🗣️ “One of the best ways to persuade others is with your ears.” -John C. Maxwell
🗣️ “Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you’d have preferred to talk.” -Doug Larson
🗣️ “To listen well is as powerful a means of communication and influence as to talk well.” -Chief Justice John Marshall
🗣️ “A gossip is one who talks to you about others; a bore is one who talks to you about himself; and a brilliant conversationalist is one who talks to you about yourself.” -Lisa Kirk
I’ve been really impressed by both of Yang’s books. This one just came out in September, and it’s about how to craft the career you want by building knowledge, skills, and relationships. Plus, it’s packed with insightful quotes on nearly every page.
I’ve loved everything Keefe has written. This is a collection of 12 of his best articles from The New Yorker, and each one dives into the little-known aspects of a true crime story. You’ll learn about a wine forger (yes, that’s a thing), a Swiss bank whistleblower, and how drug kingpin El Chapo was finally caught.
🧑💼 Quick Leadership Takeaway
🗣️ “Integrity, honesty—those aren’t core values. Those are values that everyone should have. But there have to be like three, five, six things that are unique to you. And you can probably think about this in your life. What is different about you, that every single other person, if you could only tell them three or four things, you would want them to know about you?” -Brian Chesky, CEO and co-founder of Airbnb
I’ve written a lot in the past about my personal values. The longer I’ve lived, the more I’ve realized the importance of identifying values to guide my life.
If you haven’t written down your own values yet, you should. And as Chesky says above, don’t write blasé concepts that everyone agrees with.
Every value sounds good until the rubber meets the road. Don’t think about a value in isolation; think about it in reference to other things. Examples:
When forced to choose between acting quickly and building buy-in, which do you choose?
What’s more important to you: transparency or privacy?
Speed or accuracy?
Putting employees first or putting customers first?
Releasing an early product and iterating on it over time or waiting to ship it until it’s perfect?
Thinking in comparison terms like this can help illuminate what’s truly most important to you.
To further explore your personal values, consider the following questions:
How would your best friends or family describe you in three words?
What is your personal brand? What are you known for?
When do you tend to get passionate or upset? What do these triggers say about you and what’s most important to you?
What’s something you would never compromise on, even if your boss was willing to double your salary if you did it?
The clearer you get on your values, the faster you’ll be able to make decisions—and the more you’ll live in alignment with your best self.
🤓 A Personal Tidbit
I often ask friends to share their “highlight” and “lowlight” of the week. Here’s mine:
Highlight: I’ve been making solid progress on my book for first-time managers. I made some big edits today, and I’m grateful to all of my beta readers who’ve given me helpful feedback to improve my book.
Lowlight: I sprained my ankle pretty badly this Wednesday. I play basketball every Wednesday night with friends, and I unfortunately came down on someone’s shoe and rolled my ankle. It’s getting a bit better every day, but I still can’t walk much on it.
What’s your highlight and lowlight this week? I’d love to hear about it. Just click “reply” and let me know. I read every response.
Keep learning,
Competing in the 3-point shootout at last year’s HoopFest 3-on-3 tournament
🤝 Special Thanks to Today’s Sponsor
I’ve raved about them before, and I’ll do it again.
The only news I read every day is the 1440 newsletter. It’s free, and as soon as I checked it out, I realized it’s how I wanted to start my day.
Why? Because it’s straight facts with no opinions or fluff. You can make up your own mind based on the facts. From what I’ve seen, it’s the most objective news out there. Check it out below. (Again, it’s free.)
👇 Helpful Resources
Visit me at BobbyPowers.com for more articles and book reviews about leadership, communication, and personal development.
You can also access high-res PDFs of my 1-pagers and cheat sheets here.
