Order of Man - July 14, 2017


FFN 064： The Power of Red Teaming


Episode Stats

Length

10 minutes

Words per Minute

191.36736

Word Count

2,069

Sentence Count

127

Hate Speech Sentences

1


Summary

In this episode of The Manliest Podcast, Ryan Michler discusses the importance of opposition and why you should embrace it. He discusses the benefits of being surrounded by people who disagree with you, and how you can leverage the naysayers in your life to your advantage.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 You're a man of action. You live life to the fullest, embrace your fears, and boldly chart your own path.
00:00:06.020 When life knocks you down, you get back up one more time, every time.
00:00:10.440 You are not easily deterred or defeated, rugged, resilient, or strong.
00:00:15.500 This is your life. This is who you are. This is who you will become.
00:00:19.760 At the end of the day, and after all is said and done, you can call yourself a man.
00:00:24.720 Gentlemen, what is going on today? My name is Ryan Michler, and I am the host and the founder of this podcast, The Order of Man.
00:00:31.100 If you are listening today, you just stumbled upon, or maybe you've been listening to for a while, the manliest podcast the world of podcasting has to offer.
00:00:39.000 Each week, I interview the world's best, the brightest, the strongest, the wealthiest, talented, most successful men on the planet.
00:00:45.440 I ask them questions about their journey, extract their lessons, get them to share their insights, and deliver them to you so you can improve in your life.
00:00:53.740 Now, before I get into the discussion today, I want to talk with you about our first ever Order of Man meetup in Kansas City.
00:01:00.360 That's going to be held August 12, 2017. A lot of you guys know about this, and a lot of you guys are attending.
00:01:05.780 It's going to be an epic one-day event with a live podcast with me and Steven Mansfield.
00:01:10.920 Presentations by me, Steven Heiner, Larry Hagner, and Josiah Novak.
00:01:14.560 We're going to be doing shootings, self-defense. This is all going to be capped with a dinner.
00:01:18.020 Guys, you won't want to miss this, and we are going to be shutting down registration soon.
00:01:22.040 On August 1, 2017, we're shutting down registration, and again, the event is going to be held August 12, 2017, and you can get all the details at orderofman.com slash event.
00:01:33.480 Now, let us get into the discussion today for our Friday Field Notes.
00:01:37.300 I've been thinking a lot about the growth of Order of Man and everything that we've experienced over the past two and a half years.
00:01:43.060 It has been mind-blowing, and quite honestly, it's been a little surprising and hectic at times, but as excited as I am about the growth and the amount of men who agree with what we've been saying for the last two and a half years, I want to talk about opposition today.
00:01:58.160 I want to talk about opposition for just the next couple of minutes.
00:02:00.860 When I think about that word, and when you think about that word just for a minute, opposition, what do you hear?
00:02:06.060 When I hear that, I think of competition.
00:02:09.400 I think of people who want to beat me or people that maybe I want to beat.
00:02:13.900 I also think about people or thoughts or organizations that are getting in the way, frankly, of what it is I want.
00:02:21.660 And when you think about it like that, I think it's really easy to see why so many people run from opposition.
00:02:28.800 They run away from any hardship, they run away from anything that might stand in their way, and more specific to the discussion that I want to have with you today, they run away from anyone who happens to disagree with them.
00:02:43.140 Look, guys, I understand.
00:02:45.520 Why would you or me want to build a life where you're surrounded by people who disagree with you?
00:02:51.100 I certainly don't want that.
00:02:52.540 But what if I told you that there is value in a healthy dose of opposition to all that you're doing and all that you want to do?
00:03:01.320 My friend Andy Frisilla with MFCEO, if you don't listen to that show, you should.
00:03:05.700 He talks about using the naysayers and the opposition as fuel to thrive in his life.
00:03:11.880 In fact, he said in previous podcasts that he should go back and actually thank these people because he's used their doubts, among other things,
00:03:18.180 this fuel to grow what now has become a 100 plus million dollar company.
