#28: Q&A with Bob Burg (Bestselling Author) — Becoming a Go-Giver

Last year, I read a lot of books, but one book that made a particularly lasting impact was The Go-Giver.  A special thank you to Graham Cochrane and his podcast for introducing me to this book.  The Go-Giver tells the story of an ambitious young man named Joe who yearns for success.

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Last year, I read a lot of books, but one book that made a particularly lasting impact was The Go-Giver.  A special thank you to Graham Cochrane and his podcast for introducing me to this book. 

The Go-Giver tells the story of an ambitious young man named Joe who yearns for success. Joe is a true go-getter, though sometimes he feels as if the harder and faster he works, the further away his goals seem to be. And so one day, desperate to land a key sale at the end of a bad quarter, he seeks advice from the enigmatic Pindar, a legendary consultant referred to by his many devotees simply as the Chairman. Pindar takes Joe (and us as the reader) on a journey, where Joe meets 5 “go-givers” and learns the 5 counter-intuitive laws of stratospheric success.

“The Go-Giver is the most important parable about business—and life—of our time.”

— Adam Grant

“If you follow the principles in this fantastic little book—if you really strive to be a go-giver—you’ll find that Zig Ziglar was right: You really can have everything in life you want if you help enough other people get what they want.”

— Dave Ramsey

And today, I’m honored and excited to bring you an interview with Bob Burg, co-author of The Go-Giver.  Bob is a sought-after speaker at company leadership and sales conferences sharing the platform with today’s business leaders, Olympic athletes, broadcast personalities, and even a former U.S. President.

Bob is the author of a number of books on sales, marketing and influence, with total book sales of well over two million copies. The Go-Giver, coauthored with John David Mann, itself has sold over 925,000 copies and has been translated into 28 languages.  It was rated #10 on Inc. Magazine’s list of the Most Motivational Books Ever Written, and it was on HubSpot’s 20 Most Highly Rated Sales Books of All Time.  The American Management Association named Bob one of the 30 Most Influential Leaders, and Richtopia named him one of the Top 200 Most Influential Authors in the World.

The Go-Giver series has now expanded to The Go-Giver Leader, The Go-Giver Influencer, and their newest edition, Go-Givers Sell More. 

Bob is an advocate, supporter and defender of the Free Enterprise system, believing that the amount of money one makes is directly proportional to how many people they serve. He is also an unapologetic animal fanatic, and is a past member of the Board of Directors of Furry Friends Adoption, Clinic & Ranch in his town of Jupiter, Florida.

And I can honestly say that Bob is a Go-Giver in real life.  From the moment I reached out to Bob to ask him to be on the podcast, he was humble, generous, and kind.  And you’ll see in this interview that he was very authentic and honest about areas he has tried to improve in his own life.  I really think you’ll enjoy this interview. 

Below is a short video overview of the Go-Giver:

During the podcast, Bob mentions the following books:

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

By James Clear

The Simple Abundance Journal of Gratitude

By Sarah Ban Breathnach

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

By Benjamin Franklin

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#27: Q&A with David Marquet (Bestselling Author) - Leadership is Language

Today, I am bringing you an interview with former Navy Captain, best-selling author, and a true leadership expert, David Marquet.  Here are a few quotes about David Marquet: "I don't know of a finer model of this kind of empowering leadership than Captain Marquet." Dr. Stephen R.

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Today, I am bringing you an interview with former Navy Captain, best-selling author, and a true leadership expert, David Marquet. 

Here are a few quotes about David Marquet:

“I don’t know of a finer model of this kind of empowering leadership than Captain Marquet.”

— Dr. Stephen R. Covey, author of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

“To say I’m a fan of David Marquet would be an understatement. I’m a fully-fledged groupie. He is the kind of leader who comes around only once in a generation. He is the kind of leader who doesn’t just know how to lead, he knows how to build leaders. His ideas and lessons are invaluable to anyone who wants to build an organization that will outlive them.”

— Simon Sinek, author of Start with Why, Leaders Eat Last, and The Infinite Game

I can relate to Dr. Covey and Simon’s thoughts on David.  He is a true leadership hero for me, so it was really special to get to do this interview. 

A little bit of David’s story for those that are unfamiliar.  He graduated in the top of his class at the US Naval Academy, graduated #1 from his nuclear power school class and the submarine officer basic course.  David has always been a brilliant guy, but over his years in the Navy, he learned that being a great leader is not all about being the smartest guy in the room. 

