High-Performance Teams, Chasing Freedom, & The Ultimate "Why" w/ Ayinde Bakari (Part 2) - Ep. 8

SPEAKER_00 0:10

What are the what are the most important things uh in building uh someone you know someone listening uh has a business, has a team, uh, and performance is not where they want it to be, how can they how can someone make that shift uh and start building a high performance team?

SPEAKER_01 0:33

Yeah, I I so I guess there's you so the book you gave me, the book you sent me was traction. Um and if if anybody on here listening hasn't read traction, I can't can't remember who the author is. Geno Wickman. Okay, Geno Wickman, yeah. It's a great, great book, right? And that that actually helped put some things in perspective for myself because yes, we had a great, we have a great team, right? And the issue was that we were having wasn't that our team members didn't you know bust their tails, it wasn't that you know anybody was lazy, the issue was we were all rowing in the differ in different directions, right? And so that book allowed for us to really put everybody going in the same direction, right? And not only that, it allowed for us to put people in the right seats as well, right? Like you can have once as the book speaks about, and I'll rather you guys read it, I'll just mention this one part, but you know, you can have people in the wrong seats. You can have the right person in the company, they believe where the company's going, they believe in the mission, um, they believe in you as their leader, right? But for some reason they're just not performing at whatever their job duties are. Um, but that doesn't mean there's not a place for them at the company. They just may need to be moved from one seat to another. And just uh, I guess just as an example, um, the second hire we ever had was a sales hire. And great, great guy, believed in the believed in the company, uh, believed in us, believed in everything we were doing. And you know, over two and a half years, the sales just weren't there. But he is a his customer, the customers he did have loved him. Um, we loved him. Our cut, you know, the uh cut other customers who had ever worked with them, they just everybody loved him. And so, you know, about a little about six months ago, we just came to him and said, Hey, look, you know, we believe in you. We believe that you you're here to stay. You have a bright future ahead of you. Let's move you into, let's make a new position for you. We're gonna move you into more of an executive role, and he's thrived there, right? I mean, it's it's where he was meant to be. And in the book, it mentions how happy, how much happier somebody will be when you move them in the right role. And he's, I mean, he's happy, go lucky, right? You know, he loves it. So there's definitely a place to say, make sure that everybody who's in your company believes in where you're going, first of all. Um, let's, I guess if we go back to making sure you're surrounded by positive people, that's super important. You know, if you have one bad apple, it will ruin the rest of the apples. Um, and the other part is I'm a pretty straight shooter, so I'm gonna tell somebody, you know, up front, like, hey, we need to fix X, Y, and Z, and this is what we need to do to make it happen. Um, or these, this is what's gonna happen, right? You know, I'm not um we're not the company that that micromanages people really. We you know, believe that everybody's here for a reason. I give a rah-rah speech every once in a while, right? Um, but we you know, I think we really one, we do a good job in the beginning for interviewing everybody to make sure they should be here. And then the second part is you know, we don't believe in letting people you know sink, right? So we're gonna help people swim as much as possible. And if they if they don't um cut it, you know, that's unfortunate, but you know, they just didn't cut it here, maybe they'll cut it someplace else, right?

