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My guest for this 74th Episode of the Podcast is Don Yaeger.
Don is an Award-Winning Leadership Speaker, Executive Coach, New York Times Best-Selling Author, business owner, podcast host, and dear friend. In this episode, we share a unique and far-reaching conversation between two friends.
Our friendship started with a chance encounter at a Channel Reseller News Event a dozen years back. I’ve had the privilege of working with Don on many occasions. Both at Microsoft and again when I led the Global Partner Program at Blackbaud.
Don has authored 32 books and 11 New York Times Best Sellers, building a body of work around greatness and leadership.
He also coaches business leaders, has developed courses for top executives, is an award-winning speaker, and recently started “The Corporate Competitor Podcast“.
Don Lives in Tallahassee, Florida, with his wife Jeanette and two beautiful children.
Most recently, Don was struck with COVID 19 and was hospitalized for about nine days. In this episode, we discuss how this life-threatening experience has impacted his life and his family.
We also explore the business principles that universally apply to all aspects of the business, including great partnerships as Don has coached and worked with many great partner business leaders throughout his career.
I chose the title of this episode because I believe that we all have the opportunity to learn and grow despite our circumstances.
Don’s very personal and private experience has impacted him and his family. Toward the end of the interview, Don asks, “how will we each emerge differently when this pandemic is done?”
I want to thank Don for his willingness to share his personal experience with Covid. I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I enjoyed spending time with Don Yaeger.
LINKS & RESOURCES
- Don Yaeger’s Website.
- Find Don on LinkedIn and Twitter.
- Learn more about the podcast https://bit.ly/2OvZbi8
- Be the first to listen to Corporate Competitor Podcast: https://bit.ly/2X8qCDh
- The Transcript of the Interview is below.
As with each of my episodes, I appreciate your support. Please tell your friends about Ultimate Guide to Partnering™ and where they can find us. I’d love your feedback. Please like the podcast and provide comments or reach out to me at @vincemenzione on Linked In, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also like and follow Ultimate Guide to Partnering Facebook page or drop me a line at vincem@cloudwavepartners.com.
Ultimate Guide to Partnering™ is a rich compendium of what makes successful partnerships and is available on iTunes, Spotify, Google SoundCloud, Stitcher, Google Play, Player FM, almost anywhere you get your podcasts!
This episode of the podcast is sponsored by Ultimate Partnerships. Ultimate Partnerships helps you get the most results from your partnerships. Get Partnerships Right – Optimize for Success – Deliver Results – Ultimate Partnerships.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai Please excuse any typos.
Vince Menzione 0:25
Don, welcome back to the Ultimate Guide to Partnering.
Don Yaeger 1:30
Hey, thanks, Vince. appreciate you having me again, and again. And again.
Vince Menzione 1:35
I am so excited to have you back in that chair. You know, we’ve been friends for so many years, our lives and work have changed quite a bit recently. So I feel we have a lot of ground to cover today and having you back. And I will I welcome your willingness to come back today for this wide-ranging conversation. So thank you grateful. Yeah, I’m so grateful to have you here. And I want to begin with your work first, your body of work continues to expand and Congratulations, you’ve built a body of work whose Genesis was in sports, but that’s developed I believe you’re now an 11th time New York Times bestselling author, sir sounds old, doesn’t it? Wow. And over 30 books, I think the count was 32. Last I checked.
Don Yaeger 2:25
And that’s really old.
Vince Menzione 2:28
Some great books. And we’re going to talk a little bit about that. And now you have your own successful podcast, the corporate competitor podcast, and I’m digging your new mic, by the way, I’m enjoying listening to you. You sound terrific. So tell us a little bit about this new podcast and this adventure.
