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Bill Saleebey · Calm Under Fire

• Col. John Boggs: Welcome back to Calm Under Fire. I'm Colonel John Boggs, president of Fortitude Consulting, an executive leadership and coaching firm. And today I'm joined by Billy Salaby, former global head of sales and product training at Tesla, now the co-founder and CEO of Potify and host of the Insight Out podcast. Billy has built a career around reinvention from filmmaking to renewables to scaling teams at Tesla and now helping leaders amplify their voice and impact through podcasting. Well, I could use some help with that. Billy, it's great to have you here. Billy Samoa Saleebey: John, thanks for having me. I'm super excited to be part of this and have our conversation today. Col. John Boggs: All right, Billy, you've walked away from a major corporate leadership role to bet on yourself. What gave you the confidence to make that leap? Billy Samoa Saleebey: Yeah, you know, I never thought I would be in a corporate role. That's the that's the reality. And I but I I played the part well, meaning when I got into corporate, I had spent a decade before that in the entertainment business. Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: And I had my own production company. I worked on other big budget Hollywood movies that I made my own movie. And when I left the industry, I left mainly because I was starting a family and I needed more income. And I had the luck, I guess you could call it, of accidentally getting into the renewable energy space and selling solar in 2010 was a good time. And I made good money quickly, more money than I'd ever made in my life. And so because that happened and I got into the right vehicle, It sort of accelerated my career and one thing led to another. ended up taking some leadership roles as you've indicated. Those leadership roles became higher and higher in terms of responsibility and what I was doing all the way to being the head of global onboarding for Tesla and new hire training for a mission driven company like Tesla is a big responsibility because people come there and they, they expect something when they come work at Tesla, they expect it to be pretty cool. And it is, Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: it's a great place for a lot of reasons to be a part of something. And so I only stayed as long as I did because of that opportunity, because it's a sort of a pinch me moment where all of a sudden my boss reports to arguably the most famous person on earth, Elon Musk, right? So Col. John Boggs: Yeah. Billy Samoa Saleebey: I was very close to the sun, as they say. Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: But when I left, the time was right. I was ready to embark and it happened way later than I thought. As I said, I kind of had my own entrepreneurial. thing with entertainment earlier on in my life, but it had been a good 10 years of working for someone else. And I was ready to say, okay, now what can I do for myself? What can I build? I'm a builder. So I wanted to Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: build something and that's what I did. Col. John Boggs: Wow, very cool. many leaders feel, they feel stuck between security and purpose. And you know, hey, I got that job as security and you almost went there, but how did you know it was time for you to pivot? Billy Samoa Saleebey: Well, I go back to this line that one of my previous managers said, which stuck with me and still sticks with me today. And that is that winners have options. Col. John Boggs: Mmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: so knowing that winners have options means that you're not stuck ever. So if I went out on my own and it didn't work, I could go back to corporate. Corporate's always going to be there. Right. I go and let's be real about it. Working at Tesla, it opens doors. You know, so I knew and I had a good reputation that was built on working hard, caring about the work that I do, helping people be their best at their job. And so to my leader who gave me this line, he knew me and he said, hey, look, winners have options. You always have the ability to do other things. And so I said to myself, If I'm going to bet on anyone, why not bet on myself and better myself to make this work? I didn't know exactly what I was going to do. It took a you know, trial and error to figure out what the right recipe is. And we can get into that. But I, I knew I, I was given this opportunity to be in a point in my life where I could do something that is bigger than me and that gives back in a way that's, that's even more meaningful. than what I was doing working for someone else, even when it was a purpose driven company. Col. John Boggs: Okay, so help me here. What did Tesla, what did you learn at Tesla that Billy Samoa Saleebey: Yeah. Col. John Boggs: helped you go into your entrepreneurship? Billy Samoa Saleebey: my gosh. So much. Col. John Boggs: Hahaha. Billy Samoa Saleebey: So yeah, guess to start first principles thinking is common vernacular at Tesla. And what I mean by that and what Elon means by that is it's thinking about things as if nothing like it before ever existed. So all too often we look at a car exists. I want to make another brand of car. Let me look at the existing cars and make it incrementally better. So it's reasoning by analogy and incrementally making improvements. First principles thinking throws that out, out the window, out the car Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: window