BEING DUMB: A COUNTERINTUITIVE RULE FOR WINNING

I grew up racing sailboats in the 1980's and 90's. It's a popular sport on the east and west coasts of the United States, but here in the midwest? Let's just say "it's an exclusive club". It’s also not a very easy sport. It’s technically complex. It’s expensive and it’s logistically difficult to engage with. But something about it resonated with me and it has become a part of my identity.

Over the years, I've continued to race a little bit and follow sailboat racing as a sport. When they are in season, I follow The America’s Cup and the incredible around the world Ocean Races. Back in 2008, The Ocean Race had a team sponsored by Puma that I followed very closely. The Puma team was headed by an American skipper named Ken Read.

I was previously familiar with Read as he had sailed in two America’s Cup campaigns in the early 2000’s with sailing legend, Dennis Connor. Ken sailed in two around the world Ocean Race campaigns in 2005-2006 and again in 2011-2012. He came away with 2 podiums (a 2nd place finish and 3rd place finish respectively). These races are massive endeavors and to compete at a high level requires many skills and competencies, not to mention leadership abilities second to none. It's really no different than running a large business(except it’s more difficult, more competitive, and more dangerous). Ken Read's personal success only increased later in his role as president of Connecticut-based sail manufacturer, North Sails. All this to say: Ken Read is an ultra-tough competitor, leader and a high-performance, success story.

In 2020, Ken was interviewed by Yachting World Magazine and was asked about his success in sailing and business. The following is an excerpt from the article:

“Ken Read now sits atop the world's largest sailmaker as president. He brought one rule across from his sailing to running the business. 'Surround yourself with the best people possible, and it's a silly expression, but make sure I'm the dumbest person in the room. Understand what your strengths and weaknesses are when you're doing anything. When you're on a sailboat, when you're managing a team, surround yourself with people who do other things far, far better than you do, and make sure that you listen and let them do their thing.'"

When Read says to “be dumb” he’s saying that just because you are good at driving a sailboat, this does not mean you should also be navigating a sailboat. Ken suggests you hire someone else who is better than you, and let them navigate. Likewise, in business, just because you are good at sales doesn't mean that you are good at marketing or finance. "Understand your weaknesses and surround yourself with people who do other things far, far better than you." That's what Ken Read does.

Find your natural resonance and do that. For everything else, hire others who are naturals and “let them do their thing”. Let them be so good they make you seem “dumb”.

It's a simple concept but I've seen many businesses fail in this area. Managers, marketers, or sales directors who try to do too much and hire inexperienced people to “help” because they are cheap. This is a recipe for failure. Especially in a highly competitive environment.

Think of yourself as a coach building a team rather than a manager hiring summer help for your snack bar. Business is serious. It's high-level. It’s do or die. It’s not a snack bar. Don’t hire interns or buddies for critical* skilled positions. Hire the best or, at least, better than you!

If you want success, then you will have to:

1. Compete. If you're going to compete, then you'll have to…

2. Perform at a high level. If you're going to perform at a high level, then you'll have to…

3. Build a team that performs at a high level. Again, that means you'll have to…

4. Be dumb. "Surround yourself with people who do other things far, far better than you do, and make sure that you listen and let them do their thing."

Don’t be afraid to be “the dumbest person in the room”.

This takes humility and courage. But bold moves always do.

We all have a natural resonance with something we're good at. We all have skills that become a part of who we are. And, we all have "dumb" weaknesses. At Kingdom Media, our natural resonance is creative media and marketing. We have deep experience in helping businesses solve creative problems and getting their brand message out to the world in an authentic way. If you have marketing problems to solve and want to surround yourself with the best people to help you compete at the highest level, we'd love to meet with you. You might feel dumb, but that's how it works. We promise to be nice about it!

SUMMARY:

• Find your natural resonance

• Understand your strengths and weaknesses as a leader

• Surround yourself with the best people possible

• Don’t be afraid to be the dumbest person in the room

• Listen

• Let your experienced people do their thing so you can do yours

* If a position isn’t critical, do we even need them on the boat?