Don Yaeger 2:46
Well, thanks, Vince. You know, I mean, you You are one among one of my early friends who develop podcast as a way of reaching out and and exploring conversations with people and growing and giving not just making yourself better, but making listeners better and, and so for years, I have thought about a podcast, but I I kept coming up with reasons why I shouldn’t do it. Right? The demands on your time I know what you put into it, I see the you know, the amount of effort that people who do it really well are adding, I also see a lot of people who don’t do it very well. And, you know, just never wanted to fall into that category. So in that whole process, one of the things that occurred after the pandemic struck all of us was many of the speaking engagements that I had already agreed to sign contracts on for the remainder of the year, all suddenly dried up, they either went virtual, or they said let’s move this gig to 2021. So I suddenly had a new, like this new lease on time that I didn’t have before. And we thought what, you know, everything I was advising other leaders to do was to think in that moment, what would you have done if you had all of this time? So what’s on your shelf, something you would have thought to do? That you now could and for me it became podcasts, but you had to look like where’s that unique space somewhere in the you know, in the in the vacuum of life that you can actually occupy space. And, and I saw an article a couple years ago that from was from Ernst and Young that said that if you they were looking for commonalities among C suite executives in fortune 500 companies and the number one commonality was a background in sports, they had played sports at a significant enough level that it impacted them in the way that they would one day lead. And so and that was true of men at about the 66% range, but when you get to women, the number was well over 90% 92% plus of the women who are who occupied C suite positions. At the time that Ernst and Young did this study, in fortune 500 companies had played sports and credited sports to have for its influence. Wow. 90%. And but it makes sense, right? Because in those moments, I mean, what a sports teach you teach you how to when to channel lose, teach you how to how to become a good teammate, teach you how to matter, be a good teammate, you know, there are just so many lessons there that are applicable into the business world. And those are the two worlds I’ve been trying to pull together for an intersection for some time now. So we thought, what if we did that? What if instead of going out and trying to interview athletes, which is what most people would have expected me to do? What if I go interview executives who played who were great active sports men and women, and how that relationship with games made them better. And so it is totally changed. I mean, it’s given us just, you know, an amazing access and point to a lot of really extraordinary people. And on top of that, it just been a lot of fun doing the research to prep for some of these interviews has been off the charts exciting. We built a great team to put this together. And now the podcast has taken off, and it’s doing extraordinarily well
Vince Menzione 6:31
with has there been anything also unique or that you didn’t expect to see, when you’ve been doing these interviews? And you’ve been you’ve been focusing in on greatness, great teams, great personal greatness. Is there anything you’re seeing coming out of this that you didn’t expect?
Don Yaeger 6:46
Yeah, I think what I liked was that, you know, I mean, I’ve come up with a handful of things. I think sports teaches us. But what you also love is that each one of these folks can have their own journey, their own story, their own, something that sports taught them, you know, they might have been really good at one level, went to the next level and weren’t that good, then had to suddenly realize, boy, what is it that keeps me from being as good at the next level as I was at the last? And can I improve my game? What will that take the digits were so many, each and every one of the interviews have led somebody to share with me some piece of their journey that that I thought was really kind of neat and exciting.
Vince Menzione 7:30
That’s so cool. And we are going to provide links to your podcast in our show notes and love to hear about some of the guests you’ll be having, how many? How many interviews? Have you done so far?
Don Yaeger 7:41
We’ve done about two dozen. So we’re Yeah, and when we’re but I think we have just released? You know, at the time of our recording here, we just released our first 11. So we still have we have a bunch of the Canon a bunch more lined up. And in fact, I’m doing another interview this afternoon. So yeah, it’s it’s great. And it’s amazing how many of these executives want or appreciate the opportunity to talk about what they learned from sports, it’s far more exciting to them than their current earning statement or profit loss or, you know, what it would what was reported recently to, to Wall Street analysts, you know, it’s it’s, it’s far more exciting to them than the typical conversations they get to have.
Vince Menzione 8:27
Yeah, I agree with you. And, you know, as a big fan of podcasting, you know, we are all on our computers all day long now. And the opportunity to learn nuggets of great advice and not be on that screen. I think the podcasting is just such a great vehicle for people to learn while they’re offline. While they’re in nature, maybe they’re working out or taking a bike ride or walk. So I just think this is such a great format for you to share your message broadly.
Don Yaeger 8:53
Yeah. And what I love too, is, you know, it’s a new connective point for me with an with a lot of folks who wouldn’t naturally maybe have even heard of me, some of these folks are are the second one, you know, the podcast hits they’re sitting at to say all of their followers or all their all of their employees, and then some of those are pretty significant numbers.
