Let Me Speak To A Manager – Details, episodes & analysis

Summary

In this conversation, Ian Mathews and Frank Cava discuss the concept of masterminds, focusing on Frank's journey in creating his own mastermind group. They explore the importance of high-level conversations, the criteria for membership, and the strategies for marketing and customer acquisition. Frank shares insights on building a community of like-minded individuals and the value of curated discussions in fostering growth and learning. The conversation also touches on the challenges and successes of launching the first meeting of the mastermind, emphasizing the importance of quality over quantity in membership.

Takeaways

• Masterminds provide a platform for high-level conversations.
• Building a community is essential for personal and professional growth.
• Criteria for membership should focus on greatness and compatibility.
• Marketing strategies should leverage existing relationships and networks.
• Creating value in meetings is crucial for member retention.
• Hiring the right team can enhance the quality of the mastermind.
• Slow growth with the right people is preferable to rapid expansion.
• Curated discussions lead to deeper learning and insights.
• Professional presentation can elevate the perceived value of events.
• The name and concept of the mastermind should resonate with its purpose.

Summary

In this episode of Let Me Speak to a Manager, Ian Mathews and Frank Cava discuss the importance of in-person work, the shift back to office culture, and the role of mentorship in the workplace. They explore the end of entitlement in work culture and the impact of AI on future job security. The conversation is filled with humor, rants, and insights into the evolving work landscape.

Chapters:

00:00 The Return of the Podcast

03:25 Rants and Real Estate

06:25 The Importance of In-Person Work

12:25 Mentorship and Learning in the Office

19:23 Corporate Culture and Employee Expectations

22:43 Elon Musk's Remote Work Mandate

25:18 The Culture of Hard Work at Musk's Companies

27:42 Honesty in Company Culture

30:54 The End of Entitlement in the Workforce

33:20 The Shift Back to In-Office Work

35:08 The Reality of Remote Work

37:02 The Journey to Success

39:57 The Impenetrable CEO: Jamie Dimon

41:22 The Future of Work and AI

North Carolina has introduced a bill to eliminate participation trophies. We debate the merits of continuous versus intermittent feedback and how demonizing encouragement for beginners might not be the best answer. When is it appropriate to cheer participation, and when is it hurtful? We look at the parallels of youth sports with managing a corporate team.

How honest can you really be in business? We all lie, at least a little. If for no other reason than to protect people's feelings. In this episode, we talk about the concept in two classic books on this topic and debate the merits of how just how "radical" candor really is.

In this episode:

●     "If you always tell the truth, you never have to remember what you said."

●     Honest feedback might hurt, but it typically leads to positive change

●     Great coaches understand the difference between skill and talent

●     Outbursts happen when we let irritations build up

●     10 things you can't say in an office (but we wish we could)

Can we change anyone's mind? Regardless of your occupation, persuading someone to your line of thinking can be incredibly helpful. We dig into the science of persuasion and look at techniques that have worked (and failed) for us in the past.

In this episode:

• Helping customers change their mind after they said no
• Getting an executive to approve your idea by convincing them it was theirs
• Letting someone fail their way into changing their mind
• The role of resilience in persuasion
• The assumptive close
• Giving up control to a stubborn person
• Using praise with a narcissist

Jeff Paxson is the owner of Jeff Paxson Real Estate, a team that led Indiana in sales volume from the years 2014 to 2018. A maverick who built his career going against conventional wisdom and twice making all-in bets on himself. For anyone interested in stepping away from corporate life and building something of their own, Jeff shares his path. 

Jeff Paxson Accolades:

Based on sales, Jeff Paxson has been named Wall Street Journal’s Real Trends Top 1000 Realtors aka

“The Thousand”

Annually top 5 Realtor in entire Indianapolis Metro Area

Annually top 5 Realtor in Indiana

Top 50 realtors in Midwest US

Named one of Indianapolis Business Journal’s top Realtors each of the last 10 years 

Johnson County Realtor of the Decade 2020

There are now 4 office franchises of Jeff Paxson Real Estate.

JeffPaxson.com

317-679-2121

"A Message to Garcia" is an article written by Elbery Hubbard in 1899 that is still heavily referenced in the military and private sector today. It is a story of a lieutenant tasked with a seemingly impossible mission who carried out his orders with no guidance. The story became a rallying cry for military leaders and corporate executives alike. Frank and Ian dive into the facts and myths about this article, and how the lessons might still apply today.

Also in this episode:

• What it means if a manager tells you to "get the message to Garcia"
• The uncommon nature of the story's protagonist
• How valuable are autonomous people in business?
• How to find people like this in the interview process
• How to demonstrate you have these characteristics in a job search

Locus of control is the degree to which people believe that they, as opposed to external forces (beyond their influence), have control over the outcome of events in their lives. The concept was developed by Julian B. Rotter in 1954, and has since become an aspect of personality psychology. A person's "locus" (plural "loci", Latin for "place" or "location") is conceptualized as internal (a belief that one can control one's own life) or external (a belief that life is controlled by outside factors which the person cannot influence, or that chance or fate controls their lives). George Costanza of Seinfeld fame is a classic example of someone who lives with a mindset that nothing is in his control, and nothing is fair.

In this episode, Frank and Ian break down the tangible value of mindset in relation to careers:

• How early do we start to develop a locus of control?
• The role of sports on our mindset
• Why we take credit for the good, but explain away the bad
• How external limelighters make others feel
• The double standard - we expect others to own it, but don't always hold ourselves to that standard
• Unintended consequences of being too hard on yourself

"So you're saying I'm a clown? I make you laugh. I'm here to amuse you?"

~Tommy DeVito, Goodfellas

Why don't more people list "sense of humor" as one of their strengths on a resume? In our opinion, managers and employees who could make people laugh were also some of the most successful. In this episode, Frank and Ian look at the benefits of humor in the workplace.

In this episode:

• Using humor to differentiate yourself in a crowded field
• The difference between a fun manager and a clown
• When humor DOESN'T work
• How to use gallows humor in tough times
• Self-deprecation as an art form
• Using humor to dodge difficult questions
• Humor in delivering difficult feedback

Frank and Ian gave up on the Detroit Lions or Miami Dolphins winning a Super Bowl long ago. Instead, we revel in the pomp and circumstance of the NFL Draft, when hope springs eternal and our teams make highly questionable decisions on personnel. In this episode, we break down our top lessons from decades of watching this bloated spectacle that has done little to change the fortune of our favorite football teams.

In this episode:

• Why game film matters
• Looks can be deceiving when hiring
• How Bill Polian looked at character flaws
• Pedigree is important, but not that important
• When to take a chance on a "project"
• Hire for need, but don't pass on an unusual talent
• Even the best companies regularly missing on hiring
• Hire slow and fire fast
• Why culture still trumps talent