Early tech often seems like it solves a problem that doesn’t need fixing, but it can and does lead to sweeping change over time. In this Tough Things First podcast, Ray Zinn discusses the nexus between curiosity and innovation and why they are inseparable.

Rob Artigo: I’m Rob Artigo, your guest host for this edition of the Tough Things First Podcast, where I get a chance to talk with Ray Zinn, as noted the longest serving CEO in Silicon Valley. And that’s for good reason, he’s a pro, inventor, and an all around good guy to talk to because he’s got a lot of knowledge. Thanks again, great to be back with you, Ray.

Ray Zinn: Well, thank you, Rob.

Rob Artigo: Well, I was reading a Forbes article recently, it got me thinking about the nexus between curiosity and innovation. And so we’ll get to that in a second. But maybe I could ask you, and we can learn a little bit about you, if there was a time in your life when you realized you had a keen sense of curiosity?

Ray Zinn: What piqued my curiosity is when there was a problem to be solved that wasn’t being solved by a present method, as you would. And so I’d say, “Okay, well, how can I solve this problem?”

(more…)

From politics to road rage, there are all kinds of wars, but do they all need to be fought? In this Tough Things First podcast, Ray Zinn discusses conflict in our homes, communities, and abroad and how to seek alternatives to fighting. (Click Here to Watch on YouTube!)

Rob Artigo: Welcome to the Tough Things First podcast, a special edition of the Tough Things First podcast. If you’re listening to the podcast somewhere, maybe even at toughthingsfirst.com, right next to this post on toughthingsfirst.com, under podcast, you can click on the, “Click here to watch,” button, and then you can watch the video instead of just listening. If that’s what you choose. Otherwise, just keep on listening. We’re glad to have you. As I said, this is the Tough Things First podcast. It’s your indispensable source for business, leadership and life advice, with the longest serving CEO in Silicon Valley. I’m Rob Artigo. And he’s the longest serving CEO, Ray Zinn. Hello again, Ray.

Ray Zinn: Hi, Rob. Good to see you today.

Rob Artigo: Great to be back, Ray, and it’s nice to be on video and it’s good to see you.

Ray Zinn: Well, welcome to everybody on video, if you’re watching.

Rob Artigo: Ray, there’s plenty of conflict in the world today, across the country and even in our own neighborhoods and our lives. We see this stuff everywhere. I mean, you see it on the news, but you also see it in neighborhoods and the way people interact with each other. I remember just the other day you told me that Julie, who works very closely with us, she suggested you write a little bit about wars because of the conflicts in the world and whether they were large and small, and they seemed to be ever present. And you took that opportunity to look at the larger picture of conflict, not just in where we see shooting wars going on, but the kinds of wars that we experience in our own personal lives. So tell me a little bit about where your thoughts came from. Give me some thoughts and we’ll go from there.

Ray Zinn: Well, we have wars going on even in politics. I mean between political parties, religious factions, and these wars stem from hatred. Hatred is the basis for these wars. And at the root of hatred is selfishness. So we want what we want when we want it, as opposed to looking at other people’s needs. What’s causing all of this turmoil, as you would, is just this evil feeling and hatred toward one another, whether it be in your neighborhood, whether it be in your school or in your religion, or what country you’re from. It makes no difference. This feeling of hatred just permeates this world, this very difficult world that we live in. As beautiful as it is, it’s still filled with a lot of animosity and distrust, one for another, and so there’s where the basis for this conflict is.

Rob Artigo: So I was looking at what you were writing about this and it seems the answer, according to what you write, is to quit thinking about what you want, but rather helping others with what they need, not what they want.

Ray Zinn: Exactly.

Rob Artigo: And you say, “As the saying goes, ‘Share and share alike.'” Talk about that a little bit.

Ray Zinn: It’s difficult to do though because we’re greedy. We are selfish. As little children, we cry and we scream when we don’t get what we want. We throw a tantrum. Basically, what’s happening around the world is everybody’s throwing a tantrum, whether it be a political faction or a country or a religious conflict. It just boils down to we throw a tantrum. Now, there’s one tantrum which is just crying or screaming. The other tantrum is when we actually start shelling each other with bombs and rockets and doing all sorts of terrible things to each other. Of course, that’s the extreme. So in order for us to get around that, to minimize that, we need to find a way to love one another. So loving one another, even loving your enemies, as you would, loving those who, “Despitefully use you,” as the Bible says, takes a lot of character.

