,840 --> 00:34:20,240 And I asked him about that. 906 00:34:20,240 --> 00:34:22,200 And what he said to me kind of changed my life 907 00:34:22,200 --> 00:34:24,040 because what he basically said to me is like, 908 00:34:24,040 --> 00:34:26,320 look, I'm good at getting the money and the resources, 909 00:34:26,320 --> 00:34:27,520 but you're good at production. 910 00:34:27,520 --> 00:34:28,920 So I let you do your job. 911 00:34:31,220 --> 00:34:33,880 And it's something that would evolve over the next 15, 912 00:34:33,880 --> 00:34:36,400 you know, 15, 20 years to be like, 913 00:34:36,400 --> 00:34:40,640 when you hire good people, let them do their job. 914 00:34:40,640 --> 00:34:41,960 And if you don't think they do a good job, 915 00:34:41,960 --> 00:34:42,800 honestly fire them. 916 00:34:42,800 --> 00:34:44,140 You're doing both of you a benefit 917 00:34:44,140 --> 00:34:45,560 and get somebody who can. 918 00:34:45,560 --> 00:34:50,100 So if I'm gonna hire you in this capacity, 919 00:34:50,100 --> 00:34:52,000 let's say I want you to produce podcasts for me, right? 920 00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:54,880 Let me let you produce podcasts. 921 00:34:54,880 --> 00:34:57,080 I can give you helpful suggestions, 922 00:34:57,080 --> 00:34:58,280 but you're the expert. 923 00:34:58,280 --> 00:35:01,880 So what he taught me in that way is good leaders 924 00:35:01,880 --> 00:35:04,360 not only aren't experts in every domain, 925 00:35:04,360 --> 00:35:07,920 should actively not try to be experts in every domain. 926 00:35:07,920 --> 00:35:09,400 The true power of leadership 927 00:35:09,400 --> 00:35:11,280 actually comes in basically sales, 928 00:35:11,280 --> 00:35:13,440 galvanizing a community, bringing people together 929 00:35:13,440 --> 00:35:15,840 and letting great people, 930 00:35:15,840 --> 00:35:18,560 people that have better skills than you. 931 00:35:18,560 --> 00:35:20,840 And I consider that one of the greatest attributes 932 00:35:20,840 --> 00:35:22,520 that I've been able to do is I've been able to work 933 00:35:22,520 --> 00:35:24,760 with people that are way better than me 934 00:35:24,760 --> 00:35:26,480 and give them the space to create. 935 00:35:27,400 --> 00:35:28,240 Wow. 936 00:35:29,840 --> 00:35:34,720 Again, Mike, you leave me speechless 937 00:35:34,720 --> 00:35:36,740 and I can't be speechless on a podcast. 938 00:35:36,740 --> 00:35:38,760 I have to find a way to fill the air, 939 00:35:38,760 --> 00:35:42,000 but like I'm going to go back to this episode. 940 00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:44,040 I have not done that with 203 episodes 941 00:35:44,040 --> 00:35:45,800 that are 55 minutes long on, you know, 942 00:35:45,800 --> 00:35:47,440 45 minutes long on average. 943 00:35:47,440 --> 00:35:49,480 I don't have a lot of time to do that, 944 00:35:49,480 --> 00:35:52,920 nor is there a lot of reason a lot of times, 945 00:35:52,920 --> 00:35:56,140 but my goodness, you're throwing down. 946 00:35:56,140 --> 00:36:01,140 So these, the takeaways on that too, 947 00:36:01,640 --> 00:36:03,840 again, there's a balance there 948 00:36:03,840 --> 00:36:06,720 of what the EMeth teaches, right? 949 00:36:06,720 --> 00:36:11,000 With we want to be responsible in how we delegate, 950 00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:13,520 but the way I try to balance that, 951 00:36:13,520 --> 00:36:15,880 maybe you can add to this and refine what I'm doing 952 00:36:15,880 --> 00:36:18,280 is I try to learn enough about the subject 953 00:36:18,280 --> 00:36:21,200 to be able to hire responsibly, right? 954 00:36:21,200 --> 00:36:24,080 To be able to provide assistance in a way 955 00:36:24,080 --> 00:36:27,320 where it's going to amplify what the person is doing 956 00:36:27,320 --> 00:36:28,720 in that work. 957 00:36:28,720 --> 00:36:31,040 But like you mentioned, I don't want to take control. 958 00:36:31,040 --> 00:36:33,960 I don't really want to learn how to do it 959 00:36:33,960 --> 00:36:36,560 or be the savior of the situation. 960 00:36:36,560 --> 00:36:38,560 That's just going to bottleneck my ability 961 00:36:38,560 --> 00:36:40,600 to provide what I provide. 962 00:36:40,600 --> 00:36:44,520 But how do you go about balancing the act 963 00:36:44,520 --> 00:36:49,360 of being a proactive supporter and, or do you, 964 00:36:49,360 --> 00:36:53,960 and recklessly abandoning the idea 965 00:36:53,960 --> 00:36:57,200 and allowing somebody else to move in and do it? 966 00:36:57,200 --> 00:36:58,400 I think it's a couple of things, right? 967 00:36:58,400 --> 00:37:01,060 So as a leader, I provide myself as a mentor. 968 00:37:01,060 --> 00:37:04,880 And in many of the people I hire, I'm never going, 969 00:37:04,880 --> 00:37:06,080 you use the word responsible. 970 00:37:06,080 --> 00:37:07,680 I kind of, I joke to myself, 971 00:37:07,680 --> 00:37:09,200 maybe I'm the irresponsible hire, 972 00:37:09,200 --> 00:37:11,000 because there are certainly fields, 973 00:37:11,000 --> 00:37:13,680 I hire software developers, I can't code. 974 00:37:13,680 --> 00:37:16,880 There are fields that I don't know and can't know how to do. 975 00:37:16,880 --> 00:37:20,680 So I think, let me put, let me take a little scaffolding. 