00:03:23.760 So I really want to delve into opposition for a minute and why we as men shouldn't necessarily run away from it, but actually embrace it.
00:03:33.740 Opposition is so important, in fact, that there's a term that's used to describe using opposition to your advantage.
00:03:40.660 It's called red teaming.
00:03:41.980 I'm sure a lot of you have heard about this, but the basic idea is that you build a team whose sole purpose is to challenge what it is you're doing.
00:03:51.040 Think about this.
00:03:51.660 If you played sports, for example, the varsity team always practices against a scrub or a second team defense, for example.
00:03:59.780 Military units use other teams to identify weaknesses in strategy and policy.
00:04:04.780 Cyber security firms, they hire hackers to test for vulnerabilities.
00:04:08.440 These Fortune 500 companies, they hire a board of advisors to address blind spots.
00:04:13.260 Other organizations hire criminals to literally breach their security systems.
00:04:17.500 And if you've ever heard of the gentleman Frank Abagnale, he's a con artist, an imposter, and a criminal.
00:04:23.460 He was hired by the federal government because he knew the secrets and the tricks and the hacks and the tips that the government was actually trying to stop.
00:04:32.180 So you get it, right?
00:04:33.020 You see this concept of red teaming in every element of life.
00:04:36.840 It's in governments, professional sporting teams, Fortune 500 companies.
00:04:40.820 And if they're using the concept of red teaming, it's probably safe to assume that there's something we ought to look into.
00:04:46.940 So I want you to think about your own life.
00:04:49.480 Is the concept of red teaming something that you've even considered?
00:04:54.460 Think about the people that you spend the most time with.
00:04:57.740 They're probably just like you.
00:05:00.460 Think about the books you read or the podcasts you listen to.
00:05:04.100 They're probably all very similar.
00:05:05.680 Think about where you get your news.
00:05:08.180 It's all from the same types of networks that you always have.
00:05:11.440 Think about your Facebook or your Instagram or your Twitter feed.
00:05:14.680 You've probably curated it all so it's the same information that you've always consumed.
00:05:20.820 I understand.
00:05:21.760 I do this too.
00:05:23.400 Because again, who wants to curate their life by adding people or information that frankly we're just not interested in?
00:05:29.940 But I think there's something to be said for adding variety.
00:05:33.400 Variety into your life that you have not been previously exposed to.
00:05:38.060 And yet, we as humans are so averse to entertaining the fact that there might be value in a differing opinion.
00:05:46.840 We're all so quick to call someone an idiot or worse simply because they see the world a little bit differently.
00:05:54.360 Are they wrong because they don't agree with you?
00:05:56.280 Maybe.
00:05:56.560 But don't you think it might be a good idea to at least entertain the fact that maybe you're wrong before you even decide to respond?
00:06:04.100 This is how we grow.
00:06:05.360 Guys, this is how we expand by entertaining opposing views.
00:06:09.680 Then, and only then, making an intelligent decision with all the facts at hand moving forward.
00:06:17.260 Aristotle once said, it is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain an idea without accepting it.
00:06:24.820 And that's the whole premise behind red teaming.
00:06:27.720 To expand your mind.
00:06:29.320 To open up the blind spots.
00:06:30.920 To see the world a little bit differently.
00:06:32.960 To learn something you didn't previously know.
00:06:35.960 And to make yourself better.
00:06:37.980 However, if all the information you and I consume and all the people that we spend our time with are the same as we are, we are stuck on a plateau and we're never going to experience the growth that I know you're after, that I certainly am after.
00:06:51.480 So, how do we begin to do this?
00:06:53.100 How do you incorporate the idea of red teaming into your life?
00:06:56.900 I think it's three very simple steps.
00:06:58.740 First, I want you to document all of the information that you consume.
00:07:04.000 Books, podcasts, TV shows, documentaries, movies, magazines, music, etc.
00:07:08.900 All of it.
00:07:10.340 And then find the trends.
00:07:11.800 For me, it's a lot of self-help books and podcasts.
