WonderTour: Recent Episodes
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Join Derrick Cobb and Drew Paroz on a journey to become better leaders by traveling through fantastic worlds and inspiring lore. We connect leadership concepts to story contexts because it sticks to our brains better.
At points in each of our lives we have our own dark nights where we feel trapped in the proverbial pit without the ability to escape. In The Dark Knight Rises, each of the characters must climb from the physical, mental, and spiritual pits they find themselves in starting with Bruce.
Alfred, as the magnanimous mentor, leads by example. Alfred makes a personal sacrifice (his relationship with Bruce) in order to help Bruce's façade of hope give way to something real. Along the way Alfred and Bruce teach us that to climb out of the pit we must let the truth have its day, let go of the past, and make the climb without the rope (let go of the safety net).
We all wish we could lead like Gandalf, but how could we ever become that magnanimous and how do we contribute to a better world when there aren't orcs and dragons to fight?
Gandalf's style of servant leadership is perfectly encapsulated in this quote, "Saruman believes it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. It is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love. Why Bilbo Baggins? Perhaps because I am afraid, and he gives me courage".
Join Brian and Drew as we unpack the mindsets and tactics that Gandalf deploys to become better leaders for the good of others.
Whether its a stagnant job or a repetitive personal life, we can find ourselves lacking joy and hope, trapped in a closed loop without meaningful disruptions. Like Jack Skellington in A Nightmare Before Christmas, we could be the Pumpkin King of Halloween but without hope for the future, it all feels empty. We want to take the reigns and run out of our own closed loop Halloweentown, looking for something bright and shiny that brings us joy again, but that proposition can be scary. Will others follow? Will I end up leading them astray?
Taking the initiative to bring Christmas to Halloweentown can feel overwhelming with a high risk of failure, but if we follow the lessons from Jack and Sally we too can facilitate transformation in our lives and workplaces that brings joy to those around us.
Whether we find ourselves just starting out in a new role, as new parents, or on another journey, the scope of the world that we understand is never enough for our liking. Like Belle reading her books, we are always dreaming of understanding the world better and making an impact on it. But what if we aren't just like Belle, we are also like Beast and Gaston?
Beast comes from influence and control, but he's trapped in a small world, searching for a way to break out through his own abilities. Through Belle's magnanimous character, she teaches Beast that the way to break out of a small world isn't just ravenously consuming information, but by doing something unexpected, by shocking the system. What techniques can we use so that we, like Belle, might set off a chain reaction of transformation in the world around us?
Salute mi Familia - the most recognizable line in the Fast and Furious franchise. We all want to be part of the familia that Dom Toretto is building when we watch these movies, but how do we create those types of teams and moments in real life?
Despite his calloused exterior and checkered past, Dom Toretto is one of the most magnanimous leaders we've seen on WonderTour, a true Gandalf-type. Dom's leadership superpower that boosts his teams to greater heights is his emotional integration. Dom isn't afraid to show his own emotions and he's always studying the hearts of his team members to make sure they are ready for the challenges they're about to face. Dom leads with mercy over sacrifice, enfranchising even his antagonists, like Hobbs, through his empathy and compassion.
Just like in Fast Five when Dom, Brian, and the team are trapped in Rio and on the run from both Hobbs and Reyes, it can sometimes feel like our lives are out of our control. Someone else makes the map and we just have to stay within their lines. But as magnanimous leaders, we believe that the current map of reality isn't all there is to the story.
When our known maps seem incompatible with our objectives, it's time to flip the map upside-down. Flipping the Map allows us to 1) gain information about the other parties in the story and 2) re-write the map for all the players in the game. The Fast Five team shows in a number of examples, like when they burn Reyes' money rather than stealing it, that flipping the map provides the disadvantaged team a chance to overcome unbeatable odds.
Like Indiana Jones at the end of The Last Crusade, we all want to be the type of hero that can pass the trials when they inevitably come and save the day. But Indy can't pass those tests without his father Henry's wisdom and we as magnanimous leaders we know that it's not about us, it's about others. So how might we equip our team to pass the trials when it's hard to know when the trials will come or what trials we might face? To navigate that sort of uncertainty and challenge requires both generalist and specialist skill sets working in unison. To get to the Holy Grail we need to be able to integrate generalist skills like Indy's ability to adapt to change or fight his way out of a crowded room with specialist skills like Henry's knowledge of ancient civilizations and texts. Only then can the team pass the trials and accomplish the mission, becoming a bit more magnanimous along the way.