976 00:37:20,680 --> 00:37:24,080 First of all, it's absolutely key and absolutely essential. 977 00:37:24,080 --> 00:37:25,740 The biggest decisions we make in our lives 978 00:37:25,740 --> 00:37:27,440 are basically the partners and the closest friends 979 00:37:27,440 --> 00:37:30,120 we surround ourselves with, and business is the same thing. 980 00:37:30,120 --> 00:37:32,460 So if you're not the tech guy, 981 00:37:32,460 --> 00:37:33,840 I'm the CEO and I'm not the tech guy, 982 00:37:33,840 --> 00:37:38,160 I need a CTO that I 1,000% trust without question, 983 00:37:38,160 --> 00:37:41,000 because they're the ones when the other developer 984 00:37:41,000 --> 00:37:42,740 is not delivering, I just have to listen to them 985 00:37:42,740 --> 00:37:43,580 and trust them. 986 00:37:43,580 --> 00:37:45,320 And if you can't have, if you don't have that, 987 00:37:45,320 --> 00:37:46,160 you need to find that. 988 00:37:46,160 --> 00:37:49,920 So you need to have a core cobble, if you will, 989 00:37:49,920 --> 00:37:51,800 of trusted people that are helping you 990 00:37:51,800 --> 00:37:53,320 run the organizations. 991 00:37:53,320 --> 00:37:55,500 In terms of what kind of support I provide, 992 00:37:55,500 --> 00:37:57,400 a lot of it is, you know, 993 00:37:58,480 --> 00:37:59,320 I feel like- 994 00:37:59,320 --> 00:38:01,120 So I'm gonna switch gears on you. 995 00:38:01,120 --> 00:38:04,820 How do you then, what are you looking for, 996 00:38:04,820 --> 00:38:08,480 or how do you go about finding the people that you trust? 997 00:38:08,480 --> 00:38:11,760 Yeah, it's an interesting one. 998 00:38:11,760 --> 00:38:14,340 A lot of it's what I've come to learn, unfortunately, 999 00:38:14,340 --> 00:38:16,360 is relationships built over time, 1000 00:38:16,360 --> 00:38:18,080 specific recommendations and referrals, 1001 00:38:18,080 --> 00:38:20,100 and especially value systems. 1002 00:38:21,580 --> 00:38:22,720 And that's a lot of what it is. 1003 00:38:22,720 --> 00:38:24,580 Notice what I didn't say is skills. 1004 00:38:24,580 --> 00:38:26,320 And you didn't say a value poster. 1005 00:38:26,320 --> 00:38:28,440 I'm gonna point that out too, right? 1006 00:38:28,440 --> 00:38:31,420 Being, I'm assuming there's a very strong depth 1007 00:38:31,420 --> 00:38:34,700 to the value systems in your playbook. 1008 00:38:34,700 --> 00:38:35,540 And as a leader? 1009 00:38:36,520 --> 00:38:39,080 There are, but it's not what you think. 1010 00:38:39,080 --> 00:38:40,360 I haven't codified them. 1011 00:38:40,360 --> 00:38:42,880 I don't have them on a poster. 1012 00:38:42,880 --> 00:38:44,220 There's basic things that I expect 1013 00:38:44,220 --> 00:38:45,520 that people that work with me do, 1014 00:38:45,520 --> 00:38:48,400 and a lot of it's clear and honest communication. 1015 00:38:48,400 --> 00:38:50,960 A lot of it is, if you see a problem, say something, 1016 00:38:50,960 --> 00:38:52,520 things like that, that's basically. 1017 00:38:52,520 --> 00:38:55,280 So what I'm trying to often do with people 1018 00:38:55,280 --> 00:38:57,760 is teach them to think higher level. 1019 00:38:57,760 --> 00:38:58,800 One of the things that I noticed 1020 00:38:58,800 --> 00:39:00,800 that a lot of people struggle with, 1021 00:39:00,800 --> 00:39:02,040 so about 50% of the population 1022 00:39:02,040 --> 00:39:03,680 suffers with imposter syndrome. 1023 00:39:03,680 --> 00:39:06,640 So probably a third of my job as a leader 1024 00:39:06,640 --> 00:39:07,860 is just to give them confidence 1025 00:39:07,860 --> 00:39:09,320 to believe in themselves, honestly. 1026 00:39:09,320 --> 00:39:11,620 And I do that through active gratitude. 1027 00:39:11,620 --> 00:39:13,240 I do that through when I correct them, 1028 00:39:13,240 --> 00:39:14,780 I always try to tell them something nice. 1029 00:39:14,780 --> 00:39:16,480 And I do that by also taking an interest 1030 00:39:16,480 --> 00:39:17,760 in caring about what they want. 1031 00:39:17,760 --> 00:39:19,640 That goes most of the way, by the way. 1032 00:39:19,640 --> 00:39:20,960 What was that last one? 1033 00:39:20,960 --> 00:39:23,260 Taking an interest in them, caring about what they want. 1034 00:39:23,260 --> 00:39:24,520 That goes most of the way. 1035 00:39:26,440 --> 00:39:27,440 It's not transactional. 1036 00:39:27,440 --> 00:39:29,600 You're not a chess piece to use. 1037 00:39:29,600 --> 00:39:30,440 No. 1038 00:39:30,440 --> 00:39:33,200 No, no, I mean, like, just using example, 1039 00:39:33,200 --> 00:39:35,920 I hired you to do podcasts, I want you to do a better job. 1040 00:39:35,920 --> 00:39:37,000 It's not transactional. 1041 00:39:37,000 --> 00:39:38,360 I'm not gonna sit there and say, 1042 00:39:38,360 --> 00:39:39,960 be more like this podcast ghost. 1043 00:39:39,960 --> 00:39:41,760 No, because there's a good chance 1044 00:39:41,760 --> 00:39:43,000 that the reason you're not excelling 1045 00:39:43,000 --> 00:39:45,480 is maybe there's a stumble, maybe there's an obstacle, 1046 00:39:45,480 --> 00:39:48,480 maybe there's some way in which you're viewing, 1047 00:39:48,480 --> 00:39:49,880 maybe you don't have as much confidence. 