SPEAKER_00 4:28

Um, it's um you know, you talk about direction and going in the same direction. Obviously, you know how important that is to uh to everything that I believe in to the point that's you know that's uh where the name Arrowhead comes from. Uh you know, and it's uh I think that is such a powerful uh thing to understand that I've seen companies fail in front of me. Uh and uh because of not placing any importance on uh on that. And you know, so like a really good uh so look where the name Arrowhead came from was uh James Kerr is uh uh is a legendary uh all black uh New Zealand where I'm from, obviously the our national rugby team, one of the winningest sports teams in professional sports history. Um he wrote a book called Legacy, and this book is all of the All Blacks uh lessons of leadership, and one of them uh is uh uh is about Fana, which uh translates, you know, uh to you know family uh or to be born or give birth. Uh but the the analogy that they use for this uh lesson of leadership is follow the spearhead, which spearhead and it didn't have the same ring to me as arrowhead, and um and so uh and that's what I resonated with. But basically it's uh a spearhead or an arrowhead has three tips, but to work properly and to hit its target, all of those three tips, all of the force must move in the same one direction, which in other words is individuals are free to choose what course they take, but uh the spearhead or the arrowhead is the uh is more effective if we work together and are aligned on a common direction. Um and you know, you uh you talked about about you have one bad apple, and all right, it's it's uh the same of you know individual brilliance, you know, but one selfish mindset will infect the collective culture. Uh and you know, I think we've all seen this in sports teams, um you know, professional sports other professional sports teams where uh you uh bring together a you know a collection of superstars who all have their own selfish agendas and egos uh that don't come together, you know, worrying about their own stats or their own accomplishments rather you know, rather than the collective team direction. Uh those teams can can fail. You know, it's it's not just about uh having the best, most brilliant people or players or team members, uh you know, s some of those uh the you know, the greatest uh teams in history. Some of them don't have any of those uh stars, right? Those uh but you know, teams that I've been on as well. The best teams that I've been on is uh the teams that we had that uh that bond and we were all uh shared a common goal, a common direction. And then to like another point, you know, we're uh being being able to be completely honest and transparent and give someone feedback because not because you don't want them to succeed or because you want to call them out or be a dick, um, but because you care about them and because you're part of this team, uh, you know, and that's part of our friendship is uh is w everyone has blind spots. Uh no one is uh can escape that. Everyone will have blind spots. But you know, you and I, uh, you know, that's um since we're on the same team, uh we like it is our obligation and uh responsibility to each other to call out uh you know from a place of love when s one of us or the other might have a blind spot and it's always well received because you know that that person is just doing that because they care about you and they want you to see you win, which is something that you know in a world the world we live in, there's there's gonna be so many people that in private don't want to see you win. And it is it's uh it is honest, you know, it's shocking to me how how many people um you know actually don't want to see you win and how few people there are like like yourself where like I can 100% unequivocally say like you want to see me win the same way I want to see you win. And you know, and you can hear it in someone's voice when you know if you achieve something and you tell you, you know, you want to tell someone, you want to tell a friend about that. You you can you can tell when someone is uh actually happy for you or or not. And uh you know, friends like that are far and few between, and and you're you are definitely one of those types of people.

SPEAKER_01 10:22

Well, I definitely appreciate it, and uh, you're definitely the same. Like you talked me up also well on this episode, people might think I'm like number one or something like that. But I'm you know, I've I've learned so much from Romy Rome here. Um yeah, no, I I think you you touched on two points that I'll I'll touch on real quick. Um the first being because you don't know who you it's hard to know who really has your has your best interest at heart. Um I've always said like, hey, before you're you know, wait until your idea or business or whatnot actually solidifies and comes together before you just start telling the world. Right? We we always in the world we live in today, it's so social media driven, you know, a lot of times people are spitting out all of their ideas before it's actually solidified and come to life. Um but I'm a believer in energy, and sometimes that negative energy can can take effect and hold you back, right? So um that I guess that's the first thing. And then secondly, you know, I think it's so important to have a bigger purpose. You know, obviously, I don't know about you, Jerome, but when we first started the company, it was, oh, I'm gonna be able to make, we're gonna make a bunch of money, right? We're gonna make a bunch of money. That was you know the the reason the original reasoning for starting the company outside of we didn't want to work at our current companies anymore. Um but you know, and it's easy, I know it's easy to say. People listening are gonna be like, oh, you can say that because you know you found success. But it's so true that the money will not be what keeps you going in the long run, right? So you really have to find a bigger purpose of why you're doing what you're doing, what gets you up at 5 a.m. every single day and has you come into the office and just grind for the next 15 hours, right? And so, you know, that that finding that why, what that purpose is, um, not just you know in business and life, but all of it is so important. Um and you know, I think for me my why. You know, my why has changed with even with within the last year, my why has changed big time. Um me and you have spoken about that a little bit, but my why now is I'm I'm I'm now no longer take chasing money, I'm chasing freedom, right? Um, not freedom just for myself, but for my wife, for my parents, right? Um both my my dad recently retired, but my mom is 63 and she's still working, right? I want I don't want her to continue to work, right? And so I want freedom, right? I don't want to have to worry about oh, okay, how does the you know the company have to do a certain thing every year or every month for me to make X amount of dollars, right? Um true freedom is, oh hey, I could everything could stop right now and I'd be okay for the next 50 years, right? Um and continue to live the same lifestyle that I live. Um my why is helping other individuals reach their full potential. Um, you know, that those things are super important, right? It it it that's what gets you moving in the right directions. Um you know, so I think there's a there's a place before anybody starts a business, write it down, write down that why. Figure out what that what that really is, because if you don't, you will not only will if the business does succeed, will the chances of you know negative things happening go up, right? But when there's the days where you're just struggling and down, that why will help you get out of bed real quick, right? Um as Jerome smiling, he knows what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_00 14:38

