How Listening Will Change Your Mindset | 23-Minute Interview with Keith Wo

Welcome everybody to another YouTube Hangout. Super excited to be here with a new guest, Keith Washoe. Keith is an author. He has written The Heart of Success, and we're going to talk today about how to live the right way. So Keith, welcome aboard.

Thank you, Evan. It's an honor to be on your show. A big fan. Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here.

So for people who don't know about you, what you're all about, give us like the 30-second overview of Keith Washoe and then a little bit about the book too.

Sure, yeah, so overview, I grew up in New York near Canada in Rochester. My dad worked for Kodak. Education-wise, I went to University of New York at Oswego and then I went to University of Miami for grad school and then got my MBA at St. Mary's. And I've been working in Silicon Valley for the last 16 years for tech companies like Qualcomm, SanDisk, Creative Labs, right now I'm at Adaptive Sound Technologies, and then Basically wrote a book 2 years ago after learning a lot in Silicon Valley and getting the MBA and writing a lot and had an opportunity to put all that experience and then I interviewed executives to share wisdom on how do you grow in your life in the right way both professionally and personally.

Got it, so that's what has culminated into this book, The Heart of Success, all these interviews with successful tech entrepreneurs and executives.

Yeah, so basically I spent about a year interviewing executives and like to give you an example I can read off a couple of them. So I met I sat with Matt Kaufman who heads up CrunchBase. I interviewed Mark Adams who is the president of Micron Technologies. Kevin Conley who was the GM and Senior VP at SanDisk. Toby Preston who is the VP of Sales at Qualcomm. So I have over a dozen different people that I interviewed and I asked them all the same questions. What's helped you succeed personally in your life? Not only in business where you hit your numbers and you achieve great success for the company, but also most importantly that special essence of being a good father. Of being a good husband, of being a good friend, of being a good brother. And I really try to go after that special mix, hence the heart of success.

Got it. So now I'm dying to know, what are some of the things that you've learned? I mean, you've got to pick up the book, but give us an overview.

Sure. I think, Evan, the key essence of the book and what it tries to impart on you after all the interviews, after all the wisdom with quotes and cartoons, It's really about this one quote that kind of captures what I would call the essence of The Heart of Success. So if I could read this one quote to you. It basically was written by Ralph Waldo Emerson, and who would believe that he'd be the one that really inspired The Heart of Success on this. It says, "To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children." to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends. Appreciate beauty to find the best in others and to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child or a garden patch or redeemed social condition. To know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded. And so this book really goes on in that spirit of personal and professional success, but doing it in the right way, the wholesome way.

So what is, if you had maybe 3 things that you would say that these guys are doing differently, or these guys have figured out that others haven't, or haven't yet, what would your top 3 be?

The top 3 are When you interviewed everybody and you kind of stream out and polish up that stone, the top 3 things are listening, do what you love, hard work, and those 3 are encased with a beautiful frosting of perseverance. So I'll give you an example. So listening, that was really the top. You wouldn't think that, oh, listening? Like so trite, so simple. But all the executives said that listening was the most important thing that's helped them in their careers. And you've probably heard the quote, Evan, that God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason, so we can hear more and speak less. And the whole point of listening was that's the only way you truly learn and understand what's going on in the world, by listening and thinking and comprehending. Secondly, when you're working with people, and all of our success is about relationships with other people, listening allows you to understand people better, but here's the thing, it helps them feel respected, appreciated, trusted by you because listening opens up that door automatically. So listening was so, so important and they put that as the top of the list. That's why in the book I start off with listening as the key. Any questions on that part?

I like it and people are watching saying that they love the quote at the start and like, "Wow, how beautiful." So you got some really fans already.

Oh, that's nice.

So listen was the first one?

