155. Can We Be Candid? How to Communicate Clearly and Directly | Think Fast, Talk Smart:...

Summary

In this episode of 'Think Fast, Talk Smart,' host Matt Abrahams interviews Dr. Susan Rice, a visiting fellow at Stanford and former U.S. National Security Advisor. They discuss leadership, negotiation, and communication skills. Dr. Rice shares insights on effective leadership, emphasizing the importance of setting a clear vision, supporting teams, and providing candid feedback. She also reflects on her personal experiences with balancing professional and personal life, and how to handle political differences, particularly with her son. The episode highlights practical strategies for negotiation, leadership, and staying true to oneself in challenging situations.

Takeaways

• 🎯 The podcast 'Think Fast Talk Smart' aims to enhance listeners' communication skills and seeks feedback for improvement.
• 📊 Listeners are invited to complete a survey at fastersmarter.io/feedback to help shape future content.
• 🎁 Incentive for survey participation includes a chance to win a signed book and podcast swag.
• 🌟 Guest Susan Rice shares her leadership principles focusing on setting a vision, demonstrating passion, and valuing team members.
• 🤝 Emphasizes the importance of supporting team members both professionally and in their personal lives.
• 🔍 Stresses the significance of direct and candid communication, especially when giving feedback.
• 🤝 Encourages seeking and accepting feedback to foster personal and professional growth.
• 💼 Discusses negotiation strategies, highlighting the need for understanding one's own and others' bottom lines.
• 🌈 Advises on being authentic and confident in high-stakes or diverse group settings.
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Shares personal experience on managing political differences within family and valuing common ground.
• 🗣️ Identifies clarity, concision, and structure as key ingredients for successful communication.

Q & A

What is the purpose of the listener survey mentioned in the podcast?

The purpose of the listener survey is to gather feedback from the audience to ensure the podcast is covering topics and featuring guests that are of interest to them. It helps the team at Think Fast Talk Smart to understand their listeners better and improve the content of the show.

What incentive is offered for completing the listener survey?

For those who choose to provide their email address after completing the survey, they will be entered into a random drawing where three people will win a signed book and other Think Fast Talk Smart Swag.

What is the role of Susan Rice at Stanford University?

Susan Rice is a visiting fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute at Stanford and a distinguished visiting fellow at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence.

What leadership principles does Susan Rice emphasize?

Susan Rice emphasizes setting a clear vision and direction, demonstrating passion and commitment, and valuing people by bringing them along towards objectives. She also stresses the importance of caring for team members as human beings and supporting them in their personal lives.

How does Susan Rice approach giving feedback?

Susan Rice is direct in giving feedback. She reinforces and encourages good performance and sits down with individuals to explain what they are doing wrong and how they can improve if they are underperforming.

What does Susan Rice believe is important when receiving feedback?

Susan Rice believes that if you give feedback, you must also be able to take it. She has benefited from colleagues who have given her hard truths to help her improve and grow in her career.

How does Susan Rice approach high-stakes negotiations?

Susan Rice believes in understanding one's own bottom lines and the interests and motivations of the other party. She finds it possible to negotiate with competitors or adversaries by exploring common ground.

What does Susan Rice enjoy about negotiating?

Susan Rice enjoys the uncertainty of the outcome and the range of skills required, including intellect, humor, and charm. She finds directness effective in negotiations and appreciates the tangible outcomes and gratification when successful.

What advice does Susan Rice give to people who stand out as different in their work groups?

Susan Rice advises people to be themselves, believe in themselves, and not try to be something they're not. She shares her father's saying that if someone's prejudice is a problem, it's their problem, not hers, emphasizing the importance of mental self-esteem and not letting others define you.

How does Susan Rice handle political differences within her family?

Susan Rice handles political differences by prioritizing the shared love and common ground over disagreements. She admires her son's courage of convictions even though they disagree on many policy issues.

Who are the communicators Susan Rice admires and why?

Susan Rice admires President Obama for his relatable, clear, passionate, and emotive communication style, and Jen Psaki for her clear, direct, and effective communication as a White House spokesperson.

What are the three ingredients for successful communication according to Susan Rice?

Susan Rice believes the key ingredients for successful communication are clarity, conciseness, and having a structured message that is mindful of the audience.

