The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk - 391: Jake Wood - How To Accept Risk, Get Candid Feedback, & Love Your Team

Episode Date: November 9, 2020

Text LEARNERS TO 44222 Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com Twitter/IG: @RyanHawk12 Episode #391: Jake Wood - CEO of Team Rubicon Notes: Sustaining Excellence = Integrity - "I've been honored to serve with leaders who have high integrity." Initiative - Be proactive, take action Tenacity - The ability to overcome Enthusiasm - Bring energy to your environment What Jake learned from his Dad: "I feel lucky. He worked his way up with an untraditional resume. He worked his ass off." "He had this industrious nature and worked so hard." Giving the commencement speech at the University of Wisconsin "Our words (as leaders) matter." "None of life experiences went according to plan. And that's okay..." Being the point man -- It means, "When you walked a patrol, you walked first. If there was a landmine or booby trap in the road, you would be the first man to step on it. Initially, you walked in perpetual fear… There were intersections you had to cross where you would close your eyes and clench your teeth, but you never stopped pressing on." "Leadership is about love. You need to have a deep understanding of WHO your team is as people. Always think, 'how can I help them?' When they know they're loved by you, they'll feel safe. When they feel safe, that leads to courage." Clay Hunt -- "We went to sniper school together... He was a good Marine. When I got paired up with him, I was told, 'you are nothing without this partner.'" He didn't kill himself because of what happened to him in Iraq and Afghanistan. He killed himself because of what he lost when he came home: Purpose, Self-Worth, and Community. Since 2012, more service members have died by suicide than in combat. "Purpose is a universal human need." The Acceptance of Risk: In Blackjack, there is a correct move for every interaction. When you have 16 and the dealer has a face card, you should hit. There is a 32% chance you win if you hit. There is a 26% chance you win if you stay. And yet, people stay. They haven't come to grips with the risk. They'd rather sit back and try not to lose instead of taking the correct step. As a leader, you have to accept the risk, understand it, and press on. The WHO -- "Surround yourself with realists who offer you candid feedback." What does Jake look for when hiring a leader? They must demonstrate they can overcome hardship Ability to persevere Industrious "I'll take passion over talent any day." The Haiti Earthquake in 2010. 100,000 people instantly died. 100,000 more died within the next 25 days. Jake felt compelled to go there to help. Thus the beginning of Team Rubicon Winning the Pat Tillman award. "It was a huge honor. Pat was why I joined the Marine Corps." His process to deliver the speech... "The producers wanted to take out the part of the speech that resonated most with people... The ending: Know your neighbor, love your neighbor, help you neighbor." Speechwriting/Communication skill: "A company is nothing more than a story." Treat your people like characters in the story. READ a lot of books. General Jim Mattis said, "There is a moral responsibility for leaders to read. If you have not read 100's of books, you're functionally illiterate." Vision - You need to convince your team you can take them to places they didn't know they could go. Book: ONCE A WARRIOR It's the 10 year anniversary for Team Rubicon... It's time to memorialize it. "America needs to find inspiration. The book finishes with hope. It's life's most essential virtue."

Leadership is immensely complicated, but in simplest form, leadership is just love. And it's being able to convince the members of your team, your organization, your company, that you truly care about who they are, that you love them, right? And it can't be a passing surface level appreciation for those people. It's got to be a deep understanding of who they are, what brought them to that moment in time where they're on your team, what motivates them, what inspires them, who do they want to become? And then, you know, really understanding and committing to how you as their leader can help them get there, right? And what's amazing is when you can convince people that they're loved,

people feel safe. And that safety, of course, is always relative. On the battlefield, safety is, you know, you can be in mortal danger and still have a relative sense of safety. And that safety might only be psychological or emotional, but it's safety nonetheless. And that safety then ultimately is what leads to courage. Hey, everyone, I want to tell you about a new company that I'm excited about. It's called Municipal. and it was co-founded by my friend Harry Arnett and Mark Wahlberg. Municipal is the original sport utility gear, the most comfortable, versatile, and stylish clothes that you can wear all day long.

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Welcome to the Learning Leaders Show. by Rixie and Meyer. I am Ryan Hawk. Thank you so much for being here. Text, learners to 4-4-222. In order to join tens of thousands of learning leaders from all over the world, receive mindful Monday updates what I'm reading, writing, watching, thinking about. Also give you more details about how my book, Welcome to Management will help you become a more effective leader. Text learners to 4-4-222. Now on to tonight's featured leader American hero Jake Wood, CEO of Team Rubicon and a Marine Corps combat veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan. He is also the author of a new book titled Once a Warrior. Jake's organization, Team Rubicon, has become one of the fastest growing non-profits in America and is celebrated for its unique culture, innovation,

and impact. A few of the topics we discussed. How to respond when your life doesn't go according to your plan. Then the importance of a leader showing their team love and how that love leads to psychological safety and how that safety leads to courage. And then why you must develop your skills as a storyteller and a communicator if you want to be an effective leader. Jake is a remarkable leader in his own right. I think you'll get a lot out of this one.

