11 Lessons from 6,000 CEO Interviews

All right, welcome back to The Daily Mastermind. My name is George Wright III, and I am really glad you're here with me today. I want to be able to talk with you about some pretty powerful stuff. If this is your first time listening to the podcast, make sure you hit that like and subscribe. My goal is to give you a daily dose of inspiration, motivation, and education so that you can create the best life you could possibly have. It really boils down to unleashing your potential. So I try to give ideas and strategies and thoughts that have come to me and through the different things that I've learned over the years, working with powerful mentors and thought leaders. And sometimes we get some really strong strategies. Other times it's mindset. Sometimes it's based on business and money. Today, I want to give you something straight from the front lines of our business. And just to give you a little bit of a backdrop here. Over the last few years, our editor of Valiant CEO Magazine has conducted over 6,000 interviews with CEOs, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders from all around the world. That's like 500 interviews every single month. And Jerome has actually just recently put together a powerful article that goes through the top 11 lessons that stood out from all those conversations. that is a real distilled set of strategies and so today I'm going to break those 11 lessons down for you and you know they're not just feel-good quotes and abstract theories these are real battle-tested strategies that high-level leaders are using to create success in their life and in their business so I'm also going to add a few thoughts and stories to kind of drive the ideas home for you but I want you to be able to apply them in your life and your business so take some notes if you need to. I'll put some links in the show notes to the Valiant CEO article, but let's go ahead and get started. So the first big takeaway is this. The very first lesson is adaptability is everything. You know, we're living in a world where things are changing fast, technology, markets, consumer behavior. If you can't adapt, you're not going to last. So let me give you an example from the article, Vin Lee, founder of Grand Metropolitan, built a luxury empire that's reportedly worth billions, and he did it by focusing on distressed debt assets. Not exactly a sexy industry, but he was adaptable. He weathered economic storms, he stayed creative, and built relationships with billionaires and dignitaries that helped him and his company survive recessions and even a global pandemic. So here's the point. Create a culture of agility inside your business. Empower your team to embrace change and move quickly And that the first lesson The second lesson is innovation is non Oliver Nino is a great example He built a global following over 2 million students by helping people break through energy blocks and trauma. It's not a typical business model, but his innovation and authenticity created massive impact. And as leaders, we need to stop doing what's always been done. Encourage you and your team to have fresh thinking. Take risks. Let people on your team explore bold new ideas. And that's lesson number two. Innovation is non-negotiable. The third lesson that Jerome talks about is put customer experience at the center of everything. You've heard me say this before. Your customers are your greatest assets. Grant Cardone is really a great example of this. With multiple companies and a $4 billion real estate portfolio, he still emphasizes customer experience in every product, every single message he does. if you really want to stand out and go above and beyond, you've got to be able to anticipate what your customer's needs are and deliver more than expected. That's lesson number three. Then lesson number four, and I really like this one, resilience will define your future. Marcus Limonis, who I actually interviewed in Valiant CEO, is someone I respect deeply, and he took his challenges, low self-confidence, rejection, and he turned them into fuel. He didn't just bounce back. He used those moments to grow stronger and lead from experience. And the takeaway for you and me in this is resilience isn't about avoiding failure. It's about becoming stronger because of your failure. Build resistance into your business by diversifying income, staying financially disciplined, and leaning into challenges instead of avoiding them. So that's lesson number four. Lesson number five, build teams that perform at a high level. Now, I've just recently started to double down on this in a couple of my companies, but Mandy Morris, which is where Jerome got this principle, built a heart-centered brand that's gone global, invests heavily in her people. What she did is regular trainings, mission alignment, open conversations, these things all make a difference. And a strong team doesn't happen by accident. You don't just hire for skills, you hire for mindset. then you've got to lead with clarity and purpose. And those are all things we've learned from Mandy Morris. That was lesson number five. Lesson number six, and remember, this is out of 6,000 different PR agencies and interviews and things we've done through the magazine. Lesson number six is failure is feedback, not final. Let me say that again. Failure is feedback, not final. This is from Kathy Ireland, who's a living example. She faced rejection constantly in her modeling career but those no just taught her grit And she carried that mindset into a billion