10 Lessons Learned

André Alphonso - Collect Adventures Not Things

                                               
In this week's episode, Duff Watkins speaks with André Alphonso. André shares his 10 lessons with us and his unique philosophies about life, business and fulfilment. 
André Alphonso
André Alphonso is an entrepreneur, owner and leader of multiple businesses, published author, executive coach and keynote speaker who uses storytelling as a way of communicating his message.
Australia is his base and he works in the US, Europe, and Asia. He is the Managing Director of The Ariel Group in Australia, an organisation that combines best practices from actor training, adult learning, and common sense. Their unique methodology develops presence and influence: the ability to connect authentically, communicate effectively, inspire action and build the relationships that help them achieve results.
André is also Founder and Chairman of The Forum Corporation in India. An organisation he went and set up in 2008 where he says he had “a corporate adventure of a lifetime.”
Andre’s singular focus is to enhance the personal presence of all individuals, be they leaders, salespeople, professionals or individual contributors in all types of organisations. He is passionate about helping people think bigger and be bolder than where they are in their world so that they can claim their value. He will tailor his keynotes to the client and conference outcomes to deliver a session that will engage your people from the start to the end and they will walk away with communication tactics that will be used for life.
He is the co-author of Strategic Connections – The New Face of Networking in a Collaborative World released worldwide in 2015.
Episode Notes 
Lesson 1: Don’t eat your lunch on the way to work 07m57s.
Lesson 2: Hand craft your personal solar system 12m 48s.
Lesson 3: Banish psychic vampires 17m 14s.
Lesson 4: Engineer a halftime pause 20m 45s.
Lesson 5: Collect adventures not things 28m 30s.
Lesson 6: Dare to be curious…Dare to be present 33m56s.
Lesson 7: Let light entre through your wounds 39m 37s.
Lesson 8: From Cavemen to Neuroscientists 45m 27s.
Lesson 9: Use noise cancelling headphones to filter out the dirty noise 53m 12s.
Lesson 10: Burn your masks 57m 37s.

Ten Lessons - Recap Ep 1-4

 
In this unique episode the four of us, Dr. Duff Watkins, Siebe Vanderzee, Jeffery Wang, and Robert Hossary will be reviewing the previous episodes and share with you, our audience, what we found most fascinating about our guests. 
 
We will be discussing our interviews with Ligia McLean, George Bradt, Matt Bai and Duff Watkins. Join us and hear what we learned from our guests.
 

Matt Bai- People Make YOU Feel the Way THEY Feel

     
 Hear top US political reporter MATT BAI explain why, “People make YOU feel the way THEY feel”, “Life is in the re-write”, “Look away from the ball”, and 7 other lessons for career and life on 10 Lessons It Took Me 50 Years to Learn.  Making the world wiser place, lesson by lesson.
MATT BAI
Matt Bai is a nationally known journalist, author and screenwriter. Starting in 2002, he covered three presidential campaigns for the New York Times, where he was the chief political writer for the Sunday magazine and a columnist for the newspaper. He then spent five years as the national political columnist for Yahoo News. In January 2020, he became a contributing columnist for the Washington Post.
Bai’s most recent book, All the Truth is Out: The Week Politics Went Tabloid(Alfred A. Knopf, 2014) looks back at the ruinous scandal involving the presidential candidate Gary Hart in 1987 and how it shaped the political and media culture. It was selected as one of the year’s best books by NPR and Amazon and was one of 10 books long-listed for the PEN Faulkner Award in nonfiction. 
Bai also co-wrote, with Jay Carson and Jason Reitman, the feature film adapted from the book, titled “The Front Runner.” The film, directed by Reitman and starring Hugh Jackman as Hart, debuted in theatres nationally in 2018. Bai and Carson have co-written two other feature films that are currently in production. 
Bai is also the author of The Argument: Billionaires, Bloggers and the Battle to Remake Democratic Politics (Penguin Press, 2007), which was a New York TimesNotable Book for 2007. He contributed a personal essay to the anthology I Married My Mother-in-Law: And Other Tales of In-Laws We Can’t Live With—And Can’t Live Without, published by Riverhead Books in 2006. 
Bai has appeared frequently on NBC’s “Meet the Press” and played himself in a recurring role on season two of the Netflix drama “House of Cards.”  
In his early twenties, Bai was a speechwriter for UNICEF, where he worked with Audrey Hepburn during the last year of her life. He began his journalism career as a city desk reporter for the Boston Globeand spent five years as a national correspondent for Newsweek. His international experience includes coverage from Iraq and Liberia. 
Bai is a graduate of Tufts and Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism, where the faculty awarded him the Pulitzer Traveling Fellowship. He has been a visiting fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars, Harvard, the University of Chicago and Stanford. He serves on the board of the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts. 
A native of Trumbull, Connecticut, Bai lives with his wife and two children in Bethesda, Maryland. He rarely misses a Yankee game or a Timescrossword. You can follow him (occasionally) on Twitter at @mattbai.
 
