Summary

In this episode, Andy Kaufman interviews his friend Randy Fox about his book The Call to Excellence: Influential Leadership for Impactful Results. Randy shares the backstory of his signature story, the Silver Platter Service, and how it can apply to leadership. They discuss the pursuit of excellence and the difference between being perfect and pursuing our highest and best. They also talk about the importance of being unoffendable and open to feedback, as well as the basics of leadership, such as kindness, communication, and consistency. Randy emphasizes the need for intentional self-improvement and even how these principles apply to parenting.

Sound Bites

"The art of listening is hearing what the person is not saying."
"When you watch yourself, the film doesn't lie."
"The silver platter isn't about how we collect the trash, it's how we serve someone else and how we lead them through those projects, through those outcomes, through life."
"There's a difference between being kind and nice."

Chapters

00:00 Introduction
01:01 Start of Interview
01:11 The Silver Platter story
03:58 What does pursuing excellence NOT mean?
06:32 The difference between surviving and thriving
07:56 Being unoffendable
14:34 Lessons from refs
17:39 About sincerity and truth
21:56 Be brilliant with the basics
24:27 How to be a better communicator
26:46 How to not get complacent with our learning
31:17 Applying these lessons as parents
33:08 Interview Wrap Up
33:40 Andy Comments After the Interview
36:49 Outtakes

Learn More

You can learn more about Randy and his book at FoxPoint.net.

If you’d like more on this subject, check out:

Episode 301, with Peter Kozodoy about his book on honesty
Episode 345, with Darren Reinke about his book about being a savage leader

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Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast!

Talent Triangle: Power Skills

The following music was used for this episode:

Music: Echo by Alexander Nakarada
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Music: Fashion Corporate by Frank Schroter
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

PPP 418 | How to Be Unoffendable, and Other Leadership Lessons About Excellence, with Randy Fox

People and Projects Podcast: Project Management Podcast

PPP 418 | How to Be Unoffendable, and Other Leadership Lessons About Excellence, with Randy Fox