It's time to begin a new series on WonderTour. This time we are talking about Map-making and what better place to start than Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
Navigating a complicated world takes all kinds of skills but one of the most under-rated is Map-making. While few maps are 100% accurate, many are useful. There are a plethora of different types of maps that we can make and use depending on the type of situation we find ourselves in, but one thing is clear, without a map it's hard to progress the story. In The Last Crusade, Indy only has literally half of a map and has to navigate to the fabled Holy Grail and doesn't this feel like the type of uncertainty we experience every single day. Join us as we follow Indy and his father on an adventure and learn how we too can navigate without half a map.
(Brian Nutwell steps in to fill Derrick's seat today)
It's hard enough to have Compassion on our peers, but how do we have Compassion on those above us and below us in the organization chart? All too often we hear blaming and conjecturing but rarely, for example, does an executive take action and have Compassion on the grassroots or does a citizen have compassion on their public servants. To put it in Stranger Things terms, it takes a lot of energy to create a gate between the layers of an organization and most often, people aren't willing to put that much energy in. By looking at how in Stranger Things S1E5 the children work together with their teacher, Mr. Clarke, we can start to see how we, as magnanimous leaders, can become the flea to the acrobat, able to collaborate between the layers and create gates so that others can traverse the dimensions of the organization as well.
We would all probably say that we want to be compassionate people. But what do you do when you don't agree with the person you are trying to have compassion on? In Stranger Things S1E5, the Flea and the Acrobat, the children learn a lesson in compassion as they search for the Hawkins Lab. El manipulates the compass to try to keep them safe but Lucas uncovers her secret and and calls her out causing a fight. Having compassion on each other breaks through the personal conflicts and allows the team to eventually save Will and accomplish their mission.
W/ Brian Nutwell
Energy management is one of the most challenging parts of being a functioning member of the world, much less a magnanimous leader. When the weight of the world feels too heavy to bear it can seem like the only reasonable option is to, like Obi-Wan, close ourselves off from those who need us most. Our energy stores get diminished and the return-on-investment of compassion makes it hard to justify. That's where the upside-down magic of compassion flips the script on energy drain. By giving up our time and energy to those who can offer us nothing in return we make way for growth in others and in ourselves.
While our world might not seem as dark as a galaxy under the veil of the evil empire, like Obi-Wan Kenobi closing himself off from the force it can sometimes feel like the smart decisions is just to stay quiet and conserve energy instead of putting ourselves out there for the good of others. While we may be sure of our mission to become better leaders for the good of others, protecting the long term good of those we care about can seem at odds with loving them in the short term. How might we navigate the intersection between compassion and wisdom when the lines get blurry and hard to parse?
In the MCU oftentimes what we remember most about our favorite heroes is their overcoming moment or how they vanquished the bad guy in the final fight. Yet, in our daily lives we rarely come across events of that magnitude. So how can we still be leaders like Thor in our daily struggles?
Thor Ragnarok turns the superhero genre on its head, providing a character-driven buddy cop story where the heroes learn more from getting beat up than they do from winning. Odin's advice that Thor is the "god of thunder" not the "god of hammers" can only be realized once Helena crushes Thor's hammer and leaves him in a vulnerable state. Thor must become less so that he may finally learn that being a leader is about having compassion for his people, not defending his image.
w/ Brian Nutwell
Choosing to act compassionately can feel like it drains our energy levels. On top of that the world is full of people in need and our time and resources our finite so how could we be compassionate to everyone all the time?
Like many of us, Thor has some complicated relationships to work through, namely his brother Loki. Thor's love for his brother is clear but sometimes his actions feel like they're enabling Loki. How might we, like Thor, find the balance of compassion and wisdom that empower those we care about to become the best they can be.