You have to be the bigger person, the better person, the one that’s willing to step back and say, “Okay, these things too shall pass,” rather than just put up your dukes, as they say, put your dukes up and you’re going to, “Okay, we’re going to fight over this.” And so, it’s really boils down to stepping back and not engaging in the fight. It takes two to fight. One person can’t fight. It takes two people. Now, maybe you’ll fight within yourself. That’s okay, but don’t put up your dukes and start taking on someone else.

Rob Artigo: Yeah. I was thinking about the fact that since we have the ubiquitous cell phone and the video cameras and then viral videos, we see a lot of people just throwing tantrums in airports and in grocery stores and places where… Just because they feel like they were wronged in some way or they’re not getting things their way, they throw a tantrum and we get to see it. I suppose people used to throw tantrums before, but now it seems like we see it all the time on these viral videos. And like you said, it can be a tantrum where you end up with a shooting war, or it can be just that you’re going over and attacking the police station or you’re throwing a tantrum in the grocery store and throwing things around just because you didn’t get what you wanted or you didn’t get the discount you wanted, or somebody’s accusing you of shoplifting or something. And people, they just go bonkers, and again, like you said, it’s about grabbing what you want at the exclusion of everybody else.

Ray Zinn: Well, it’s like road rage. How many times have you… when you’re driving, somebody cuts you off or does something you didn’t like and you say, “You idiot, you jerk”? Of course, they don’t hear you. They can’t hear what you’re saying. You may put up your fist or you may give them the California salute, whatever. But still, you’re taking on this anger, this, “I don’t like you. I don’t respect you. I don’t think you’re a good person.” And we have to learn to respect all individuals irrespective of who they are. And so in that respect, you may have to just back off. You may have to just bite your tongue, as they say. My mother used to say, “Bite your tongue, son.” And then let it go. Conflict is not going to resolve anything. Even though you may think it does. I mean, sure, you’re going to say, “Okay, I’m going to get even,” but that’s not the way to resolve conflicts is to get even. You want to be the better person. If you don’t back off and take a different perspective on it, you might get hurt.

In other words, you may put up your dukes and you may find out that they dropped you instead of you dropping them, so be aware of how you feel toward others. That’s the key here, is be aware how you feel. If you feel angry, maybe you better not go out in public, or maybe you’re not engaged in a meeting or a phone call or going to the store. Sometimes we do feel upset. And when we feel upset, we should just go sit in a corner and until we cool off. As my mom used to tell me, “Ray, you go sit in a corner and face the wall,” as you would, “Until you cool off.” Or count to 10 or whatever… Whatever it takes for you to cool down, that’s what you should do. But conflict is not going to resolve anything. If anything, it actually causes more problems.

Rob Artigo: Do you think we get bogged down stressing about and worrying about the big global conflicts that we can’t do anything about, and less about the things that go on around us? And how does that impact our ability to make a difference in our local lives, in our families, in our own grocery stores, in our own communities?

Ray Zinn: Well, I meant we were talking about ourselves. We can’t act for others. In other words, you can only act for yourself. And so, I’m not expecting… If there’s global conflict, if somebody asks you for a comment, if you can’t comment nicely, if you can’t say something good, don’t say it at all. Just say, “Well, there are problems and conflict will exist.” They say, “Well, but how do you feel about that particular conflict?” You say, “Well, I’m not going to take sides. I just hope they can resolve it and we can move on.” So don’t engage in saying, “Oh, I’m for this company, or I’m for that football team, or I’m for that religion or that…” Don’t engage in a combat.

The purpose of this podcast is to convince you that you need to act for yourself. You can’t act for your neighbor. You can’t act for the country across the water or whatever. You can only act for yourself. And that’s the purpose of this podcast, is to get you to reflect on how you are. And if we will all start acting properly, respectfully, not using condescending or vulgar language, trying to bite our tongue, as my mother used to say, that’s the key to this podcast, is that you can act for yourself. You can’t act for others. So please, you be the bigger person. If it means you have to swallow, then take a big swallow. Back off, walk away, sit in a corner, count to 10, whatever you got to do. Don’t get involved in a conflict.

