302: Nick Kokonas - How To See The Genius In People

<p>The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk</p> <p>302: Nick Kokonas - How To See The Genius In People</p> <p>Full show notes can be found at <a href= "http://www.LearningLeader.com">www.LearningLeader.com</a></p> <ul> <li>Commonalities of sustaining excellence: <ul> <li>Intellectual curiosity - A desire to learn. Not for the outcome, but for the curiosity to learn more</li> <li>Healthy degree of paranoia - What <a href= "http://bit.ly/2v8THlf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jim Collins</a> would call "productive paranoia" <ul> <li>In the pursuit of excellence</li> </ul> </li> <li>"No one is giving it away for free. It takes effort."</li> </ul> </li> <li>Balance -- "I get manic at times. I'm not always well balanced." The skill is in being able to turn it on and off... Which can happen over time</li> <li>"I've always been curious about how things worked..."</li> <li>Why it was helpful to go to Colgate University <ul> <li>A Liberal Arts school forced Nick to study areas outside of just his major. Made him more well-rounded</li> <li>He "learned how to learn" -- Forced him to wrestle with existential questions</li> </ul> </li> <li>Rhetoric -- Can you understand all sides of an issue? Where does ambiguity exist? <ul> <li>Need to learn to think critically -- How you do it is more important that you do it</li> </ul> </li> <li>General advice: <ul> <li>"Learn to communicate well. Concisely. Learn to write and speak well.</li> <li>From a psychology perspective, analyze, "what are they really saying?"</li> </ul> </li> <li>Why he became a derivatives trader: <ul> <li>"I got into law school, but didn't want to go."</li> <li>He tested well, but desired his independence</li> <li>"Prestige as part of pay doesn't matter to me."</li> <li>To be great at anything, you must be disciplined to show up everyday -- "My money has always been at risk everyday. Some think that's crazy. But I've always worked to have an edge."</li> <li>How to figure out outcomes as soon as possible</li> </ul> </li> <li>The decision to leave the world of derivatives trading to open a restaurant... Why? <ul> <li>"I took some money off the table... Then my dad died... and I thought, what am I doing? I had no idea what I was going to do next..."</li> </ul> </li> <li>Meeting Grant Achatz and the impact that had on Nick's life... <ul> <li>"He reminded me a lot of myself. He was thoughtful, driven, shy (this was the opposite), and he wasn't afraid of hard work."</li> <li>"I think I have a skill to see the genius in some people."</li> <li>"Grant's work is of artistic genius"</li> </ul> </li> <li>Doing what you love and are passionate about: <ul> <li>"For me the test is... When I wake up in the morning is it nagging at me to do it?"</li> </ul> </li> </ul>