Yeah, no, it's uh you know, it's early on, right? Early on, uh in the short term, you know, making more money than you've ever made before with your business, uh like feels good, right? It's it gives you fuel, but it's uh it's the type of fuel that runs out pretty quickly. Quicker quicker than you probably think. Um and at that point, if you don't have a deeper why or purpose, that's when it becomes a grind. And uh it stops becoming so fun because even if this ex you know you you just you keep making more and more and more and more and more money, the effect of that you know it's like it's like a drug that wears off, right? It's it stops it stops doing it for you the same way as it did a year ago or five years ago, whatever that is, right? And um you know, and freedom is like I think that's you know, I think that's you know most people's uh goal because uh that is not something that you can define the same way. Uh every everyone's what freedom or success look like for each person is gonna it's gonna look different. Um and it all comes back to what you know, what do you value in life? What's important to you? Um and when you're doing something with that in mind and that is the reason for doing it, uh you know, you you know you know, how can you compete with that uh if you are you know alternatively someone who is doing it just for the dollars, right? You you can't you you like we know that there's that that uh that feeling inside you, right? That that you know, I I call it you know that burning desire. Um you know that is that's the feeling I chase because that's how I know I'm aligned with my why. And that's will that'll you know that makes it a hell of a lot easier getting through those challenging days or you know, that tough news, right? Uh um than if it's just for for the dollars. And and you know, it's uh I think the equ you know the equation's backwards, right? It's the dollars come from acting in a way that's in line with your values and your purpose and your mission and your why. Uh that's just a natural consequence because you know it's when you're aligned with that and you're doing something that you have have purpose in and is connected to your why, you're gonna do it better. And if you do it better in business, you will make more money. It's really not possible not to. Um so uh yeah, it's uh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:09

I mean, you get it right on the head. I mean, I think, you know, once again, there's a lot of there's a lot of competition in this world. It's you know, these days competition is strife. Um obviously, you know, there's a lot of technology, there's AI, there's all these different things. Um but I think you know, all of it comes down back down to just having the right mindset. You mentioned it a hundred times. We've mentioned both of us mentioned it a hundred times, right? It's all all comes back to a positive mindset, man. Like you can if you have the right mindset, you will be able to get through so so so much in this, not just in business, but just in life in general, you know. Um there's there's so many stories of people that we all look up to who had negative things happen to them, they kept a positive mindset, and you know, they've you know succeeded to to levels that you know we could only dream of, right?

SPEAKER_00 19:12

And so yeah, and I mean part of that is too is uh you know, and that's kind you know, really where uh the name of this podcast and the whole concept comes from is you know, with no trade secrets, is that uh you know, that view of competition, right? It's um I just uh never I've just never looked at you know other firms in my industry as as competition. Um and you know, something I love doing is with you know there's some uh some friends that I've made that are uh you know own their own firms and and you know that uh uh someone else may see as you know my competitor. Uh I love getting on, talking to them, sharing whether it's uh some you know uh something that's worked that I've found success in, or sharing a new a new tool, part of you know tech stack that has made things easier and uh increased the amount of uh value or whatever it may be. Um but I think there's a lot of uh you know, a lot of people like you know, that's where it comes from with trade secrets, right? They they want to keep that thing secret and they don't want to s you know, it's like I don't I found something that works for me and they're gonna keep that close to their chest uh because they don't want anyone else finding out about it. And it's like at the end of the day, look how big the world is, look how many dollars are out there, look how many opportunities there are out there. There's more than enough for everyone. There's more than any of us could ever need uh of anything. There's an abundance of everything you could possibly need in this world. How can you, you know, why not why not help other people? Because you know, that's where you know the master key system, uh, you know, and it's actually the chapter uh from uh yesterday that I read you know it touches on, which it you know is a common theme throughout the book is is this circle of giving and receiving, right? You in order to in order to uh in order to give you must get. But also in order to uh to get you must give. Which one comes before the other, right? There is no timing or correct sequence for that. It's just give as much as you can and then also be uh ready to receive. And they're not always gonna come from the same place. You know, something something in uh you know the especially the professional services industry that I really don't like is is uh you know a lot of businesses is you know is through referrals right is you sending clients to to other people other service pro uh providers who do things that you don't because there's a need. And I hate when it becomes this competition of well I've sent you five referrals and you've not sent me one and you know like that keeping score uh because the same person who hasn't sent you any you know anything uh business wise yet you know and in my experience it's not uh never you know we all have those kind of relationships right where someone send you know there's people that send me a ton of business and some of them I I've never had the opportunity to reciprocate that because you can't force those things right they come up naturally when that opportunity presents itself and you know they know that the day that that comes up and I have that opportunity I will 100% do that. It'll be the first thing I do. But then alternatively it's like but there's also people that I send a lot of business to that have never said anything to me and I don't keep score on that because it it's not giving and getting it's one way you know between the same source. It's universally that's you know there's no balance between those two things. It's it's it all balances out in the big picture in in life in general right so it's like you know it when you zoom out and then and just keeping scores just is just one of the most counterproductive things to relationships that uh that I you know that I know.

