Andreas and I get into how military leadership translates to the civilian world, the lessons of Teddy Roosevelt and of course, Jamaican Olympians!   Bio (full bio): Today our guest is Andreas Jones, a veteran of the United States Army, a John Maxwell certified business coach and the author of the bestselling book Business Leader Combat. Andreas works with businesses in a number of areas, including leadership development. He translates many techniques learned in the military to the civilian and business world to help his clients. Interview: Why don’t you take a few minutes and take our audience into your journey, and how you got where you are today. Born in Jamaica 80%-85% poverty Both parents were small business owners; job market was very difficult; dad owned auto repair shop and mom owned a restaurant Created fun summer jobs! Came to U.S./Florida and enlisted in Army. Served nine years. Went into the corporate world and worked up to a VP and then started a consulting/coaching practice Reflect on Jamaican Olympians and what they mean for the country? Having athletes representing country on the world stage is huge Jamaica is only as a large as an average American city, so it’s a big deal Sports is another way of life in the country; can also be a great escape from the poverty for a moment What is it mean to be a John Maxwell certified coach? Was introduced to him while in the corporate world and developing as a leader/manager Met personally with Maxwell; he recommended 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership They all lined up with what he had seen in his military training Had an opportunity to be mentored by him He is the same in person as he is on state or in his books He uses the same principles in his own business as what he teaches When he moved his HQ from San Diego to Atlanta, all but three moved with him Let’s talk about your book, Business Leader Combat: How To Get And Keep An Edge Over Your Competitors And Win On The Business Battlefield Why did you decide to write the book, and who is it for? Initially he wrote the book for himself There is a manual in the military for everything you do, and after starting his business, he wanted to put together his own manual After writing it, he shared it with a friend who encouraged him to release it as a book Hit #1 bestseller in U.S. and Canada, #4 in U.K. For business owners/leaders who are wanting to take the next step, building teams, adding new products/services You talk about basic training and advanced training in the military. What are the leadership lessons taught in those environments that translate civilian life? Bootcamp is groundzero – take responsibility for yourself; take ownership; integrity Advanced training – specific job training; you’re only as good as the next person on your team; goal is to develop that person so that there is no fall off if you lose a leader or someone at the top (Daniel) Referred to Second City leadership training heard on EntreLeadership – You’re only as strong as your ability to lift up your weakest ink You reference the perception of military leaders as harsh and punitive, but go on to say the best leaders succeed when they treat people with genuine respect. Can you go into that a bit? Perception of military leadership is drill sergeant, but that’s not representative Respect is integral to bring people from across cultures/beliefs/values to focus on the mission Can you tell us about the various levels of intelligence and how we should be thinking about them in our organizations? Market intelligence - Getting to know what you’re heading into before you go there (e.g. market research) Competitor intelligence – are there others out there doing what we’re doing? How will we differentiate? You differentiate between mentors, business coaches and consultants. Help us understand the difference, and then let’s talk about the importance of mentorship in particular. Mentor – someone who has been down the path you are wanting to go down; you’re gleaning from their experience/knowledge Coach – don’t have to have gone down the same path, though there should be some similarities; mixture of mentoring and consulting Consultant – will have their own competencies to deploy for your benefit rather than guiding you toward developing them yourselves. How do we develop a “coalition” to solve specific problems or accomplish specific goals? What makes U.S. military great? Ability to form coalitions What successful war have we fought without other countries as part of the coalition? It’s finding others who can help you solve problems Apple sources their processors from Intel; that’s a coalition Who else can help me get to my end goal? You compare a good leader to that of a good physician. Tell us about that. When you go to the doctor and say your head is hurting, the doctor doesn’t immediately say take some ibuprofen; instead they look for the root of the problem If you lead a team of five people, they will likely all be different; so you as the leader have to diagnose what is going on with the team What is your definition of transformational leadership, and how can we develop it? Taking what you already have, and transforming it into something that is better, without losing the essence of why you’re doing it Look at your baseline and see if there is another way to approach something that will get us a different/better result In the section on communication, you talk about the effectiveness of storytelling. How can we use storytelling to motivate and lead our teams? When you use a story, words create immediate connection/association with intentional reference points connected to the message you are trying to convey You wrote an article recently where you state that dependability is one of the most admired leadership traits. Talk to us about that. You must have your team members knowing they can count on their boss/leader to stand up for me, fight for me, guide me through what’s coming If people can’t count on you, they will leave; they won’t settle Why does being vulnerable make us better leaders? One of the most frequent issues that comes up is people just not connecting But leaders must let people in and get to know you a bit, or there won’t be any foundational trust Leadership is not a position/title, but the ability to influence built on trust It’s a presidential election year and that often reminds us of the great presidents in our history. You wrote recently about the leadership of Teddy Roosevelt in times of defeat or failure; can you expand on that for us? If you’re striving after any level of greatness/significance, you’re going to fail Roosevelt said it’s the person who at the end either achieves something great or fails trying to that will be most satisfied. You have to find a way through the failure Dwayne Wade commercial – fall seven times and get up eight (Daniel) – referencing PBS special on the Roosevelts Where can people go to learn more about you and Combat Business Coaching? LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Combat Business Coaching.com Other Book – Distinguished Men: Grow in Influence, Success and Significance Thank Yous/Acknowledgements: Antioch Live/Clear Day Media Group – music More here. Jonathan Davis – production Clint Musslewhite – voice over