After years of proving his competence, David was awarded his very own command of a nuclear submarine.  He was told he’d be taking over the USS Olympia, so he spent an entire year studying every aspect of the ship, becoming an expert on all the ship's capabilities.  But about two weeks before taking over the Olympia, he was reassigned to take over the Santa Fe.  He knew nothing about the Santa Fe, but its crew had a reputation for being the worst in the fleet.  With only two weeks before taking over, he knew his typical leadership approach of being the smartest person in the room and just giving orders wasn’t going to work. 

So aboard a nuclear submarine — a place that few would feel comfortable taking a lot of risk and doing experiments — David tried an entirely different approach to leadership.  Instead of viewing his crew as followers that simply followed his orders, David empowered them to think, to take initiative, and he ultimately developed them into leaders.  He moved from the leader-follower model he had been taught to viewing everyone as a leader.  And the results were truly remarkable.  His leadership turned the ship around.  They went from worst in the Navy to receiving the best evaluation in Navy history.

Even after David departed the Santa Fe, it continued to win awards and promoted a disproportionate number of officers and enlisted men to positions of increased responsibility, including 10 subsequent submarine captains.  When Dr. Stephen R. Covey visited the ship, he said it was the most empowering organization he’d ever seen and wrote about David’s leadership practices in his book, The 8th Habit.

Captain Marquet and Dr. Covey aboard the Santa Fe.

David first shared his leadership principles in the #1 Amazon Bestseller, Turn the Ship Around!  A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders.  Fortune magazine named it the #1 must-read business book of the year, and USA Today listed it as one of the top 12 business books of all time. 

And, on February 4th, David is releasing his new book, Leadership is Language: The Hidden Power of What You Say and What You Don't, which I have had the chance to read and it is truly an incredible book.  Some books give you a nugget of wisdom here and there, but David’s books challenge me to take my leadership approach to a new level.  His books are transformational and paradigm-shifting.  Leadership is Language has been endorsed by Adam Grant, General (ret.) Stanley McCrystal, and Liz Wiseman, author of Multipliers. 

You can connect with David Marquet at his website, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. 

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#20: Q&A with Ryan Brence - Football, Ranger School, and Servant Leadership

Packed with great stories of overcoming adversity and incredible nuggets of wisdom and inspiration, this episode will not disappoint!

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Packed with great stories of overcoming adversity and incredible nuggets of wisdom and inspiration, this episode will not disappoint!

Ryan Brence grew up playing big time Texas high school football.  He is the son of a very successful Texas high school football coach in Plano, TX, and he shares lessons he learned watching his dad lead a football team.  

Ryan is a husband, father, West Point Graduate, former Army Football player, winner of the Black Lion Award, Army Ranger, and he currently works as a business development manager for TDIndustries in Dallas, TX.  TDIndustries teaches servant leadership and is a Fortune 100 Best Company to Work For: TDIndustries Awards.

Ryan shares stories of overcoming adversity in football and Ranger School.  He shares practical ways in which he lives an intentional life, and he shares lessons he learned on servant leadership from his dad and his work at TDIndustries.    

Ryan references the following book during the episode: 

The Power of Consistency: Prosperity Mindset Training for Sales and Business Professionals

By Long, Weldon

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#19: A Deep Dive Into Servant Leadership, Part 4 (Invest and Inspire)

On this episode, Cal wraps up his servant leadership series by covering the last three principles of servant leadership -- that servant leaders:  1.  Invest in the personal growth of their team members;  2.  Build a culture of trust; and 3.  Inspire!

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On this episode, Cal wraps up his servant leadership series by covering the last three principles of servant leadership -- that servant leaders: 

1.  Invest in the personal growth of their team members; 

2.  Build a culture of trust; and

3.  Inspire!

Cal dives into practical steps of how to apply these principles to your leadership!  

Cal references the following items in the podcast: 

Simon Sinek TED talk

The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni

Bain & Company study on inspirational leadership

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#18: A Deep Dive Into Servant Leadership, Part 3 (People Principles)

On this episode, Cal continues an exciting series on servant leadership!   Cal jumps right into the next three principles of servant leadership: 1.  Servant leaders care about the WHOLE person;  2.  Servant leaders are generous to their team; and 3.  Servant leaders listen.

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On this episode, Cal continues an exciting series on servant leadership!  

Cal jumps right into the next three principles of servant leadership:

1.  Servant leaders care about the WHOLE person; 

2.  Servant leaders are generous to their team; and

3.  Servant leaders listen.

At the end of this episode, you will be more equipped to immediately apply servant leadership principles in your team, organization, or business!

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