and says, what if no car ever existed? If we had to build it from scratch and the only limitation we had were the laws of physics that we knew, you know, we have to have something. If it's going to roll, it's probably going to need to roll on a something that's a round object. You're not going to make a square tire. all that being said is this could apply to anything. It could apply certainly to the automotive space, it could apply to podcasting. It could apply to service based businesses. It could apply to anything. And so we often settle on just making things marginally better when we could actually take quantum leaps of improvement. if we're more creative and we look at things with the first principles lens as opposed to reason by analogy. Col. John Boggs: Wow, wow, okay. Think, that's interesting. That's interesting. So when leaders reinvent themselves, okay, like you're busy reinventing yourself again and again and again. What fears do you have? What fears come into, what do you have to confront when that happens? Billy Samoa Saleebey: think we all have inner doubt. And I interviewed somebody, she called it the beast in your head. And that beast in your head that says you can't, you shouldn't, you're not worthy, you're an imposter. We all have that. it's just, but what you have to remember is that we're not on the planes of, you know, battling a lion or a tiger or a bear where we have to have our wits about us and We use that inner Critic that inner doubter to avoid risk We have so much more opportunity than we've ever been afforded as a species Because of everything that's happened before us and so we don't need to rely on that inner critic So it's about silencing the inner critic and saying That's there to protect me. I acknowledge it exists. It's not that it doesn't exist, but I'm just going to turn the volume down and say, thanks, but no thanks. No granted there's sometimes that inner voice might have some good guidance. Right? So you don't want to be Col. John Boggs: huh. Billy Samoa Saleebey: mindful. Like you can kind of like, wait, is that good advice? You have to assess is a good advice or not. Is this old brain advice as opposed to new brain advice? So that reptilian brain that says, I want to keep you out of harm's way. and I'm telling you, you can't do this because you'll die. Yeah, if that's a real reality, then you should listen. And 99 % of the time, it's not reality. It's just doing what it's used to doing because it's programmed to do that. Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. So how important? It's programmed to do that. How do you deprogram? Billy Samoa Saleebey: Hmm. Well, I think at first it's it's it's understanding and awareness and then it's about breaking the patterns So when you hear a negative thought, it's the whole Napoleon Hill, right? He says you have a fertile garden in your brain. Weeds will Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: pop up, but you got to pull those weeds out. You Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: got to remove them. You got to evict them. And in order to evict them, you have to first say that they're there and quickly get rid of them. You can't wait. It's the waiting means that there's going to be more weeds to come. And you got to avoid having what was a fertile garden being riddled with, with negative thought weeds, get them Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: out and get them out quickly. And then feed your brain with the things that are healthy, productive. How do you give your mind the types of positive reinforcement, the positive thinking that allows you to have the types of programming that you need to alter and shift? And Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: so acknowledge, remove, and reprogram with new ideas and new thoughts. Col. John Boggs: reprogram so you're building a new identity. Billy Samoa Saleebey: In a sense, yeah. New Col. John Boggs: Okay, now. Billy Samoa Saleebey: identity, also a new, you know, you're, it's like a new operating system. So you might have the same identity. might look, feel, sound the same, but what's happening underneath, that's what changes your operating system. It needs an upgrade and we don't actually have the ability to get that upgrade sort of. Like you would a computer where it just sort of happens and you Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: can kind of rely on it to happen and it happens behind the scenes. This is a more proactive conscious upgrade that you are aware of and that you're, you're designing it yourself. Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Okay. So how do you stay steady? You're going into this new thing, your identity, you're pulling those weeds out. So how do you stay steady when the outcomes are uncertain? I mean, you're going Billy Samoa Saleebey: Yeah. Col. John Boggs: into something new. We don't know this is all gonna work. I mean, you scared the hell out of Billy Samoa Saleebey: No, it's true, man. Col. John Boggs: a lot of people. Billy Samoa Saleebey: Well, I think so when I worked in solar, okay. The, Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: the, the common phrase that we used was be careful of the solar coaster. So you meaning you're going to have highs. Oh, I just made a deal. Oh, they canceled the next day. Oh, somebody's ready to sign up. They fail credit. Um, there's highs and lows. There's highs and lows with any number of things. And so what you have to remember is that you got to be even tempered, even