SPEAKER_01 24:18

Yeah no I I I fully agree.

SPEAKER_00 24:20

Yeah you know the only time see I think most people maybe most people give themselves I guess too much credit is the word I'm gonna use right um because a lot of times the secret sauce to a business is the owner right unless you have the Coca-Cola formula um you know you you you probably are the secret sauce right um and Jerome I think you're you know you have great systems in your business there's some great things you do um you know but I think the overall secret sauce to Arrowhead is your employees and yourself right um overall there's not really any super crazy trade secrets my industry is the same way right like there's other people who do what we do the only thing that our secret sauce is our employees and me and the my co-owner right and so um like I said unless you have the Coca-Cola formula um it's your your secret sauce probably isn't as crazy as you think but if you're you are the secret sauce and you just need to understand that and believe that um but be there to help others right pass business along right I there's certain things that we don't do we pass business along to people all the time do they take it I'm not sure but we we pass it along where we can yeah you know and I think only recently I think I finally was able to send Jerome somebody's way I was finally able to do it had somebody reach out and I was like I know just the guy for you um so you know those things are just like you said it's a give and give and receive and you mentioned it best you never know where those that where that reception's gonna come from the universe works in weird ways right um but it it definitely always comes back exactly when you need it to right it does and you know and then also on receiving you know it's uh it doesn't you know it doesn't have to be monetary value it doesn't have to be dollars for dollars right and um you know and I think you can also go into this place of being hesitant you know not wanting to take what someone's giving you uh because maybe you you know you might feel like then you will owe them uh and it's like uh now you are you know now you have a debt but you know someone uh someone uh I asked this question over two years ago I was at a I was at a uh a conference in Tampa it was before right in two weeks before I started Arrowhead and I was in a room full of people who were you know were all successful in my eyes uh and um they all owned businesses you know some you know some had uh I think a guy literally had to step out of uh one of the s uh one of the uh the sessions there because he had to uh close uh the selling of his company for you know 300 million dollars or something like that um and there's here's me I don't have a company I don't know what I want to do and um and I asked this question uh in this room and uh I said how can someone like me uh you know because uh the com topic of conversation was being a net giver um in life right you know giving more than you receive or at least striving to um uh it's one of uh one of the things that Tommy Breedlove and this is his conference he talked about and so I asked I said how can someone like me who feels like they have nothing to give give anything to any of you in a room like this like what do I have to give you and this guy uh really really incredible guy uh runs a great business uh and former uh uh Navy fighter pilot like the original top gun in real life uh John Rampstead he turned around he's in the row in front of me he turned around and he said the best thing that you can do to give is to let people uh is to receive what people are trying to give you because if you don't because you feel like oh I'm just take take take uh and have nothing to give back you're actually depriving someone of giving so it is you know you're giving in a like you are you are actually giving by letting someone else give to you um and not everyone sees it that way but you know the types of people that you and I want to surround ourselves with do and so that's where I always have to pause and look and be and ask you know like am I is declining you know this like uh is this going to is this going to deprive anyone of the gift of giving and you know it that that completely changed my way of thinking about that and um and just on you know keeping score and and when whenever you feel like there you have nothing to give you actually do um you just need to be able to look at it that way you know and uh so look this has been this is yes go before before I know we gotta come close things up but how is your um since you know now that you've found success uh you know two years ago you were sitting in that room with people worth hundreds of millions of dollars and you thought they were successful but how's your how's your definition of success changed since since you found success um I mean it's changed a lot you know um it's really changed a lot but I think the biggest the biggest thing that has changed and it you know it was actually uh the real breakthrough of this came last month uh when uh my wife and I went uh went to New Zealand and it was the first time I'd been back in over eight years first time I s uh saw my dad uh who uh we were very close uh in over eight years um and you know we I got to uh spend time with my dad and my uncle and see different family members and then uh and then Shayley and I went to the South Island we got in a campervan and we drove across the South Island which is all you know a lot of this natural uh beauty and uh you know with really no plan and just got to really be present and experience that is you know I realized I realized how how how much money means