1048 00:39:49,880 --> 00:39:52,360 So it's my job as a leader to basically get that out of you 1049 00:39:52,360 --> 00:39:55,820 and basically be like, how can I get the resources for you? 1050 00:39:55,820 --> 00:39:58,320 How can I knock the obstacles out of the way? 1051 00:39:58,320 --> 00:40:01,280 What can I do for you to do your best job? 1052 00:40:01,280 --> 00:40:02,560 That's my job. 1053 00:40:02,560 --> 00:40:04,480 The more micro you get in leadership, 1054 00:40:04,480 --> 00:40:06,720 the worse outcomes you often get. 1055 00:40:06,720 --> 00:40:08,700 Yeah, that's so good. 1056 00:40:10,520 --> 00:40:12,440 We gotta dive into your book now. 1057 00:40:12,440 --> 00:40:15,800 I wasn't gonna talk too much about it, but now I want to. 1058 00:40:15,800 --> 00:40:18,240 Like a really big, so, The Agile Shepherd. 1059 00:40:18,240 --> 00:40:20,160 You've got this book. 1060 00:40:20,160 --> 00:40:21,480 Tell me about the book. 1061 00:40:21,480 --> 00:40:22,760 What is it about? 1062 00:40:22,760 --> 00:40:25,280 Who should be reading it? 1063 00:40:25,280 --> 00:40:26,120 Why? 1064 00:40:26,120 --> 00:40:27,240 I mean, I think we all know why right now 1065 00:40:27,240 --> 00:40:28,080 for those who listened, 1066 00:40:28,080 --> 00:40:30,840 but maybe those who are jumping in right now, go ahead. 1067 00:40:30,840 --> 00:40:31,680 Thank you. 1068 00:40:31,680 --> 00:40:34,680 Yeah, so started it several years ago, 1069 00:40:34,680 --> 00:40:38,160 but what it became was I sort of asked a question, 1070 00:40:38,160 --> 00:40:39,400 which was kind of an eave now, 1071 00:40:39,400 --> 00:40:42,080 but it's like tech companies seem to move faster 1072 00:40:42,080 --> 00:40:43,880 and come up with more innovative creative ideas 1073 00:40:43,880 --> 00:40:44,720 than the regular company. 1074 00:40:44,720 --> 00:40:46,760 So what was kind of their secret sauce? 1075 00:40:46,760 --> 00:40:49,160 And I delved deep in, that was the initial question, 1076 00:40:49,160 --> 00:40:52,320 but then I zoomed out and delved into it. 1077 00:40:52,320 --> 00:40:55,160 And basically what I came up with was a couple of, 1078 00:40:55,160 --> 00:40:56,500 there's a high level theory 1079 00:40:56,500 --> 00:40:57,560 and a couple of things that underpin it. 1080 00:40:57,560 --> 00:40:59,480 So a couple of things that underpin it is, 1081 00:40:59,480 --> 00:41:00,540 because I'll cut to the chase, right? 1082 00:41:00,540 --> 00:41:03,840 So it's leadership, better leadership, 1083 00:41:03,840 --> 00:41:06,280 the ability to focus on plan and inclusion 1084 00:41:06,280 --> 00:41:08,480 are the keys to sustaining innovation 1085 00:41:08,480 --> 00:41:10,000 and leading in the age of ideas. 1086 00:41:10,000 --> 00:41:11,360 So the basic theory is the following, 1087 00:41:11,360 --> 00:41:13,880 in the 21st century, 1088 00:41:13,880 --> 00:41:18,280 what happens is companies are valued by their brand. 1089 00:41:18,280 --> 00:41:21,360 And when I define a brand in a very, very specific way 1090 00:41:21,360 --> 00:41:22,820 as what I call relevancy, 1091 00:41:22,820 --> 00:41:25,000 and I define relevancy in a very specific way, 1092 00:41:25,000 --> 00:41:26,280 it's a simple question. 1093 00:41:26,280 --> 00:41:28,200 Do I care about what you do next? 1094 00:41:28,200 --> 00:41:29,800 Think about this podcast. 1095 00:41:29,800 --> 00:41:32,480 Your podcast will continue to have listeners 1096 00:41:32,480 --> 00:41:34,280 if they care about your next podcast. 1097 00:41:34,280 --> 00:41:35,360 If they think that you're gonna continue 1098 00:41:35,360 --> 00:41:37,280 having cool, engaging, neat guests, 1099 00:41:37,280 --> 00:41:38,480 they're gonna continue listening. 1100 00:41:38,480 --> 00:41:40,320 And the moment they lose faith in you 1101 00:41:40,320 --> 00:41:42,480 having the ability to have good conversations, 1102 00:41:42,480 --> 00:41:43,520 they're gonna go away. 1103 00:41:43,520 --> 00:41:45,240 And that's the truth of any brand. 1104 00:41:45,240 --> 00:41:47,120 So if the truth is, is that we've, 1105 00:41:47,120 --> 00:41:49,800 and look at a great example right now, Liquid Death, right? 1106 00:41:49,800 --> 00:41:52,000 This is a brand of water that's now valued 1107 00:41:52,000 --> 00:41:55,020 at over a billion dollars, that's just water in a can. 1108 00:41:55,020 --> 00:41:56,640 And the entire value there is brand. 1109 00:41:56,640 --> 00:41:58,920 We see examples of this over and over 1110 00:41:58,920 --> 00:42:02,000 and over and over of brand marketing hype community 1111 00:42:02,000 --> 00:42:03,520 being outweighed. 1112 00:42:03,520 --> 00:42:05,000 Talk to investors all over the world, 1113 00:42:05,000 --> 00:42:07,040 take two startup people, one has a perfect product, 1114 00:42:07,040 --> 00:42:08,600 the other has a million people on Instagram, 1115 00:42:08,600 --> 00:42:09,780 guess who's getting funding? 