Summary In this episode, Andy Kaufman interviews his friend Randy Fox about his book The Call to Excellence: Influential Leadership for Impactful Results. Randy shares the backstory of his signature story, the Silver Platter Service, and how it can apply to leadership. They discuss the pursuit of excellence and the difference between being perfect and pursuing our highest and best. They also talk about the importance of being unoffendable and open to feedback, as well as the basics of leadership, such as kindness, communication, and consistency. Randy emphasizes the need for intentional self-improvement and even how these principles apply to parenting. Sound Bites "The art of listening is hearing what the person is not saying." "When you watch yourself, the film doesn't lie." "The silver platter isn't about how we collect the trash, it's how we serve someone else and how we lead them through those projects, through those outcomes, through life." "There's a difference between being kind and nice." Chapters 00:00 Introduction 01:01 Start of Interview 01:11 The Silver Platter story 03:58 What does pursuing excellence NOT mean? 06:32 The difference between surviving and thriving 07:56 Being unoffendable 14:34 Lessons from refs 17:39 About sincerity and truth 21:56 Be brilliant with the basics 24:27 How to be a better communicator 26:46 How to not get complacent with our learning 31:17 Applying these lessons as parents 33:08 Interview Wrap Up 33:40 Andy Comments After the Interview 36:49 Outtakes Learn More You can learn more about Randy and his book at FoxPoint.net. If you’d like more on this subject, check out: Episode 301, with Peter Kozodoy about his book on honesty Episode 345, with Darren Reinke about his book about being a savage leader   AI for Project Managers and Leaders With the constant stream of AI news, it's sometimes hard to grasp how these advancements can benefit us as project managers and leaders in our day-to-day work. That's why I developed our e-learning course: AI Made Simple: A Practical Guide to Using AI in Your Everyday Work. This self-guided course is designed for project managers and leaders aiming to harness AI's potential to enhance your work, streamline your workflow, and boost your productivity. Go to ai.i-leadonline.com to learn more and join us. The feedback from the program has been fantastic. Take this opportunity to unlock the potential of AI for your team and projects. Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Talent Triangle: Power Skills   The following music was used for this episode: Music: Echo by Alexander Nakarada License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Music: Fashion Corporate by Frank Schroter License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license