brand So she talks about how you need to let your team experiment let yourself take risks, then study the results and keep growing, because every failure is just a stepping stone to something greater. That's lesson number six. Now, lesson number seven is Katerina Valentino, and the lesson is be a student of the game. Katerina had worked in media since she was like nine years old. She had her share of setbacks, but her constant desire to grow has kept her relevant and respected and basically doubled down on the idea that you can never stop learning. And I love that principle as well. It's one of our prosperity pillars. In a fast-moving world like today, knowledge becomes your edge. And so invest in education, retrain, always ask better questions. And that's a great piece of advice from Katerina because especially with AI and things happening nowadays, you've got to be a student of the game, which is lesson number seven. Now, lesson number eight, this is really huge. And so I want you to listen to me on this one. This is one we picked up from Rudy Maurer. Control your money or your money will control you. Control your money or your money will control you. Rudy started hustling in England as a kid and built success by mastering financial strategies. And even as he grew, he stayed disciplined, made smart investments, and kept cash flow strong. And as a leader, I think we have to do the same thing, especially in today's economy. You know, you got to build a foundation with super clear KPIs, you know, data-driven decisions, and manage your resources wisely, like Rudy talks about. But I really love that lesson, which is control your money, or your money will control you. So Jerome goes on to say the ninth lesson that we picked up is culture is the heartbeat of your business. You've heard this before. Gil Deezer and his father reshaped their real estate by partnering with iconic brands like Porsche and Armani, but the real glue in their success was really strong culture. They talked about how defining your values and talking about them daily, hiring and firing based on them. Culture isn't just a poster on the wall. He says this is how your team shows up when you're not around. So culture is something you've got to create as the heartbeat of your business. Lesson number 10 is, this is such a great one, my business partner Jed Morley said this, he said, do the right thing, always. Do the right thing, always. You know, Jed went from swinging axes in Alaska, he was a lumberjack up there with another buddy of mine, to becoming a fintech CEO. And here the thing even with all that said he says his greatest legacy his commitment to philanthropy through his company Platt gives Integrity is what builds trust he talks about and it earns loyalty It creates long wins that marketing alone can't buy. So he's always saying, you know, look, be honest, be transparent, and lead by example. And I think Jed's a great example of that. And that brings us to our final lesson, lesson number 11 of all of the things we picked up. These are the 11 that Jerome picked out. And it's all about your personal brand is your leverage. And it's so awesome because that's so fitting with everything we're doing right now. Your personal brand is your leverage. Now, Simonetta Lean was where he picked this up. And she's been on the cover of the magazine. She's got over 18 million followers. And she uses her voice to lead in media and fashion. She's got a pretty huge empire. And she reminds us that branding is not a one-time thing. It's a continuous process that requires strategy. You got to be visible. You got to be authentic. And if you want to grow your business, you have to grow your brand. You've got to publish content and speak at events and get featured in media and put yourself out there. And this is something I've been talking a lot about lately, especially as Jerome and I have rolled out a lot of our authority marketing formula and some of the things that we talk about. So on that note, with that being the 11th lesson, I want to give you a challenge. pick one of these 11 strategies. Just pick any of them that you really feel resonates with you and put them into action this week. So whether it's building your brand or reworking your finances or even creating a more resilient mindset, do one of these strategies or incorporate them all. But don't let this episode just be motivation. Make sure you turn it into some momentum. And if you got value from today's episode, please share it. I would really appreciate it. and I want to know what you're working on. So hit me up on the Daily Mastermind on Facebook or Instagram. I would love to hear what you're working on. Let me know what your wins are. Let me know what you're struggling with. The whole reason I put the Daily Mastermind together is because I've spent the last 30 years growing global brands with thought leaders, experts, celebrities, athletes, and I've learned a lot, and I want to share that with you. But what you'll learn, the most important thing I've learned is that the power of the mastermind is real. when you coordinate with other like-minded individuals, you're going to get intangible benefits. And so that's why you're listening to the podcast. That's why I do this content. So do me a favor and go out and make it an amazing week. I'll say it again. It's never too late to start creating and living that life that you were meant to live, but you've got to take all out massive action. So that's my message for today. I hope you have an amazing day. Talk to you soon. you