- Episode 80: Don Schmincke & His Book, Winners and Losers: Entrepreneurial Lessons from 30,000 CEOs on How to Come Out on Top John M Jaramillo 1:05:46
Episode 80: Don Schmincke & His Book, Winners and Losers: Entrepreneurial Lessons from 30,000 CEOs on How to Come Out on Top
For everything he’s done in his career — from dropping out of high school to getting his BS in Planetary Physics at MIT, a Master’s Degree in Human Behavior (and teaching at) Johns Hopkins University, and traversing the world, travelling 200,000 miles a year to work with countless companies and explore to understand ancient civilizations — Don, an explorer, scientist, and author, still considers himself, first and foremost, a teacher.
No one I’ve interviewed or spoken to before Don can claim to do, collaborate and write on as much research as he can where he seeks understand the biological make-up of who we are as a species.
Where the curiosity most of us have is limited to what’s within our reach, Don has gone off to explore different corners of the world to see it first-hand.
And his expeditions and research turn most of the ideas we have of leadership on their head. His discoveries stem from that insatiable curiosity to learn about the world and history of its civilizations, and can help us be more honest with ourselves — to understand ourselves.
He takes those lessons learned and applies them to corporate and entrepreneurial strategy, leadership, culture, structure, and sales.
What intrigued me the most in talking to Don was his work in (and desire to continue) busting myths — dismantling current understandings of how the world and leadership work. From his research and “organizational autopsies,” he’s realized that what we think works in leadership actually doesn’t.
Nothing is cookie-cutter, and times change, so of course it’s important to keep learning — and rethinking — what we (think we) know.
- Conversation Highlights
- “Why is it that great leaders with great leadership styles crash the company but an asshole can dominate the world?”
- “Followers don’t follow leaders; they follow the saga you represent.”
- Ancient wisdom of…: “We must keep in mind constantly, by day and night, the fact that some day we must die.”
- The power of Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) not being a disorder but being order instead, and how it’s contributed to Don’s (and other’s) success.
The MAIN QUESTION underlying my conversation with Don is, How do you continue exploring (and busting myths) to ensure you’re not becoming to complacent or blinded?
MENTIONED OR APPLICABLE BOOKS
- Don’s Other Books
- The Hypomanic Edge: The Link Between (A Little) Craziness and (A Lot of) Success in America by John D. Gartner
- Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared M. Diamond
ABOUT DON
Don is the author of the Best-Selling book The Code of the Executive: Forty-Seven Ancient Samurai Principles Essential for Twenty-First Century Leadership Success, and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal and USA Today. He is an Award-Winning Speaker, Researcher, Founder of the SAGA Leadership Institute and delivered over 1,700 speeches. Don’s other books include High Altitude Leadership: What the World’s Most Forbidding Peaks Teach Us About Success, Unleash Your Potential: How Artificial Intelligence Wants to Upgrade YOU!, and Winners and Losers: Entrepreneurial Lessons from 30,000 CEOs on How to Come Out on Top.
LEARN MORE ABOUT DON
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donschmincke/
- Twitter: @schmincke
- Website: https://www.sagaleadership.com/
Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtNpTQTFjuN6Tjs52JB7zUQ
Learn more about The
Book Leads: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/got-lead-great-book-thats-impacted-your-work-life-me-john/
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