1116 00:42:09,780 --> 00:42:13,160 This is just the reality of the world that we live in, right? 1117 00:42:13,160 --> 00:42:16,080 So brands are the people care what you do next. 1118 00:42:16,080 --> 00:42:19,120 So then if we care about what you're doing next, 1119 00:42:19,120 --> 00:42:21,560 brands, companies have become much more future focused. 1120 00:42:21,560 --> 00:42:24,000 So if they become future focused, what does that mean? 1121 00:42:24,000 --> 00:42:26,840 Well, brands are basically companies are now being 1122 00:42:26,840 --> 00:42:31,400 rationalized on how they're able to create new ideas. 1123 00:42:31,400 --> 00:42:34,600 So I said, okay, so how do companies create new ideas? 1124 00:42:34,600 --> 00:42:37,000 And basically I came up with three very simple theories 1125 00:42:37,000 --> 00:42:37,840 for it. 1126 00:42:37,840 --> 00:42:41,480 One is that, so they say a lot of companies suffer 1127 00:42:41,480 --> 00:42:42,720 when I call it the growth disconnect. 1128 00:42:42,720 --> 00:42:44,680 I see about half, first of all, 1129 00:42:44,680 --> 00:42:45,680 all companies will go through this, 1130 00:42:45,680 --> 00:42:47,360 about half it can kill them. 1131 00:42:47,360 --> 00:42:48,520 And I'll just tell you real quick 1132 00:42:48,520 --> 00:42:50,180 what the growth disconnect is. 1133 00:42:50,180 --> 00:42:52,120 Basically companies exist, social contracts, 1134 00:42:52,120 --> 00:42:54,040 we get together, Jackson, we'll make a company, 1135 00:42:54,040 --> 00:42:56,080 we wanna build something, we're gonna sell it, right? 1136 00:42:56,080 --> 00:42:58,400 Moment we sell it, we have made a promise 1137 00:42:58,400 --> 00:43:00,040 in the marketplace, that's all that is, right? 1138 00:43:00,040 --> 00:43:01,600 Have we been a promise to someone, 1139 00:43:01,600 --> 00:43:03,960 someone's gonna give us their hard earned money 1140 00:43:03,960 --> 00:43:06,200 and we're gonna deliver on them. 1141 00:43:06,200 --> 00:43:08,260 What can happen in the growth disconnect is 1142 00:43:08,260 --> 00:43:09,440 we can never predict the future. 1143 00:43:09,440 --> 00:43:11,720 So we're organizing our company in the best way we know how, 1144 00:43:11,720 --> 00:43:13,140 but it's never quite right. 1145 00:43:13,140 --> 00:43:15,960 So basically delivering starts taxing us 1146 00:43:15,960 --> 00:43:17,600 and that's normal and that's okay. 1147 00:43:17,600 --> 00:43:18,600 That's not a problem. 1148 00:43:18,600 --> 00:43:20,360 Those are the late nights editing 1149 00:43:20,360 --> 00:43:22,880 and delivering the projects for the client, that's okay. 1150 00:43:22,880 --> 00:43:25,640 And maybe seasonality might happen, 1151 00:43:25,640 --> 00:43:27,160 the Christmas season is very busy. 1152 00:43:27,160 --> 00:43:30,680 There's always times where delivery always extends yourself. 1153 00:43:30,680 --> 00:43:33,240 When a company experiences a prolonged period 1154 00:43:33,240 --> 00:43:35,040 where all they're doing is delivering 1155 00:43:35,040 --> 00:43:36,520 and they have no capacity of planning 1156 00:43:36,520 --> 00:43:38,360 and you've seen this before, like I come to you, 1157 00:43:38,360 --> 00:43:40,400 hey Jackson, I wanna talk to you about like next year 1158 00:43:40,400 --> 00:43:41,760 and cool things we could do together. 1159 00:43:41,760 --> 00:43:43,360 And you're just like, I am so slammed, 1160 00:43:43,360 --> 00:43:45,280 write me back in three months. 1161 00:43:45,280 --> 00:43:47,520 Of course you can do that for the short term, 1162 00:43:47,520 --> 00:43:49,760 but companies that stay in a sustained state 1163 00:43:49,760 --> 00:43:51,200 are focused only on delivery 1164 00:43:51,200 --> 00:43:53,680 and inability to focus on the future, 1165 00:43:53,680 --> 00:43:56,400 essentially fail and they fail through one key way. 1166 00:43:56,400 --> 00:43:58,240 Companies generally fail for only two reasons. 1167 00:43:58,240 --> 00:43:59,240 They run out of cash 1168 00:44:00,120 --> 00:44:01,760 or they do not respond appropriately 1169 00:44:01,760 --> 00:44:03,280 to changes in the market. 1170 00:44:03,280 --> 00:44:06,720 The second one can only be mitigated by planning. 1171 00:44:06,720 --> 00:44:08,920 And let me also be clear to audience, 1172 00:44:08,920 --> 00:44:11,260 planning is not a plan, business plans are terrible. 1173 00:44:11,260 --> 00:44:13,600 This could just be me having a coffee with you 1174 00:44:13,600 --> 00:44:15,600 and saying, let's just get out of our day to day. 1175 00:44:15,600 --> 00:44:17,940 Hey, what do you think about this new app that you saw? 1176 00:44:17,940 --> 00:44:18,960 What do you think about this? 1177 00:44:18,960 --> 00:44:19,920 Do you think that next month 1178 00:44:19,920 --> 00:44:21,440 we should try invoicing this way? 1179 00:44:21,440 --> 00:44:23,400 It's literally future state thinking. 1180 00:44:23,400 --> 00:44:25,440 It's all that planning is, 1181 00:44:25,440 --> 00:44:27,480 not focused on the delivery in the day to day. 1182 00:44:27,480 --> 00:44:29,960 So when a company loses their ability, 1183 00:44:29,960 --> 00:44:31,600 the first thing that goes by the way, 1184 00:44:31,600 --> 00:44:33,640 when they lose their ability is any innovation. 