With humans like with money it just seems like it can't grow fast enough. We want our investments to compound sooner. We want the hard work we are putting into our character to yield visible results. We want to help others flourish. But is there a ceiling on how fast money can grow? In order for humans to develop sustainably, should we temper our expectations? How can we apply what we know about leading humans to handling our finances? Find out on this week's episode as Derrick and Drew join financial advisor Adam Koos.
In our first Bonus episode, Derrick and Drew go on The Cash Podcast with host Adam Koos. If you resonate with WonderTour but are wondering how we go about applying what we learn from these stories in different contexts, look no further. Part 1 focuses on The Office, looking to Michael Scott and Dwight Schrute to help us identify our biases.
As humans, it seems like hope is a currency that we are always short on. As leaders we seek to inspire hope in those around us, but without a formula to execute, it's certainly daunting. Hope just isn't always logical. Enter compassion, an illogical maneuver that completely forgets what someone can do for us, inverting the focus from who we are in the story to who they are. This week we learn from The Batman embodies this shift as he goes from portraying vengeance with his fists to inspiring hope by cleaning up rubble.
w/ Brian Nutwell
Normally it's considered a negative to subvert expectations. When it comes to compassion, if we wish to see lives transformed then we must look for opportunities to unexpectedly turn the narrative upside down. Changing a city or a culture is challenging work and it's often complicated. Like the Batman, how might we learn to have Compassion in the face of overwhelming pain rather than crusade for our own narrative of vengeance?
Working definition: Compassion is about being there in the moment, seeing the world from someone else's viewpoint, and envisioning the future not getting caught up in the past.
w/ Brian Nutwell
As we begin episode 1 of a series on compassion, we return to the TV show Parks and Recreation (S2E19) to check out everyone's favorite lovable goofball Jerry. It's so easy to find ourselves laughing at the Jerrys in life but how often do we actually sit down next to someone who's down on their luck or looked down on by society? What kind of impact can we have on the world when we do? By learning from Leslie we too can discover why being a magnanimous leader requires compassion.
Special Guest: Bebe
Why can't we be like the magnanimous leaders from our favorite movies, extending ourselves for the good of others? Over the first 50 episodes of WonderTour we've journeyed through dozens of fantastic stories, developing our understanding of growth mindset, strategy, tactics, curiosity, and integrity. Join Derrick and Drew as we recap our Top 10 Moments of Wonder, weaving them together into a model for magnanimous character development.
If you're new to WonderTour this is a great place to start!
One of the main reasons we might examine ourselves and find we don't measure up to the integrity of the ideal leader is because integrity seemingly must come at a cost. If integrity is about playing the long game, then we might have to give some immediate benefits up in the short term. In the Parks and Recreation season 2 episode "Hunting Trip" Leslie, Tom, and Ron experience both the power of integrity and the cost to uphold it. Through Leslie's dedication to the people she loves, she is able to overcome Tom's lack of integrity and, in doing so, change Tom for the better.
Special guest: Bebe
Integrity is a foundational building block for a leader. A cornerstone that all other character traits are built upon. Much like a magnanimous leader, the film The Prestige is also built on undeniable integrity. Join Derrick and Drew as we go on a journey to discover how director Christopher Nolan magically weaves an unforgettable tale using the power of integrity.
Continuing our series on integrity we examine the lives of two rival magicians Alfred Borden and Robert Angier as they each seek to become the world's greatest. Over the course of their life-long pursuits their lack of integrity slowly rips their worlds apart leaving them with hollow endings. We empathize with their painful plight, but how can we avoid the same fate that many like Borden and Angier fall into on our journey to become magnanimous leaders?
In life we often feel the stress of conforming to established structures like organization charts and governments. While these things are great for sustaining order they generally struggle to bring transformation to life and society. That's where the network comes in. Din wows us with his constant relationship building and unexpected connections. How might we learn to be more magnanimous leaders by fusing the lessons passed down to us through our genes and our lives with the influence of our networks?
Like Dr. Mindy and Kate, it sometimes feels like we are swimming upstream to deliver a message of critical importance. "We need to transform our business model!" "You need to reform your habits". Our situations may not be an existential threat to humanity but they are existential for you or for your friends or family. Like Kate going on The Daily Rip, it can be anxiety-inducing to try to share the truth about reality to a world that would rather numb the pain. Through the ups and downs we can learn from Kate and Mindy how to effectively share our stories and how to have peace in the tumult.