keeled. Cause if you allow yourself to get too excited, amped up, manic about any one thing, you're setting yourself up to have a big dip downstream. And likewise, when things are going wrong, just remember no single negative thing is going to define you. It's like, I think about some, some client concerns that have arisen. It happens. Somebody's not happy and it hurts, right? I'm a people pleaser. I want to make sure everybody's happy. But I also Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: remind myself that that one singular client as important as every client is, and they are that client won't define the success or failure of me. And I say me, yes, the business, but most importantly me because I can't be defined by another person. I can only be defined by who I am and how I show up. But likewise, the business also can't be defined by that one person. The good news about any kind of business is that you always have the ability to evolve, get better, bring on other clients. Again, not to minimize the experience that clients have or that customers have, but we can't get overly sensitive to when they're unhappy because it will fade. Their unhappiness can be changed. And sometimes the clients that are the most unhappy, when Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: you turn them around, they're your biggest supporters. They're your biggest advocates. Col. John Boggs: Wow. Wow. That reminds me of a very quick story. A good friend of mine, he's a consultant to consultants. I'm going to say his name because this is all positive. Dr. Alan Weiss. What a great guy. Alan is a hardcore New Yorker. mean, the attitude, you know, so on and so on. But I talked to a guy who recommended Alan highly. But if you talk to him, he says, I hate that guy. I said, what? I hate that guy. I would never have a beer with him. I said, excuse me? He said, I would never have a beer with him. But if he tells me to spit on this crack at three o'clock in the afternoon, I'm going to spit on it. And I said, well, why is that? He says, because Alan knows business. He knows what he's talking about. And I shared that with Alan. And it was like, yeah, well, you know. And it was just exactly your point. He didn't let one person define him. And it's like, hey, you know, I still do a good job and he still benefited from it. So what a deal. What a deal. All right. So, Billy Samoa Saleebey: That's great story. Col. John Boggs: yeah. So, Your mission right now is you're helping visionaries. You're helping people amplify their voice. What is it that so many people, so many capable people, leaders, what is it that they struggle with to communicate, to communicate, to get their impact across? Billy Samoa Saleebey: I'll tell you a story to illustrate what I think is most of the time, the missing ingredient. It's actually so simple. People don't pay attention. What I noticed is that the people who often had higher level roles were really good at one thing more than anything else. And that one thing was they were a broken record. What I mean by that is they rehearsed a few It could be a story, it could be a vision, could be a philosophy, methodology, a belief, but they said it over and over and over again. And I thought to myself, man, they just, keep repeating themselves. But then I recognized, wait a second, this person is the chief operating officer and this person is the chief revenue officer and this person's the chief people officer. What, why is it that all these people that have a chief in front of their name, they say the same thing over and over again is because they practiced saying it over and over again. And they knew what mattered was belief in a cause in Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: a pathway that they deemed as important. And Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: so, yeah, that talk track might evolve and might change. It's not that they say that, that they're literally a broken record where for years on end, they're saying the same thing, but There is moments and seasons where they're beating the drum and they're getting Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: really good at saying this one thing over and over again. It's like the old adage, you hear something one time, it won't stick. You hear it seven times, maybe you'll buy, maybe you'll remember. This is an advertising thing that could be applied to a leadership thing. And so when Col. John Boggs: Mmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: leaders get good at sharing what their vision is, broadly, Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: I'm just using that term because it could be other things, as I said, then people remember it. People embrace it. and people act on it. Col. John Boggs: Okay. So it's the repetition. is the repetition. So is that what makes a leader's message resonate in today's Billy Samoa Saleebey: Mm. Col. John Boggs: crowded environment? Is that repetition? Billy Samoa Saleebey: I think it has to be told in a way that is memorable and emotional. Just Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: saying it, if you said it and you said it in a way that was not capturing the hearts and minds of the people that you say it to, it Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: won't have the same impact. So delivery matters. And that's why when you do it over and over again, you could kind of read the room, have the social Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: IQ. Is my message falling on deaf ears or is it being embraced. And if it's falling on deaf ears, you'll know because you'll see empty stairs. You'll Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: not see action. You'll see, a lack of engagement. And when you see the lack of engagement, the question you got to ask yourself is why is my message not resonating? And what's what's missing? Is am I infusing a story to it? Am I making it more real? Am I creating enough personal value for them where they could see how does this benefit them? And it may not be that it's like a personal benefit. It may be that it's a benefit to them in their role. Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: Everyone that works at a company wants to understand one thing and not one thing is how am I contributing to the success of the vis of the purpose of this business? If they can understand what their place is in the. success path of the business, Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: that's fulfilling. If they feel like they're just there as a body. They won't last and they won't feel fulfilled. They'll feel like another number or an empty chair. And Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: so we got to make people at any company feel a commitment and a part of what it is that you're trying to achieve. Col. John Boggs: Is there a key for that? Is there a way to do that? Billy Samoa Saleebey: I think it starts and I'm a little bit biased because I'm in onboarding, I was at Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: Tesla. So I think it starts there, understanding Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: the mission, understanding their role, giving them people who are their first friends. And Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: you want people who work at a company to have people who they could confide in, not their immediate boss, but other people that they could build relationships with. And so I think it starts there and then it's like a relay race. The way in which you're on boarded will then be passed on to who your hiring manager is or who your, who your leader is. And then I think the leader then has to pick up, grab the baton and keep running the race. And part of that race is to further establish what are the things that that person should be doing on a regular basis to feel a consistent. The word that comes to mind is matterness. Do they matter? And if they Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: don't, and it's not a word, matterness is not a word, but that's the idea is do they matter? And if they feel like they matter, that will re-energize them to keep mattering. And then I think, you know, there's obviously recognition, could be awards, could be praise, could be Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: promotion. I mean, there's, there's any number of ways that you recognize somebody for doing what it takes to be a part of the purpose. And I think the last thing is, you know, all roads lead back to communication. And Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: so if there's ever a gap in communication, that needs to be immediately closed. I'll share a quick, quick final story. And that is I have a leader who told me in the absence of communication, people hallucinate. Col. John Boggs: that's too good. Billy Samoa Saleebey: This is like a Yeah, it's so and because people want to fill in the gaps They make Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: up stories in their head about why something is happening. Why isn't this person talking to me? Why are things happening in the company like this? Why hasn't this? Vendor reached out to me. Why isn't this client reached out to me? Why isn't this service provider reached out to me? Is something wrong and you start to invent things and what you want to avoid? is why I'm a big Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: believer in over communication as opposed to under communication is you want to avoid that gap so that people aren't hallucinating. Col. John Boggs: Now, know, what I'm reading, you didn't say this, but what I'm reading in here is that the leader also needs to be seen. can't, you don't know who's having impact if you're not seeing them having some impact. So you Billy Samoa Saleebey: yeah. Yeah. Col. John Boggs: gotta get out and be seen. You just can't hide in the office. That's the hidden Billy Samoa Saleebey: Yeah. Col. John Boggs: thing I hear you saying. Billy Samoa Saleebey: Well, I think being present. Yeah. Being seen is, Col. John Boggs: Being present. Billy Samoa Saleebey: is a hundred percent agree with you. And Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: that's in part, you know, you're, you're, you're right that I think sometimes we get either because of personality or fear or laziness, we sort of avoid the, getting out there part of the job. Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: But sometimes the best thing to do is just show up. mean, like, showing up is half the battle, right? Being there. Col. John Boggs: Just show up. Yes, it is. Yes, it is. So Billy told me this. How does podcasting, how can podcasting strengthen leadership presence and influence? How can that, how, can that happen? Billy Samoa Saleebey: So podcasting is such a medium because what it allows people to do is have deeper, richer, fuller conversations than they otherwise would. We live in a Col. John Boggs: Mm. Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: world of immediacy, instant gratification, sound bites, and noise. But podcasts is unique in that you give a little bit more time and space. to a conversation. You and I have talked in just the 25 minutes that we've been together longer than anyone I've talked to all day, minus Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: a couple clients that I had some long sessions with. But Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: even that was not talking about all their ideas and beliefs. It was operational. And so you Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: and I are getting into what I would call a nuanced, richer conversation. Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: When that happens, a few things happens. One, there's the networking component. You're building a relationship with Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: somebody. Two, it's a great thought leadership driver. Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: So I'm, you're asking me questions and some of these answers, I may have said a version of them, but some of them I haven't said ever. There's things that I've made Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: up on the spot in this conversation that have never been uttered for my mouth. Why is that? Well, If you ever think of this idea of like thinking on your feet, thinking on your feet and a reason there's a reason why some people especially like to think on their feet Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: is because you don't have the chance to overthink. got to say what's coming to your mind and you Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: have to verbalize things in a smart, eloquent enough way to where Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: somebody will understand what you're saying. And even if it's not perfect, like I use, made up a word. Uh, what did I say? It was, uh, you know, um, whatever the word I made up was, but what I mean is I made up a word and, I got the point across. Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: And so when you do this, you develop your leadership, you develop your thought, especially your thought leadership. And then that could then translate into how you interact with other people. And the last point I'll make is in how it helps with influence is. Two things. It's frequency, frequency of voice, but frequency of message. Going back to that idea Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: of you hear the message over and over again. When you have a podcast or you're on podcasts, you're delivering messages more regularly. The frequency of your voice literally is here's somebody's voice. There's something very human, very relatable to hearing the vibration of someone's someone else's voice. And so that's Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: one frequency. And then the other part to it is duration. I said already that you have this longer period of time, but because you have that longer period of time, there are ways in which you can capture more insightful moments than you otherwise wouldn't be able to capture. Col. John Boggs: Mm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: And so those are the things I would think about. know, podcasting is, because of all those things, it's in a unique position to offer something that others don't. a passive, you listen passively. I could be on a walk listening to podcasts. I could be working out listening to podcasts, doing the dishes, whatever. Col. John Boggs: you Billy Samoa Saleebey: But I'm now able to do two things at once and you get to know people when you get to... be with them for a longer period of time. And the biggest currency we have today is trust. And so the Col. John Boggs: Yes. Billy Samoa Saleebey: trust gets built with a podcast. Col. John Boggs: Yes, yes. I like that that someone else said that to me earlier today. The global currency is trust. Yeah. Billy Samoa Saleebey: Yeah. And podcasts are the greatest in my opinion, and granted I'm biased, right? I wrote a podcast for Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Mm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: Exocompany, but podcasts are the single greatest medium for the currency of trust. Col. John Boggs: to note that. Podcast single greatest medium. Now you've built global training programs. and now you lead a media company. So what leadership disciplines, what disciplines have you recognized that cut across the industries? Billy Samoa Saleebey: Well, I think there's a lot of skills that may be misinterpreted as traits. And by skill, mean emotional intelligence, something that could Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: be developed. That's an awareness of your own, how you show up and how others show up around you. And kind of cousin to that is empathy. Being able to be empathetic. Not sympathetic. empathetic to Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: those who you lead. And there might be times where you need to be sympathetic. Don't get me wrong. Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: That's a bad word, but more empathy. So it's an awareness. And again, cousin and also somewhat related is self-awareness. Right? So part of EQ is that awareness of your own self, but broader, Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: excuse me, broader than that is having a self-awareness about what you're good at, where your strengths are. what you're not good at. All of these things help to provide you with a better roadmap for how to show up best for each individual. And I say that in a very important part of that is you have to be a leader to each individual. It's not be a leader in the same way to everybody. Be a leader to each person as an individual. That's that crosses all spectrums. Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: I think about follow ship and I there's this great video where he talks about follow ship and he says the two Greatest contributors to follow ship are The interactions that you have and the decisions that you make So the interactions that you have and the decisions that you make and so when you think about the interactions that you have Every time you talk to somebody you're making a deposit you're making an impression good, bad, Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: indifferent, there's something that's happening. And when you make decisions, you better believe they're paying attention. Why? Goes back to that reptilian brain evaluating, do I want to go up the mountain with this person or not? Are they going to put me in position to get on the other side of that mountain or get eaten by a lion? And Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: people follow people that make good decisions. People follow people that they have good interactions with. No matter what industry, that still applies. I can keep going, I'll stop there, man. There's so many. Col. John Boggs: well, that's that's very good. That that still applies. Behaviors, behaviors that help teams stay aligned when you need to move fast. Have you noted any common behaviors that are helpful? Billy Samoa Saleebey: I'll give three one feed created culture of feedback and by creating a culture of feedback It's where feedback is embraced but more Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: importantly than being embraced. It's asked for meaning I want your feedback as opposed to me just giving feedback or somebody giving me feedback We are naturally resistant. There's a great book called your brain at work by this guy David Rock. He came to speak it Tesla and has a really, really interesting premise. And he through his neuro neurological brain science Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: approach to the neurochemistry, we are fight or flight in defense mode when people give us unsolicited feedback, we automatically resist it, we don't want it. But if we create a culture of feedback where everyone's constantly asking for feedback and not just feedback generally, but Can you give me feedback, like take a podcast, can you give me feedback on the production quality of my podcast? That's a lot different than can you give me feedback on the creative edits chosen of what we kept in and what we kept out or how I am as a host asking questions or the visual way the podcast is represented. Where do you need that feedback? So more specificity. So that's Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: one big bucket of alignment, creative culture, feedback. The other area is what I'll call radical transparency. And by radical transparency, I mean, we must feel comfortable being very true, real, honest, and open with those that we are around. When Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: we're transparent, people feel like they're a part of it. They feel included and they understand what's going on because you're not holding back. Alignment happens when there's trust. when there's clarity, when there's visibility into what's happening. And so that's Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: really, really important. And then the last thing I'll share is relentless communication. communication to a point of you get into a regular rhythm about what's, how we're communicating and Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: where we're communicating. If there's a synchronistic, are we using WhatsApp or are we using Slack? What types of communication happens there? What type happens on email? And then what is the response time? expectations. How quickly should somebody respond? Alignment, if all you did was the last one, all roads lead back to communication. If you communicate and you communicate regularly, alignment is a byproduct of communication. Col. John Boggs: Okay. If someone listening, if they feel like they want to make a change in their life, they want to make a professional pivot, I mean, you've done it, you know it. What's the first step? What should they be thinking before they make that pivot? Billy Samoa Saleebey: Well, would. OK, so I'll answer it in the way that I would want it answered, which is if I were to go back and talk to myself before I was making that pivot, what would I tell myself? The first thing I would tell myself would be ask other people in what you're striving to do, what they did right and what they did wrong. What would they change? And especially ask people who have been successful in that exact thing. So for me, I kind of did three things. So the first thing I did when I left, and this is not like frequently publicized, but I'm not ashamed because it was part of my journey. did day trading. I had Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: a bunch of Tesla shares. I foolishly, frankly, decided to let me, let me see if I could parlay this into more money, without any background or experience. Had I gone to more people and said, Hey, How have you been successful as a day trader or unsuccessful that might've made me less likely to go down that path or at least have a little Col. John Boggs: huh. Billy Samoa Saleebey: bit more armor to go down that path successfully. Started with my own podcast. Again, I did do this with the podcast. I asked people in the podcast, Hallow Fame. I asked people who had 10 million downloads a month. I interviewed them and it really helped me on my own podcast and it really helped me build my business. Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: And my business Potify, we help people produce podcasts by doing all the backend production work. I wish I had asked more people about what is it like to build a creative services business? Cause I learned mostly through trial and error. I probably wouldn't have had two and a half years of figuring it out before I finally got my footing. ask people, that's one. Two, don't leave until you are certain. You have everything you need to be stable. I was really in a, in a fortunate position that I had built a, you know, enough padding and I, Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: I, I'm, I was, I was very, I was put in position. I could have retired leaving Tesla at that, at that point. I could have just retired and then done, done nothing. but I didn't, I decided to build a business and you know, But what I suggest is because I see people do it, they leave too soon. So make sure you leave at the right time. And then the last thing is the Arnold Schwarzenegger approach. Don't have a backup plan. I think that's true. You shouldn't have a backup plan. No plan B. To a point, I think your plan B is a new version of your plan A that is tweaked. Be OK with pivoting and adjusting, seeing what's working. You're not quitting. You're not failing. You're evolving and adapting. You're here, John. I'm here, Billy, because our ancestors were really good at surviving long enough for us to be born. And they were good at surviving because they were good at adapting and being resilient enough to know how to keep on keeping on. Col. John Boggs: All right. All right. Billy, what kind of legacy do you want to leave? Do you want to create by helping others find their voice? Billy Samoa Saleebey: Well, I think the thing that stands out is we are our own worst enemy when it comes to preventing or slowing down our success. So if I could be known for one thing, it would be to help people get the confidence, belief, and understanding of how to maximize their voice in a way that will yield the biggest impact. possible. Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: So we got to get out of our own way. We can't be afraid of it not being perfect. We can't be afraid of it not working. We can't be afraid of us sounding or looking not the right part. We have to be able to set aside ego and fear and imposter syndrome for the greater good, which is what's the, what's the reason you were put here to do the things you were put here to do? Col. John Boggs: Mm-hmm. Billy Samoa Saleebey: And then Give yourself the courage to not think about what other people are thinking about you, but think about what you think of you and what you know you're capable of. So do it for you. Don't do it for other people. Col. John Boggs: Okay, thank you. Billy, for listeners who want to learn more about you, specifically want to learn more about Potify, one, could you give us a quick, hey, this is Potify, and then how do people reach out to you? How do they connect with you? Billy Samoa Saleebey: Happy to. Yeah. So if anybody has a podcast, wants to start a podcast, has a YouTube channel, wants to start one, we are here for you. So go to podify.com, P-O-D-I-F-Y.com. We buy back time for busy people. People that don't want to do all the back end production legwork to produce their show, they want somebody to do it for them. And that's where we come in. And so if you're launching a new show, we could help you A to Z with the ideation, construction, the intro, the outro, the trailer, the first episodes, the launch plan, the marketing strategy, the artwork, the social profiles, all of that is working directly with me and my team to get your show launched off the ground. If you already produce a podcast, then we could do three things. could produce, I call it the three legs of this tool, produce, market, monetize. Produce is packaging and production. Marketing is organic. Guest booking, PR, guest relations, podcast placement, paid media campaigns. And then on the monetization front, we build destinations. So it could be a website, could be a course, could be a membership platform, could be a service that you offer that you want to help to get people to find. We can help with that. Or even a sponsorship deck. Like I just had a meeting with somebody we built out a full sponsorship deck. So we do a pretty wide range of services. You go to Potify, you can book a time with me, or you could even go to my LinkedIn. Just type in Billy Samoa. That's my middle name, so it's easy. S-A-M-O-A. And find me on LinkedIn. I'm pretty active there, so I'm sure I will get to know you quickly if you go there and you can kind of check out some of my content. Col. John Boggs: Perfect. Billy, thank you very much. This was a great conversation, was energizing, that's for sure. And I love to talk about reinvention and impact and moving forward. And thank you very much. I greatly appreciate it. Billy Samoa Saleebey: It is my absolute pleasure. Thank you for the opportunity, John, and such a great conversation. Col. John Boggs: Thanks, Billy. And to our listeners, hey, leadership is too important to get wrong, So stay steady, stay well, and out here.