Ladies and gentlemen, it's Jake Wood. Jake Wood, man. It's an honor to have you here on the Learning Leaders Show. Thank you for your service. to our country and welcome to the show. Yeah, well, thank you for having me on. It's privileged to be on. I was reading your book and the first person you dedicated it to is Jeff Wood, who's your dad. And you said, thank you for all the lessons. And I'm curious to get us started. What are some of the most impactful lessons that you learned from your dad?

Yeah, it's a great place to start. First, you know, my dad passed away five, years ago, rather unexpectedly. And that was, you know, that was really hard. I was still relatively young. You know, I was, I guess, 33 when that happened, 32. And, you know, it was hard to lose him. He was, he was certainly one of my best friends and my mentor. And, you know, throughout my life, I've often reflected on the impact my dad had. First and foremost, I count myself as lucky for having had a father. You know, I've been around the world enough now to know just how, you know, how tragically uncommon that's becoming to have to grow up with a good father figure in your life. So I feel, I feel blessed. My dad taught me a lot. My dad was an interesting guy. He was a

really, really smart guy who was probably into a lot of mischief when he was young. So he, he never finished college, you know, started out as a worker on an assembly line and eventually worked his way up into management, eventually executive management for manufacturing and company, you know, all with this really untraditional resume. Again, you know, no college degree. So he was definitely born out of the school of Hard Knocks. And I always admired that of him. And I think, you know, when I reflect on the qualities that I got from my dad, you know, first and foremost, it was that industrious nature that he always took such pride in. He worked his ass off. And he always really instilled that in me that, hey, you know, hard work will get you just about

anywhere and I take a lot of pride in that. But, you know, he was also a man of integrity. One of the things that he truly believed in was that corporations have a responsibility to their workers. You know, he was, he was very much, not to make it political, he was very much anti-union, but it wasn't because he didn't want to take care of workers. It was because, hey, I'm going to take care of you, right? And there were countless examples of that. I remember during the Great Recession, the company he was working for made these highly special. laboratory equipment devices called oxygen bomb cal reminers. And a lot of their revenue came, a lot of their sales came from overseas.

And that all dried up during the Great Recession. And so as a result with their sales evaporating, you know, they had a tough choice to make about what they were going to do with these factory workers. And they made the tough choice that they were not going to lay them off. And instead they were going to ask them to come in and then go out into the community. And so long as they were volunteering 40 hours a week in the community, they were getting 40 hours to pay. And I mean, just, you know, think about, think about what it takes to make that decision. Now, you may not be able to make that decision for a publicly owned company, but when you were

privately held, you could do that. And if you, if you had your priorities, right, you would do that. So, you know, again, I think a lot of that is reflected in how I look at building businesses and in treating people. I learned that from my dad. Thank you for sharing that. I really appreciate it. I want to take us back, Jake, to winter of 2011. You gave the commencement speech at University of Wisconsin, where you're a graduate of and where you played football. And I happened to talk to someone who was in the audience for that speech, a guy who had never heard of you and didn't know who you were, which, as you mentioned, was probably most of the people in the audience on that day. Let's level set this for a second. I'm really that I had the opportunity to do that commencement speech. But I got that phone call maybe six weeks before graduation. And I always imagined it happened like this. They were having their final graduation commencement meeting.

They were going around the room getting updates from each of the committees. And they finally got to the commencement speaker committee. And they're like, all right, guys, who'd you book? And some dude who's been hung over for three days looks up and says, oh, shit. I didn't book anybody. But I bet you I can get Jake Wood for free because that guy will do anything. And that's kind of how I've always imagined. that happened. So yes, nobody in the crowd knew who I was when I was chosen. Well, they knew who

you were after and it was not a long speech. I want to actually read to you, Jake, his actual name is Jake Curran. So same first name. He also played football at Wisconsin. And this is why it really spoke to him. And Jake gave me permission to share this. I spoke with him, a great guy. He said this to me. He said at about the 350 mark is when he initially hooked me, he talked about himself not being a distinguished speaker and didn't do much at UW as a quote underperforming scholarship athlete. Then at the 1045 mark is where I really remember feeling like he was speaking directly to me. He said life might have other plans and that might not be bad. That phrase struck me.

Here's a guy who like me went to UW with a plan to find athletic success and that plan didn't work out. but he was able to find success off the field and after college, which at the time, I remember walking into graduation that day, feeling like that wasn't possible. He said, I watched the video again today, and it was great for me to watch and reminisce. His words still hold true a decade later. When I share that first person account story of the impact you had on this person,

how does that make you feel? You know, it's it reminds me that, you know, that our words have power, right? And you don't have to be on a stage at a commencement, given a commencement to impact people with your words. You know, we can impact people in our interactions with one another every single day. And, you know, we can choose to make people's days better or we can consciously choose to make them worse through our words and actions. So, you know, I'm really happy. I've had a couple of people that have reached out to me or that I've run into over the years that were either graduating that day or attending that graduation for somebody else they knew and spoken highly about the talk. You know, what I really wanted to convey to them, this was 2011.