Rob Artigo: Yeah, you can pause for a second or a couple of seconds or 10 seconds before responding so you have a chance to reflect on what your next action or words will do and how that’ll play out.

Ray Zinn: We know people like Mother Teresa who’s got a… We never hear anything bad about her. We never hear about her losing her temper or whatever. All you hear is how kind and how gentle she was. I’m sure she was involved in conflict. I’m sure she had religious conflicts in her job and her function. And I’m sure there were wars going on during the time of Mother Teresa. So you can still be a kind… Or like Jesus was. He says, “Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do.” Even though they were sitting there slaughtering him on the cross, he still said, “Forgive them.” And so, you be the bigger person. You be the one to forgive and forget. Forgive and forget.

Rob Artigo: From what I’m hearing from you, it sounds like avoiding war or conflict, to use those a little bit interchangeably here in this podcast, whether that’s personal or global, it’s about self-evaluation. It’s to figure out if your own motives may play a role in this, and to take a moment to figure out… How are you going to be the bigger person? It’s to figure out whether or not your motives are correct, I think. I mean, that’s what I’m getting out of it.

Ray Zinn: Yeah, don’t escalate. Don’t escalate. Just back away. You don’t have to be… take command. Well, except for yourself. Take command of yourself. Back away. Count to 10. Try to learn to be kind and understanding of others, even if you disagree with them.

Rob Artigo: Well, let’s wrap up just real quick. You’re talking about one aspect of this, which is when someone feels threatened, they become defensive. And that defensiveness can lead to animosity towards… I’m party A, and party B. I perceive party B as wronging me in some way. Maybe they’re going to build a strip mall right down the street from my house, and I didn’t know they were going to do that. Now I’m all upset. Or something’s changed in the law, now all of a sudden I have to pay or I have to remove a tree, or I have to do something. These things can say, “Oh, suddenly that other party becomes my little enemy in this conflict, and now I get defensive.” The defensiveness becomes another aspect of how we end up in a conflict that maybe could be avoided.

Ray Zinn: It’s that flight or fight syndrome. If you’re a prey animal, you’re not the aggressor. But once you get cornered, then it is fight. The flight, if you can flee. If you have to, if you’re cornered and you have no choice, then you fight, but fight nicely. Be nice in your combat, as you would, as long as you can protect yourself without having to get into a physical altercation. This fight or flight. Flee if you can. Fight if you must. But make sure you do it in a kind and respectful way.

Rob Artigo: I think that’s well said. And I don’t think we can improve on that at all, so I’m going to go ahead and close this out by thanking everyone for… If you’re watching the video, thank you very much for joining us on YouTube, with Ray Zinn, and watching the Tough Things First podcast, not just listening to it. And those of you who are listening, we appreciate that as well. This has been a special video edition of The Tough Things First podcast. As always, you could reach out to Ray Zinn with your questions at toughthingsfirst.com. Continue your education and the conversation with all the podcasts, blogs, and blinks, blinks, links to information about Ray’s books, Tough Things First and the Zen of Zinn series. I keep thinking about blinks. Well, one, two, and three is the Zen of Zinn series. Make sure you pick up those books. You won’t regret it. Thanks again, Ray. Awesome podcast.

Ray Zinn: I thank you, Rob.

Success in the mind comes before anything gets started in business, but how much consideration is given to the chances of failure and is there a way to improve those chances? Ray Zinn discusses why businesses fail in this new Tough Things First podcast.

Rob Artigo: Rob Artigo here. Once again, your guest host for this edition of the Tough Things First podcast. I’m an entrepreneur in California. It’s great to be with you again, Ray, for another great podcast.

Ray Zinn: Well, I look forward to this one especially, Rob.

(more…)

The term “supply chain” can be defined simply, but its complexities bring advantages and vulnerabilities the world over. In this edition of the Tough Things First podcast, Ray Zinn explains why interruptions have such massive ramifications whether a subtle change or a gigantic disruption.

Rob Artigo: You’re listening to the Tough Things First podcast. I’m your guest host, Rob Artigo. Here once again with this great opportunity to sit here and talk with Ray Zinn, with an unmatched level of experience in building business and managing successful profitable organizations in Silicon Valley. It’s great to be back, Ray.

