What Got You There with Sean DeLaney

Not many have driven a race car better than Mario Andretti. 

He won the Indianapolis 500, the Daytona 500, the Formula One World Championship and the Pikes Peak Hillclimb. He won the Indy Car National Championship four times and was a three-time winner at Sebring. He won at virtually every level of motorsports since he arrived in America from his native Italy at age 15. He is a racing icon, considered by many to be the greatest race car driver in the history of the sport.

Mario Andretti took the checkered flag 111 times during his career - a career that stretched five decades. And he was competitive all of those years: He was named Driver of the Year in three different decades (the 60s, 70s, 80s), Driver of the Quarter Century (in the 90s) and the Associated Press named him Driver of the Century in January, 2000. 

I don’t have enough time to list all of Andretti’s accomplishments but he truly is a legend. His accomplishments don’t only take place on the track as he’s become a very successful businessman with a winery, a petroleum business and many other ventures. We dive into his incredible career and life and pull out some helpful lessons you can apply to your own life. 

A few key ideas Mario discusses 

• Your drive must come from within if you're going to become extraordinary at what you do 
• The importance of positive thinking 
• Not having a plan B 
• Confidence is everything 

William Oliver is a co-founder of In Practise, a research service for investors to learn about high-quality companies. They aim to help investors better understand companies by conducting in depth interviews with former and current employees. They researched thousands of companies to uncover some commonalities of what makes a high quality company that can sustain success over time. On this episode we discuss many of the most important lessons Will has learned studying these great companies and we also dive into his personal journey as an entrepreneur and seeker of wisdom! 

Will Guidara has been immersed in the restaurant industry since the age of thirteen. Guidara trained in the dining rooms of Tribeca Grill, Spago, and Tabla and opened the restaurants at the Museum of Modern Art before becoming the general manager of Eleven Madison Park in 2006.

Under Chef Daniel Humm and Will Guidara’s leadership, Eleven Madison Park received four stars from the New York Times, earned three Michelin stars, and was given a coveted spot on the San Pellegrino list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants. The restaurant has also received six James Beard Awards, including Outstanding Chef and Outstanding Restaurant inside and a  America. In 2011, Humm and Guidara purchased Eleven Madison Park and, in early 2012, went on to open the food and beverage spaces at the NoMad Hotel. Checkout Will's new book, Unreasonable Hospitality. 

Read the entire Distillation of Danny Meyer HERE

Also checkout past Dillations of people like Michael Jordan, Bob Iger, Josh Waitzkin & many more by CLICKING HERE

Danny Meyer is the Founder & Executive Chairman of Union Square Hospitality Group and a lifelong restaurateur. Danny grew up in a family that relished great food and hospitality. Thanks to his father’s travel business, which designed custom European trips, Danny spent much of his childhood eating, visiting near and far-off places, and sowing the seeds for his future passion. In 1985, at the age of 27, Danny opened his first restaurant, Union Square Cafe, launching what would become a lifelong career in hospitality. 

Thirty years later, Danny’s Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG) comprises some of New York’s most beloved and acclaimed restaurants, including Gramercy Tavern, The Modern, Maialino, and more. Danny and USHG founded Shake Shack, the modern-day “roadside” burger restaurant, which became a public company in 2015.

Under Danny’s leadership, USHG is renowned not only for its acclaimed restaurants but also for its distinctive and celebrated culture of Enlightened Hospitality. This guiding principle of prioritizing employees first and foremost has driven and shaped USHG’s ongoing evolution from a small group of restaurants into a multi-faceted hospitality organization.

Danny and USHG’s diverse ventures have added to the hospitality dialogue in many contexts including dining options in museums, sports arenas, and cultural institutions, as well as prescient investments in burgeoning neighborhoods.

 Danny has been generously recognized for his leadership, business achievements, and humanitarianism, including the 2017 Julia Child Award, the 2015 TIME 100 “Most Influential People” list, the 2012 Aspen Institute Preston Robert Tisch Award in Civic Leadership, the 2011 NYU Lewis Rudin Award for Exemplary Service to New York City, and the 2000 IFMA Gold Plate Award. Together, Danny and USHG’s restaurants and individuals have won an unprecedented 28 James Beard Awards, including Outstanding Restaurateur (2005) and Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America (1996)  This Distillation will unpack the signature business and life principles that translate to a wide range of industries that I’ve learned from Danny over the years. The main themes being unpacked are: 

• Understanding the importance of Hospitality for every business. 

• The never ending pursuit of excellence. 

• The keys to leadership and the ways to develop other leaders. 