We're three years removed from, you know, three years into the Great Recession. I shouldn't say removed from. They were entering still an uncertain economy. You know, my own personal experience in six years since I graduated, I'd gone to war twice. started a company, lost my best friend to suicide, you know, run into all of the headwinds that's starting a company entail. And, you know, none of those life experiences had been according to plan. And, you know, I really wanted people to just understand that when you're 21 or 22, and you're graduating with your degree and you think you're, you know, you're going to go light

the world on fire, chances are that plan is going to get to railed. In one year, two years, five years, that's fine. You know, go where life takes you. You have to be a little bit flexible. And that's not to say you resign yourself to fate, but you give the world a chance to show you where you need to be versus trying to force your will onto it. You mentioned your friend Clay. And one of the things you said about Clay was he didn't kill himself because of what happened to him in Iraq and Afghanistan. stand. He killed himself because of what he lost when he came home, which was purpose, self-worth, and community. And since 2012, more service members have died by suicide than in combat.

And this has become a big part of your mission at Team Rubicon. Can you share more about Clay and what he meant to you and what you have done after he killed himself based upon what he was not able to find when he came back from war? Yeah, sure. Clay was a really dear friend of mine. We met the Marine Corps. We were in the same platoon together. He was a good kid that grew up in Texas, great family, didn't quite know what he wanted to be when he grew up. So, you know, he bounced around to a couple of colleges, never quite, you know, made it stick, was a ski bum for a while in Colorado before joining the Marine Corps. And he was a good Marine. And we served together in Iraq. He was wounded in Iraq on our

first tour. He was shot through the, through the arm, came home. We, we ended up then going to a sniper platoon together, went to sniper school together. We were partners at sniper school. And to give you a sense for what that means, you know, in sniper school, it's the hardest school in the Marine Corps. It's got the highest dropout rate. About 60 to 75 percent of people don't pass. You are partnered up with somebody on day one. And throughout the 10 weeks of sniper school, when school is in session, which is, you know, five or six days a week, 18 hours a day, you're never allowed to be more than arm's length away from that person, right? Because that's how snipers operate on the battlefield, right? And it starts to drive home and reinforce this notion that

you are nothing without this partner, right? And so for 10 weeks, we're literally tethered together and got to know each other obviously really well. And then we deployed to Afghanistan together on a sniper team and that was challenging. And we came home and Clay joined me in Haiti on team Rubikon's inaugural mission. And in there, in Haiti, he really started to come alive. You know, he was really struggling post-Marine Corps. He didn't know what he wanted to be. If he wasn't going to be a Marine, he was battling, he was battling post-traumatic stress.

I made the statement, I don't think it's what killed him. And I think that there's truth in that. But he had PTSD. And he was trying to figure out how to manage. that. It is a manageable condition. And then as you mentioned, in March 2011, he ended up killing himself. You know, and when I think about his death, I think about, you know, kind of the tragedy of his lack of purpose. You know, it's purpose is not something that only former military need. You know, it's a universal human need. It's perhaps the preeminent human need. And people get purpose

from everything in their life. They can get purpose from their spouse, their family, their church, their job, their coaching a little league team, even just being the best version of themselves. But if you don't have that, you're going to struggle through life and you're not to be able to make sense of life when it's hard, right? Purpose is what allows us to overcome life's obstacles. And so when you don't have it, it becomes immensely challenging. And Clay's death happened about a year after we started Team Rubicon. And so it forced a lot of self-reflection. I hadn't really committed to doing Team Rubicon full time. I was kind of treating it like a hobby. And I realized, though, that his, you know, we were providing this immense sense of purpose to these men and

women who were working with us. And we knew that there was value in that, that we were unlocking value in these, in these veterans. And so, so yeah, I dropped all the, I dropped all the, other ancillary things I was working on and we committed to, you know, building team Rubicon into really what it's become, even though back then, almost 10 years ago, we had no idea that it would get to where it is today. I want to get into team Rubicon in a second as well as, you know, some of the things you've written in your new book, Once a Warrior, but you mentioned in your commencement speech about being the point man. And the reason I'm going to bring this up is because Jake, this show is about leadership.

And I think leaders go first. And leaders have to have the courage to go first. Most people listening, the overwhelming majority of people listening, haven't had to do what you did, though. And as the point man, you said when you walked a patrol, that means you walked first. If there was a landmine or a booby trap in the road, you would be the first man to step on it.

Initially, you said you walked in perpetual fear. There were intersections you had to cross where, you would close your eyes and clench your teeth, but you never stopped pressing on. Can you share some things of what you've taken from the battlefield and literally where every step could kill you, literally kill you? And what you've taken from those experiences now into your life outside of the military, outside of war, as a leader of a nonprofit, a business that is changing people's lives, But you're also leading a team.