Outlines

00:00

📊 Survey Request and Podcast Introduction

Matt introduces the Think Fast Talk Smart podcast and emphasizes the importance of listener feedback. He encourages listeners to take a quick survey at fastersmarter.io/feedback, with a chance to win signed books and other swag. The podcast aims to address relevant communication topics and guests. Matt then shifts to the main topic of the episode, welcoming Dr. Susan Rice, a visiting fellow at Stanford and former national security advisor, who will discuss leadership and negotiation.

05:01

💼 Principles of Leadership

Dr. Susan Rice shares her views on leadership, emphasizing setting a vision, demonstrating passion, and engaging others in the mission. She believes leadership is about empowering people by giving them space and support. She highlights the importance of leaders caring for their team members personally, drawing on her own experience with President Obama during her mother’s illness. Rice explains how personal support enhances professional commitment and performance.

10:03

📢 Direct and Honest Feedback

Dr. Rice discusses her approach to giving and receiving feedback. She emphasizes the importance of being direct and clear in addressing both successes and failures. Rice prefers straightforward communication over passive-aggressive tactics. She mentions that, while she tries to be patient, she can be firm when needed. On receiving feedback, Rice shares how valuable 'tough love' has been for her personal growth, stating that accepting feedback is essential to improvement.

15:05

🤝 Strategies for High-Stakes Negotiation

Rice explains her approach to negotiating in high-stakes situations, particularly during her roles in national security and at the United Nations. She stresses the importance of knowing one’s bottom lines and understanding the motivations of the other party. By identifying common ground and being clear in her own position, Rice believes tough negotiations can lead to successful outcomes. She adds that directness and transparency work better than being elusive or untrustworthy in negotiations.

🎯 The Joy of Negotiation

Rice expresses her enjoyment of negotiation, appreciating the unpredictability and the skills it requires, including intellect, charm, and humor. She finds negotiating fun because it challenges her and provides tangible results. While many people dread negotiations, Rice highlights the satisfaction of achieving a difficult outcome. She believes that a successful negotiation can provide quick and gratifying results, which she finds motivating.

🌍 Advice for Standing Out in Diverse Settings

Rice offers advice to individuals who stand out in their workplace due to differences such as race, gender, or ideas. She encourages authenticity, advising people to stay true to themselves rather than trying to conform. She shares her father's experience as a Black professional in segregated America, reinforcing the idea that others' discomfort with one’s identity is their problem, not yours. Rice advocates for building self-esteem and resisting others' attempts to define you.

💬 Handling Political Differences within Families

Rice reflects on the political differences between herself and her son, Jake, who became a conservative and served as the president of Stanford College Republicans. Although their political views differ, they prioritize their relationship and avoid heated political debates to preserve family harmony. Rice admires her son's conviction, even though they often disagree. She emphasizes the importance of focusing on common ground in family relationships.

🎙️ Admiring Great Communicators

Rice identifies President Obama and Jen Psaki as two communicators she deeply admires. She praises Obama for his relatable, clear, and emotive style, along with his ability to write impactful speeches. Rice also admires Psaki for her skill at handling press briefings with a combination of humor, directness, and grace. Both exemplify the importance of mastering the art of communication.

📋 Ingredients for Effective Communication

Rice shares her key ingredients for successful communication: clarity, conciseness, and structure. She emphasizes that being clear and direct without unnecessary embellishment is crucial. Structuring a message helps prevent meandering and ensures the communicator stays focused. Additionally, understanding the audience is vital for tailoring the message appropriately.

Keywords

💡Communication skills

Communication skills refer to the ability to convey information effectively, both in personal and professional settings. The video centers on the importance of improving these skills through tools and techniques provided by Think Fast Talk Smart. Examples from the script include the host's mention of honing communication skills and the discussion with Susan Rice about leadership and negotiation, which both rely on strong communication.

💡Feedback

Feedback refers to the process of giving and receiving constructive information to help improve performance or behavior. In the video, feedback is highlighted as crucial in leadership, with Susan Rice discussing her approach to providing direct, clear feedback to her team, as well as receiving feedback from colleagues to enhance her own skills.

💡Leadership

Leadership is the ability to guide and influence a group toward achieving a common goal. Susan Rice emphasizes the importance of setting a clear vision, valuing team members, and supporting their personal and professional needs. Her leadership philosophy focuses on being direct and fostering an environment where people feel valued.

