Cal Fussman - Conversations with Muhammad Ali, Gorbachev and Clooney

Have you ever faced difficulties in your interviewing process with potential hires? Is it a struggle to find passionate, talented individuals who are a good fit for your organization? If yes, then today’s episode of E.O. Podcast isn’t one you want to miss. Meet Cal Fussman, a New York best-selling author who has a history of interviewing global icons. Today, Cal will enthrall you with some of his life changing experiences with Julio Chavez, Petra Nemcova, Mikhail Gorbachev and Robert Di Niro. Cal also indulges listeners with his travel adventures across Europe which taught him the art of being an effective interviewer. Read on and get some terrific insights from this master storyteller on how to master your interviewing process.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

0:40 – Dave was really impressed with Cal Fussman when he heard him on Tim Ferriss’ Podcast 1:55 – Cal gets nervous when people hero worship him—he gets bogged down by expectations 02:03 – Martin Scorsese was a big fan of Akira Kurosawa, the director of “Seven Samurai” 02:16 – Scorsese was about to enter a party when he found out that Kurosawa was there as well. Not wanting to be disappointed by his hero, he simply walked out 07:17 – Cal has a picture of him hitting Julio César Chávez in the jaw; it’s hanging in his office 07:32 – Cal sparred with Julio César Chávez, the then junior welterweight champion, for a couple of rounds 07:35 – This picture reminds Cal that ANYTHING is possible 08:06 – Cal was determined to fight one round with Julio; he trained hard for seven months 09:20 – Cal’s trainer advised him to throw a combination of jabs and punches that resulted in Cal landing a punch on Julio! 12:43 – After being knocked down by Julio at the end of the first round, Julio asked Cal whether he wanted to continue for another round. Not wanting to back down, Cal responded positively. This was one of the GREATEST movements of Cal’s life 14:00 – Cal is currently working with organizations to create a great interview process for employees 14:30 – Check out Cal’s website to learn more about him 14:54 – Cal’s Introduction: 14:54 – A New York best-selling author, Cal currently writes for Esquire magazine 15:01 – A renowned keynote speaker and corporate culture consultant, Cal has worked with companies like Pixar, Lululemon and Apple Music 15:18 – Written for Esquire, GQ, Sports Illustrated, ESPN and the Washington Post 15:35 – Cal has conducted interviews with Jeff Bezos, Jack Welch, Muhammad Ali, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Hanks, Barbara Walters, Clint Eastwood, Leonardo DiCaprio, Dr. Dre, Woody Allen, Serena Williams, Nelson Mandela and many more…. 16:45 – The first principle of a good conversation: “Start from the heart and go to the head” 18:00 – Cal has only recently started to reflect on what he has learnt from interviewing such icons; he wishes to help other people conduct their interviews 18:48 – Cal likens his interviewing process to that of an “old grandma cooking”—he points out that he has never thought about the process until recently 19:55 – Cal is coming to Boston in September 14, 2018 to talk to entrepreneurs about mastering the interviewing process 20:12 – How Cal got around to helping employers master their interviewing process 20:12 – Cal got in touch with the founder of Summit, an organization based in Powder Mountain, Utah. Entrepreneurs can network and figure out a way to help each other 20:49 – 4000 entrepreneurs take part in Summit at Sea every November where Cal was invited to be a speaker 22:00 – Cal had to reflect and jot down how he managed to interview difficult personalities such as Muhammad Ali, Gorbachev and Robert De Niro 23:54 – Cal had a bout of nervousness when he realized he would be speaking in front of a huge crowd consisting of prominent personalities; however his speech was well received 24:42 – After the speech, there was a long line of people waiting to meet Cal in a bid to find out how they could interview better and hire better people 25:06 – To gauge a candidate’s passion for work, Cal suggests asking the following question: “How long have you gone without sleep working on a project that you were passionate about?” 26:17 – He realized that if he could transpose what he knew over the company’s interviewing process, it would yield rich dividends 27:50 – Born in Brooklyn, Cal spent 10 years traveling the world 28:42 – How a trip to Europe turned into a 10 year adventure 28:50 – He’d show up at a train station or bus station and ask for a ticket to the next destination 29:12 – Having no money to pay for accommodation, Cal would initiate a conversation and hope that his fellow passenger would invite him to stay at their home for the night 32:32 – Was able to travel from one dinner table to another thanks to his gift of gab 32:57 – Cal recounts his conversation with the model Petra Nemcova 33:43 – Cal and Petra end up exchanging traveling stories—an hour and a half interview turned into a 4-hour long conversation 35:30 – Conversations that Cal had on the trains and buses in Europe helped him to become an effective interviewer 36:47 – Hear Cal recount his fantastic experience interviewing Mikhail Gorbachev 37:30 – Cal’s life changing experience with Robert De Niro 37:41 – Esquire asked Cal to interview De Niro back in 2003 38:06 – Cal was lukewarm about interviewing De Niro since he was known to be difficult 40:03 – De Niro agrees to meet Cal at the Tribeca Grill, De Niro’s restaurant 42:05 – Respect and trust between Cal and Robert led to Robert opening up about his many experiences 43:11 – Robert shares his biggest regret: that he could not record his family history 43:46 – Hearing Robert’s experience, Cal decided to make a short film about his parents and play it at their 50th anniversary celebrations—this is how the De Niro experience CHANGED Cal’s life 46:22 – Telling a good story 46:22 – Important to place a “seed of vulnerability” in every story; Cal was in a vulnerable position in all his experiences 48:32 – Like in a movie, if a story revolves around overcoming an obstacle, it heightens the storytelling experience 49:10 – Listen to Brené Brown talk about the power of vulnerability in her Ted Talk 52:50 – Check out Dave’s interview with John Kimmich, the maker of Heady Topper beer 59:35 – Dave closes the episode and encourages you to visit his website

3 Key Points:

The first principle of having a great conversation: start from the heart and go the head. Trust and respect between the interviewer and the interviewee enables a genuine conversation. Placing a “seed of vulnerability” in a story heightens the entire story telling experience. 

Resources Mentioned:

Entrepreneur's Organization – The EO Network Cal Fussman – Cal’s website Pixar, Lululemon and Apple Music – Clients that Cal has provided corporate consultancy services for Esquire, GQ, Sports Illustrated, ESPN and the Washington Post – Organizations that Cal has written for Summit – Networking organization based in Powder Mountain, Utah Summit at Sea - Networking organization where Cal participated as a keynote speaker Mikhail Gorbachev – Hear Cal recount his experience with Mikhail Gorbachev Tribeca Grill – New York Restaurant co-owned by Robert Di Niro Heady Topper – Voted as the world’s best beer Brené Brown’s Ted Talk – Recommended by Dave EO interview with John Kimmich – interview with maker of Heady Topper beer