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Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com
The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk
#383: Guy Raz – How I Built This
- Excellence =
- Ambition
- Desire to produce for the sake of personal fulfillment — “It’s oxygen”
- Bill Gates is constantly challenging himself… Having a growth mindset. “To survive means to grow.”
- How has Guy become one of the greatest interviewers in the world?
- “I’ve been shooting free throws for 25 years. I’ve gotten a lot of reps.” To be great, you have to be bad at the beginning… And keep going.
- How to connect with others? “I interpret the non-verbal feedback.”
- Purposeful Practice:
- It’s a team effort — “I’ve worked with my team for twenty years. There is a strong bond and connection. They are very honest with their feedback. Constructive criticism is essential. We need outsiders to assess us.”
- Guy thanks his mom and dad in the acknowledgement section of his book:
- They came to America in the 1970’s. “Being courageous requires resilience.”
- Guy has covered four wars, but he still doesn’t feel he’s as courageous as his parents.
- “Without taking a risk there is no reward.”
- When Guy is afraid to take a risk, he thinks of his parents.
- How his fellowship year at Harvard impacted him: They teach through case studies and stories. It helped him understand business and storytelling.
- Guy is inspired by Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey…
- His ‘Must-Have’ qualities to get hired to work on his team:
- Kindness – “We filter for kindness”
- They have to “want to improve”
- How Guy prepares to interview someone for one of his shows:
- Contact them well ahead of the interview date
- Do a deep dive on them and people around them (read, watch videos, listen to podcasts)
- Do a background check
- “All of us are imperfect… That’s what make someone relatable. We all have flaws. You need to hear the failures.”
- “The interviewee must be generous with their emotions.
- “The idea that I can learn from someone excites me.”
- “I love transmitting the story.”
- The idea for How I Built This came to him in 2008 when he took a class at Harvard Business School during a sabbatical year as a Nieman journalism fellow after nearly eight years as a foreign correspondent.
- Guy demands that those who sit for an interview with him are completely open. “I ask them, ‘Are you willing to come to this interview and surrender?’”
- Guy stared as an NPR intern and didn’t get the initial jobs he wanted…
- I asked… “How much of your success can be attributed to luck and how much skill/hard work?”
- Life advice:
- Get a job in sales — All jobs have a selling component. Learn this crucial skill.
- Be methodical about your experiences.
- Keep your eyes open for problems all around you… Look for problems to solve. All businesses are built on solving a problem.
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