Episode notes 
Lesson 1: Life is in the rewrite 11m 17s
Lesson 2: there is no such thing as abhorrent behaviour 16m 15s
Lesson 3: listen to the things people say about themselves 18m 57s
Lesson 4: Don’t fight with someone you don’t know 23m 26s
Lesson 5: Have the difficult conversation 28m 20s
Lesson 6: People always make you feel the way they feel 314m 04s
Lesson 7: Know what you don’t know 33m 32s
Lesson 8: No one really likes surprises 36m 37s
Lesson 9: Choices are everything 39m 27s
Lesson 10: Look away from the ball 48m 30s

Ligia-McLean- Turn an obstacle into an advantage

                                           
On this episode, our host Siebe Van Der Zee speaks with Aerospace professional Ligia McLean. Ligia shares valuable lessons she learned that have helped her advance her career.
About Ligia McLean
Ligia has been in the Aerospace industry since 1982. She has led strategy and international partnerships for Boeing and McDonnell Douglas and now heads her own Aerospace consultancy.
She has a Masters in International Management from the Thunderbird Graduate School (ASU) and a Bachelors degree in Business Management.
Ligia shares with us 10 lessons that she has learned that have helped her succeed in business and in life.
Episode  Notes 
Lesson 1: Relationship building is the most effective skill that will help in your career 5m 56s
Lesson 2: Know your Audience 7m 19s
Lesson 3: Prioritise giving back 12m 42s
Lesson 4: Complete your efforts; Deliver Results 19m 50s
Lesson 5: Be resilient 22m 34s
Lesson 6: There are things that you may not be good at on your first try… 25m 44s
Lesson 7: Celebrate successes and learn from disappointments 27m 41s
Lesson 8: Focus on your strengths and get help on your weaknesses 33m 02s
Lesson 9: Keep things in perspective 37m 26s
Lesson 10: Turn an obstacle into an advantage 41m 37s

George Bradt -There are only three interview questions and you need to know them.

                                             
 
On this episode, our host Dr Duff Watkins speaks with best selling author, Forbes.com columnist and onboarding guru George Bradt. George shares lessons for how to secure that dream position and how to succeed and lead like a professional. 
About George Bradt
George has led the revolution in how people start new jobs, engendering the structure, leverage, and confidence new leaders and teams need to get done in 100 days what normally takes 6-12 months in complex situations, reducing 18-month failure rates from 40% to less than 10%.
Author/co-author of 9+ books on onboarding and leadership:
"The New Leader's 100-Day Action Plan" (Wiley, 2016 4th edition)
"Onboarding: How to Get Your New Employee Up To Speed in Half the Time" (Wiley, 2009)
"The Total Onboarding Program" (Wiley/Pfeiffer, 2010)
"First-Time Leader" (Wiley, 2014)
"The New Job 100 Day Plan" (GHP Press, 2012)
"Point of Inflection: Frameworks and Tools to Accelerate Team Results" (GHP Press, 2019)
"CEO Boot Camp: Frameworks and Insights from 15 Years of CEO Boot Camps" (GHP Press, 2019)
"The New Leader's Playbook" (GHP Press, Volumes I-IX 2011-2019)
"Executive Onboarding" Volumes I-IV (GHP Press, 2020)
+ "Influence and Impact - Discover and Excel at What Your Organization Needs From You The Most" (Wiley, 2021)
Author of over 650 articles for Forbes:
"The New Leader's Playbook" weekly column on Forbes.com (February 2011-present)
Co-creator of iPad app:
"New Leader Smart Tools"
Prior to founding PrimeGenesis, George had twenty years of experience in sales, marketing and general management around the world at companies including Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola and J.D. Power and Associates' Power Information Network as chief executive.
Currently on board of directors for PrimeGenesis, CEO Connection, Curtain Call theatre. On several advisory boards. Has served on various fiduciary, advisory and non-profit boards around the world through the years.
Episode Notes 
Lesson 1: Fit in! 9m 12s
Lesson 2: Deliver 10m 15s
Lesson 3: Adjusting never ends 16m 03s
Lesson 4: Adopt a 90/10 position 18m 58s
Lesson 5: Differentiate what you will talk about; what you will do; and what you will not do 24m 54s
Lesson 6: Avoid the consultant’s roller coaster 28m 31s
Lesson 7: There are only three interview questions and you need to know them. 31m 39s
Lesson 8: Prepare answers for the three questions from THEIR perspective 35m 53s
Lesson 9: They don’t care about you. They care about what you can do for them 38m10s
Lesson 10: Avoid the 100 day interview trap 42m 39s

Dr Duff Watkins - Never Engage in Civil War

                                       
 
Our host Robert Hossary explores the wisdom of author and executive coach Duff Watkins. Duff shares 10 powerful lessons that will make you think.
About Duff Watkins
Duff Watkins is Director, ExecSearch International - Australia, with more than 25 years’ experience in conducting searches across Australia, New Zealand, US and UK.
In addition to executive search, Duff conducts Executive Development Programmes for senior executives to enhance their skills, while on-the-job, through a specific and personal plan of action.
Duff obtained his - BA at Centre College of Kentucky - Master's Degree at Yale University and - Doctorate at the University of South Africa (in group psychotherapy).
Duff Watkins is a former group psychotherapist. He's past President of the Yale Club in Australia, a long-time Governor of the American Chamber of Commerce in Australia. He hosted the international podcast "How Business Really Works" and is a founder of this podcast, 10 Lessons It Took Me 50 Years to Learn. Though born and raised in the USA, he is an Australian citizen.
Episode Notes
Lesson 1: Life’s a persuasion 03m 15s
Lesson 2: Style is not to be despised 06m 44s
Lesson 3: Don’t cling 09m 40s
Lesson 4: Most people can't support themselves emotionally. Let alone you 14m 46s
Lesson 5: Husband your attention 17m 09s
Lesson 6: Every person is a foreign country.26m 48s
Lesson 7: Just tell yourself the truth 30m13s
Lesson 8: Never engage in civil war 34m30s
Lesson 9: Above all else, do not panic 38m30s
Lesson 10: You deserve happiness as much as any person on this planet 42m34s

Pilot Episode - What is this podcast about and who are we?

This episode introduces the podcast hosts; Dr Duff Watkins, Siebe Van Der Zee, Robert Hossary and Jeffery Wang. They discuss what this podcast promises to deliver and how each week they will interview some of the worlds leading executives, celebrities, academics, leaders and ordinary people and bring to you 10 lessons that it took their guests 50 years to learn.