1185 00:44:33,640 --> 00:44:34,800 That's off the table. 1186 00:44:34,800 --> 00:44:36,040 The second thing that goes 1187 00:44:36,040 --> 00:44:38,800 is essentially future long-term planning. 1188 00:44:38,800 --> 00:44:40,440 There's not much to go after that. 1189 00:44:40,440 --> 00:44:42,360 And that's when companies can really be hurt 1190 00:44:42,360 --> 00:44:45,120 by an unexpected lawsuit, an unexpected disruption, 1191 00:44:45,120 --> 00:44:46,240 anything that happens, 1192 00:44:46,240 --> 00:44:48,200 that company can actually crash down. 1193 00:44:48,200 --> 00:44:50,680 Longitudinal study, 50 years of companies 1194 00:44:50,680 --> 00:44:52,320 by a company called Corporate Executive Board 1195 00:44:52,320 --> 00:44:56,120 found that companies actually accelerate into a stall. 1196 00:44:56,120 --> 00:44:57,880 They often have their best quarter 1197 00:44:57,880 --> 00:44:59,600 before they precipitously decline. 1198 00:44:59,600 --> 00:45:01,800 And that's because sales is a lagging indicator, 1199 00:45:01,800 --> 00:45:02,880 not a leading indicator, 1200 00:45:02,880 --> 00:45:05,200 and too many leaders rule by sales. 1201 00:45:05,200 --> 00:45:07,520 So essentially just maintaining, 1202 00:45:07,520 --> 00:45:08,940 even if it was no more, 1203 00:45:08,940 --> 00:45:09,880 like we ran a business 1204 00:45:09,880 --> 00:45:13,240 and if it was no more than 30 minutes over a coffee, 1205 00:45:13,240 --> 00:45:15,280 not talking about the day to day at all, 1206 00:45:15,280 --> 00:45:16,400 sometimes is enough. 1207 00:45:16,400 --> 00:45:18,680 So we're not talking about very complicated, 1208 00:45:18,680 --> 00:45:19,980 for actionable solutions. 1209 00:45:19,980 --> 00:45:22,020 We're not talking about very complicated ways, 1210 00:45:22,020 --> 00:45:25,560 but you have to maintain that ability to think forward, 1211 00:45:25,560 --> 00:45:27,660 especially as an executive and entrepreneur. 1212 00:45:27,660 --> 00:45:29,480 When you lose that first sustained period, 1213 00:45:29,480 --> 00:45:32,440 you make your business much more vulnerable to failure. 1214 00:45:33,520 --> 00:45:34,640 Wow. 1215 00:45:34,640 --> 00:45:36,760 Sometimes we meet people and our thoughts go, 1216 00:45:36,760 --> 00:45:39,480 man, I wish my brain thought as fast as his. 1217 00:45:41,280 --> 00:45:42,800 I wish I was as good looking as his. 1218 00:45:42,800 --> 00:45:44,080 I get excited. 1219 00:45:44,080 --> 00:45:45,140 Oh my gosh. 1220 00:45:45,140 --> 00:45:46,500 No, but that's a great thing. 1221 00:45:46,500 --> 00:45:47,840 I mean that, seriously. 1222 00:45:47,840 --> 00:45:49,080 I'm like, wow. 1223 00:45:49,080 --> 00:45:51,920 I just, like I said, I'm gonna go back and listen to this 1224 00:45:51,920 --> 00:45:53,760 because I can hear how fast, 1225 00:45:53,760 --> 00:45:54,760 you're not just talking fast, 1226 00:45:54,760 --> 00:45:57,920 you're pulling amazing concepts together at light speed. 1227 00:45:57,920 --> 00:45:59,720 So we're gonna use the last couple of minutes 1228 00:45:59,720 --> 00:46:01,720 to debate sustainable innovation a little bit. 1229 00:46:01,720 --> 00:46:03,300 So I'm gonna let you lead. 1230 00:46:03,300 --> 00:46:05,400 Sustainable innovation, 1231 00:46:05,400 --> 00:46:07,440 one, you combine those two words, 1232 00:46:07,440 --> 00:46:10,680 but like how do you do it and why? 1233 00:46:12,080 --> 00:46:14,320 Yeah, so the third pillar 1234 00:46:14,320 --> 00:46:16,720 and this is most important for the start of a debate 1235 00:46:16,720 --> 00:46:17,560 is inclusion. 1236 00:46:17,560 --> 00:46:19,920 It has to include everyone at the company. 1237 00:46:19,920 --> 00:46:23,760 Now, not everyone at the company can participate 1238 00:46:23,760 --> 00:46:25,460 in innovation at the equal level, 1239 00:46:25,460 --> 00:46:27,840 but what you learn really quickly is that your higher levels 1240 00:46:27,840 --> 00:46:30,120 are paying attention to how you treat everyone. 1241 00:46:30,120 --> 00:46:31,760 And when you start treating people badly, 1242 00:46:31,760 --> 00:46:33,120 they start participating. 1243 00:46:33,120 --> 00:46:35,240 So sustaining innovation, 1244 00:46:35,240 --> 00:46:38,640 so the name of the book came from my concept of leaders. 1245 00:46:38,640 --> 00:46:41,600 Leaders should be servants to the organization 1246 00:46:41,600 --> 00:46:43,740 and they should treat themselves as mentors, 1247 00:46:43,740 --> 00:46:45,220 not as managers. 1248 00:46:45,220 --> 00:46:47,080 One of the biggest mistakes that leaders 1249 00:46:47,080 --> 00:46:49,160 is they stay in the management role too long. 1250 00:46:49,160 --> 00:46:51,440 The management role is just running by numbers. 1251 00:46:51,440 --> 00:46:53,080 Jackson, when are you gonna have the thing done? 1252 00:46:53,080 --> 00:46:54,880 Why is it slow, whatever? 1253 00:46:54,880 --> 00:46:55,960 That's not a leader. 1254 00:46:55,960 --> 00:46:59,160 A leader is creating foundational frameworks, 1255 00:46:59,160 --> 00:47:04,160 is mentoring, is unblocking people for their own growth. 