This week’s conversation is with John Donovan, CEO of AT&T Communications.

He’s responsible for the bulk of AT&T’s global telecommunications and video services businesses, including AT&T’s Business, Entertainment, and Technology & Operations groups.

AT&T is a global leader in telecommunications with 100 million U.S. consumer connections and millions of businesses, from the smallest companies to nearly all of the Fortune 1000.

John manages over 200,000 people. Think about that for a second. What’s the key to running an organization this large?

For John, it starts with knowing his values and what he stands for.

This creates a certain space that allows him to be grounded and present more often.

In this conversation, John shares how he got so clear on who he is and what he’s striving for.

It took some difficult, lonely work to sort it out and I hope you are currently embracing that same process.

“The most important work you’re going to do is inside. Writing those things down, what kind of person you want to be, is the hardest stuff.”

In This Episode:

• Why he cares deeply about relationships.. how he goes about engaging with others and valuing them
• The importance of removing ego from conversations
• His leadership style: delivering the right message at the right time
• Why sports and business aren’t that different: relationships, performance, and everyone being their best are the keys
• Defining where you’re at in life: the 4 arcs of life (physical, intellectual, influence, and going home)
• Creating a plan for your life, one of the best documents you’ll ever produce
• His unique morning routine
• His recommendation for how to get to the center of who you are
• Is it possible to manage striving for depth in relationship with few vs. impact across many
• His strategy for getting honest feedback from his peers
• What he’s most hungry for in life: strength
• The most challenging part of his job
• His definition of success
• The 3 different catalysts for change