You're in a position of like a CEO, essentially. What have you taken from those moments, those clenched teeth moments of I Could Die to pressing on in the business world now where it's not necessarily life and death, but there are tough choices and tough decisions to make? Yeah. I'll share two lessons that I talk about frequently. So the first one is I often say that leadership is, you know, leadership is. is immensely complicated, but in simplest form, leadership is just love. And it's being able to convince the members of your team, your organization, your company, that you truly care about who they are, that you love them, right? And it can't be a passing surface level appreciation for

those people. It's got to be a deep understanding of who they are. What brought them to that moment in time where they're on your team? What motivates them? What inspires them? Who do they want to become and then, you know, really understanding and committing to how you as their leader can help them get there, right? And what's amazing is when you can convince people that they're loved, people feel safe. And that safety, of course, is always relative. On the battlefield, safety is, you know, you can be in mortal danger and still have a relative sense of safety. And that safety might only be psychological or emotional, but it's safety nonetheless. And that safety then ultimately is what leads to courage, right? So to some people, it seems so counterintuitive because I'll talk about

like this sense of safety that that develops on the battlefield, like literally within a firefight. But again, it's it could be just psychological or emotional. So as I'm sitting there and I'm walking point, like there was this relative sense of safety because I knew that the Marines behind me would do anything to come and get me if I stepped on that on that booby trap. Right. And so yes, I had this mortal physical danger that I was facing. And so, in, so, in, in some ways there was zero sense of safety, but it was that psychological safety that allowed you to have the courage to continue to put one foot in front of the other. And I saw that play out a number of times. And I'll tell you that, you know, that love was universal because there were

times, and I'd get up to that intersection. And it might, for whatever reason, there's all sorts of reasons why we might have deemed an intersection as dangerous as we approached it. But, you know, there were times when, you know, I'd feel a little tap on my shoulder. And it was my team leader that walked up, you know, he'd give me a squeeze on the shoulder, which was, you know, his, his signal to me that he was going to walk across first. And that's just how it was. He would see, you know, he'd say, hey, you took the last three. It's time for me to put my life on the line and I'm going to step across this one. And, you know, you just, it's hard to find that off the battlefield. And there's a second lesson that I'll, I'll share here. You know, and it's about risk.

So, you know, business is all about risk, right? Entrepreneurship's all about risk. It's about risk. It's about analyzing it. When most people talk about risk, we think about it pretty simplistically. We think about what's the likelihood or probability of an event happening, and then what's the severity of that event. So probability and severity, you can plot that on a matrix, and you can start thinking about, you know, what are high probability, low severity impacts, what are low probability high impact scenarios? And that's kind of how people think about it. But I think that there's like this added third dimensional element that people don't really take into account as often as they should, which is the psychological acceptance of that risk. So you can have an informed understanding of the risk.

But if you haven't accepted what's at stake and made peace with losing it, then you're ultimately going to falter at that moment when you have to lead. And so the best analogy that I use is people sitting down in a blackjack table. You see this. Anytime you go to a casino, you see this. Blackjack is this really interesting game because it's governed entirely by probability and statistics, right? There is a literally a right move for every single scenario that you face. Now, it may not be a winning move, but there's a correct move based off probability, right? And yet you'll see people make irrational decisions because what happens is they suddenly find themselves with, you know, whatever, $50, $50 of chips on. the table and they've got a hard 16 dealt to them and they're facing a dealer face card. And there's a right move to make. And it's to take a card. And what's interesting is if you take a card or if you, let me let me start the other way. If you stand, which is what people who haven't accepted the reality of what they're risking, if you, if you stand and don't take a card, you only are going to win 26% of the time. Okay, statistically speaking. If you take a card,

your chances only increased to about 32%. So which means you're still going to lose two thirds of the time. Yet people don't want to take ownership of that loss. And so they pass, right? And it's a completely irrational move to make. And so going back to the battlefield and what I learned, I realized over that first month that we were working and I was walking point that I hadn't yet accepted the reality of what I was risking every single night.

And what I was risking was literally life and limb. My battalion, you know, had literally dozens of men lose legs on that tour. And we lost 20 men's lives, right? So this was a blisters of bloody tour. And every night I went out, I was risking life and limb. But I hadn't come to grips with that. And so it wasn't until I just basically made the assumption that I wasn't coming home alive, that I was able to operate in a way that was maximum,

effective because then I wasn't because fear was no longer governing me because I had made peace with it, right? And that sounds really morbid to people, right? And life isn't a battlefield. But if you're an entrepreneur or you're a business leader and you maybe have taken investor money and you haven't really thought and come to terms with what's going to happen if you lose all of it, then you're going to make really irrational choices at these really critical junctures that are going to be governed by fear in not reasoning. Wow. So the message is how to and how would you then, what advice if there's a business leader

who has no military experience who hasn't come to grips or understands the probability that they may lose or may fail? What's the advice to them to say, well, how can I put that into action, Jake? Like you had these life and death moments where you had to come to grips to say, which, as you mentioned, some may say is morbid as, you know, I had to find a way to press on despite knowing there's a great chance I'm not going to make it. What advice to that person who's hearing that saying, well, how do I take this approach to my team or my hiring decisions or or my projections for my business leading in and out of this pandemic? What do you say to that? I'd say a couple things. I mean, surround yourself with realists who are going to challenge you. I've, you know, that's something I've done from the beginning.