00:07:14.780 I listen to country music pretty much exclusively.
00:07:18.600 Most of the political information I consume is conservative.
00:07:22.060 I like action-adventure movies when it comes to going out on a date with my wife.
00:07:26.380 I could go on and on about this, but step 1B, I guess the second part of this step, is then to commit to consuming new information.
00:07:35.420 Listen to a new news network.
00:07:38.220 Watch a different type of movie.
00:07:40.300 Consume a different podcast.
00:07:41.700 The one I just started listening to outside of what I normally would is StarTalk Radio with Neil deGrasse Tyson, which you guys should check out.
00:07:48.620 You could read a fiction book instead of a self-help book.
00:07:51.320 Remember, you're not trying to change who you are, and you don't even have to accept what new information you're going to consume.
00:07:58.260 You're just opening up your mind and the thought process to it.
00:08:02.860 Step 2 is to do the same thing with the people that you spend time with.
00:08:06.700 If all the people you spend time with are white Christian conservatives, and I use that because that's what I am,
00:08:13.160 then maybe you ought to think about spending time with different types of people.
00:08:16.060 If everyone you spend time with has a certain attitude about money or politics or religion, maybe you ought to consider seeking out the exact opposite.
00:08:25.600 Don't worry, guys.
00:08:27.020 Don't worry.
00:08:27.440 You're not going to be converted here.
00:08:28.980 You're not going to be brainwashed.
00:08:30.420 You're just expanding your mind.
00:08:32.820 I'd also suggest that we consider doing this on Facebook.
00:08:36.020 Most of the people on my feed are the exact same.
00:08:38.460 It makes sense because I'm naturally attracted to those type of people,
00:08:41.220 but I'm actually genuinely curious when the last time I followed someone who challenged my way of thinking.
00:08:47.620 And doing this red teaming or following this thought process is only going to produce one of two results.
00:08:53.580 You're going to either expand and learn something that you didn't previously know,
00:08:57.760 or you're going to solidify your current conviction.
00:09:01.300 And I place both of those outcomes in the win column.
00:09:04.140 And the third red teaming strategy that I want to share with you is asking yourself great questions.
00:09:08.060 You should be questioning everything that you do.
00:09:12.340 Is what I believe about X right?
00:09:15.160 Is what I'm about to do the right course of action?
00:09:17.820 Is there a better way to do this?
00:09:19.680 What could go wrong?
00:09:21.060 Who knows more about this scenario than I do?
00:09:23.840 What haven't I thought of?
00:09:25.660 Where can I learn more about it?
00:09:27.580 Powerful questions are such a great tool in exposing yourself to new information and new insights.
00:09:33.900 I know it's not easy to place yourself in the way of opposition.
00:09:36.300 I know it's not comfortable finding people and information and scenarios that challenge what you're doing.
00:09:43.640 But this concept and this strategy of red teaming is one of the best ways to eliminate blind spots and expand our minds.
00:09:51.200 And at the end of the day, help us grow, which is why you're listening to this podcast.
00:09:54.660 If you want to tap into a red team of sorts, I encourage you to join our brotherhood, the Iron Council.
00:10:01.620 We just completed our 12-week battle plans for third quarter, and we want to help you develop your strategy for the next 90 days.
00:10:08.580 So as you build out a plan of attack within the Iron Council, you're going to work closely with your battle team,
00:10:14.300 and you're going to get the accountability that you need from a tight-knit group of men who, guys, are not going to pull any punches
00:10:20.060 when it comes to doing and saying what needs to be done and said in order to help you accomplish your objectives.
00:10:26.040 So you can learn more, and you can join us at orderofman.com slash Iron Council.
00:10:30.360 Until next week, gentlemen, take action.
00:10:32.480 Challenge your ideas.
00:10:33.640 Find other people who will do the same and become the man you are meant to be.
00:10:38.580 Thank you for listening to the Order of Man podcast.
00:10:41.560 If you're ready to take charge of your life and be more of the man you were meant to be,
00:10:45.580 we invite you to join the Order at orderofman.com.