Vince Menzione 9:19
Yeah. It’s amazing. You know, I was reminded or struck this morning, when a Facebook link popped up from a year ago today on my link that showed a picture of you and I and Michael or and we were in a you’re at a facility and you are keynoting an event for my organization at the time.
Don Yaeger 9:40
It seems like it was like 17 years ago now. Given what COVID is limited all of us to be able to do.
Vince Menzione 9:47
I mean, just to think about that was like we were all face to face and that was a year ago and we have been all experiencing this time like no other. We as business owners, many in the tech space addressing this new normal Your story is been a very personal one around COVID. And I was hoping you would mind sharing your experience with our listeners.
Don Yaeger 10:09
Yeah, sure. Back in June, late June, I tested positive, my wife and I both tested positive. And as is often the case, man, I think this is one of the things about the disease is that, you know, everybody wants to try to say, Well, here’s, here’s the pattern, here’s what’s going to happen this on day three, this Sunday five, whatever it will be, we both had terrifically different experiences hers, you know, she got a little bit of a cough and temperature that was elevated. And, you know, a few days later, she was fine A few days later for me, and pneumonia, actually infected my lungs. And given that I was already positive, they were worried about it. They asked me to come over and stay a night at the hospital while they were going to monitor certain things. And the next morning, they said, You know what, this is your infant, this is far worse for you than we thought we need to move you. We need to keep you here and wasn’t just like, we need to keep you here, we need to send you to the ICU, the covid unit that our local hospital and and that unit is probably I mean, everybody is aware, I mean, those are those units at these hospitals are like completely locked down. And so I went from telling my kids, hey, Daddy’s gonna go spend an overnight at this hospital to the next day without ever getting to see them again, having to say, hey, dad’s in this place, and he can’t see you. And we don’t know when it’s not gonna, when that’s gonna end. It ended up being almost nine days. And at one stage, literally, the doctor came in, they had done five days of the remdesivir treatment that a lot of people have heard about the drug that was developed for Ebola that was being used, it’s to some level of success for some people who had covid, the steroids did the plasma that had been taken from previous COVID patient to help give me the antibodies, and none of it was working and things were actually continuing to digress and doctor came in and asked me, Tao, my wife on the phone, which we did, and he proceeded to tell us, we’ve done everything we can do. We have no idea what’s next. But we don’t have another medical effort to try. Now it’d be a good time to pray. Wow. Wow. Yeah, free strong. So we some good things. I mean, good things came from it. I mean, people, we had been really private about it and not sharing it with others, largely because it you know, it didn’t feel like kind of thing, you you just blast out. You know, I know some people do. That’s not my style. And yeah, we but at that moment, we felt like we we needed ask other people to, to pray. And, and they did and really impactful next 36 hours, things begin to turn around. And the doctors said we have no explanation. But your your blood oxygen levels are improving. And things are things are getting better when we had no reason to believe they would. And, you know, day after that I was I was discharged and sent home with many bottles of oxygen to help get me through the next few weeks. But still, I got to heal at home, which was a real blessing both to my family and to me. And so yeah, it was pretty, but you know, from start to finish, now, I basically lost 28 days of life there because I couldn’t really do much during any of that window and pretty, pretty impactful.
Vince Menzione 14:07
You know, your wife, Jeanette, did such a wonderful job of keeping us informed your friends and your community. And you know, I I certainly was on that prayer link in terms of who’s so concerned about you and I am so glad to see you back. Don strong. You sound terrific. You sound so strong right now. And thanks. You know, you write and speak about overcoming adversity. All right. You talk about greatness, but you also talk about overcoming adversity and a lot of the work that you do, I’m wondering what lessons from this fantastic body of work that you’ve created, that you would now have applied to this successful recovery?
Don Yaeger 14:43
Well, I don’t think there’s I think the biggest piece of it is it’s a it’s about how you, you think, right? I mean, I have not spent one day thinking, you know, why was why why did that have to happen to me Like a dam is that there’s none of that it’s all about, you know, how do we make sure today’s better tomorrow better than yesterday, right? And where you put your mind has a lot to do with where you’ll put your feet. So I was, I think grateful that so many people taught me that over the course of years, and I get to practice it a little bit.