And so when, you know, I surround myself with talented people who are candid in their feedback to me so that I'm never looking at, you know, things through rose colored glasses. And in looking for those types of people, I look for people with non-traditional resumes. I look for people who can demonstrate to me that they've overcome hardship. They've had to stare those moments in the face. And so, you know, that might mean. mean that, you know, if I'm looking at an Ivy League resume, I might make some assumptions about that person. And they may not be fair assumptions, right? I may make the assumption that that person grew up in a pretty nice household and didn't have to worry about how to pay for college. That person's parents may even be alums of that same Ivy League, right? Those may not be a fair

assumptions, but their assumptions nonetheless that I'll make. And then I'll look at somebody that maybe spent two years at a junior college and then scraped their way over six years at a state college and I'll immediately make some assumptions that, hey, that person was probably working their ass off to pay the bills the entire time. And that tells me something about that person. They're industrious. They can persevere. They can overcome hardship. And, you know, there might be a difference in talent level. I don't know. But I'll take passion over talent all day. And if that person's a culture fit, you know, then that can be a winning team. And then, you know, the final thing is, you know, I'd encourage people to find a peer group that, you know, they can,

You know, get together and really just talk about these moments and share these hardships. And, you know, really it's when you can understand that people, that your situation is not unique, right? That you can really begin to appreciate your situation for what it is. We have this tendency to think that our corporate problem, like, you know, oh, you know, every, you know, everybody on my team complains about internal communications isn't as good as it should be. or everybody on my team talks about our project management sucks like everybody in every company complains about those things and when you better understand the universal nature of some you know some of these these challenges then it just helps to frame them for you a little bit better so you named your non-profit team rubicon and uh i was looking up the significance of this

and what you've talked about it was a river in ancient rome and no roman general generals were allowed to cross it with their armies. It Caesar marched his army across it and toppled Rome. It's now used to refer to a point of no return as in, quote, crossing the Rubicon. Can you share more about the origin story of Team Rubicon? What was happening in your life at the time when you decided to say, I need to go? And you can share where you went and why you went. but I'm fascinated by this creation of Team Rubicon.

Sure. Well, I'll take you to January 2010. I'd been out of the Marine Corps for about 60 days and woke up one day. I was watching the news and the Haiti earthquake was unfolding. And for those that don't remember, though I'm sure most of your listeners do, this was one of the worst catastrophes of the last hundred years. You know, 100,000 people killed instantly in this earthquake. another 100,000 people at least died in the next 25 days.

And, you know, there was just chaos and destruction and death and despair and all of those things. And as I was watching it, you know, having just returned from two tours in the Middle East, I was compelled, you know, I guess I should say I felt as though I could have an impact in that type of environment. So I called a couple of organizations and they, you know, they, and said that I wanted to go down and volunteer with them for free. And they, they, you know, for good reasons, said thanks, but no thanks. And so I called a couple of buddies I'd served with and we organized a team to go down there. And so about, you know, our flights took off, I think probably four days after the earthquake hit. So on day three, we're in the

midst of planning this mission down there. And we choose to name our small team. And, you know, as we were looking at the situation. We had to fly into the Dominican Republic, make our way to the border with Haiti, and cross the border at this, this checkpoint. And really, we had no idea how all of this was going to unfold. But we saw that border as our point of no return. You know, if we could get there and if we could cross, then we were in. And so we saw that as our Rubicon. And so we named the team Rubicon. And, you know, it just kind of stuck after. that. And so I guess I should go on to say, we didn't go down there with the intent of starting a nonprofit organization. It was really never going to be more than this team. And it was going to be

something we'd come back after a couple weeks and we'd go on with our lives and maybe we'd tell the story of self-deploying to Haiti after an earthquake over beers or at a cocktail party. But while we were down there, we really had that moment every entrepreneur has where they saw a gap in how things are done. And, they believed we had a solution. And so that's why we came back and incorporated as a nonprofit. And we've been doing that ever since. Countless awards since 2010, recognized it as a top nonprofit to work for four times

by the nonprofit times coming in number one in the country, 2016, twice named Best Places to Work. You won all the awards. I saw your speech. I remember watching it because as you were walking up to stage, you gave a fist bump to Aaron Rogers, a guy who I know has become a big fan of the Wisconsin Badgers, even though he's from California, but because he's there. And you stand up on that stage and just bring the house down in front of all of these, the best athletes in the world. And I at first want to say,

what was going through your mind as you're preparing to accept this great, the Pat Tillman world? I mean, I read all the Pat Tillman books, you know, I, you know, such high regard. you're holding this SB so tight and you're giving this speech and just killed it. What's going through your mind as you walked up on that stage and started to deliver that speech? Don't screw it up. Let's be honest. I mean, I, you know, it was, I've given a lot of speeches and I rarely get nervous getting in front of crowds. But that one, you know, the stakes seemed pretty high.