1256 00:47:05,820 --> 00:47:08,440 And so one of the keys is that people should, 1257 00:47:08,440 --> 00:47:09,920 leadership is entrained. 1258 00:47:09,920 --> 00:47:11,920 And I just wanna say very clearly, 1259 00:47:11,920 --> 00:47:13,820 I don't think leadership is you're born with. 1260 00:47:13,820 --> 00:47:15,320 I think it absolutely is entrained. 1261 00:47:15,320 --> 00:47:18,360 I wasn't, I know for a fact, I was an awful leader. 1262 00:47:18,360 --> 00:47:22,040 Yeah, so sustainable innovation comes from good leadership 1263 00:47:22,040 --> 00:47:25,220 and empowering people and creating the right culture. 1264 00:47:27,600 --> 00:47:31,400 Okay, and so empowering people, 1265 00:47:31,400 --> 00:47:33,000 creating that culture and what? 1266 00:47:34,160 --> 00:47:35,440 Inclusion. 1267 00:47:35,440 --> 00:47:36,280 And inclusion. 1268 00:47:36,280 --> 00:47:38,000 Great leadership, yeah. 1269 00:47:38,000 --> 00:47:40,920 Okay, now you talked about creating, 1270 00:47:40,920 --> 00:47:43,260 I'm trying to remember from the form here too. 1271 00:47:43,260 --> 00:47:48,260 It's got the, you define it, you create it, you sustain it. 1272 00:47:48,880 --> 00:47:50,720 You know, and you spent a lifetime 1273 00:47:50,720 --> 00:47:53,360 studying this concept of innovation. 1274 00:47:53,360 --> 00:47:55,440 So how do you define innovation? 1275 00:47:55,440 --> 00:47:58,180 Yeah, so and the definition I meant there, 1276 00:47:58,180 --> 00:48:01,360 just to clarify too, is we become what we measure. 1277 00:48:01,360 --> 00:48:03,960 And I can tell you that about half the, 1278 00:48:03,960 --> 00:48:06,680 so about half the startups idea what their problem is 1279 00:48:06,680 --> 00:48:08,240 focus and prioritization. 1280 00:48:08,240 --> 00:48:09,800 And at least a third of them, 1281 00:48:09,800 --> 00:48:11,760 it's focused on the wrong goals. 1282 00:48:11,760 --> 00:48:14,600 And this is really, really important. 1283 00:48:14,600 --> 00:48:18,060 And there isn't, by the way, there is no right answer. 1284 00:48:18,060 --> 00:48:19,360 And so anybody listening to this, 1285 00:48:19,360 --> 00:48:20,840 it's not necessarily about having the right goals. 1286 00:48:20,840 --> 00:48:22,120 I'll tell you what it's about. 1287 00:48:22,120 --> 00:48:24,120 Every quarter at minimal, 1288 00:48:24,120 --> 00:48:26,040 you should just be revisiting their goals. 1289 00:48:26,040 --> 00:48:28,420 It won't be a problem as long as it's kind of like 1290 00:48:28,420 --> 00:48:30,360 a continuous journey of adjusting the goals. 1291 00:48:30,360 --> 00:48:32,000 That's my argument for how to solve that. 1292 00:48:32,000 --> 00:48:33,760 So don't worry about getting that perfect. 1293 00:48:33,760 --> 00:48:35,120 If you're having a continuous journey, 1294 00:48:35,120 --> 00:48:36,980 then you'll be able to feed all the new information in 1295 00:48:36,980 --> 00:48:40,080 and kind of have a continuous journey of goal adjustment. 1296 00:48:40,080 --> 00:48:43,260 So innovation to me is very simple. 1297 00:48:44,200 --> 00:48:45,280 There's a definition of it, 1298 00:48:45,280 --> 00:48:47,640 which is the intersection of convergent 1299 00:48:47,640 --> 00:48:48,760 and divergent thinking. 1300 00:48:48,760 --> 00:48:49,980 So you're like, what the heck is this? 1301 00:48:49,980 --> 00:48:51,700 I'll just give you a quick example. 1302 00:48:51,700 --> 00:48:53,800 So let's say you're making a cookie 1303 00:48:53,800 --> 00:48:55,640 and so you get some flour, you get some milk 1304 00:48:55,640 --> 00:48:57,100 and you're like, oh, I have an idea. 1305 00:48:57,100 --> 00:48:58,260 I'm gonna add lamb to it. 1306 00:48:58,260 --> 00:48:59,920 Well, that's a pretty nasty cookie 1307 00:48:59,920 --> 00:49:02,280 that no one's going to enjoy. 1308 00:49:02,280 --> 00:49:05,620 However, those same three ingredients, 1309 00:49:05,620 --> 00:49:08,400 milk, flour and lamb in different proportions 1310 00:49:08,400 --> 00:49:11,880 is a delicious crepe or a pancake for my European friends. 1311 00:49:11,880 --> 00:49:13,960 And that's where innovation comes from. 1312 00:49:13,960 --> 00:49:17,000 It's the courage to try something different, 1313 00:49:17,000 --> 00:49:20,040 learn from what failed and see something before 1314 00:49:20,040 --> 00:49:21,120 that hadn't been done before. 1315 00:49:21,120 --> 00:49:24,360 So it's literally challenging the status quo. 1316 00:49:24,360 --> 00:49:25,640 Yes. 1317 00:49:25,640 --> 00:49:27,960 Dang, man, I don't have anything to debate on that. 1318 00:49:27,960 --> 00:49:30,640 I don't have anything to debate. 1319 00:49:30,640 --> 00:49:32,560 There is one debate, there is one debate, 1320 00:49:32,560 --> 00:49:34,960 which is should how much 1321 00:49:34,960 --> 00:49:37,480 and should companies continuously innovate and how much? 1322 00:49:37,480 --> 00:49:41,120 And that actually is a fair debate about how much, right? 1323 00:49:41,120 --> 00:49:43,160 So you can take experts like me 1324 00:49:43,160 --> 00:49:44,920 but I'm not actually gonna tell you you shouldn't innovate. 