Vince Menzione 15:22
So how is this personal experience altered your view of life in any way? Is it? Has it altered it in any way?
Don Yaeger 15:28
Yeah, you know, I don’t think you can ever have an experience like that and not have it alter you in some way. I think if you if it doesn’t, then bad on you right? To me, I think we are. What are we right? We’re a collection of our experiences. And if we can’t be that, if we can’t be an impressive collection of our experiences, then we’re then then we’re, we’re in bad shape. So I will tell you, I feel that for me, it’s been a really, it’s just been a neat. I mean, it’s led to some amazing internal conversations in our home.
Vince Menzione 16:08
You know, imagine.
Don Yaeger 16:10
And, as I mentioned, you know, I’m a father, you know, have a 12 year old son, an 11 year old daughter, and just knowing what what they’ve said, about how that window impacted them is really, really, it’s, obviously, it’ll hopefully make me a better father. But certainly, it certainly will make the summer of 2021 that none of us will forget. I bet you can’t wait to get back out on that basketball court. If you’re a sack back yard. You’re right. Here. I am hoping that it’s soon enough. And it’s it’s funny, people think I get notes all the time. We’re so glad you’re you’re healed away. You’re not really you don’t really I mean, as I shared with you, even before you get on this podcast, you know, you know, I still have scarring on my lungs was scarring in my heart tissue from the infection don’t have full capacity. But you know what? I’m better today. That was yesterday. That’s what we said. Right? Absolutely.
Vince Menzione 17:13
And so any public service message you wish to share with our listeners? Maybe you’re not taking
Don Yaeger 17:18
COVID? Seriously, do me a favor, don’t say that for my wife?
Vince Menzione 17:23
I’ve seen that.
Don Yaeger 17:25
She actually almost Yeah. Some guy in a line at the at the seafood store a couple of weeks ago, who is, you know, reducing the concept as a hoax. And she thinks she had to be restrained by myself. But she was ready to do it. Don’t Don’t say in front of my wife. That’d be my one. That’d be my public service announcement. Yeah.
Vince Menzione 17:48
Or wear a mask at least right? Protect yourself social distance,
Don Yaeger 17:52
where about when you do spread the word so that you so that you can blame that what when she comes after you say that she misheard you.
Vince Menzione 18:03
I love that. I love that advice. And so they experience and I appreciate you opening up here because the experiences listening to it sound so frightening, and for your family, just what your children your young children had to go through during that time. So, again, we’re so glad to have you back on this side done really are. Thank you for so I am going to pivot, I want to talk about a little bit about our world of business that we both live in. Many of your clients and many of my clients are in the tech sector, many organizations that you work with have successful partner businesses, and you’ve been around this partner ecosystem. In fact, we met at a channel event where we were both speaking, but a dozen years ago. What are you seeing now? From those clients that you didn’t expect to see them? Didn’t expect to see from them just a few months ago?
Don Yaeger 18:56
Well, I think for many of them, it’s it’s around how do I, you know, partnering used to be a you know, there’s pretty cut and dry formula, right? Here’s how you do it. Here’s what, here’s what, here’s what you bring to the table. Here’s would here’s, here’s what I bring to the table, here’s what you need. Let’s do a deal. Well, sometimes now, I mean, a deal making that used to be able to happen at conferences or over dinners or drinks, you know, now we were or we’re forced into a far more virtual world, which is much more difficult to sail, right? Because you can’t, you’re not able to do things as as naturally from a personal position. But what I think you see is that those who invested in relationships are those who are able to best manage some of these things. Those who invested in transactions are those who are struggling the most, and so on. You know, I think there’s a great lesson there that, you know, you can’t and it’s hard to establish a relationship, if what you have been as a transactional partner, and now we’re forced into this new situation, it’s hard to begin that process over over zoom. Right? So how do you those who I hope that those who are going to, who will survive and will do well, and there are plenty of them, when things change, and there is there will be a, whatever that new normal might look like that the that they’ll take that lesson, and they’ll begin investing more in relationship than in partnership and relationship means knowing things about people caring about people, it means, you know, and I think that that’s going to be and it frankly, making it a more a much more human transaction than it is just about technology. And, and frankly, you know, it doesn’t matter whether you’re selling a, you know, million dollar service, or you’re selling a $12 widget, right? The it’s important that you be able to do both those be able to do what you do around relationship as often as possible.