Yeah, yeah, so the other one is do what you love. And you probably heard things, Evan, I think actually in some of your videos that I've watched, in the interviews people said, hey, the harder I work, the luckier I get. And the point is, by doing what you love, you can work hard because you love it, you're in passion with it. Just like all these videos you do, that's a lot of work, but you love making these videos. You're inspired from within. So hard work, and the key as they say is elbow grease. You just got to roll up your sleeves and do it. And one of the sales executives we interviewed from Acer Computers says, "You have to be willing to carry the bag." And that's a simple quote meaning, get out there, you get on the planes, the trains, the automobiles, you shake hands, you meet with people, you do the Excel sheets, you do the numbers, you just work hard. He says, "Wear your company's colors." So you just give everything you got and that way, like Rocky Balboa, you work hard, you'll see the results and you can hold up your glove at the end of the day, you know, victorious. The last point is about doing what you love, is that because you've heard that if you love what you do, time flies and you get caught up in it and life is happy and peaceful because you're doing what your heart and you're called to do in your genetic DNA. So doing what you love, listening. Hard work are the 3 central themes. And then the last one is the glaze, which you call perseverance. Because in one of your videos Steve Jobs says you've got to be able to persevere because especially in technology business, it's hard. Things are changing, competitive forces, and if you don't love what you do, if you don't have the will to work hard, if you don't persevere through this, he says you're going to quit and give up because it's hard. And so that's why you need perseverance to see it through. And the best movie that we can all relate to is Rudy. Rudy's an example of getting failure, falling on his face. Rudy persevered, and what happens? He gets the play and gets carried off the field. And it's that theme.

What I love about it is, I mean, you went off and interviewed executives, where most of the people watching this channel, the content that I put out is usually for entrepreneurs, but the characteristics are the same. Like, those lessons will say almost every day on the channel too, that you keep hearing over and over again. And what it really highlights, at least for me, is that success in any field comes down to those things. Not just as an entrepreneur, not just as a musician, not just as an executive, not just as fill in the blank, but to succeed at whatever you want to do, you have to have those traits and those characteristics and follow through on them.

Exactly, because at the end of the day, Evan, it's all about people and relationships with people, whether you're an entrepreneur, whether you're working on your home by yourself or working at a big company, the ability to get along along with other people and then to deliver results and value. And that's where the hard work comes in, the perseverance, listening to other people, doing what you love so you bring the fire, you bring the passion. It's almost like it's not rocket science, but the trick of it all is doing it, is executing all those things, hence having the rocket fuel to boost the rocket.

Keith, what made you want to write this book?

Right, so this book came out as an inspiration of a couple things. First, I'm a big sucker for like hearts and love and understanding like you are what makes people successful. I had that inner craving desire to understand that. So it's a book I wanted to write for myself. Like I genuinely was curious on what does it mean to succeed, not from the books that I have seen and read on professionally and climbing the corporate ladder and getting along with people. That's all good, but I wanted to take an approach that I haven't seen which Succeeding there, yes, and here's traits to succeed professionally. But I wanted to really focus in on the balance of how do you succeed personally as well. So you're great with your family and kids and your friends and at work and so you live this kind of wholesome, balanced, well-centered life. So I didn't really see a book out there and it was something that I was generally interested in so I went out and wrote that book around that. And the other thing is, you know, I just spent 2 years at St. Mary's getting my MBA writing a ton of papers. I felt like I had the extra studies to support writing this book. And lastly, I've been working in Silicon Valley for 16 years, so I had access to executives at a lot of these companies who I could interview. So it was the access, the education, and the passion in the subject matter that made me write the book.

As we— so it's interesting because as we've done profiles of really successful people who are highly driven, they are doing really well in their career, but if you look at their personal life it may not be all that great. And they often talk about sacrifices, that you have to sacrifice, you know, the personal life to have the professional excellence and success. So obviously your book is challenging that. And I'm curious as to when you're, when you're reaching out and trying to find these executives who had that success on both fronts, was that part of the criteria before even interviewing them? Was like you're trying to find guys who had the balance on both? And were there people who, you know, you interviewed and you found that they didn't have a good personal life and so you didn't want to include them? I'm just curious, how did that process go?

That's an incredible in-depth zinger question. Great question. First off, let me say that every executive I interviewed, when it came to work-life balance— and there's a chapter dedicated to work-life balance— they all admittedly said, hey, I'm going to give you all the advice I can, but I got to admit that this is something that I struggle with the most. So putting it out there that they all felt like they needed to do better in that department. Now to answer your question on how I chose the executives to interview, every one of them was a VP, GM, or CEO of a company in Silicon Valley. So that was one of the criteria. Secondly, they were people that I've worked with and known who I have seen the character of somebody you look at and say, you know, they're a really good person. Yeah, they're successful, but they're someone who have good positive energy, who are loving, likable. And thirdly, yeah, all of them were married, almost all of them had kids, so they had this kind of thing, balance of personal life that they had to work through. Granted, no one's perfect. Some of them had divorces. Everyone has bumps along the way. But overall, the list was comprised of executives in high-end positions who have proven success in companies, who also were great character people and had big personal lives like family, kids, grandkids.

