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

Sean, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

At Action Cultivates Excellence (A.C.E.) we are a personal development company, focusing on bridging the gap between masculinity, and vulnerability. My Partner Dave Reggina and Myself have set out to impact millions of people worldwide, through our creative approach to personal development. We have found that many men in today’s society are lacking the strong tools that could help them achieve more success in their career, fitness, mental health, and personal relationships. It is our mission to help others become vulnerable enough to let go of what keeps them down and build these individuals up through our three pillars. VBD’s (Vulnerability Breakthrough Development), ORT’s (Outdoor Resilience Training), ELT’s (Expert Led Trainings).

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

I am a Westchester New York native, growing up just 20 minutes north of New York City. I attended Springfield College where I played 4 years of football and earned my degree in Business Management. I was born into a large Irish family where both of my parents Noreen and Jack, are 1 of 7. I myself have 3 siblings who I am fortunate enough to have in close proximity to me. I am a faith-based individual with a hunger for personal growth, fitness and helping others. I have been fortunate enough to find an incredible life partner, Jackie, who has been one of the best things that has ever happened to me.

I started my career out in wholesale produce distribution, working 8 years for D’Arrigo New York in Management along with Sales & Purchasing for their retail division. I eventually stepped away from that company to focus on my first business, All in 1 Solutions Commercial Cleaning. We have been in business since 2017, servicing commercial facilities throughout New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. We have been a repeat vendor for The New York Stock Exchange, working on numerous projects for the iconic location.

January of 2023, I partnered with a handful of others, coming together to create The Sailhouse Restaurant in Tarrytown New York. The Sailhouse is a New-American style waterfront location, with breathtaking views of the Hudson River and New York City.

In November of 2023 I unexpectedly lost my beloved Father to a sudden illness. This was the same time Dave Reggina and myself were in the process of creating my 3rd venture, Action Cultivates Excellence (A.C.E.), a men’s personal development company.

We kicked off our first A.C.E. Summit on President’s Day weekend, February 2024 in New Paltz New York, at a private estate. We hosted a weekend of impact driven conversations and applicable development for our attendees. Our guests heard from expert speakers: former 4x MLB World Series Champion Joe Girardi, serial entrepreneur Vincent Micelli, and International Tedx Speaker Diamandia Lingos. A.C.E. has grown into a large platform that promotes the pursuit of personal excellence and overcoming those things in life that hold you back from becoming the best version of yourself. We host monthly events at The Sailhouse Restaurant, 1 co-ed cold plunge, workout & networking brunch, and a men’s personal development dinner as well.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

Leadership is an essential tool for business effectiveness and growth. I have studied the greats for over a decade and have failed forward many times on my journey through entrepreneurship. The most common mistake I see leaders make is when their team doesn’t feel valued. John Maxwell has coined the phrase; “People don’t care what you know, until they know that you care.” I have found that to be the most essential piece of having any foundation for sustainable success.

As a team member, you must feel valued, loved and appreciated for the efforts you put toward growing an organization in order to maintain positive morale. This can be found true for our personal lives as well. I advise leaders to invest in their teams before expecting results. Have conversations asking about the individual’s family, pets, hobbies etc. You must truly be interested in learning about your team, coming from an authentic place of love, not just to check a box. Host team gatherings outside of work, find business partnerships where you can offer your team discounts on gym memberships or gift shopping, get creative! At the point where you earn your team’s trust, their efforts will be noticeably increased in your vision.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Upon graduating college at 22 years old, I stepped into a management position, where I was leading men 15-30 years older than me. Some of these team members had worked in this industry before I was even in high school! Naturally, you think you have to prove yourself to the team in order to build their trust and respect. As conflict would occasionally arise, I would be the tough and strong boss that had to put his foot down in order to make a splash amongst the team. I wasn’t one to be messed with! At times I would raise my voice in emotionally charged disputes amongst team members, thinking this would let them know I meant business and I was ready to lead this organization. It ended up doing the opposite.

One particular situation comes to mind where I lost my temper in my early leadership years. I ended up speaking with the General Manager of the company Joe Schneider, asking for some advice. He taught me a lesson that I can never forget. He told me that when you raise your voice, you actually push people away and divide a larger gap. When you combat high driven emotions from your team with a calm demeanor and open ears, you disengage the conflict and find yourself closer to a solution. Work hard and show that you are part of the team, not just “the boss”.

I have found that holding high standards for your organization is extremely important, but humility paired with aggressive action is the key!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.acesanctuary.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sean.degnan/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Aau8-wLzDE