• The essential frameworks and practices for hiring & building culture. 

• How to use mistakes to your advantage. 

Benjamin Zander is one of the world’s most well known classical musicians and is a source of profound inspiration to many people. He is a deeply insightful conductor, a master teacher of music, and an engaging speaker on leadership. He is the coauthor of the book, The Art of Possibility. 

Today he shares the most impactful lessons he’s learned to explore and live life from a place of radiating possibility. His passion and boundless energy unlock potential within individuals and organizations and this conversation will do the same for you. 

Benjamin Zander is the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and a guest conductor around the world.

Zander’s emotionally rich and insightful performances stem from his endless pursuit towards deeper understanding of the masterworks of classical music. Generations of musicians have been stimulated by his all-encompassing approach, his communicative openness, and his commitment to creating ambassadors for the art form. Zander’s belief that music is a vehicle for enhancing societal connectivity transcends the concert hall. His passion and boundless energy unlock potential within individuals and organizations while enrolling a global community to become lifelong devotees of classical music.

Carla A. Harris is a senior client advisor at Morgan Stanley. She has been the recipient of many awards honoring business professionals, including Fortune magazine's 50 Most Powerful Black Executives in America, Essence magazine's 50 Women Who Are Shaping the World, and Black Enterprise's 50 Most Powerful Women in Business. In 2013, she was appointed by President Barack Obama to Chair the National Women's Business Council. She sits on the boards of various philanthropic organizations and of Walmart, Cummins Corporation and MetLife. She is a graduate of Harvard University and the Harvard Business School and has received numerous honorary doctorates. Harris is also a gospel recording artist with 4 CDs to her name.

 Carla A. Harris examines the journey from individual contributor to leader. She targets the essential skills necessary to succeed, such as the importance of taking risks, creating a vision, and leveraging assets like relationships and partnerships. At the heart of this book are the eight things you must be intentional about every day—authenticity, building trust, creating other leaders, clarity, diversity, innovation, inclusivity, and voice—qualities that you need to hone and manifest to become a powerful, impactful leader no matter where you work. She also examines the key traits of being a transformational leader, focusing on the gaps she has seen in leadership that could impede or damage any leader’s effectiveness.

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Carla's new book, Lead to Win: How to Be a Powerful, Impactful, Influential Leader in Any Environment 

Douglas R. Conant is an internationally renowned business leader, New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author, keynote speaker, and social media influencer with over 40 years of leadership experience at world-class global companies. For the past 20 years of his leadership journey, he has honed his leadership craft at the most senior levels—first as President of the Nabisco Foods Company, then as CEO of Campbell Soup Company, and then as Chairman of Avon Products. In 2011, he founded ConantLeadership: a mission-driven community of leaders and learners who are championing leadership that works in the 21st century.

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Annie Duke is an author, corporate speaker, and consultant in the decision-making space, as well as Special Partner focused on Decision Science at First Round Capital Partners, a seed stage venture fund. Annie’s latest book, Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away. 

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Annie's past podcast appearances

Episode 215 

Episode 132 

 “Contrary to popular belief, winners quit a lot. That’s how they win.”

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In this Podcast Episode, I sat down with Brad Slingerlend. He is the Co-founder and investor at NZS Capital, LLC NZS Capital, LLC is a Denver, Colorado-based investment company focused on adaptable, innovative businesses that work toward maximizing non-zero-sum (NZS, or win-win) outcomes for their investors, customers, employees, society, and the global environment. Prior to that Brad was the portfolio manager of the Janus Henderson Global Technology and Innovation Strategies (ticker: JAGTX) from May 2011 to November 2018. 

This conversation explores 

⚡️Decision making in a complex world 

⚡️How studying ants and biology has improved Brad's investing ability.

⚡️How to develop high performing teams 

NZS White Papers Mentioned 

https://www.nzscapital.com/news/complexity

https://www.nzscapital.com/news/time-travel

Michael Gelb is one of the world’s leading authority on the application of genius thinking to personal and organizational development, Michael J. Gelb is a pioneer in the fields of creative thinking, innovative leadership and executive coaching. His clients include DuPont, Emerson, Genentech, KPMG, Merck, Microsoft, Nike and YPO.

Michael is the author of 17 books including How to Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci, Discover Your Genius, Innovate Like Edison, and The Art of Connection: 7 Relationship Building Skills Every Leader Needs Now.

Michael was honored as “Brain of the Year” (1999) by the Brain Trust Charity – other recipients include Steven Hawking, Garry Kasparov and Edward De Bono.