Vince Menzione 21:19
I love what you have to say about relationship. And it comes down to empathy, trust, connection, all of those things. And like you said, there, it doesn’t happen. It’s not transactional. And I, I see this so often now on LinkedIn, where people just reach out and then they want to sell you something as opposed to,
Don Yaeger 21:35
gosh, I don’t even respond to those anymore. Like I like I wonder why LinkedIn allows that to happen.
Vince Menzione 21:43
They’ve got to create an algorithm and block it at some point. All right. So
Don Yaeger 21:47
yeah, you know, boy, thanks for accepting my request. Now, would you get on my calendar so I can show you something? Wait, no, by the way, we’re not friends at this stage. Right. Exactly. It’s, yeah. So anyway,
Vince Menzione 22:03
so much of it comes down to that I always think back to the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and Stephen Covey, and just about the relationship and the emotional bank account that you build with people over time, right?
Don Yaeger 22:14
And when you do that,
Vince Menzione 22:17
you have true partners for life. Absolutely. So you know, I am a fan and a scholar have some of your work around personal greatness, great. There’s no such thing as a scholar
Don Yaeger 22:29
of
Vince Menzione 22:32
well, maybe it’s not a scholar,
Don Yaeger 22:35
worthy of scholarship. So I’m just joking. But yeah, well, I have consumed quite a bit,
Vince Menzione 22:42
quite a bit of Don’s work over the years. And you know, from your seat, having coached so many great business leaders, and as we said, many of them are in the tech space, what characteristics Do you believe, make a great partner and we talked about relationships certainly being fundamental and foundational to that. But what other characteristics Do you believe makes a great partner?
Don Yaeger 23:03
Well, I think I think the best partners are those and you know, me, when you mentioned empathy, what’s one of the key elements of empathy is requires you to learn how to ask better questions, right, in order to truly create a pathway that allows you to develop empathy for your fellow person, your fellow client, whatever it is, it’s about asking questions, but it’s not just about asking the questions that will lead you to a sale. Often, it’s about just asking, in this day and age, all the opportunities that are to do great research on other people, before we engage it always it always, I marvel, when I end up in a phone call with somebody who says, you know, well, tell me how you, you know, tell me more about your life thinking, gosh, you know, in three minutes, you could have figured out enough about my life to ask a better question than that before you get on. So I think that, you know, it’s about doing a little research asking a few questions to develop that relationship. And open a door that, like we were just saying, on the LinkedIn, you know, requests that come in, you know, those aren’t doors, right? Those aren’t even people’s right. I mean, you know, they, so I hope none of your listeners are those who, who actively engage in that as a as a networking process. But that’s, that’s not networking either. I think a strategy doesn’t work, especially in this in the window that we’re in right now.
Vince Menzione 24:42
I so agree with you. And you know, I’m, I’m reminded of I think was the first days of COVID. We were maybe a week or two and I asked you to join one of my sales meetings. Yeah. And speak to my partners, and my team about what we were all experiencing at that time, and I’m reminded that you brought up The fact that we were all seeing so many of these emails coming from all the vendors and the travel in the airlines, the hotels, the all of the different vendors that we worked with in our lives. And we had, we needed to get away from that, because people were saying, should I send an email to my clients and use it? You were in fatik? You’re like, heck no, get on the phone with them.
Don Yaeger 25:20
Yeah, the last thing I needed or any of us needed was another email from the president of delta telling us how they were going to clean their planes better. Exactly. You know, those are just not those are not. And I guess, if you have to try to try to hit a mass quantity of people, but you know, I found it frankly, a little bit troubling here. I am a, you know, a guy that the prior to the pandemic was on Delta airline flights 678 times a week, and would end up you know, I have the status that whatever the diamond status, you know, for the next four years already locked up, and nobody from Delta ever picked up the phone to call. And I mean, they just say, hey, by the way, just making sure, you know, we’re, we’re, how difficult would that have been for delta to have unleashed folks to do that for their best customers? Yeah. But instead, I got the same email that, you know, My son, who’s 12, and has been on three Delta flights got from the Delta president. So you just you look at those things, you realize there’s nothing about that that’s truly, wonderfully valuable. And they all start with the same line about how they value the health and welfare of their employees as much as they do anyone else. I mean, they there was such a darn formula that, you know, it was a zero value. Yeah, I
Vince Menzione 26:49
think it again, comes back to we talked about about relationships and making it personal.