And, you know, I had a message I wanted to deliver. You know, this was 2018, summer 2018. And even then, you know, pre George Floyd, pre, you know, everything that's happened with social justice this year, the country was already divided. And I wanted to deliver this message of unity. And, you know, I knew that I may never have a stage like that again. And so, you know, again, the stakes were high. So, yeah, I mean, I was nervous as hell. I'm not going to lie.

You know, I decided to go up there at fist bump Aaron Rogers. I'm a huge Green Bay Packers fan. So that was pretty fun. But also just to kind of kind of. like bring some levity to the moment so that I would know him prior to that no no no no is that your first like interaction with him never spoken to the guy before you guys you guys look like you're a good buddy is that was great he was he was he played along pretty well we and then you know we got to hang out at the after party in juries which was fun but uh yeah did not know him prior to that

um yeah and you know just getting up there pat tillman was hugely influential in my life his death is what ultimately prompted me to join the military in 2005. His death was in 2004. And so it was a huge honor. And one of the great things about my time building team Rubcon is I've gotten to know his wife, Marie Tillman. She's since remarried to a great guy named Joe. But you're just getting to meet her and share with her the influence that her husband,

Pat, had on me has been, you know, a real honor to have. And I didn't totally flub the speech. So I guess I guess it all worked out. Was that on a prompter? It actually was on a prompter. I'm just curious about the sometimes the massination behind the thing. Like how does all that work? Yeah.

So, you know, they asked me to write my own speech, which I did. It was about a week in advance. And I spent a lot of time crafting it and working on it. And I sent it in. And they, you know, they had recommendations. They wanted to edit some things. And I had a very tight time window that I had to stick to. And there were a couple lines in there that they,

their producers wanted to cut. You know, there's this line that I, that I close with about know your neighbor, love your neighbor, help your neighbor. And they just hated it. And I'm like, no, you don't get it. This is the line. This is it.

This is how we come together. And that was just one of a couple. But that was the line that everybody latched on to, right? So I fought for it. I kept it. and it ended up being the one that everybody was quoting. And even today, I still will see people tweet it out, you know, with a link to the video. But yes, they, you know, they put that speech then up on these huge, like 70-inch monitors, way out into the crowd.

And, you know, and they just have somebody tracking your voice. And so, you know, as I was having to take some pauses just to, okay, re-center. The applause and all that. Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah, it was, it was, it was a moment. moment. It was awesome. I actually, and I think this applies to leaders on a different level, and that's as communicators. So going back to the commencement speech, it was so well written and

delivered. And leaders are not going to be effective without being great communicators. I think you obviously know this. And part of the success of your business, of your nonprofit is because of your ability to communicate effectively. And that's a takeaway that I want to make sure it comes up. And so sometimes talking about the process to write and deliver is important. And going all the way back before, you're as polished and as good as you are now, you were still really good at that commencement speech, both the written, just reading it, it was fantastic, but then the way you delivered it.

What are some of the ways that you think about writing? and speaking in the importance of being very good at that in order to move people, in order to share the mission so that people can follow because leaders need followers. The missions need followers too. So can you share your philosophy around communication as a whole? Yeah, I think one of the most underrated skills that a leader has is storytelling, right? And I think that every human being on the planet loves stories. It's just a part of human nature since we invented the spoken word, since we figured out what a campfire could be.

We've sat around to campfires and we've told stories. We've told stories of our tribe's histories. We've made up stories to explain phenomena in the world that we can't explain. And, you know, we tell stories to entertain, all of those things. And when people, why people love stories because they love closing their eyes at night and imagining themselves in a story, right? They think of their life as a story. And it's either the story that they're living and it's a fairy book story or it's the story they want to be living. And in the same is true for companies.

A company is nothing more than a story. It's a, it's got a plot. It's got a vision that is what you hope to accomplish in that final chapter. It's got characters. It's got all of those things. It's got villains. And so if you if you think of it that way, then and you treat your people like real characters with real impact to that plot where they have the opportunity to, you know, have, you know, backstory and dialogue and impact to that narrative, you know, that narrative through line and the themes of the book, then people, when they close their eyes, they imagine being a part of that story. They imagine impacting that narrative. And so, you know, how do you do that? Well, I don't, shit, I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I I think I'm a good storyteller. I don't know why I am. I grew up. I read a ton of books.

I think that's an important thing for business leaders to do. I think it's, you know, it's an important part of development for any young child is to read because it helps you write better. It helps you communicate better. It helps you structure your thoughts and sentences. And then, you know, as you get older and you're in positions of leadership, you know, I guess I'll quote General Jim Mattis, a legend within the Marine Corps, most recently Secretary of Defense. who talked about a moral responsibility for leaders to read. And he actually said, if you have not read hundreds of books in your life, you're functionally illiterate.

And his philosophy was that we always talk about how complicated the battlefield has become and there's no precedent for the battlefield. And he says, basically, bullshit. The weapons have changed, but the tactics have not. And the tactics that we're seeing have persisted for thousands of years in combat. And if you have not read all of the historical works by all of the historical generals, then you are setting up your troops to die. And I believe that, right?