For the people who are watching who want to get more, be more successful as a person in their relationships, all that, as well as have the entrepreneurial side, and I agree, I think a lot of the content out there only focuses on professional success or personal success but not mixing them. What are some of the things that you found from the people you interviewed on the personal side that they did regularly that helped them stay balanced and live the right way?

Right, so in the book, let me just show you one of the chapters that answers that question. There's a chapter called Being Effective with People. How to be successful with people is like the main chapter that covers that, and then the other part is the work-life balance that answers that. So what I found from all the executives was This is interesting, they said, you know, we're executives in Silicon Valley working in these tech companies, we have millions of demands on our time, we're always scheduling meetings and appointments. They said, look, you need to schedule your family vacation times just as important as your 2 o'clock sales meeting. So they would all schedule dedicated time. I'm picking my son up from school, I'm going to this soccer game, I'm doing this family vacation on this weekend, and they would lock it in and they would prioritize these personal things as important, if not sometimes more important than some of these work things. But it's again, it's that balance. The other part was the importance of when it comes to these, the relationships with people on a personal level, they always said that meeting in person, talking face-to-face is so much better than these phone calls and emails nowadays that really have taken over our lives. So they would all make it a point to have in-person talks. And then the third part of that is Just be sincere and honest with people in all you say and all you do. And the last thing on how they were able to be successful with people overall in their career, both professionally and personally, was they came down to— this is where there's a chapter dedicated on faith— they all said it's about living the Golden Rule. Treat others as you would like to be treated. Do unto others as you would like done unto you. And when you take that and you put it all together, that's where they found the heart of success. I love it.

In thinking about you writing this book, I'm assuming you already knew a lot of this stuff and it was great to get it kind of reinforced just, just by your character and the fact that you wanted to write this book and you're seeking out answers. I'm curious though, so I'm sure you already knew a lot of the stuff they were saying. I'm curious what you learned that was unexpected, that was different, that you didn't already go in thinking about from some of these people, some lessons that like you thought, ah, I can apply that to my career or to my personal life as well?

Well, the first thing is I didn't realize that listening would boil up as the most important part of success, that I almost called the book Listen Up because of that. And so it became chapter 1 because how important listening was. So it really doubled down my conscious effort of the importance of listening. And being in a meeting, listen more, speak less. And so that probably bubbled up to me as like, wow, I didn't expect that. The other thing that was fascinating that I ended up dedicating a chapter to was staying fresh. They said that you have to constantly learn. Be a lifelong learner was one of the themes. Keep going to professional development classes. Keep going to conferences. Keep going to seminars. Keep reading. A leader is a reader. Things like that. So the importance of staying fresh in your career, I ended up dedicating a chapter to, which came out from all the executives. Some of them are in their 60s and they're still running technology companies. I mean, a lot of people retire when they're 65. Some of them were like 68 and still like GM CEOs and still running every day, learning every day. So that stood out.

Did you learn anything on how to be a better listener from them? Could you give advice on how to be a better listener? That's like the biggest thing you learned and one of the biggest— you almost called the book Listen Up. It's a key for success as a corporate executive, as an entrepreneur. So now I'm thinking as an entrepreneur, I want to have more success. Okay, how can I listen better? Are there any— is there a path to follow? Is it just the awareness? Are there steps that you need to take? How can people become better listeners?

So in the book, Chapter 2 is called How to Be an Effective Listener, and it gives all the wisdom on that. But the most important thing they said was, first, is when you listen to people, like simple things, right? Like we said, this is blocking and tackling, but it's about execution. Look them in the eye.

Okay?

