Unleash the Quiet Power of Intention (Part 2) – Andy Williams (#017)

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Unleash the Quiet Power of Intention (Part 2) - Andy Williams (#017)
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This is part two (part 1 is here-episode016) of my interview with Andy Williams, whose super power is being intentional. We cover things like how sometimes a masterplan can obscure better opportunities. We also discuss how he and his wife have built their marriage very intentionally. We discuss the value of pushing a comfort zone right up to what he calls the delusional zone. We also talk about how he views failure, and finally, we discuss his thoughts on leadership.

 

Show Notes

Contact Andy Williams

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andypwilliams/

 

Mentioned in this Episode

Michael Hyatt - https://michaelhyatt.com/

The 5 Love Languages - https://www.5lovelanguages.com/

Thinking Fast and Slow - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11468377-thinking-fast-and-slow

Daniel Kahneman - https://scholar.princeton.edu/kahneman/home

Amos Tversky - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amos_Tversky

 

Bobbi’s Takeaways (Part 2)

I have to admit it took me a few times of listening to this episode to harvest all the gold in this conversation. Here are my takeaways from part two.

  1. Sometimes a master plan can obscure better opportunities. Way back in 2003 or maybe even 2002, I heard Alan Weiss, author of Million Dollar Consulting say that he was skeptical of master plans because how do we know that we've aimed high enough? And sometimes if we set a goal and we reach it, how do we know the goal shouldn't have been bigger?

  2. Decisions are easier when you've identified what you value.

  3. The work that you put into the foundation with your spouse (or a business partner) helps you succeed in challenges and when tragedy strikes.

  4. He said it is not, “Do I love my wife,” but “What have I done in the last two weeks to be loving towards my wife?” Now I loved that.

  5. I love the distinction that he made between, “I expect this from you” versus “Here's what I see in you.” The latter helps people step into their potential, and it can be very motivating. This triggered a memory for me. Several years ago, I was doing leadership retreats for high school students, and one of the staff members commented during one of my workshops that I didn't treat the students as though they were kids or like they were cats that had to be herded, but rather I treated them with the respect of, “Here's what I believe is true about you and where I believe you can be.”  She told me that it seemed like that created like an invitation to really step up and into their potential.

  6. Ask yourself when is the last time that I've failed at something and that this can be a very powerful way to put ourselves into the discomfort zone. And usually when we're in the discomfort zone, that's when we learn something and when we grow.

  7. When you are stretching yourself, there will probably be a moment where you feel like a failure and that's okay because it is simply part of the process.

  8. A great leader sets up everyone around them, including themselves to grow.

  9. Sometimes we have to burn the ships behind us in order to really grow and reach out to something new.

  10. He talked about the comfort zone, the discomfort zone, and the delusional zone. Instead of hanging out in the comfort zone, or just slightly outside of it, what we really need to do is venture to the delusional zone and then pull back just a little bit. Like he said, it might be scary, but we're probably going to learn and grow.

  11. Playing it safe won't speed things up. To add my own 2 cents here, we probably won't learn anything new either when we play it safe.

I hope that you enjoyed it as much as I did when I got to talk with Andy and I felt like I came away with so many new insights that will help me in the future.

Don't forget, you can check out my Eclectic, But Essential Leadership Book List at  www.unyielded.net/leadershipbooklist.

Again, this has been the UnYielded podcast where we are committed to bringing stories and guests who can help us all live more fulfilled and authentic lives.

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