Adam is the type of enterprising young person (i.e., younger than me) that Central Iowa, Des Moines in particular, strives to attract. He grew up here; went off to college; played a little baseball in the Phillies system, got cut, parlayed a contact into a job selling insurance in Minneapolis (yuck); got fired (yahoo!), and badgered his way into a spot with a new private investment banking firm with his dad (who refused to hire him at first). Now he has his own business, 25Connections (25 players on a major league roster), a unique take on marketing and networking for success.
Tenacious? You bet. Obnoxious? No way. He is so damn nice and enthusiastic I wasn't sure I could like him. He connected with me after I suggested that we needed a little more bullshit and deal commotion in Des Moines. Geez, you'da thought he'd never heard the word uttered in public before. But I now consider him a mentor to me; he brings me fresh insight and a completely different perspective to looking at deals and networking.
"Enthusiastic?" you ask? "Prove it" you say. Well watch the video where he tries his hand at bull riding:
Ya gotta love it when he demands a do-over. Way to go Adam.
Here are the Five Steps* to becoming an effective entrepreneurial leader he shared with us:
+Learn how to fail.
We all get cut from the team now and then.
One must accept the inevitable defeats, build on them, and then accept success.
+Be an Active Thinker.
Think critically.
+Be Curious
Read everything you can.
You never know where you might find the next opportunity.
+Be skeptical.
Don't believe everything you read.
Question assumptions
Ride the bull.
Get in the game.
Adam's mission is to create success for others. He's on his way.
*I added the links to jazz things up a bit and to expand the network. I'm sure Adam won't mind.
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