💡Negotiation

Negotiation is the process of discussing terms and reaching agreements between parties, often in high-stakes situations. In the video, Susan Rice talks about her experience negotiating with international counterparts like China and Russia, emphasizing clarity in one’s own position, understanding the other side, and finding common ground.

💡Clarity

Clarity refers to the quality of being clear and easy to understand. In the context of communication, Susan Rice and the host emphasize the importance of being clear in leadership, feedback, and negotiation. Clarity ensures that messages are not convoluted and that objectives and expectations are understood by all parties.

💡Empathy

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. During discussions about leadership and negotiation, Susan Rice highlights empathy as crucial for understanding the motivations and needs of others, whether it’s in the context of a team or negotiating with international leaders.

💡Self-confidence

Self-confidence is the belief in one’s own abilities and judgment. Rice touches on this concept when she talks about standing out in environments where one may feel different, advising people to remain true to themselves and not let others define their value. She also references her father’s experience in overcoming adversity with self-confidence.

💡Diversity

Diversity refers to the presence of differences within a group, including race, gender, culture, or ideas. Susan Rice addresses the challenges and importance of working in diverse environments, sharing her own experience as one of the few Black Americans or women in various rooms, and advising others to embrace their differences rather than conform.

💡Structure

Structure in communication refers to organizing one's thoughts and messages in a clear, logical way. In the video, Rice and the host talk about the importance of having a structured approach to leadership communication, ensuring that each message is concise and follows a clear flow to avoid confusion or deviation from the main points.

💡Tough love

Tough love is the practice of being candid and direct in offering feedback or guidance, even when it’s difficult. Rice discusses tough love in both giving and receiving feedback, noting how it helps her improve as a leader and how she applies this approach to her teams to encourage growth and development.

Highlights

Think Fast Talk Smart aims to improve communication skills and seeks listener feedback.

Listeners are invited to complete a survey for a chance to win a signed book and Think Fast Talk Smart Swag.

Matt Abrahams interviews Susan Rice, who discusses her leadership principles and experiences.

Leadership involves setting a vision, demonstrating passion, and bringing people together towards a common goal.

Rice emphasizes the importance of valuing team members both professionally and personally.

Supporting team members in their personal lives can strengthen the team's commitment to the mission.

Rice shares her direct approach to giving feedback, focusing on clarity and honesty.

Receiving feedback is crucial for personal and professional growth.

Negotiation requires understanding one's own bottom lines and the interests of the other party.

Rice finds joy in negotiation due to its unpredictability and the tangible outcomes.

Being direct and genuine is advised when standing out in a group due to differences.

Rice's father's advice on not letting others' perceptions define you is highlighted.

Rice discusses managing political differences with her son and the importance of family unity.

President Obama and Jen Psaki are admired by Rice for their communication skills.

Key ingredients for successful communication include clarity, concision, and structure.

Think Fast Talk Smart is produced by a team including Jenny Luna, Ryan Campos, and Matt Abrahams.

Listeners are encouraged to invest in their education through Stanford executive education programs.

Transcripts

[SOUND] Hi Matt here,

our goal at Think Fast Talk Smart

is to help you hone and develop

your communication skills, we're

curious if we're hitting the mark.

We've talked about feedback and

listening many times on the show,

and now we'd like you to share your

thoughts about

Think Fast Talk Smart.

We want to make sure we're bringing

you the topics and guests that

are of interest to you, knowing

more about you and the reasons you

listen will help us a lot.

We've created a listener survey

that we'd like you to complete,

it will take no more than

five minutes,

and it will be very useful.

The survey can be found

at fastersmarter.io/feedback,

while the survey can be taken

anonymously, if you do choose

to provide your email address,

we will enter you into a random

drawing where three people will

win a signed book and

other Think Fast Talk Smart Swag.

We look forward to hearing

your ideas and input soon,

thank you in advance for

sharing your feedback and

helping us, and most importantly,

thank you for listening.

Again, go

to fastersmarter.io/feedback.

[SOUND] Being direct and candid can

help us in the most challenging of

communication situations.

My name is Matt Abrahams, and

I teach strategic communication at

Stanford Graduate School of

Business, welcome to

Think Fast Talk Smart The Podcast.

Today, I am excited to speak with

Susan Rice.

Dr. Rice is a visiting fellow at

the Freeman Spogli Institute at

Stanford and a distinguished

visiting fellow at the Stanford

Institute for Human-Centered

Artificial Intelligence.