And give them your full attention. How many times have you talked to people and they're typing away or they're on the phone, oh yeah, what's up? Or typing and kind of looking at you? Stop, put things down, look people in the eyes, give them your full attention. And that requires not only looking at them but nodding, showing acknowledgement like you're engaged. So be an engaged listener. The second thing was once you hear and you pick up on things, they said it's fantastic, take notes. Write down what they're saying, things that stand out to you. Then the third step was reiterate back. So let me— what I'm hearing is that A, B, and C, is that what you're trying to say? Yeah, yeah, okay, great. So now they fully feel respected, listened to, you acknowledge you heard what they said. That's the art of listening. I love it.

Well, let's get to a couple questions from the people who are watching. Richie Cup TV is saying, one of the chapters in your book is successful products. So I guess she's already looking into your book and what it's all about. One of the chapters in your book is successful products, and she's asking, how do you determine what a successful product is?

So when you work in Silicon Valley like I have for Creative Labs and SanDisk and Bigfoot Networks, you spend your life marketing and selling consumer electronics, which I have. You learn a lot about what makes a product successful. And so I dedicate a chapter on that because professionally, if you want to succeed, you want to be able to make products, which drives all the revenue for companies, successful. So some of the keys that came out were, again, these sound like simple things, were number 1, when you come out with a product, and Steve Jobs always did this at Apple, and this is what made Apple famous, start with the consumer in mind first. And what that means is you don't start with, oh, I had this cool technology, let me go find a home for it. Oh, because I had this technology, We should do this. Steve Jobs says that doesn't work. They tried that with some of their other products and they failed. Start with what is the customer's pain point? What do they really need? What are they craving for? What's missing? And how can we deliver that to them and do it in the best way possible? So start with the customer in mind. That was the first rule of thumb for a great product. And then secondly is your traditional MBA stuff. That's why I dedicate a part of the chapter on the 5 P's: product, pricing, positioning, knowing where to put the product, how to message it successfully, which we talk about in the book. The third thing, and I think one of the most important things, is not only building for the customer first and doing all the proper MBA stuff on the 5 Ps of marketing for it, but it's making sure that the product is something that when people use, they're going to love. And want to tell their friends about it. That whole evangelization thing that came out of Apple. People waiting in line for iPods and iPhones because they love the product and then they would tell people about it. If you make a product that people put in their hands and they love and they want to touch and use every day, people call it the toothbrush rule. A product that people want to, you know, have to use or want to use every day, then you know you have a successful product. I love it.

Maybe as a segue, Zeno is writing in to say, Keith, how do you define success?

If I may define success for you, there's a poem in the book that's called The Dash. It takes me about 30 seconds to read it, but is that alright, Evan? Do we have time for that?

Let's hear it. The Dash.

This poem is the essence of the heart of success and how I would define success, and it was written by Linda Ellis, and it's called "The Dash." It says, "I read of a man who stood to speak at the funeral of a friend. He referred to the dates of her tombstone from beginning to the end. He noted that first came the date of her birth and spoke of the following date with tears. But he said what mattered most of all was that dash." between those years. For that dash represented all the time that she spent alive on earth. And now only those who loved her know what that little line is worth. For it matters not how much we own, the cars, the house, the cash. What matters is how we live and love and how we spend our dash. So think about this long and hard. Are there things you'd like to change? For you never know how much time is left that can still be rearranged. If we could just slow down enough to consider what's true and real and always try to understand the way other people feel and be less quick to anger and show appreciation more and love the people in our lives like we've never loved before. If we treat each other with respect and more often wear a smile, remembering that this special dash might only last a while. So when your eulogy is being read, with your life's actions to rehash, would you be proud of the things they say about how you spent Your Dash.

I love it. I love it. I think in addition to author, we've got to add professional reader or something to your credentials there. I love it. It's great.

Cool.

Well, you know, it's amazing how time flies when you're having fun. Keith, if people want to learn more about you, more about the book, what's the best place to connect?

They can just go to my website. It's keithwasho.com, which is my name, K-E-I-T-H, my last name Washo, W-A-S-H-O.com, and there you can get information on my book and more about me. Me, and I'm happy to help or answer any questions for anybody. I love it.

Well, we'll link that up in the description below for you guys. Keith, thank you so much for your time. Thank you guys so much for watching. Continue to believe, and we'll see you soon.

Believe.