It's so easy to compartmentalize ourselves into a work self vs a personal self. Psychology shows that if we aren't careful we can end up flipping a switch in our brains, putting up a different persona depending on the situation. In Don't Look Up, Dr. Mindy models integrity initially but then creates a fake self as he gains prominence and popularity. By finding the right "zoom level" for each situation and bringing it into focus, we can form a consistent model for our lives and avert compromise.
In today's world, it almost seems impossible to maintain integrity in all we do. To consistently take the long view, making decisions that prioritize the good of others, is seemingly a lost art. But if the ancient words of Heraclitus ring true and our character determines our destiny then integrity must be the unbreakable bonds that hold our character model intact over the course of our lives. By following the character arcs of Paul and Yueh we can see how our integrity either gives way to magnanimous character or leads to death.
This week's Tour brings a new guest, but a veteran of living out the Wonder Tour, Brian. As leaders it can be a struggle to get everyone rowing in the same direction. We all have a vision to cast, a story to tell of how the team gets there, but how do we get people so bought into that narrative that they will push the story forward even when we aren't around? By looking to Duke Leto's guidance we can see how his superpower of integrity allows the team to keep pressing forwards despite the obstacles.
Integrity has the power to hold everything together in our lives but it also has a power to set us free. Mirabel's superpower of integrity fixes the cracks in her family, lovingly shining light on the inconsistencies and offering an opportunity for transformation. When the magic is fading and we have to fall back on our foundation, it's simple integrity that can rebuild the bonds.
As we begin a new series on integrity, it's nice to start with a working definition. On Wonder Tour, we define integrity as acting consistently for the good of others. To have high integrity is to keep your character in tact long term, so we all must exhibit integrity to be magnanimous. In part 1, Derrick and Drew discover how the magic of Encanto ignites the spark of integrity in the Madrigal family, allowing joy and good character to flow out into the town around them.
As a finale to our series on curiosity, we take off on a whimsical air ship with James Newton Howard playing in the background to learn how our curiosity impacts the character of others. Through Jim's journey to Treasure Planet, he undergoes his own coming of age story, becoming less of a self-centered rebel and more of a curious explorer. Brilliantly, along the way he manages to change the character of his nefarious mentor from selfish to selfless. How might we learn from Jim's story and leverage his lessons to compassionately chip away at the crusty negative character of those around us?
If you've seen The Matrix you might have found yourself wondering if your life might infact be some grand simulation. Derrick and Drew flip that question by asking how culture could act like a matrix and how might we break free? This won't be the usual ideological positioning or "Wake up Sheeple!" rhetoric. On Wonder Tour we are becoming better leaders for the good of others, so instead lets focus on taking an empathetic, loving approach to breaking out of the matrix. How might we help our family, friends, and team members to achieve their greatest potential?
This time our Tour leads us to the Matrix as we continue our series on Becoming Curious Explorers. Often, when we are searching for our role in the stories playing out in our lives, we tend to see ourselves as the protagonist. That's how most stories teach us to view ourselves, but what happens when we aren't the protagonist? By entering the proverbial dojo of Morpheus we learn how to play a critical support role in our stories. Magnanimous Morpheus teaches us both a new way style of mentoring and some practical techniques to help our protagonist vanquish evil and accomplish their purpose.
This time on Marvel's What If...?, what can we learn from Doctor Strange's unyielding pursuit to raise Christine from the dead? In this exciting, yet haunting episode the writers of the show seemingly ask the audience to consider, how do you control a rogue thought before it consumes you? We've all seen our heroes fall, taken down by their own dark thoughts they couldn't banish. As Curious Explorers we must consider that we are not above such things, and are in fact even prone to them. How might we avoid a similarly ominous fate?
This time the guys visit the alternate timeline of Marvel's What If...?. In the midst of a series focused on Becoming Curious Explorers (like some of our favorite leaders), it's time to look at the role imagination plays in human development. When we ask the question "What if?" we exhibit the creative power that makes humans special! We take our experiences, DNA, and senses and mix a new concoction with the potential to produce incredible change in the world!