And the same is true for business. There is no scenario that you will face that hasn't been faced by someone else and it hasn't had a Harvard case study written about it or a biography written about it. And so if you weren't reading those books, then you're basically just saying, I'm going to wing it. That's not a really good approach if you ask me. So I think it's important. It blows my mind to hear, lucky to meet a lot of cool people.

Every once in a while, though, you come across someone who's got a pretty big job. And I'm like, well, what are you, you know, what are you reading? I'm not trying to investigate it. I'm genuinely curious because maybe he or she has read something that I haven't read before. And I want to read it. What are you reading? I don't, you know, I don't have time. You don't really understand.

I got so much going on. And all I think about is that is just so stupid. That is so that I love Mattis's quote about it too. Like that is a moral responsibility. And I think it also is so critical in becoming a better communicator is to be well read. And so it blows my mind here when someone says they don't have time to read. Yeah. I mean, yeah, you want to be a better communicator.

read books written by great communicators. Read speeches given by great communicators. And there are countless examples, you know, and they're famous. Abraham Lincoln was a great orator. Winston Churchill was a great orator. Barack Obama, like regardless of, you know, whether you read or blue, like he was an amazing communicator. You know, and on the flip side, Trump is not a good communicator, right?

And so, again, not political statement, but, you know, if, you know, if, you Obama propelled himself into office by getting people to believe in a vision and inspiring and moving people to that vision. And he came from complete political obscurity, right? He had no experience. But what he was able to do was convince people that he could take them to places that they would not otherwise go. And that's what communication can do. Now, whether he achieved that, I mean, like, you know, people can debate that on the backside. but he was able to put himself in a position to succeed through his communication skills.

So, you know, again, you go back and you look at the Lincoln's. You look at the FDRs, the churchills, the, you know, and then on the flip side, you have, you have different types of communicators. Like let's use General Mattis. He's a very, he's not an inspirational communicator, but his inspiration, in the traditional sense, but his inspiration comes through his bluntness, right? His inspiration comes from having being able to frankly discuss complex issues with a kind of of this sobering reality that people say, wow, this guy means business.

And in certain circumstances, that's a really effective method for getting people to move. But it's not flowery. It's not hopeful and transcendent like an Obama. It's it's just here's what's happening. It's really bad. Here's why we're going to overcome. Let's go do it. And that's a different style, but it's just as effective in the right circumstance.

I mean, look at Churchill. In 1953, he wins the Nobel Prize in literature for his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values. The dude was a master communicator. And that is such a huge part of leadership. And so that's why I was taken aback. watching you, you could tell the written speeches and then the delivery, that is a huge reason. I think that you've created a place where people want to work.

You've created a mission that people can get behind. You've stated the vision. All of those things are powerful. And that leads to once a warrior, how one veteran found a new mission closer to home, your book that I highly encourage people to read from the very beginning. I kind of judge a writer within a page. I mean, most people probably do. You judge, you like, do I want to keep reading or not?

And that's your job as a writer is to convince someone to turn the page. Is it good enough? Is it worthy enough of my most valuable asset, my time, to turn the page? Or do I want to go on to the next book? Because there's plenty of other books. This one kept me turning the page. And, yeah, digitally, by the way, but turning the page. That's how I got it from your team.

why was now the time for you to go through this maddening process, and I know it from experience and going through it again a second time, this maddening process of writing a book? Why now and why is this story so critical for you to get out in book form? Yeah, I think there were, the timing was right for two reasons. We were coming up on Team Rubicon's 10 year anniversary. And so I felt as though I knew what I'd built or what we'd built. I'd prefer to use that pronoun. I mean, you know, when I think about earlier in Team Rubicon, we were still trying to find

our way. It wouldn't have made sense to try to memorialize it then because it just, it probably would not have withstood the test of time. And so after 10 years, though, I said, okay, I know what has been built here. And I think it's time to memorialize it. second, you know, the decision coincided with the birth of my first child, which, you know, my daughter, Valia. And I, you know, I thought back along the previous two decades of my life and all the experiences that I'd had, the tragedies that I experienced, the triumphs that

I'd had, the things I'd learned about the world and people. And it just seemed like a fitting opportunity to to capture that. Not necessarily for her, but just, you know, again, looking out across how America is unfolding today. I, for the first time, really started thinking about the future generation through my daughter's eyes. And it just said, you know, America needs to find inspiration and to the extent that Team Rubicon can be a vehicle for re-inspiring America.

I wanted to try to do that. And, you know, if you read through the whole book, and I, of course, I hope you did, you know, it finishes with this, you know, really this, this missive on hope. And, you know, where do we find? There's so many communities in our country today and around the world are lacking life's most essential virtue, which is hope. And how do we restore that? And so I think that really hits that, you know, that reason why.