Ray Zinn: Thanks, Rob. It’s always good to have you on because you’re so cheerful.

Rob Artigo: Well, this is a simple concept. I think this podcast is about a big complicated topic, but this is a simple concept. A supply chain is a focus on the core activities within an organization required to convert raw materials or component parts to a finished product or service. Now, another way of looking at that in a bigger picture, right? Is the supply chain is the activities required by the organization to deliver the goods or services to the consumer. And if something goes awry there, it can quickly go off the rails and end up costing the consumer a lot more. So it’s not so simple. Is it Ray?

Ray Zinn: No. I mean, the supply chain is more than just manufacturing the product, is how do you get that product to the consumer.

(more…)

Silicon Valley has had more than its share of global market game changers, but also a larger than average share of gigantic failures. Sometimes if you invest in a unicorn, you get the horn. In this Tough Things First podcast, Ray Zinn discusses Elizabeth Holmes and the funding of fantasy.

Rob Artigo: Welcome, everyone, back to the Tough Things First Podcast, a top destination for entrepreneurial leadership in Silicon Valley and across the globe. I’m Rob Artigo, I’m an entrepreneur in California, here once again with Ray Zinn. Hi Ray.

Ray Zinn: Hey, Rob. It’s so good to be with you again.

Rob Artigo: I’m flattered by the opportunities every time. I’m sure you have heard of Elizabeth Holmes. She is not an unknown name in Silicon Valley, of course. She dropped out of college at age 19. She launched Theranos, I think that’s how you pronounce that.

Ray Zinn: Theranos, Theranos.

Rob Artigo: Theranos, okay, Theranos. She touted Theranos as a breakthrough health technology company. She promoted the company’s technology. She said her technology performed blood tests rapidly and required only a very small amount of blood and could be performed rapidly thanks to this small automated device, which she’s commonly pictured holding just between her index finger and her thumb. That was 20 years ago when she dropped out of school to start this. Today, the company is no more. Holmes went from being the world’s youngest female billionaire now to down on her luck, ex billionaire, convicted of fraud.

(more…)

One headline read: “…the Great Resignation may be followed by the Great Regret.” But how long will that take?

In this edition of the Tough Things First podcast with legendary Silicon Valley CEO Ray Zinn, Ray is joined by his long-time friend and former Micron CFO Robert Barker, to mull over the state of the Great Resignation and its fallout.

Ray Zinn: Welcome to another wonderful and fantastic Tough Things First podcast. This is Ray Zinn. I’m the CEO of Micrel and also Tough Things First, and I’m so delighted to be able to have this podcast once again with my good friend and employee, Robert Barker. Robert was my CFO Vice-President of Business Development and Human Resources for many years. And so I’m just delighted to have Robert back on my program today. Hello, Robert.

Robert Barker: Hi, Ray. Happy to be here.

Ray Zinn: So, let’s talk about this supposed big subject of the Great Resignation. Have you ever heard of that?

Robert Barker: I have heard of that.

Ray Zinn: What’s your thinking about the Great Resignation?

Robert Barker: Well, I think that it’s a bunch of people that once they decided they didn’t have to drive into work and back and they could work at home, and once they had a different environment, and also that they decided, well, maybe I don’t need to work as much. And I think that the stock market was up and they thought, “Gee, maybe I don’t need to work as much.”

(more…)

Actions before words. How leaders benefit from avoiding the same mistakes. When does a leader’s appearance matter?

In this final episode of Ray Zinn’s Tough Things First podcast series on Essential Leadership, Ray looks back at some of the major lessons so entrepreneurs can look forward to a new energized focused on success in business and life.

Rob Artigo: Welcome to the final episode of the inspiring special series called Essential Leadership with Ray Zinn here on the Tough Things First Podcast. I’m your guest host, Rob Artigo, I’m a writer and entrepreneur in California. Good to be back, Ray.

Ray Zinn: Hey Rob, man I hate this’ll be the last one, but we’ll come up with some others, but this has been an exceptional series, Essential Leadership. I also call it Exceptional Leadership, both of them have E’s and so essential, exceptional. Those are things that define what we’ve been talking about during this series of ten podcasts.

