After nearly 500 hours of interviews, Ryan (Hawk) published The Pursuit of Excellence: The Uncommon Behaviors of the World’s Most Productive Achievers — where he distills lessons from the interviews and his life experiences.
Takeaways of Note:
6 Favorite Lessons shared:
1- Asking for help…. be vulnerable enough to ask for help; it’s a common denominator of the greatest achievers
2- The Stockade Paradox… confront reality’s brutal facts and combine that with an optimism & belief that the Team will find a way
3- Opportunity is not a lengthy visitor… prepare each day to take advantage of fleeting opportunities when they arrive and to create opportunities by meeting with mentors or signing up for challenging events
4- Make trust your opening bid… lead with trust (as opposed to having to “earn your trust”), and people rise to your expectation; you attract trustworthy people who don’t want to lose your trust
5- They are learning machines… learning isn’t the result of an annual book read, it’s weaved into culture; thinking you have it figured out can be debilitating for a leader
6- They’re in the arena… surround self with people willing to give candid feedback, but don’t mistake noise & chatter from “cheap seats” for insight from “personal board of advisors“