1325 00:49:44,920 --> 00:49:46,720 There are plenty of cases, 1326 00:49:46,720 --> 00:49:48,680 which is one of the things I talk about 1327 00:49:48,680 --> 00:49:51,800 in the Agile Shepherd is what underpins all of this 1328 00:49:51,800 --> 00:49:54,520 is actually an incredibly simple concept. 1329 00:49:54,520 --> 00:49:56,360 And as simple as it is, 1330 00:49:56,360 --> 00:49:57,760 it's actually one thing that entrepreneurs 1331 00:49:57,760 --> 00:50:00,060 really struggle with, which is intentionality. 1332 00:50:02,660 --> 00:50:04,400 I think there might be plenty of times to say, 1333 00:50:04,400 --> 00:50:06,360 we're gonna pause innovation. 1334 00:50:06,360 --> 00:50:08,000 Fine, why? 1335 00:50:08,000 --> 00:50:09,280 What do you expect to hope? 1336 00:50:09,280 --> 00:50:10,600 What's the hypothesis? 1337 00:50:10,600 --> 00:50:12,400 What's the expected outcome? 1338 00:50:12,400 --> 00:50:14,680 And that's all I'm talking about with intentionality. 1339 00:50:14,680 --> 00:50:16,640 That way you can pause innovation, 1340 00:50:16,640 --> 00:50:17,880 come back in three months and say, 1341 00:50:17,880 --> 00:50:18,840 well, we pause innovation 1342 00:50:18,840 --> 00:50:22,840 because we thought we had a chance to grow 50%. 1343 00:50:22,840 --> 00:50:24,560 And then you could measure. 1344 00:50:24,560 --> 00:50:26,560 There's a concept called a null hypothesis, 1345 00:50:26,560 --> 00:50:27,400 which is very simple. 1346 00:50:27,400 --> 00:50:28,400 You can't divide by zero. 1347 00:50:28,400 --> 00:50:29,720 If you've tried that Excel, 1348 00:50:29,720 --> 00:50:32,120 just say undefined, undefined, undefined, undefined. 1349 00:50:32,120 --> 00:50:34,120 When we do things without intentionality, 1350 00:50:34,120 --> 00:50:36,960 without identifying why we did something, 1351 00:50:36,960 --> 00:50:38,200 what we hope to get out of it, 1352 00:50:38,200 --> 00:50:39,800 that's dividing by zero. 1353 00:50:39,800 --> 00:50:41,760 How do you know if you're ever successful? 1354 00:50:41,760 --> 00:50:43,640 One of the biggest lessons that I've told people, 1355 00:50:43,640 --> 00:50:45,160 and I'm gonna give this to your audience too, 1356 00:50:45,160 --> 00:50:47,980 it's a very, very, very simple concept. 1357 00:50:47,980 --> 00:50:49,600 Write a letter to yourself, 1358 00:50:49,600 --> 00:50:52,000 dated either three, six, nine, or 12 months ahead. 1359 00:50:52,000 --> 00:50:54,120 Depending, I don't know your personal situation, 1360 00:50:54,120 --> 00:50:55,760 so depending on what you're doing, 1361 00:50:55,760 --> 00:50:59,240 you'll know what the right time horizon is. 1362 00:50:59,240 --> 00:51:00,660 Write a very simple letter yourself. 1363 00:51:00,660 --> 00:51:01,600 Don't make it difficult. 1364 00:51:01,600 --> 00:51:02,760 Make bullet points. 1365 00:51:02,760 --> 00:51:06,500 Very simple, very, very simple bullet points. 1366 00:51:06,500 --> 00:51:09,180 And it's like, I'll just use the example 1367 00:51:09,180 --> 00:51:10,140 because we're on a podcast. 1368 00:51:10,140 --> 00:51:13,260 So I'm gonna spend a little more time on my podcast. 1369 00:51:13,260 --> 00:51:16,760 In six months, I'm hoping that I've attracted great guests, 1370 00:51:16,760 --> 00:51:18,780 had good conversations, maybe attracted leads. 1371 00:51:18,780 --> 00:51:19,620 Doesn't matter. 1372 00:51:19,620 --> 00:51:21,540 Whatever your hope and expectation is, 1373 00:51:21,540 --> 00:51:22,780 seal up that letter. 1374 00:51:22,780 --> 00:51:24,580 Do not open it for the required time. 1375 00:51:24,580 --> 00:51:26,220 Forget it even exists. 1376 00:51:27,540 --> 00:51:29,200 Suck cost fallacy is real. 1377 00:51:29,200 --> 00:51:30,760 We tend to keep on a program 1378 00:51:30,760 --> 00:51:33,580 because we're not measuring it against what itself is. 1379 00:51:33,580 --> 00:51:35,780 So in six months, you'll open that letter 1380 00:51:35,780 --> 00:51:37,980 and you'll have a snapshot in time saying, 1381 00:51:37,980 --> 00:51:40,980 okay, I'm spending twice as much on my podcast 1382 00:51:40,980 --> 00:51:42,560 and this is what I expected to be getting out of it, 1383 00:51:42,560 --> 00:51:44,520 and now I know what I got out of it. 1384 00:51:44,520 --> 00:51:46,800 So now you could make a much more rational decision 1385 00:51:46,800 --> 00:51:48,140 of should I continue it? 1386 00:51:48,140 --> 00:51:49,660 Was it worth it? 1387 00:51:49,660 --> 00:51:52,740 So I tell them, we're starting a new job, 1388 00:51:52,740 --> 00:51:53,900 doing a major change at work. 1389 00:51:53,900 --> 00:51:55,020 Just write a letter to yourself. 1390 00:51:55,020 --> 00:51:56,620 Very simple letter, bullet points. 1391 00:51:56,620 --> 00:51:57,700 Don't be complex. 1392 00:51:57,700 --> 00:51:58,540 Don't write flowery. 1393 00:51:58,540 --> 00:52:01,340 Just be like, it's six months from now, 1394 00:52:01,340 --> 00:52:02,780 this is what I would have hoped. 1395 00:52:02,780 --> 00:52:05,180 This is where I am hoping I would be. 1396 00:52:05,180 --> 00:52:07,720 This is where I'm hoping I would be. 1397 00:52:07,720 --> 00:52:08,700 Wow. 1398 00:52:08,700 --> 00:52:11,580 That is a profound visionary exercise. 