413 :: Q2 APB: One Recommended Article, Podcast, Book to Power Your Next 90 Days

In episode 413, host Bradley Hartmann shares the best content he's come across the last 90 days in three different mediums: an article, a podcast episode, and a book. Each is very much worth your time and attention and will help to turbocharge your next 90 days on the job.   1. Article: Jerry Seinfeld: The Scholar of Comedy Jerry Seinfeld's thoughts on craft and the pursuit of mastery are instructive. Near the end there is a insightful surprise on negotiation. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/the-scholar-of-comedy Key Quote:Jerry Seinfeld: The only thing in life that's really worth having is good skill. Good skill is the greatest possession. The things that money buys are fine. They're good. I like them. But having a skill is the most important thing . . . Pursue mastery that will fulfill your life. You will feel good. I know a lot of rich people and they don't feel good as you think they would. They don't. They're miserable. So I work because if you don't in standup comedy—if you don't do it a lot—you stink.   2. Podcast: Invest Like The Best: Frank Blake of Home Depot Frank Blake is an attorney educated at the knee of Jack Welch at General Electric. Blake become chairman and CEO of Home Depot. Early in this episode, Blake shares the following insight about the fallacy of "cascading" communication in an organization. I have not been able to stop thinking about it since. https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/frank-blake-leading-by-example/id1154105909?i=1000658584388 Key Quote:Frank Blake: I'm always amused when I hear leaders talk about messages cascading down through an organization as if gravity were your friend. And gravity is not your friend. Your team, for the most part through the organization, they're not waiting with bated breath to hear from you. They actually, for the most part, really don't care what you have to say . . . I walk to a store and I go up to a store manager and I say, "How'severything going?" There is only one right answer to that in any organization. The answer is: "Everything is going great. You are wonderful. Please leave." And you need to understand—leaders need to understand this fundamental fact that they have to work hard to get their message and get their direction through an organization.   3. Book: The Basic Laws of Human StupidityThis book by Carlo Cipolla gives the topic of stupidity some of the intellectual attention it deserves, given all the havoc it wreaks on humanity. https://a.co/d/e95K83Z https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGr8bMTSD4s Key Quote:The probability that a certain person will be stupid is independent of any other characteristic possessed by that person.   At Bradley Hartmann & Company, we help construction teams improve sales, leadership,  and communication by reducing miscommunication, strengthening teamwork, and bridging language gaps between English and Spanish speakers. To learn more about our product offerings, visit bradleyhartmannandco.com. The Construction Leadership Podcast dives into essential leadership topics in construction, including strategy, emotional intelligence, communication skills, confidence, innovation, and effective decision-making. You'll also gain insights into delegation, cultural intelligence, goal setting, team building, employee engagement, and how to overcome common culture problems—whether you're leading a crew or managing an entire organization. Have topic ideas or guest recommendations? Contact us at [email protected]. New podcasts are dropped every Tuesday and Thursday.   This episode is brought to you by The Construction Spanish Toolbox —the most practical way for construction teams to learn jobsite-ready Spanish in just minutes a day over 6 months.