Rob Artigo: If you understand the essential qualities of leadership and you put them in place, you will be demonstrating what it’s like to be an excellent leader. Don’t you think?

Ray Zinn: Well, exceptional leader, for sure.

Rob Artigo: Exceptional leader, sure.

Ray Zinn: Yeah, this is a reason why we did this series, is to give people a chance to hear what we believe are the essential attributes of good leadership.

Rob Artigo: Well, I thought maybe it’d be a good idea to close out just by reviewing some, not all, of what we talked about in the ten episodes, or the nine previous episodes. But to talk about some of those that stand out to me as being worth reviewing, I think they’re all worth listening to, learning about, but we only have so much time.

(more…)

Leaders can inspire a culture of integrity in any organization, but what is more effective, words or actions?

As we continue this special series of podcasts, Ray Zinn provides his thoughts on the difference between projecting an attitude of integrity in words and proving integrity through actions. Which priority is essential for the truly successful leader.

Rob Artigo: Welcome to Episode Nine in Ray Zinn’s Tough Things First podcast series on essential leadership. I am your guest host, Rob Artigo. I’m a writer and entrepreneur in California. Hello, Ray.

Ray Zinn: Hey, Rob. You’re sounding good today, buddy.

Rob Artigo: Thanks. I just feel like we’re getting close to the end, and I’m not looking forward to really closing this out. I just am enjoying the conversations about leadership here in this series.

Ray Zinn: Well, thank you.

Rob Artigo: We have eight terrific episodes behind us, now onto number nine, and this is leaders. You’ve said leaders of integrity inspire confidence and admiration through their actions, not just their words. Also you’ve said many leaders claim that integrity is important to them, but good leaders put their actions where their name is bad. What do you mean by that?

Ray Zinn: You are who you portray yourself to be, and so when we talk about ethics or integrity, it comes from the heart. It’s doing what’s right when no one’s watching, so it has to be kind of a basic part of who you are as a person, and your language, the kind of words you use, whether you use vulgar language or whether you use clean language, how you communicate, when you communicate, that all goes into who you are as an individual.

(more…)

Successful leaders establish trust with their clients, customers, and employees. It doesn’t stop there.

Part 8 of our special series on Essential Leadership, Ray Zinn discusses why trust is a priority, the signs a leader has failed to build trust, and how to reverse that failure.

Rob Artigo: Welcome to a special edition of the Tough Things First podcast, as we continue Ray Zinn’s series on Essential Leadership. This episode is episode eight on building trust. I’m your guest host, Rob Artigo. I’m a writer and business owner in California. Hi, Ray.

Ray Zinn: Hello, Rob. How you doing today?

Rob Artigo: I’m doing very well. Thank you for asking. So Ray, what does it mean to build trust with the people who work for you?

Ray Zinn: Well, at the heart of a relationship, I don’t care if it’s husband or wife, if it’s friends, if it’s your employee, trust is at the heart of a relationship. And so when we think of trust, we think of something that has a higher level. It’s devotion. It’s kindness. It’s in terms of being trustworthy and honest and ethical and all those things wrapped up into what is trust.

(more…)

These words sound the same, but a leader needs to know the difference.

In Episode 7 of our special series on Essential Leadership, Ray Zinn discusses the entrepreneurial skill of valuing the difference between “ministering” and “administering.”

Rob Artigo:    Welcome to a special edition of the Tough Things First podcast with Ray’s series, Essential Leadership. This is episode seven. I’m your guest host, Rob Artigo, writer and entrepreneur in California. Hi Ray.

Ray Zinn:       Hey Rob, good to be with you again.

Rob Artigo:   Now, you’ve said, “Ministering and administering are two words that sound similar, but are very different”, define the difference.

Ray Zinn:       Administering is more like supervising, managing, taking care of the business as you would. Whereas ministering is like a minister does he’s… Or the difference between say a department at administering is more like what accounting does and ministering is more like what human resources does. So, ministering is more the touchy, feely, putting your arm around somebody and providing us in the right way.

Rob Artigo:   Of course.

Ray Zinn:       And where you’re showing love, concern, empathy, sympathy and so forth. Where administering none of that’s there, it’s all about dealing with the numbers, not the person. So, administering is the numbers, administering is a person.

