We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful John Lentini. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with John below.

John, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So, let’s start with a hypothetical – what would you change about the educational system?

I work in adult learning, and it is abundantly clear the pronounced needs that are out there due to both changes in our society and the failures of our traditional educational system. I run Leadership Development programs, what most might refer to as “management skills” training, but these are really “life skills.” I often frame it as “everything they didn’t teach you in school, but should have.” My company partners with Crestcom International, one of the world’s top Leadership Development organizations, and our program covers the entire range of leadership and life skills including things like Negotiation, Strategic Thinking, Leading through Change, Developing Productive Teams, Managing Energy and Time, and more, but there are two foundational skills that we cover both directly and indirectly throughout the entire program that I personally consider to be foundational to success in everything we do as human beings: Communication and Emotional Intelligence. And in this increasingly hyper-distracted age of smart phones, social media, and now AI, there has never been a greater gap to be filled in both of these core development opportunities. People no longer know how to communicate with each other. We might say it’s a lost art, but really it’s a lost basic human skill. And while our IQ is fixed, our Emotional Intelligence or EQ is something we can continuously develop. The good news there is that a high EQ is far more correlated with success in our lives and careers than our IQ, so while it is very challenging to improve, it is very doable, and certainly very well worth it.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Prior to starting my business in 2019, I spent over 20 years in the Investment Banking industry mostly running large Finance and Operations teams around the globe with roles based in the US, Europe and Asia. While many in my role and industry come to this from an HR or Learning & Development background, I instead bring a wealth of practical people leadership experience to the table. My clients have often openly recognized this distinction. I don’t train and coach from a place of third party theory or idealism, but from road-tested practical experience. Coaching certifications and other accreditations of course have their place, but experience matters and my satisfied client testimonials are the greatest certification I could have. There aren’t really any human capital challenges I haven’t faced as a manager. I have made all the mistakes, and failed forward from the lessons learned. I am able to share those lessons to help clients to avoid the same mistakes. For example, I have literally hired hundreds of staff at all levels around the globe. One role in particular had me hire roughly 150 staff in the space of 6-12 months. And I was hiring in a green market where my industry didn’t yet have a foothold, so we didn’t have the luxury of going across the street and paying a premium to poach talent from a competitor. Instead, I was forced to hire for core competencies alone. This was one of my own greatest development opportunities as a corporate leader, and ultimately one of my proudest achievements as I helped to build a large division from the ground up that was quickly competing admirably with its experienced peer groups around the world. What I learned was this: While I hired solely for core competencies rather than direct relevant experience due to necessity, having been through that uniquely challenging process, I would never do it any other way. My experiences with proactive performance management are similar. I could go on, but will leave it there. Experience matters.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

This is an easy one. I recently delivered a TEDx Talk, “Three Dials to Lead You: A Control Panel for Life & Leadership.” Those Three Dials are Discipline, Mindset, and yes, Resilience!

I left Banking and the security of corporate life behind in 2018, started my business in late August of 2019, and made my first small sale in Feb of 2020. I had my first two reasonably large sales verbally agreed to on a handshake and draft agreement basis in the first week of March 2020 which put me well ahead of my business plan. The following Monday, COVID capitulated, neither of those agreements were signed, and my business was essentially stuck in the mud for roughly a year and a half from there. Resilience!

I stayed active with pro bono work and broad-based brand building, but traditional sales and business development was mostly off the table for a new start-up franchise like mine. Fortunately, I had the resources to see my way through it and find my way to the light at the end of the tunnel, but more than resources, I relied on Discipline, Mindset and Resilience to overcome adversity and stage a comeback. I’ll encourage readers to check out my TEDx Talk if they are interested in learning more. I hope and expect it will resonate with many. There is a lot more drama and backstory to support the message of resilience that I will leave to the viewing audience to discover on YouTube.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

Interestingly, I first got involved with management training back in 2014, while working overseas in Europe with the late, great Credit Suisse. I applied for a competitive internal volunteer opportunity called the Global Citizens Program where I was partnered with an amazing organization called Room to Read (I encourage readers to look them up). I spent about three months working remotely with my L&D department in London, as well as Room to Read’s leadership in South Africa to develop a bespoke curriculum to meet the mandate I was given. Ultimately, I flew into Pretoria and trained countrywide leadership for a full 5 days.

This certainly sparked a passion for me, and was a very rewarding experience. While I didn’t realize it at the time, this was the beginning of my career transition which wouldn’t culminate for another 5 years. Mind you this “project” had nothing to do with my day job. I was running a large Finance organization. But the fire was lit. I came back to Poland where I was based and adapted the curriculum to train VP staff across my department. Along the way, I came across other ad hoc opportunities including one to train resort staff in the Maldives on Coaching and Mentoring skills and Personality Styles … on an over-water bungalow in the Indian Ocean! All while still maintaining my day job as a corporate Bank Executive. So I guess you might say what evolved organically as a hobbyist side hustle, ultimately led me to what I do today. You may not be able to control or predict how and when, but the universe will eventually meet you where you need it to if you surrender to your passions with the right self-management of Discipline, Mindset and Resilience.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://crestcom.com/leadership-trainer/john-lentini/
• Instagram: @johnjlentini
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/boldtrainingcorp
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnjlentini/
• Twitter: @BOLDTrainingCrp
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8oH-iGa3fE&t=322s

Image Credits
Tom Trevatt Photography, Joanna Lentini Photography