nothing or very little um when you know used for material things um and what's really important you know like so it's like that's where money is can be you know money is important obviously in business you you have to make money just to s if you want to stay in business but you know as far as that being you know the goal um you know it's uh it's great when used for you know to make memories uh or have experiences uh you know for me you know the breakthrough was uh you know this is the best money I've ever spent because I get to go and you know spend you uh what it does for me is it means that I get to make memories and have connection with the people I love um right that was priceless but um you know for you know just things you know I've I've really just had uh become you know and I wasn't you know I wasn't a materialistic person to begin with but then now uh since that trip it's been uh profoundly different even from that how little desire I have in in anything and I've just realized like it doesn't matter none of it none of it matters in the end of the day um you know what what what good is a mansion if you have no one to share it with right um you know so like that has changed um and I think you know success my definition of success has also changed in a way that um success is uh is having you know is being healthy success is being happy is uh success is being able to to laugh is being able to spend time with people you love is being able to um you know have the freedom to to work and grow your business but also having the freedom to not and to go and you know step away to do something with your family and to make memories with people you love and and do all that stuff that is important that at the end of the day on your deathbed are gonna be the only things that you can take with you are your memories and uh it's not your things, it's not your watch collection, it's not your car collection, it's it's not your house, it's not your cars it's just memories. That's all you have in the end is um and so that's that's how you know that's what's changed for me. But um we cl we close every episode with the same question uh on the No Trade Secrets podcast and I know you know we've been talking about you know that concept but what's one trade secret that should not be a secret anymore what's one trade secret that shouldn't be a trade secret anymore and that could be in business or as you know a trade secret it could apply just to uh to life yeah I think um I I think the the one that I'll that that comes to mind at least at this particular moment is that um one I'll give you two for business get yourself a good accountant okay accountants don't have enough they don't get enough love okay make sure make sure that's the best decision you make because that that person's gonna make you money or they can lose you a lot of money okay that's that's one trade secret if it is a trade secret it shouldn't be uh hire yourself a great accountant uh secondly in in life um life is short it goes quick and so you know in this age you know social media will say hey you know work yourself to the bone right keep going keep going keep going nonstop um however and I'm guilty of this right but however I would say as Jerome mentioned make those memories right like those you can't that you know that's what matters at the end of the day right so don't you will be so much more successful if every three months right every quarter you say hey I'm gonna take off uh a Friday and Monday and just spend some time with my family or just get away go do what I like to I like to go hike I'm gonna go hike if I I want to do go hunting I'm gonna go hunt go on a hunting trip whatever it is right like that will help you come back so much so much better and so much more refreshed ready to go go conquer the world right um so yeah don't that's the trade secret if there if that don't listen to the internet and let them tell you to grind yourself into the into the ground right that is the worst advice I've ever heard Ian thank you thank you brother this is uh this has been great uh thank you for being a great friend and uh and and for everything that we you know you shared today um always love talking to you and about these kind of things uh and uh you know there's definitely a lot uh a lot of things that uh people can learn from uh learn from you so how can people if if if someone wants to listen to your podcast or if they want to reach you uh for the Firstmate logistics side particularly if you have a boat that needs to be moved yeah so uh on the podcast one you can listen at uh on all streaming platforms the worldwide podcast um that's YIN Worldwide Podcast um and you can reach me for the business at Iende at firstmate logistics.com sure Jerome will have some way to put notes in there for it all the links uh in the show notes um but yeah no anything you know Jerome you're I'm really excited for what you're building what you're doing you got you know we're basically the same age but I know you're gonna do great things yes I want you to make more money than me so I can sit on your yacht and use your private jet you know so um I don't want to use my own fuel for those things so yes Jerome go get it um I'm super super excited for what you're getting man well thank you man I appreciate that and again congratulations uh on getting married yesterday uh that's awesome well what she doesn't know is I got to work late today so uh you know that's that's give and take right so hey thank you again for everything and um can't wait to see this thing go live yeah and see you uh see you in Tennessee and a couple of months man yeah awesome man I'll talk to you later