Curiosity drives character development. Plain and simple. The directions we are curious towards will be the directions our character moves in the long term. Join Derrick and Drew as they learn from Katy how to be curious in such a way that leads to human flourishing (even when your not the hero/protagonist!). Then ponder the contrast between how Katy's curiosity leads to life and the antagonist, Xu Wenwu's, curiosity leads to death.
This week's Tour is a character study of everyone's favorite magician GOB Bluth from Arrested Development. GOB seems to fail quite often, yet he always has the persistence to get back up and try again. While we might not want to model our development leadership style after GOB specifically, we can add to our tool belt some tricks of the magic trade.
Buddy the Elf shows us all how to be curious in any environment. Each of us could ask ourselves the question: how might I be more curious given my life experiences and current situation? Buddy teaches us that it starts by being sure of who we are and what our purpose is. Then through the events of his life (like the mailroom scene), he gives us examples of how we can practice curiosity and become inspiring explorers.
In this week's Christmas themed episode the guys put themselves in the shoes of Buddy the Elf, examine why we would choose to be curious when it generally requires that we take a risk and put ourselves out there. While having naive curiosity like Buddy can sometimes get us into trouble, it also seems to be a prerequisite to growth. What is the right balance between naivety and skepticism? Is curiosity a gift or a skill? Join us on this journey to grow as leaders and enjoy a few laughs along the way.
(Loki S1 E1) To kickstart the series on Becoming Curious Explorers Derrick and Drew travel with Loki to visit the Time Variance Authority. Much like Loki, we are often thrust into totally unfamiliar scenarios in life. What does an effective approach to exploration look like? How can we leverage our prior knowledge and mental models while constantly integrating new information to successfully explore any uncharted dimension?
As leaders, we all want our work to live beyond us so we must be effective at passing it on to the next generation. In the bridge episode between the Game Theory series and the Curious Explorers series the guys return to Interstellar to talk "rage against the dying of the light". By examining Dr. Brand's deathbed scene, they learn how we can take our work and the fire of hope that we hold onto and pass that light on to the next generation.
The guys go deep into Halladay's character and approach to mentoring, seeking to understand how we do like the great founders we look up to, can "pass on" our greatest skills and learnings to the next generation of leaders. On the game theory side, they try to answer the question, "When should we adjust our prior assumptions about the game?". Knowing when to adjust our priors allows us to shrewdly adapt our strategy and tactics as the game progresses.
It can feel hard to keep up with the pace of change in today's climate. Thanks to the virtual world of the Oasis in the year 2045, the game moves at an even faster speed making it challenging to stay ahead of the competition. How can we build a competitive edge without sacrificing a family and social life? And how can we make sure that we are ready to make wise, others-centric decisions when the tests of life come at us unexpectedly?
Off on another rabbit hole, the guys take a crack at the infamous Anchorman fight scene. As humans, we all run across conflicts from time to time. Some seem avoidable while others are just plain ridiculous. By touring the lives of Ron Burgundy, Wes Mantooth, and Brick Tamland, Derrick and Drew piece together some wisdom for how to avoid silly conflicts and how to cool them down before we find ourselves saying, "that escalated quickly".
Continuing the Hunger Games Tour with Danny, the guys ponder how Katniss is able to use her empathy to create an alternative win condition for the game. While it often feels like the "game makers" want us to operate like it's winner-take-all, deep empathy allows us to create new ways to play and complete the game. Empathy is hard. Why is that and how do we get better at it? Danny brings in a simple model that allows us to reflect and grow.
Another week another Wonder Tour first. Derrick and Drew are joined by our first ever special guest, our friend Danny. Danny brings his outstanding passion for people to the Hunger Games as the (three) guys investigate how to win confusing "mixed strategy" games while remaining true to our character and values.
Introducing a new type of WonderTour, a rabbit hole. If we truly believe at not all who wonder are lost, then it follows that even by going down a side road in the journey we can learn something. On this week's slightly shorter episode the guys break down the confrontation between Luke and the Emperor in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. Continuing the series on Game Theory, they discover how we can maximize our competitive edge in a game by finding the proper time to enter the game or reveal our hand.
The guys take a lot of joy in analyzing one of the funniest scenes in all of the Office, Jim's portrayal of the crusty customer, William M. Buttlicker (Season 5, Ep 7). While this one is super lighthearted, there's still much to learn in our series about Game Theory. How do you interact with a game within a game? What do you do when one of the other players are having a bad day (or are just petty)? And what types of game do we benefit most from making unlikely alliances?
The guys break down The Office season 5 episode "Prince Family Paper". The focus of the show is the Zero Sum game where there is a clear winner and loser. How do we play these games in real life? How do we avoid pulling a Michael Scott and backing ourselves into a corner? How does Plato relate to The Office? All this and much more!
The guys discuss games with incomplete or hidden information by looking at how Saruman and the Fellowship's strategies differ in the war for Middle-Earth. They then use the lessons they learn from Frodo, Gandalf, and Aragorn to put together a framework for how to win when playing from a weaker position.
The first Wonder Tour of Lord of the Rings is a milestone. Derrick and Drew celebrate by looking up to one of the most cherished mentors in any media, Gandalf. What do we do when a mentor falls down the hole with the balrog? How do we move on and continue to grow? There's a Wonder Tour formula for that. To end part 1 it's time for a formal introduction to game theory, a key tool in the decision-makers tool belt.
The guys begin by unpacking the wise last words of the Ancient One, "Arrogance and fear still keep you from learning the greatest lesson of all: it's not about you". Next they imagine humans as surfers learning to ride the waves of reality. In exploring the awesome ending confrontation with Dormamu they bring in game theory and the question, how can we use strategy to break the game?
The guys enter another dimension as they analyze how Doctor Strange grows from being a selfish leader to a servant leader. When someone, like Stephen, is stuck in a fixed mindset, how can we help them to break out and become magnanimous? They finish up by fleshing out a model to make us more powerful leaders, "arcane skill development".
In the second part of the Tour of Inception the guys unpack the ending, debating if the top is still spinning and what it all means. Alikening our shared journeys to a symphony they imagine each of us as composers working together to weave the story. Diving into the concept of a "kick" they ponder how formulating and synchronizing kicks can allow us to successfully jumpstart our vision and ideas through good storytelling. Finally, they make heartfelt pitches as to why we want to become good leaders and help others avoid "becoming old men (and women) filled with regret"
The Wonderers begin by wrestling with the way shared dreaming works and what rules and formulas might apply in the movie. They focus on Saito to learn about the sponsoring type of mentor. By putting up projections we can end up covering the truth that we need to face leaving us in a state of restless sleep. How might we destroy the projections we put up that, like Mal, are keeping us asleep to our purpose.
This week's Tour focuses on Parks and Recreation Season 2 Episode 6 (Kaboom). Keef (Paul Scheer) inspires Leslie to KABOOM her pit problem. Along the way Derrick and Drew ponder classic questions like, "Does the end justify the means?" and "Is it ever okay to take shortcuts?". To wrap it all up, they try their hand at crafting a better KABOOM.
In one of the guys favorite episodes yet, they weave together elements of music, visuals, themes, and story coming to the conclusion that living life vibrantly is a key to being a magnanimous leader. Graciously experiencing all the highs and lows of the present world allows us to unlock the potential of each moment even when we can't see how it'll all play out. From Yondu we discover what a crusty mindset looks like, how it's formed, and how to help others to break out of a fixed mindset. Finally, from Peter, we learn what it looks like to lead by example and how that can ultimately unite a splintered team.
For this Tour the guys attempt to navigate the dream-like arc of Tyler Durdin, Jack, Marla, and Bob. The narrator, Jack, is a great example of how an over-structured life (business, or portfolio), while reducing our perceived downside risk, often drastically limits our opportunity for upside outcomes like developing good character (creating competitive advantages, or turning a nice profit). When, like Tyler, we deconstruct something, like a map or model, without constructing a new one in its place, we get Project Mayhem. So it follows that if we can marry up a proper deconstruction with a wise rebuild, we hit the sweet spot for growth potential. In short: Deconstruction + Reconstruction = Renewal. With this formula in mind, it's time to pontificate on how we can go about renewing ourselves and our businesses.