Don Yaeger 26:54
Right, right, complete.
Vince Menzione 26:56
So as you know, from my previous interviews, I’m fascinated by how people got to this particular spot in life. And you know, you and I have talked about your personal professional journey before, but I wanted to go back to that journey and ask you a couple of questions. Specifically, I know your dad played an instrumental part in you building a body of work that manifested in your greatness presentations and your book. Were there any other great mentors that shaped your journey?
Don Yaeger 27:26
Oh, yeah. Gosh, all I mean, a number, you know, from a journalism standpoint, I mean, I had a couple of college professors who, one of whom kept by name of Fred Blevins, who became, you know, an editor who, at a large newspaper, who hired me right out of college, so I, you know, but the learning I Cheves with him, you know, over, you know, over a drink at a bar after work was far greater than anything I’ve probably ever learned from him between the lines, if you will, right, you know, the window to gosh, you know, Coach with people that, like Dale Brown, the basketball coach at Louisiana State whose book I wrote, and they became my best one of my best friends. Ultimately, it was best man at my wedding. And godfather both of my children I mean, that’s like Dale Brown has been a game changer. And through him, I got to know john wooden better and Coach Wooden became an important part of a mentorship relationship between the two of us today, it’s a guy named john Maxwell, who regularly invest time in me and does so because he’s just a giver. I mean, he, you know, he doesn’t just preach it and sell sell video programs around around giving. He actually does it. And so yeah, there’s been so many that I’ve, at any given time, I always try to make sure I have one or two that I could I could legitimately call a mentor. And that’s been an important part of my life. Long growth. You know, you talked about john wooden I think he just posted it was his hundred and 10th birthday. Was that today? Yeah, he would be he would have been. He died at 99 and a half, but he would win 110 today.
Vince Menzione 29:16
Yeah. Wow. Happy birthday.
Don Yaeger 29:18
In my life. He is still 110 He’s good. He’s still he’s still alive is one can be. I
Vince Menzione 29:26
was just sharing with somebody his practice of putting on your socks properly. Just yesterday. In fact, it’s just such a priceless piece of advice. Yep. I want to pivot here on like, was there a point in time Don was there’s like a seminal moment that you can pinpoint pivot point in your life that sparked this fire to become the doneger that we all know and admire today.
Don Yaeger 29:52
The last half of that question is always part I struggle with but I would tell you, I think this seminal part and you know, and I hate to keep getting Coming back to two medical challenges, but I haven’t had many, but the ones I’ve had have been have been game changing. Yeah, 15 years ago, I was diagnosed with cancer, stage three, and thyroid cancer. And it was, you know, the way it was found and discovered was a crazy situation. But it ended up that from that moment on, because it was accidentally discovered, right, it was accidentally found. You begin to, to see, and then when the doctor tells you, you know, what, if this accident doesn’t occur, and it’s three months from now, the the spread and the challenge you had might not have been as reverse as manageable as we’ll be able to manage it from here out. And, and you start thinking, gosh, you know, there was a guy who broke my nose playing basketball that ultimately, it was the broken nose that led me to the to, to a surgery table to get my nose repaired that found the cancer. And he saw me go, gosh, and for years after that, I still played hoop for that guy. And when I would guard him, he would like tell me to back off, and I’d go No way, dude, you broke my nose. And he’d say, No, I didn’t I saved your life. Wow. He had, you know, we had two different perspectives on the same swing of the elbow. But yeah, you know, I mean, that was a moment where I began to just cherish and value things differently, including relationships and family, career and other achievements didn’t really matter as much.
Vince Menzione 31:41
I remember you talked about the fact that you pivoted at one point you were still working for Sports Illustrated as an as an associated editor, and then pivoted into the world of speaking and writing books.
