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

Topics: Project Management, Leadership, Management, Excellence, Communication, Feedback, Personal Growth, Teambuilding, Customer Service

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

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