(more…)

You can learn on the job after failing, but if you want to beat the odds?

Part 6 of our special series on Essential Leadership, Ray Zinn discusses the long odds of entrepreneurial success, and the for pillars that can building a strong foundations for beating the odds.

Rob Artigo: Welcome to everyone listening to this podcast. It’s great to have Ray with me again to chat a little bit about Essential Leadership. Ray, you’ve written that trying to start a company is like playing Russian roulette with five of six chambers loaded. I don’t like the odds there. And so statistics, you’ve said show that nine out of 10 startups fail within the first three years. Why is that?

Ray Zinn:    Well, because they lack the training and the understanding of what it takes to run a company. So it’s kind of like somebody who wants to go into medicine or into surgery and hasn’t studied how to do it or practice even how to be a good surgeon.

Rob Artigo:  Yeah, you can’t just say that, I slept at a Holiday Inn last night and that was enough. And I think that some people get into businesses and basically that’s all they’ve done. Your philosophy though, of course, is that, to beat those odds, which are so bad, that you really need to start with your education and take four college classes. You say everyone needs to take Basic Accounting, Financial and Managerial Accounting, Business Law and Basic Economics. Why do you think those are the four?

Ray Zinn:     Well, because that’s the essentials of understanding how to run a company. There’s a thing called the income statement and a balance sheet that every company has to understand. And so Basic Accounting and Financial Managerial Accounting, those are two separate classes, help teach you how to learn and how to interpret an income statement and a balance sheet. An income statement of course is the statement that talks about your earnings, what your revenues were, what your expenses are and what income you received from that particular effort. So, that’s the income statement then that flows into the balance sheet. Balance sheet talks about your assets and liabilities and your net worth and they flow together. And so in understanding how they work, how they flow together, how to do a cash flow statement is all part of Basic Accounting and Financial Managerial Accounting.

(more…)

How we carry ourselves and dress at work affects our ability to lead. But professional bearing doesn’t end there.

In this special edition of the Tough Things First podcast, Essential Leadership Episode Five, Ray discusses how we look and carry ourselves in the workplace and why it matters.

Rob Artigo: Welcome to episode number five in Ray Zinn’s Tough Things First podcast series on essential leadership. I’m your guest host once again, Rob Artigo. I’m with you throughout this entire series. I’m happy to be here. I’m a writer and I’m also an investigator in California. Hi Ray!

Ray Zinn: Hey Rob. So good being with you again.

Rob Artigo: Well, we’ve had four great episodes, they’re now behind us. Although the listeners can go back and listen to them if they haven’t caught them yet, go back and listen to them and it’s not like you have to catch up, but, but please do go back and listen because there’s a lot of good information there and, yeah, you’re going to need it as you move along in the next five podcasts after this one.

 So now number five, the professional bearing, the subject of professional bearing on an effective leader. So Ray, you know what I’m talking about when I say professional bearing, right?

Ray Zinn: Absolutely. It’s the way you present yourself.

(more…)

Founders and visionary CEOs can have passion, both real and imaginary.

In Episode Four in this Tough Things First podcasts series on Essential Leadership, Ray Zinn discusses how to foster real passion without looking like a phony.

Rob Artigo: Welcome to a special edition of the Tough Things First podcast. As we continue, Ray Zinn’s new series on essential leadership. This is episode four, Inspiring Passion. I’m your guest host, Rob Artigo and I’m inspired to be here. I’m passionate about doing this podcast, of course, so I wouldn’t be here, right, Rick?

Ray Zinn: Exactly. When we’re all that, we’re all listening.

Rob Artigo: Well, you know this better than most of us out here in the world, as you were not satisfied with what your career was like and took the risk in the late   s to pivot and start Micrel, which you ran for nearly four decades to some great success, I might add. So, you had passion, correct?

Ray Zinn: Absolutely. You know, if you don’t have passion, you might as well just roll over and bury yourself.

Rob Artigo: Can you see that when somebody comes up in front of you that they’ve got an idea but they don’t have a sparkle in their eye that says by passion?

Ray Zinn: Sure. You can tell that even when you go to buy a vehicle or go into a particular store. You can tell if that sales attendant has passion because they just exude enthusiasm.

Rob Artigo: So, tell our listeners right now, just about how important it is to recognize that people can see that in you.