Don Yaeger 31:53
Yeah, they, you know, at the Met Sports Illustrated, they had a speaker’s bureau of sorts of, you know, where advertisers and others could actually get writers to come speak at their events. And then I discovered that I really liked it, which was not something I thought I would do. And yeah, change the game, because just got opportunities to, in my own way, I was representing the magazine. Right. But it but I was giving a chance to learn a new professional at the same time, and it turned out pretty well.
Vince Menzione 32:27
So is there one piece of advice you would give to someone you’re mentoring?
Don Yaeger 32:30
Well, I think it’s it’s a willingness not to be tunnel visioned. You know, I think too many of us believe we’ve we’ve drawn a little map, either mentally or literally, physically. It said, I have to do this by 35. And this by 38. And this by 40. They’re often positionally driven, right? That’s the map that we’re drawing for ourselves. Yeah. And I think in the, in the pursuit of maps like that, you often find yourself missing opportunities missing the chance to go, you know, either try something you might not that maybe would take you completely off your map and in a different direction, might even reverse course on you in some way. You have to. But too many of us have, like little I had done that I had laid out I had to achieve these things by these dates, or my own mind. I was a failure, or not, maybe not a failure, but I certainly wasn’t. I wasn’t doing all of it I believed I could be capable of and, and you know, it was those that that’s a mistake, huge mistake. Yeah,
Vince Menzione 33:44
I had one reason guests a dream out loud. And another one say be bold. And I think what you’re saying is kind of both of those plus salutely. Yeah, I mean, it’s
Don Yaeger 33:54
gonna be open. Right and be open. Yeah. Because if you’re tunnel vision says I have to then what you miss is I could, right?
Vince Menzione 34:04
Absolutely. Be open. Yeah. So if you had the chance to invite any three people to dinner, who would they be?
Don Yaeger 34:14
And why? Any three people at dinner? Who would appeal Why? Well, one, I mean, this, everybody says this, I think But Abraham Lincoln, right, you know, the guy it’s just always fascinated me. I’ve read so much about him and just tried to learn leadership lessons from him and the fact that so many others that I regard as great leaders look to him and say, Wow, there’s there’s somebody special. So Abraham Lincoln would would certainly probably would be there. You know, I’m gonna avoid faith figures because obviously you would always want to invite Jesus to a dinner, but but I’m going to avoid that and say that the next one for me would be Winston Churchill, who I think, you know, again, just as I mean, boy, the guy had so many opportunities to have given up and said, Now, you know, they’re just there’s so many things about it that are that make him a leader I’d love to learn from. And then I would, you know, I would probably, I don’t know, maybe Mother Teresa. I don’t know. I mean, I just think Teresa, you know, she just, again, just just another one who, who, not in the same way, not with the same strength, not with the, you know, elected official background, but somebody who just said, I’m gonna live my life this way. And oh, by the way, if you know, you live your life the right way you can become an international figure.
Vince Menzione 35:54
Both passionate, then he will and humility when I
Don Yaeger 35:56
wrote her. Yeah.
Vince Menzione 35:58
So three great people. What an amazing dinner. That would be I would love to be there, or listening in.
Don Yaeger 36:04
The best part is I would I probably other than asking questions would never talk,
Vince Menzione 36:10
which would be awesome. I would wonder how much alcohol you need for Winston Churchill to have a good time. What a great leader, though, oh, my goodness,
Don Yaeger 36:19
that sort of took the prime open. I certainly order a bottle. Absolutely
Vince Menzione 36:24
done. You have been an amazing guest. I know our time today is compressed. I want to thank you for joining any closing remarks or advice you have for our listeners?
Don Yaeger 36:34
Well, I just, you know, me knowing who your target audience is, you know, I just was say that, that I think the importance, the important lesson, and thought about how to partner differently and better, you know, this pandemic will come to its conclusion at some stage. I think the biggest question you have to ask yourself is how will you emerge differently? How will you know, if what you what you’re doing is kind of biding time waiting to waiting for it to end so you can go back to what you did before, bad on you, right? What a loss emerged differently. And when you do, you know, be intentional about that, but about those ways that you will emerge differently. Be proud and, and be bold, like people emerge differently. Be proud and be bold. I love what your advice is for our listeners done. Thank you for so much for joining the Ultimate Guide to partnering today. Thanks, Vince.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai