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How Leaders Lead with David Novak

#92: Dawn Sweeney, Former National Restaurant Association President & CEO— Speaking Up When Something Can Be Better

How Leaders Lead with David Novak

David Novak Leadership

Entrepreneurship, Business, Management

4.8596 Ratings

🗓️ 21 July 2022

⏱️ 43 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Today’s guest is Dawn Sweeney, the former President & CEO of the National Restaurant Association. Steve Jobs used to say of Apple: “Excellence is the price of admission.” What he meant by that was that excellence was standard operating procedure. It’s what was expected. In an environment like this, colleagues push each other to make things better. They push the boundary of what’s possible, and if someone feels like a project or an idea can be better, they speak up! Dawn Sweeney, and the great leaders I know, do this very same thing. They speak up when something can be better. They don’t accept the status quo, but instead have the courage to push for making everything the best it can be. This, my friends, is what it looks like to strive for excellence. And doing things with excellence is the mark of a great company. If you haven't already, sign up for my weekly leadership development plan and get the tips you need to get prepare for a busy week straight in your inbox on Sunday evenings. Go to https://howleaderslead.com/plan and sign up today. Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go  Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

Transcript

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0:00.0

Welcome to How Leaders Lead where every week you get to listen in while I interview some of the very best leaders in the world.

0:09.4

I break down the key learning so that by the end of the episode, you'll have something simple that you can apply as you develop into a better leader.

0:17.6

That's what this podcast is all about.

0:20.0

Today's guest is Don Swweeney, the former president

0:23.4

and CEO of the National Restaurant Association. Now, Steve Jobs, the late CEO of Apple,

0:30.8

used to say, excellence is the price of admission. What he meant by that was that excellence was

0:37.2

standard operating procedure at

0:39.4

Apple. It's what he expected. It's what was expected by everybody in the company. In an environment

0:46.5

like this, colleagues push each other to make things better. They push the boundary of what's

0:51.5

possible. And if someone feels like a project or an idea can be better,

0:56.1

they speak up.

0:57.7

Don Sweeney and the great leaders I know

1:00.1

do this very same thing.

1:02.1

They speak up when something can be better.

1:04.7

They don't accept the status quo,

1:06.7

but instead have the courage to push to make everything

1:09.9

the best it can be.

1:11.7

This, my friends, is what it looks like to strive for excellence.

1:16.1

And doing things with excellence is the mark of a great leader, and it's the mark of a great company.

1:22.1

So let's not wait any longer.

1:23.7

Here's my conversation with my good friend and soon to be yours, Don Sweeney.

1:35.4

Don, I always like to start out at the beginning. Can you tell us about your upbringing? So I started

...

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