Don't follow the Grant Cardone Leadership model

"Management listens to every conversation"

"You don't leave human beings up to their own devices"

I recently listened to Grant and Jordan Belfort sit down for their conversation, while there has been numerous fallout on how that conversation went, those two quotes from Grant stood out to me and it reminded me of some things I've heard Grant say in the past and things I've seen about his company on Glassdoor.

Grant is a master salesman and marketer. There really is no question about that and I certainly am not audacious enough to try and criticize him in any way when it comes to sales and marketing. Leadership, however, is something I am very qualified to comment on.

One more caveat, I don't know Grant personally, and I'm making this assessment as an outsider looking in, but I have been doing this long enough to spot some red flags. I've also watched enough of Grant's content to say that I have seen these flags repeated and as someone with so much influence, I want to caution you from emulating this particular facet of his persona.

A year ago I was watching one of his videos and he mentioned with pride how he will stand by the exit to the office at 6pm to see who is walking out.

Try to picture this moment: Your shift ends at 6pm, maybe you have a kid's event to get to, and as you walk out, there is your boss, staring at his watch making a mental note.

What is the message he is sending his employees?

Obviously that he expects them to stay longer right?

In fact, Grant has called the person who leaves at 5pm sharp "lazy" and isn't interested in having them in his organization (see that referenced here)

I was shocked when I heard him say this. This is a very egocentric view and honestly it's toxic as well. It appears that for Grant, he is the most important person in your life when you are working for him. Not your family, not your loved ones, nothing else in your life matters to him besides his business. At least that was what I thought when I heard it.

Then I went on Glassdoor and looked up reviews for his company. Can you guess what I found? Well, I wouldn't write this article if I was wrong would I?

While looking through the reviews there were some common things about the work/life balance, paid time off, requirements of new employees, and the amount of punitive consequences that they are quick to dish out regardless of an employee's overall performance (read here).

During his interview with Jordan Belfort he mentioned something about his sales strategy that made me wonder if he's taking the same approach with employees:

"The Strategy is to have a full pipeline"

As famous as Grant is, I'm sure they always have 10-15 people willing to come and work for Cardone enterprises even when there isn't an opening. Heck, they even did a TV Show about it. I really didn't like the methodology, but hey, they were trying to create dramatic entertainment. During these shows, however, I saw glimpses into Grant's self-centered view that were concerning. In one of the shows Grant asks a candidate, "Would you leave me for a better opportunity?" and the prospective employee hesitates which Grant rightly perceives as a yes and dismisses her on the spot.

Grant, who wouldn't leave for a better opportunity? Do you really expect your employees to be so loyal to you that they would pass up a better opportunity? If the answer is yes, then you have to show them the same loyalty back!

Why does any of this matter anyway?

Based on his track record, it seems Grant has been able to be successful despite any misgivings in Leadership that I have noticed. The question we should be asking, however, is whether Grant could be even more successful if he could attract and retain the absolute best. If people actually would turn down a "better" opportunity because they were so committed to the company and the vision. How much better could he do with a staff of seasoned and experienced employees that stayed for the long haul?

When I was deployed to Afghanistan, I showed up to a firefight with nine men. We were dispatched as a quick reaction force to supplement the forces already on the ground. When we arrived, my commander notified me that there were 40-60 enemy on the top of a 10,000 foot mountain, and he wanted me and my team to scale the mountain and fight against an entrenched enemy force in the middle of the night. I scaled that mountain with my men, and we took the hill.

Why were those men willing to take such terrible odds and scale that mountain with me?

There was no personal gain there. They did it because they believed in their leadership and each other. We knew we were an unstoppable team, and we operated with tenacity and ferocity because of it.

Since that time, I have continued to apply the same leadership principles in every organization, and the results are always the same: teams outperform expectations all the time.

Grant says people can't be left to their own devices. I disagree. My teams are able to crush goals because I give people the freedom to be creative. On more than one occasion I took on projects that had no ROI, sat on the shelf, were "impossible" to make money on and turned them around. I did this with the same teams that had previously "failed".

Why was I successful?

Because I was willing to take the risk and unleash the creativity within the team. Because I gave people the authority to make decisions, while still retaining the responsibility if it went wrong. I encouraged new thinking, supported people when they made mistakes, and made sure we learned from them so in the future we would make new and unique mistakes and learn from them too.

I'm sure it's difficult for Grant to trust people. Everyone he meets wants something from him, they want a piece to serve themselves, and it seems like that has driven him to be highly distrusting and ruthless in the workplace.

The effect of this is that he is likely having to hire and train new employees regularly. He is spending thousands of dollars training people, making them experts, and then they leave. I'm certain the turnover rate, especially for new employees, is particularly high. That means all the time and effort spent on getting someone onboard was just wasted, and for a multi-millionaire like Grant, even ONE wasted hour can cost thousands of dollars.

For you the reader, who sees someone like Grant and hopes to be at that level one day (I get it, I do too), I would caution you to emulate this behavior. Creating teams with high turnover means added cost and lower productivity. You're costing yourself money, and if you work for someone like me, that is a quick way to get removed from leadership.

My job as a leader is to make sure my employees have everything they need to be successful. That means taking care of their business and personal needs. If you make sure people have the tools necessary to do their job, are compensated well, and have ample time to take care of their personal lives, you will be amazed at what they accomplish in the office.

They will climb mountains for you too!

Look, if you're tired of burning through candidates and can't seem to retain or even train the best people and need some help, then let's chat.

And Grant, if you're reading this, I still respect the heck out of you and what you have accomplished. If you feel frustrated and are willing to chat, I'd love to help.