It's really well done. Jake, how, just two more questions. One, how is becoming a dad changed your life? Well, I mean, it's put everything in perspective. So many of my experiences that were formative in my, in my time overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan, my time in some of these disaster zones were with kids. Some of them were tragic. You know, war is indiscriminate and in that was hard.

And, you know, and then I've had the, opportunity to help children, you know, in some of these disaster zones and meet them and see the joy in their eyes, you know, that comes from restoring that hope in their lives. And so it just has put all of that into perspective. And, and that's been, that's been immensely helpful for me. Yeah, I guess I'll just close it there. So you've been around some of the highest performers in the world. You've been around heroes. You've, built something that is truly excellent. Jake, when you think about the commonalities among leaders who have sustained excellence, what are a few of the virtues, qualities, characteristics

and those people? Yeah, well, I think, you know, you have to lead with virtues first. And so, you know, you're not anything without integrity. And I, you know, I was fortunate enough to follow leaders with the highest integrity on battlefields, complex battlefields that were at times morally ambiguous. And, you know, it was honored to serve people who never made me or asked me to compromise my integrity in any way. And I've tried to carry that forward. And that's hard. I mean, it's hard to lead that way. It's, it's hard to never put something like profit or, you know, personal gain ahead of, of, of integrity. But that's what people expect you to do. And you got to be perfect on that. Beyond that, when I talk about,

talk to my team about, you know, what I expect from them and I expect them all to be leaders. I guess I'll answer the question just with what I tell them. I expect initiative. I expect tenacity and I expect enthusiasm, right? You have to take, you have to take initiative, but initiative doesn't matter if you crumble at the first sign of opposition. So you need tenacity to overcome anything that, that, you know, gets in your way. And then finally, if you can't do it with an infectious level of enthusiasm and nobody wants to be around you, then you're not worth having on the team. But if you can do those three things consistently, you're going to go places and people are going to follow you. I love it, man.

The book, again, that I highly recommend, it's called Once a Warrior, How One Veteran Found a New Mission Closer to Home. Jake, I again want to reiterate my gratitude for you and your service and what you've created since serving our country and now getting it down in the form of a memoir. It's so good, man. And I'm just grateful that people like you exist because you're impacting millions and millions and millions of lives all over the world, man. So thank you so much. Yeah, well, I appreciate the opportunity to come on and share the story. And, you know, in addition to hoping your readers or your listeners read the book, you know, as they come to end a year, if they're looking for good charities to support, team. Yeah, tell my listeners where to go to find you online, whether it's to donate or to learn more about you.

Yeah, well, if people want to learn more about the book, they can go to jakewood.com. If they want to learn more about Team Rubicon, find ways to get involved or to donate and support, they can go to Team Rubicon USA.org. I'd highly encourage you to do both, especially as we're coming to end of year. We've been active all year with COVID and hurricanes and we'll need support going into 2021. So if you're inclined to provide some charitable donations at the end of this year, we'd love for you to consider us. Awesome. Well, thank you again, Jake.

And I certainly would love to continue our dialogue as we both progress, man. Yeah, absolutely. We'll love to come back on. All right. Thanks, man. All right. Take care. Okay, you too.

What an honor to have that conversation with American Hero, Jake Wood. A few of my takeaways. Leadership is love. Leadership is about having a deep understanding of who your team is, of listening to them, of asking how you can help, of proactively taking the steps to support them, to empower them, to help them, to be there for them. And when you can convince them that they are loved, truly loved by you, their leader, they will feel safe.

And when they feel safe, they will gain courage. Love leads to safety. Safety leads to courage. And we want to build a team full of courageous leaders. And then when we discussed the great General Jim Mattis, he said, as a leader, You have a moral responsibility to read. If you have not read hundreds of books, you are functionally illiterate. Maybe harsh, but it's true.

As leaders, it is our job to be as knowledgeable and as competent as possible for our teams. And one of the great ways to do that is to invest time on a daily basis. to read, to learn from others that have gone before us, to learn from those writers who have spent years of their life dedicated to a specific topic that they've taken the time to publish it in a book. It is our duty. It is our moral responsibility as leaders to read. And then the acceptance of risk. He talked about this in regards to being the point man and not knowing if he may step on a landmine that could potentially rid him of life or limb. And fortunately for most of us, we are not facing life and death decisions on a daily basis like Jake was.

But we are going to come in contact with risk, with fear, and it is also our duty as a leader to find a way, to push forward and have an underreact. and an acceptance of risk to not let that paralyze us from making decisions, to be able to understand it and push through, to know that when the dealer is showing a 10 and we have 16, we need to hit every single time. Mathematically, that's the correct move. That's accepting the risk, but it's making the right decision at the right time. I want to say thank you so much for continuing to spread the word from telling a friend or true, you should listen to the Learning Leader show.

This episode with Jake Wood could help you become a more effective leader. I want to thank you for writing reviews, rating the show, hopefully five stars on Apple Podcast, spreading the message to someone who has not yet heard of this show. Doing that continues to give me the opportunity to do what I love on a daily basis. And for that, I will forever be grateful. Thank you so much. Talk with you soon. Can't wait.