She previously served as domestic

policy advisor for President Biden

and was President Obama's national

security advisor, and

the US permanent representative to

the United Nations.

She is the author

of the New York Times bestselling

memoir, Tough Love, My Story

of the Things Worth Fighting For.

Welcome, I am so excited to have

you join me today, and

I look forward to the conversation

we're going to have.

>> Me to, thanks for

having me, Matt.

>> So, let's get started,

you have led a variety of teams and

organizations throughout

your career,

are there any specific leadership

principles you follow or use?

>> I think good leadership first of

all is about setting a vision and

a direction and hopefully,

an ambitious target.

It's about demonstrating passion

and commitment to achieving

that target and hopefully to

energizing the folks around you.

But to me ultimately,

leadership is about people, it's

about bringing others along with

you towards that objective or goal.

And to do that, people have to feel

not only wedded to the mission, but

valued in their role in

contributing to the mission.

So, I try very hard to find

the best people, and then giving

those great people the space and

the capacity and

the power to do what they do best.

And give them the expectation

that when they need direction,

or they need top level cover, or

they need somebody to blast through

the barriers, or

consummate whatever it is,

that they know when and how to seek

that direction for me as a leader.

But I've also discovered that for

people to feel valued and

willing to give their utmost,

they've got to know that their

leaders, their teammates

care about them as human beings.

And so, to me, that means that they

need to know that their personal

lives come first.

When the people we need and

love need us most, that it's okay

to be there, and that the team will

fill in behind you and support you,

whether you're the most senior

person on the team, or

the most junior person on the team.

When I was national security

advisor, my mom was very ill, and

she actually passed in the last

month of the Obama administration

and President Obama

very much led the same way.

He was a dad,

he was a real human being, and

he gave me the license to do what I

had to do to be able to support my

mom even as I was doing my job 24/7

as national security advisor.

And that's the same way that I

tried to lead my teams and

give everybody on the team that

same grace.

>> I appreciate you sharing that

personal story, thank you,

I think it demonstrates the type

of leadership that you believe in.

It sounds like it's about finding

the right people, setting standards

and mission vision, and

really supporting them both in

their professional work, but

also in their personal lives.

I'm curious,

I can imagine giving feedback,

both positive and constructive,

is part of that,

how do you approach feedback?

>> Giving it or getting it or both?

>> I'll take both, but

I'm curious about the giving part.

>> I'm very direct, and I think

the folks I work with expect that

what they see is what they get.

I don't believe in playing games

and going around people and

being passive aggressive and

all of that stuff.

I shoot straight, and if somebody

is doing particularly well,

I want to reinforce that and

encourage it, especially if there's

been real progress.

If somebody is screwing up,

I'll sit them down and

explain what they are doing wrong,

what the expectations are, and what

I think they need to do better.

And I will try to the best of my

ability to do that, especially in

the first instances [LAUGH], in

a patient and kind, if not always

gentle way, but I'm not averse to

being more forceful if my sense

is that there's not an interest or

an effort at remediation.

>> I hear in your answer

to your leadership approach and

to your giving feedback that being

very clear, helping prioritize, and

being supportive when appropriate

are part of that.

>> Being candid, and you asked

about receiving feedback by

the same token, [LAUGH] if you give

it, you got to be able to take it.

And so, I've really benefited at

various stages of my career from

colleagues who've been,

as I would say, kind enough to give

me the hard truths, or the tough

love or whatever you want to call

it to enable me to be better and

help me to recognize where I'm

falling short.

>> I think that's really important

that people not only take

the feedback but seek it out.

>> Yeah. >> And that's how we get

better.

My favorite song from the musical

Hamilton is in the room where it

happens, and you definitely have

been in many of those rooms.

What insights can you provide into

how best to negotiate in high stake

situations?

>> Drawing in particular on my time

in national security at the United

Nations where, for example,

I was negotiating regularly with

the Chinese and the Russians and

other complicated interlocutors on

security council resolutions or

the like, or as national security

advisor negotiating arrangements

with foreign governments.

I think very important to

understand in the first instance

what one's own bottom lines are,

what do I need to walk away with,

must have in order for

this to be successful or

acceptable outcome for the people

I'm negotiating on behalf of.

But equally important to try to

understand the interests and

the motivations and

to the extent possible the bottom

lines of the people on the other

side of the table.