Ray Zinn: That’s if you don’t believe in yourself, you’re not going to believe in the product. And so, you want to make sure that you can support that product or that service that you’re being involved. So, passion means that it’s unwavering and goes to what we talked about in an earlier podcast about Try, Try Again.  The person with passion just doesn’t give up. They say, “Stick with it.” You got to stick with the task until the task sticks with you. And so that’s the key for being passionate.

(more…)

Effective leaders are effective decision makers.

In this special edition of the Tough Things First Podcast, Essential Leadership Episode Three, Ray looks at what it means to exercise sound judgement and what the alternative looks like.

Rob Artigo: Welcome to a special edition of the Tough Things First podcast with Ray’s new series Essential Leadership. This is episode three on sound judgment as a leader. I’m your guest host, Rob Artigo writer and investigator in California. Hi Ray.

Ray Zinn: Hey Rob. This is always wonderful to be able to do these podcasts with you.

Rob Artigo: This is a great topic. I’m very excited about being able to do this and continue this. I mean, this is episode three, got a few more to go on this. Hopefully we’re going to do about 10, maybe more depending on how thrilled we get about continuing this, but I hope people are getting a lot out of it. I know I am. I do think it of value to the listeners, particularly those who haven’t spent a lot of time thinking about their own leadership skills and where they can go from there.

Yes. You can develop skills. Yes. You can learn them and you can implement them if you just practice them basic daily habits that are good and positive. Let’s talk about what does it mean to exercise sound and judgment? In your evaluation as a leader, what is sound judgment?

Ray Zinn: It’s wisdom. It’s being wise. You can make a judgment on anything, but sound judgment requires knowledge and experience. There’s no substitute for either of those. Knowledge without experience, is just learning, having experience without knowledge means it’s just trial and error. You want both, you want to have both, knowledge and experience if you’re going to exercise sound judgment.

(more…)

Leaders of all shapes and sizes can fall victim to one of the great challenges managers face, the danger of trying too hard only to find they’re doing the same thing over and over again.

In this special edition of the Tough Things First Podcast, Essential Leadership Episode two, Ray looks at being realistic and knowing when to change tactics.

Rob Artigo: Welcome to a special edition of the Tough Things First Podcast with Ray’s new series on essential leadership. I’m your guest host, Rob Artigo. I’m a writer and investigator in California. I’m happy to be back, Ray.

Ray Zinn: Hey Rob, it’s always good to do these podcasts with you. You’re so energetic and positive.

Rob Artigo: Well, this is a great subject to pick your brain about. Leadership is, as we discussed in the first episode, it’s a very broad topic. And it’s rich for grabbing those little details out of the realm of leadership, and exploring them a little bit so that we can grow and be better leaders. And if we’re just okay leaders, we can be better leaders. Even if we’re great leaders, we can still learn something, because we should be humble enough at least to understand that we don’t know everything. So let’s launch into episode number two of the Tough Things First series on essential leadership. I was reading-

Ray Zinn: Let’s do it.

Rob Artigo: Yes. I was reading your latest book, which is Zen of Zinn 2, which follows Zen of Zinn. And you have all these basically little passages that you can read each day, or a couple times a day if you choose, and get little bits of wisdom about leadership, about life. And I find it very staying across the board. I mean, there’s this thing about daily affirmations. You get to sit there in the morning and read something. But it does give you something to get a frame of mind and focus on something. Particularly if you take something out of a particular reading and go, “You know what? I’m going to try to implement this in my life today.” Zen of Zinn 2. So if you have these thoughts and inspirations. Today’s topic, I think we’ll just say, what it takes to handle setbacks and failures, and yet still succeed.

So great leaders, I know like you, tend to be tenacious. So remind us, in Zen of Zinn 2 you have an expression, or you actually quote the expression. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. But you have a caveat to that. What’s that caveat?

Ray Zinn: Well, he who repeats the past fails in the future is another saying that I have. So it’s if you keep doing the same thing over and over, and expecting a different result, that’s insanity. So don’t keep repeating the same mistake and expecting a different result. You’re going to get the same result over and over and over. So that’s a concept of try, try again, but don’t repeat the same mistake.

Rob Artigo: Do you see that a lot in the business world? (more…)