1399 00:52:11,580 --> 00:52:12,920 Very simple. 1400 00:52:12,920 --> 00:52:14,860 I will definitely be doing that today. 1401 00:52:16,180 --> 00:52:17,300 Actually, I'll be doing it tomorrow. 1402 00:52:17,300 --> 00:52:18,340 Today I'm slammed. 1403 00:52:18,340 --> 00:52:20,180 But yes, I will be getting that done. 1404 00:52:21,700 --> 00:52:25,500 When I talked about not being able to debate innovation, 1405 00:52:25,500 --> 00:52:28,100 I'm not talking about the ability to debate 1406 00:52:28,100 --> 00:52:30,060 an innovative topic itself, 1407 00:52:30,060 --> 00:52:34,380 much more than I was expecting to debate your formulas. 1408 00:52:34,380 --> 00:52:36,740 I was expecting to say, well, I don't know about, no, 1409 00:52:36,740 --> 00:52:38,660 I do know about that. 1410 00:52:38,660 --> 00:52:42,820 Everything you talked about was a sound idea for me 1411 00:52:42,820 --> 00:52:44,380 to be more like a hypothesis of like, 1412 00:52:44,380 --> 00:52:46,700 okay, now I need to go play with this. 1413 00:52:46,700 --> 00:52:48,580 I need to go study this and try this. 1414 00:52:48,580 --> 00:52:51,100 Like it was all intriguing to the point where 1415 00:52:52,100 --> 00:52:55,820 it's going to add to what we're doing 1416 00:52:55,820 --> 00:52:56,660 at First Class Business. 1417 00:52:56,660 --> 00:52:58,540 So I really appreciate that. 1418 00:52:58,540 --> 00:52:59,660 I was able to add what we do at 1419 00:52:59,660 --> 00:53:00,780 Obrador de la Estrella y Obrador de Latino. 1420 00:53:00,780 --> 00:53:03,020 So it'll add at what we do for Passion Pro. 1421 00:53:03,020 --> 00:53:06,420 So dude, this was absolutely incredible. 1422 00:53:06,420 --> 00:53:07,580 Those of you who are listening in, 1423 00:53:07,580 --> 00:53:10,820 you can get the Agile Shepherd on Amazon. 1424 00:53:10,820 --> 00:53:14,200 You can also go to the action steps below. 1425 00:53:14,200 --> 00:53:16,740 Maybe the book is not the most important resource for you. 1426 00:53:16,740 --> 00:53:19,220 Maybe it's a direct connection with Ethan. 1427 00:53:19,220 --> 00:53:22,020 So you can, of course, click on any of those links. 1428 00:53:22,020 --> 00:53:24,260 We'll also make sure that if he has other resources 1429 00:53:24,260 --> 00:53:25,780 that we get those organized on there 1430 00:53:25,780 --> 00:53:27,500 so that you know what to do next. 1431 00:53:27,500 --> 00:53:29,000 And from our standpoint, 1432 00:53:29,000 --> 00:53:30,860 if you have a vision you'd like to share, 1433 00:53:30,860 --> 00:53:33,260 if you have a topic, a leadership topic 1434 00:53:33,260 --> 00:53:34,600 that you'd like to debate, 1435 00:53:34,600 --> 00:53:36,260 please take a look at that button at the top 1436 00:53:36,260 --> 00:53:37,820 that says be our guest. 1437 00:53:37,820 --> 00:53:39,240 That's an invitation for you. 1438 00:53:39,240 --> 00:53:40,860 We would love for you to come on the show. 1439 00:53:40,860 --> 00:53:43,740 And it doesn't matter if you are, I don't know, 1440 00:53:43,740 --> 00:53:46,300 leading a president of some country 1441 00:53:46,300 --> 00:53:51,300 or you just have some desire to help your local community 1442 00:53:53,500 --> 00:53:55,460 and you're leading by example. 1443 00:53:55,460 --> 00:53:57,900 You know that your vision is going to help others. 1444 00:53:57,900 --> 00:53:58,900 Challenge yourself. 1445 00:53:58,900 --> 00:54:00,540 Come on our show, come tell us about it 1446 00:54:00,540 --> 00:54:02,460 and see if it's something that we can support. 1447 00:54:02,460 --> 00:54:04,360 We would love to help you lead in the world 1448 00:54:04,360 --> 00:54:05,900 where there's so many people who need 1449 00:54:05,900 --> 00:54:06,780 great leadership out there. 1450 00:54:06,780 --> 00:54:08,980 So Ethan, this was absolutely my honor. 1451 00:54:08,980 --> 00:54:10,220 Thank you so much for joining us 1452 00:54:10,220 --> 00:54:11,940 on Vision Pros Live today. 1453 00:54:11,940 --> 00:54:12,780 Thank you so much. 1454 00:54:12,780 --> 00:54:14,020 It was great to be here. 1455 00:54:14,020 --> 00:54:14,860 Absolutely. 1456 00:54:14,860 --> 00:54:16,340 Everybody have a fantastic rest of your week 1457 00:54:16,340 --> 00:54:18,300 and we will see you on the next episode. 1458 00:54:18,300 --> 00:54:19,120 Take care, everybody. 1459 00:54:19,120 --> 00:54:20,220 Thank you for being here today. 1460 00:54:20,220 --> 00:54:22,700 I'm really happy that you tuned into Vision Pros Live. 1461 00:54:22,700 --> 00:54:25,360 I'm looking forward to seeing your reactions 1462 00:54:25,360 --> 00:54:27,660 as these episodes continue to move forward. 1463 00:54:27,660 --> 00:54:29,340 This is gonna get more and more fun. 1464 00:54:29,340 --> 00:54:31,140 We'll have more and more engagement as well. 1465 00:54:31,140 --> 00:54:33,260 We'll invite people to participate in the show 1466 00:54:33,260 --> 00:54:35,620 and thank you for giving us your time and attention. 1467 00:54:35,620 --> 00:54:56,620 Have an excellent time building out your vision.