L.F. Ed. 2: Fighting Friction, Choosing Courage, and Leading by Example with Mike Loyd

Welcome to Learning Forward.

A Q&A newsletter that dives into the depths of self-reflection regarding leadership failures and the lessons learned that are put into action to become a better leader.

Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF): During our conversations, Mike Loyd and I spoke about family values, leading by example, accountability, and facing and conquering friction points by making decisions. Not just any decisions, but those that positively impact the people you lead.

Mike Loyd, CEO of Dope Coffee Company, GP Black Sheep Fund, and former Marine Officer, resides in the bustling urban city of Atlanta, Georgia. Mike is a person who has demonstrated sheer determination and grit along his journey. He’s faced the battle of racial inequality on many fronts: growing up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina; during his college years as he excelled at Wake Forest University; in the military; and now on the front lines as CEO of Dope Coffee Company.

Let’s read what Mike has to say about his leadership journey, failures and lessons learned.

Josh: Tell me about yourself, your leadership journey, and what’s motivating you right now.

Mike: I'm from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. I always like to start with that, because where I'm from, it really speaks a lot to what I'm about. I grew up in a factory town filled with hard-working people. That’s one thing I'd like to say about myself, is that hard work has always been important. It's been an integral part of my life, and so has leadership, from the time I was a young athlete. I was a good athlete in terms of winning state championships, county championships, and things like that. Folks around me thought it was athletic talent, but it was really hard work, determination, and leadership.

Being an athlete took me to college. From college I was able to go to the Marine Corps, where it's basically Leadership 101. The Marine Corps takes leadership to the next level. Showing up to The Basic School in Quantico, Virginia, and having your leadership evaluated is something you and I shared together. We were scrutinized on how clearly we were able to communicate thoughts and ideas to subordinates. It makes you razor sharp. It teaches you many of your leadership habits. It teaches you what you're not so good at.

That time training at The Basic School was soon applied to real life, because I had to lead Marines in combat. That was one of the most challenging situations. To be a leader in sports or a leader in business was nothing like having young Marines who had children, who were having children while deployed, and being responsible for them, being responsible for their personal safety. So that was a great challenge. I don't necessarily compare combat to business, but what I will tell you is that the lessons I learned in combat certainly helped me as a leader in business. Having courage, the courage to start a brand, the courage to put out an idea, is a trait that leaders, that great leaders, embody. That's been a big part of my journey.

Josh: What’s motivating you right now?

Mike: Family. Family is the thing that's motivating me because you've got to realize what you're doing it for. I've got three children and a wife, and I’ve got to be able to provide for them, to be able to care for their future, to be able to prepare for their future. It gives me, as a growing man and as a person who's trying to make a way in life, it gives me all the motivation that I need to face these challenges that we've been talking about.

Josh: Leadership is very challenging. Regarding leadership, can you please share with us something that was more challenging than you expected?

Mike: It's a challenge, right? If leadership is not challenging, that means you're not creating change somewhere in an organization and the situation is static. We learn about the fighter leader concept in the Marine Corps. I love that concept of, "Where is the problem? Where is the friction? Where is the difficult thing? Go to that and apply yourself there." So yes, absolutely.

As for the thing that I found more challenging than I expected, it was the management of my first business’ cash flow. I ran a small drive-through coffee shop called Solar Café. Although Solar Café is not a business anymore, it was the inspiration for Dope Coffee, and can be seen through our current model.

At the time, I was still on active duty, therefore, I still had income flow. What I didn’t think was going to be a challenge was managing the cash flow into the business. The issue was, I had a steady stream of income, and the incoming business revenue. I was as detailed as I should’ve been and found myself over-spending due to the comfort of my stable military income. Well, this turned into cascading problems. This brings me back to friction and pushing through it, but also, Leadership 101. Keeping things simple, managing the basics, but more importantly, slowing down to become better. This is the main reason I had to close my other business, pivot, and restart. It’s the smaller things we miss, and those become our challenges. It’s in the details.

Josh: What is one example of a leadership failure that you have experienced during your many years in leadership and leadership development/coaching?

Mike: One of my biggest leadership failures came right after one of my biggest leadership triumphs. This failure came down to not holding myself and my Marines accountable. I didn't have the courage, the moral courage, to say enough was enough. I'm a combat engineer, and we go to the Mountain Warfare Training Center near Bridgeport, California. So, as combat engineers, you're not typically there operating as a unit; you might be attached to other units, but we go train as an infantry battalion. Not only am I a combat engineer, but I'm a heavy equipment platoon commander. So now I've got the operators and the mechanics out on the mountain doing basic infantry tactics, and we crush it.

We come down the mountain to base camp, and the Commanding Officer said, "Hey, you did really well. You can take your company staff to the bar." So we go to the bar, and things just get far out of control. We've been on the mountain for about 40 days. The situation got out of hand, and the senior leadership, including myself, set a poor example for those Marines who were in our charge.

