true leadership takes place during crisis right so I mean what do you have
to lose by being authentic the worst thing is going to happen to you is the
people you shouldn't be working with the people you shouldn't have on your team
are gonna walk away and that's a blessing it's not a curse somebody
stepped in it I see it it's not okay go over here and you get a shot of Cargill
over there from the lake
when I was in college I was totally a fish out of water because I was a poor
kid going to you know really good school with a lot of kids who had a lot more
money than I did so that point right there is
it's called Myers Point and obviously I grew up here and so I would come back
here once a month bet so from North Carolina back here to
New York State back to Ithaca and I would walk out on that point and that
point right there was the only place no matter what time of year it was that I
felt completely normal and there was something about that Park and that point
right there that was gave me my solace isn't that crazy
I don't know I mean after my mom died I mean this is the town that I moved to
and there was just something about like the fact that I grew into the human
being that I am here that I clearly associated with that that specific
location it's kind of crazy yeah and my wife's really the only person I've ever
told that to and I still do it I still go out there I still walk out on that
point and I still get the you know the sense of peace that you know well I mean
the reality is is you know there are a lot of people who will ask me you know
why I am the way I am in terms of you know why is it I don't worry about like
why do I rock the boat you know why why is it I don't worry about biting the
hand that feeds me right you know and the reality is is that it's this place
that I learned the value of authenticity and authenticity translated into
transparency you can't be authentic without being a transparent human being
and it's this place that turned me into the authentic human being I know that
because of you know the way that that point that place and this view made me
feel like the lad needs the water not sure
honestly I don't you know I don't know if it's if there's something
electromagnetic or or if it's just you know it's yeah all in my head where we
are when we go out there just a you know another 100 feet it's 400 feet deep it
was cut out by glaciers five lakes that's why they call it the Finger Lakes
glaciers came down cut the lake all the way to Ithaca and then drew back and as
you go north in the lake that all the sediment was drawn back up and the water
shallower at the North End but this is 36 miles and then this lake is
you know for the first I mean that was October or something right I mean that
was and we started doing content in June or May June of last year and it wasn't
until October that you know I was on camera you know that or that the content
centered around me personally you know as the president of Intel Akande you
know you were really insistent on me telling my my professional story
combined with my personal story why is it that I'm motivated the way I am why
is it that I'm not driven by the bottom line or the sale or you know it's more
about the you know I'm driven by value and that all happened you didn't know it
but you know all this footage that we shot here it we shot it in the perfect
place without even thinking about it you know
I think the reason more companies don't just tell their real true authentic
story for better or worse without worrying about the appearance or
whatever I think the reason they don't is because very few people are honest
with themselves about what they believe in
I just don't believe that a lot of people have that conversation with
themselves and especially leaders of large organizations they focus more on
compensation and metrics and you know their pension and their retirement plan
and how much is in their 401k and what's their bonus gonna be this quarter and
you know the focus on that part and all that stuff's important it's not it's not
like that I'm not here saying it's not important
what I'm saying is we become better leaders when we start with leading
ourselves and to lead ourself we have to know who we are and what motivates
ourselves motivates us great leaders understand what what their what
motivates their people the individuals what motivates their clients what
motivates their colleagues what motivates their legal teams and
accountants and you know the the people that they work with every day and I just
don't think that enough people are honest with themselves about what
motivates them or they don't have the capacity to you know authentically tell
their own story the worst thing that will happen to you let's say you decide
to be your authentic self and to truly tell the story about you know what frist
what frustrates you about your clients and your teammates and your industry in
general let's say you know I mean because the reality is it's it's easy to
be a great leader when everything's going well true leadership takes place
during crisis right so but I mean what do you have to lose by being authentic
the worst thing that's gonna happen to you is the people you shouldn't be
working with the people you shouldn't have on your team are gonna walk away
and that's a blessing that's not a curse tell my team that all the time visual
media is just as much about attracting the right clients as it is about
repelling the wrong class that's right and well and that's exactly it and we
would have the guy that drove you up here today
had this conversation the biggest advantage of digital media is all the
inbound connections that come from your digital media if you're authentic if
you're getting in front of the camera and being your authentic self the people
who contact you have already vetted you they they they already know that you're
the company you're the person you're the group of people that they want to do
business with I mean and that's a huge advantage yeah that's a that's a
blessing all right I gotta go and do those ribs
hey White Claw originated here too