As leaders, we tend to carry extra weight that isn't really ours to wield. Weight that's projected onto us from our past, from our present, from our colleagues, from our families, etc. It's hard to visualize this weight but we can feel it's effects draining our confidence and hope. On this week's Wonder Tour, we learn from Rey (and Ben) how we can identify and shed the Phantom Weight we're carrying and in turn how we might help to free others from their own Phantom Weight.
This week we are throwing back to the first recorded episode of Wonder Tour that we never aired. The guys discuss mentor theory and then work through how we might dig deep into ourselves to find and establish our purpose as leaders and how that equips us to make the right decisions. We hope you enjoy a sneak peak into how we began this journey by touring one of our favorite films of all time in Nolan's Batman Begins.
When we see too narrow of a vision of the the future, we risk getting stuck in "Tunnel Vision" on a destination. Tunnel Vision can lock up our progress, weaken our experiences, and ultimately lead to disappointment when we finally reach the destination we envisioned and we find ourselves feeling unfulfilled. By tapping into Russell's spirit of adventure, the guys discover how to let go of the glorified, fixed destinations we set up in our lives that consistently let us down.
Drew and Derrick look through the eyes of Thor and Loki to help us understand the path we walk as leaders, specifically focusing on how to deal with crucible moments (painful life stages that lead to our growth and formation). Thor and Loki are both full of potential, but take wildly different journeys in developing their character. Thor leans into the pain and humbles himself, becoming a leader worth following, while Loki uses his gifts to try to speed up or cheat his natural growth as a leader and pays the price.
If we believe that our actions are meaningful then it follows that each action propels us towards the positive or negative end of our potential "character spectrum" (or the range of outcomes of our character given our unique abilities, personalities, and experiences). Put simply, we are either actively becoming people with loving character or we are passively becoming apathetic, indifferent, or worse.
A grand dream, like a thick gas, can intoxicate people within a confined space, but what happens when the space the vision is cast in scales more quickly than the vision itself? The guys unpack PT Barnum's leadership superpower, vision, by analyzing how the density of his vision correlates with his rise, fall, and rise again.
Derrick and Drew explore the world and leaders of the Mandalorian, honing specifically in on Season 1 Episode 7-8. First we get caught up learning from Kuill how purified, narrow scope leadership can build one into a sage-like individual. Then we imagine ourselves in Din's story, growing from a lone wolf to a servant leader. Big takeaways include the best ways to build trust in a disjointed relationship and the need for a "relationship hook" in tricky or complex social networks.
This time the guys start by pondering the power of curiosity through the lives of Interstellar heroes, Murph and Coop (along with how to develop a more curious character). Next, by looking at the trajectory of Dr. Mann, they frame up how a leader might fall prey to the allure of power, flipping morality to suit their own narrative. Finally, they take Nolan's bait and contemplate the dimension-bending tesseract scene dabbling in the intellectual pool of human ascendance.
Derrick and Drew dive into the lovably naïve world of Pinocchio. On this ride, we decipher why the redemption narrative is so important to humanity and introduce the concept of an invisible growth rate that seemingly governs things in our world. By imagining this organic growth rate, we can be more effective at implementing changes that are sustainable over time.
Like the Iron Man suit, all awesome innovations start with a prototype. By learning from Tony Stark, we can become great prototypers and by extension more effective agents of change in the world.
This time on Wonder Tour Derrick and Drew tear down the mechanics of great heists and the teams that undergird the best execution. Through the use of strategic weaving and not merely operational scripts you can give your team the edge under pressure. Everyone could use a dash of Danny Ocean in their leadership repertoire!
On this week's Wonder Tour Derrick and Drew journey into the life of one of their favorite characters, Obi-Wan Kenobi of the Star Wars universe. We dig into the mentoring relationships that Obi-Wan had with Anakin and Luke, seeking to learn from his failures and successes. We stand in wonder as Obi-Wan becomes a cleansing trauma in the life of Darth Vader/Anakin through the power of surrender.