What I learned from it was this: "Man, you did really well, and in your excitement, you lost your better sense of judgment, which allowed you to do some things that you probably realized were further than you should allow them to go." The thing about being a leader is it doesn't matter what goes wrong. You're responsible. I think that's one of the things that I learned, and that if I see something messed up, I fix it. Every second that we sat in that bar was a second closer to me missing an opportunity to lead by example and maintain the standard. I knew that the situation was improper, but I didn't do anything. All it would’ve taken is earlier in the night for me to say, "That's probably enough." Just saying that out loud would've maybe limited three or four others from making poor decisions and probably prevented the entire situation.

So that was a real lesson for me, because this was my first big operation in the fleet. I’m finally out in front of my Marines, we just did well, and the Colonel just said, "Congratulations. You guys are awesome." Then, the next day, I stood in front of the Commanding Officer. It just shows you how quickly situations and things can change. But in that moment of failure, knowing that my Commanding Officer was disappointed with me, it gave me the opportunity to humble myself and just start over. Wipe all the pressure away and just give it my best run.

Josh: You've got a successful team right now with Dope Coffee. How does that impact you with the decisions that you make and how does that help you focus your leadership today running your team out of Atlanta?

Mike: I think, as a leader, when you fail, it burns, so you remember those types of scenarios that you were in. If anything, it's just caused me to think more. You get seasoned as a leader. You start realizing an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. So many things, I think, now, it's about preventing the troubles that are coming. You know the old saying, "Piss poor preparation equals piss poor performance, piss poor performance equals pain." Well, now I try to constantly be prepared. I find that if I'm prepared for my meetings and have my notes ready to go, I'm able to communicate more effectively. Effective communication really solves a ton of problems in terms of business and in anything you're trying to accomplish. Effective communication is the groundwork, the foundation. Constantly thinking of the future.

Josh: Running Dope Coffee and that team, do you find yourself having to be courageous, more specifically having that moral courage to do what's right in the face of adversity?

Mike: I gave that example of leading the Marines in combat, but here at Dope Coffee as a CEO, you have a bottom line, and people's livelihoods and their way of life are tied to that. It's a huge responsibility. Believe it or not, it was that responsibility that caused me to make some poor decisions financially with Solar Café. I overpaid people. Trying to do so much good caused me to run the company poorly, and so those lessons of courage, being responsible to your people and holding yourself accountable, is key.

So, here’s a great example. At one point, I had to stop paying within our company, and that took moral courage. I had to call everyone and say, "I'm not going to pay you this month. I can't." That's difficult, and at the time I felt like a terrible person. Except the company's still here today, and everyone's been paid back, and everything's all great. But fail at that one moment, when the cash flow is low and you don't have the courage to decide, and you find yourself down the road dealing with a humongous problem.

Josh: What is one piece of advice regarding your leadership failure(s) that you can share with our readers?

Mike: Process. As a leader, you're going to be constantly challenged. You must have a system or process in place not only for your current situation, but for your leadership style and your leadership strategy. Enjoy that process, though, because as a leader, that is your work. I'm starting to learn that my work is making the tough decisions. My whiteboard is full of things that can either make our company succeed or fail. That's a tremendous responsibility. I always think about basketball players hitting shots or buzzer beaters that close the quarter out, and who had the courage to step up and take that shot. Oftentimes, being a leader, you're going to do work that isn't seen. You're going to put thought in and make decisions that go unnoticed. But to enjoy that part of the process and stick with it, that would be my advice; enjoy the process and journey to greatness.

Josh: What do you wish your younger self knew about leadership and the many challenges you would encounter during your growth process?

Mike: Man, enjoy the people around you. In life, we skip people so much. We skip our humanity. I tended to always be about the next rung, the next step, very process-oriented, which is good. But then sometimes, without the people, what are you accomplishing? Because at the end of the day, we all want to create positive change in the world. You can only do that with other people. Focus on your people and they'll rip down walls for you, because, man, that's that lesson from Alexander the Great. He's leading a great army. The only way you're going to get that is when you go to the wire for them. I'm that CEO. It doesn't matter how you put it down. It's just always this thing of those of us who are more fortunate and that are in those situations. We must take care of everyone else first, and then it'll all be straight at the end of the day. You feel me?”

Josh: Regarding leadership and becoming the best version of yourself to effectively lead others,?what’s something that our readers should start or stop doing, now?

Mike: It’s cliché, but lead by example and be you. As humans, we tend to mimic the actions of those we see, and when I say lead by example, it's not so clear cut. I wanted to see the culture of my company go a certain way. I had to demonstrate the culture that I wanted. I want a culture that is diverse. I want a culture that's thinking. I want a culture that communicates openly. Well, I can't do that and go hide in my office. To go beyond that, whatever you want to see, go act it out in front of your people, in front of the people that are following you. They will mimic that behavior. I think that's something that we must realize as leaders.

Thank you for taking the time to read Learning Forward. Please take a moment to like, share, and follow for more leadership stories.

Many Thanks,

Josh Fisher

Learning Forward Editor:

Karen Forgang

linkedin.com/in/karenforgang