Believe it or not, it's possible to

negotiate tough things with

competitors or adversaries, if

there's a willingness to understand

what is making the other side tick,

what they view as their must-haves,

and then trying to explore whether

there's any way to get to common

ground.

>> It sounds like to me that in

your approach to negotiation,

it's first about clarity in your

own position, a bit of empathy to

understand other people's position.

And I really like that idea of

anchoring the bar high, and

that buys you some

room to actually move around.

So, those are some levers that

you can pull to help

move the negotiation.

>> I love negotiations, so

much fun.

>> Tell me more about that, so

in all the roles you had,

do you find negotiation enjoyable?

>> I learned in doing it,

that I really enjoyed it.

What's fun about negotiating is

that you're not ever

sure where you're going to end up.

It requires a whole range of skills

from intellect to a little bit of

canny to all of the things

I just described, humor, charm.

I find that as a direct person,

being direct in negotiations

actually works much better than

being somebody who's perceived as

slippery or

elusive or untrustworthy.

And then when you succeed,

the product is there tangible, and

the gratification is significant,

so I just find it fun.

>> The reason I was curious

is a lot of people I talk to

don't like negotiating, they'd

like to avoid it if they could, and

it's interesting to hear that for

you, it's something that's exciting

because it gets to leverage some of

the skills that you appreciate and

have honed.

>> I like the outcomes of when you

can get somewhere that's hard that

you didn't know that you could get

to, and what you come out

with is tangible and it's not quite

immediate gratification, but

it's relatively quick tangible

gratification.

>> Well, I appreciate that, and

I think it might be motivational to

many people for

whom negotiation is hard or

something they try to avoid.

What advice can you give to

people who find themselves

in situations where they stand

out as different from others in

the groups that they work in?

Be it because of their ideas,

their gender, their race,

cultural background, etc.

You've worked with so

many people who are different,

what advice do you

give to people in those situations?

>> This may sound simple and trite,

but I think people do best when

they are themselves and believe in

themselves, and they're not trying

to be something that they're not.

I've spent much

of my career as one of the only, or

one of the few black Americans in

the room, or woman in the room, or

I could spend a lot of time

being anxious about that,

and maybe trying to trim my sails,

or fit in, or in some other way,

adapt myself to that environment.

And I find one that's not very

genuine, but more importantly,

it's not very comfortable,

and I'm not bringing my best if I

were to do that, and so

my dad used to have a saying that I

really have taken to heart.

And he was talking about

his experience growing up in

the segregated south and

serving in the segregated army

air force during World War II, and

then trying to break into

the professional world as a PhD in

economics in the 1950s when there

were very few African Americans.

And his whole career was one of

sort of having to be the first or

the second through any given door,

and he had a saying which was,

if my being black is going to be a

problem, it's going to be a problem

for somebody else and not for me.

Meaning that if somebody is trying

to make him feel uncomfortable or

inferior or in some other way

unwelcome in a given setting.

First of all,

it's about understanding why that

person is doing that,

they're doing that because of their

own insecurities and

all likelihood, or their own needs

to make another person feel small.

And you have an option of embracing

their definition of you as your own

or trying to resist that and

building the muscles of mental

self-esteem.

And not letting other people define

you for you, and

that was something that my parents

beat into my head and my heart, and

I think it's helped me quite a bit

as I've been in environments where

I may not have been an obvious fit

in the first instance.

>> That notion of not letting other

people define us I think is a very

powerful notion for

many people in many situations,

I appreciate you sharing that.

Before we end, I'd like to ask you

three questions,

one I'm going to create just for

you and the two others are similar

that I ask people across all these

interviews, are you up for that?

>> I will do my best.

>> Excellent,

I've heard you tell this story once

live and once elsewhere about some

differences of opinion that

exist in your own family.

Would you share for our audience

how your son, a Stanford

student alum, had a different,

perhaps political orientation at

least while here versus yours.

And how did you negotiate that and

how did you manage that?

>> Well, my eldest child is my son,

Jake, as we call him, but

his given name is John, has always

been really interested in events

around him in the world, and as he

got older in politics and policy,

growing up in Washington D.C,

as he did with our family and

where I grew up.

And yet somehow along the way,

somewhere in his early to

mid-teens, having once upon a time

campaigned with me in the snows

of New Hampshire for Barack Obama,

he evolved into a rather

conservative political mind.

And when he got here to Stanford

after a year or so,

ended up as president of

Stanford College Republicans and

stayed in that role through

most of his time at Stanford, and

he was not a shy and

retiring version of the President

of Stanford College Republicans.

He was outspoken and unabashed,

and sought out debate and

engagement with the Stanford

College Democrats, with other

people of different persuasions.

He brought the conservative

speakers to campus, some of whom

would not have been anything like

my cup of tea, and that was

challenging because I had by that

time a certain image nationally,

and he had a very different one.

And because of that, there was some

national attention or national news

media particularly on the right who

thought this was quite delightful.

But we are very close,

and I love both my children as

deeply as it's possible to do so.

But we just disagree on a lot

of policy issues, not all of them,

but a lot, and we vote differently.

But I'm proud of him because he has

the courage of his convictions, and

it takes guts, and I admire that,

but nonetheless we continue to

disagree strenuously on many things

and times it can get contentious.

Now that he's grown up,

out of home, married,

working, all that stuff,

I don't get to see him that much.

So, I try really

hard not to squander the time that

we have arguing about politics, but

it's a situation that I think many

people are familiar with.

In our family,

we try to prioritize the things

that we share in our love over our

political differences.

>> So, finding that common ground,

I can't imagine where

he gets his confidence and

his strong, >> From his dad.

>> Okay. >> [LAUGH] >> I see that,

it must be, it must be.

I'll be very curious to get your

answer to question number two,

who is a communicator that you

admire and why?

>> Well, I'm going to give two

probably predictable answers, but

they're honest answers.

>> Sure. >> Obviously,

really admire President Obama as

a communicator.

He has an extraordinary ability to

be relatable and clear, and

passionate and funny and

emotive and all of these things at

different ways at different times.

And as a writer himself,

he spends time on his spoken words,

and I think is really reflected

in how he comes across, so

he's top of the list.

Another is a friend and

multiple time former colleague

of mine who I admire enormously for

her communications skills,

Jen Psaki, who most people know

as President Biden's first

White House spokesperson.

And now she's a anchor on MSNBC.

But the reason I admire her is,

I don't think I've ever seen

a spokesperson with such clear,

direct, plain English way of

communicating, but also,

she parried the press so

expertly with humor and

forcefulness when needed, but grace

and just watching her dance at that

podium was just brilliant and fun.

>> I hear in both of those

responses a respect for

people who take the art of

communication very seriously and

work on their abilities.

My final question for you,

what are the first three

ingredients that go into

a successful communication recipe?

>> I think being able to be clear,

not convoluted, not overly flowery,

just clear and direct and

on point is certainly one, being

concise when that's appropriate,

and none of us are perfect at that,

but I think that's helpful.

And then having a structured

message so

that you've given some thought to

what it is you're trying to say and

the key points you're trying to get

across, not meandering,

not veering, not getting off track.

And I think if you have a structure

to your thinking and

to your message, if you can deliver

it without a lot of diversionary

flourish and just to be mindful of

who it is you're talking to, your

way of communicating in one venue

might differ from that in another.

But I think the key ingredients

are usually constants.

>> The notion of clarity,

concision, structure and

knowing your audience so

well summarize the advice that

we have heard across many episodes.

Thank you very much for this

opportunity to chat your candor,

your directness and your role

modeling, the specific behaviors

that you preach and live your life

by were really, really powerful.

I appreciate your time and for

your insight.

>> Thank you, Matt, it's been fun.

>> Thank you. [MUSIC]

Thank you for joining us for

another episode of

Think Fast Talk Smart, The Podcast.

To learn more about effective

leadership, listen to Episode

35 with Jeff Emilt.

This episode was produced by

Jenny Luna, Ryan Campos, and me,

Matt Abrahams.

Our music is from Floyd Wonder,

with thanks to

Podium Podcast Company.

Please find us on YouTube and

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be sure to subscribe and rate us.

Also follow us on LinkedIn and

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[MUSIC]

Hi, Matt here, quick question for

you, when was the last time you

took a step back from your daily

life and took the time to invest in

yourself and your education?

For a lot of us,

it's been a long while, but

here's the truth,

great leaders never stop learning.

If this sounds like you,

I encourage you to explore Stanford

executive education programs.

These programs are jam packed with

insights from Stanford GSB

professors, and

bring together top leaders like you

from all around the globe.

Explore Stanford executive

education programs now at

grow.stanford.edu/learn [SOUND].