On this platform, we are stoked to bring you high performers who are not just chasing and attaining success, but redefining it through providing above and beyond service. And this week’s squad, [00:01:00] a really quick knowledge nugget is, people say they’re all in all the time. But here’s the truth: You can’t fake all-in energy.

You might be able to talk like you’re committed, you might be able to post like you’re committed, but the people around you, your teammates, your employees, your coaches, they know. All-in energy shows up in preparation. It shows up in discipline. It shows up in your work you do when nobody’s watching. I was working with a professional athlete in the, he has a three-letter NFL thing that I coached not too long ago.

Unbelievable talent, fast, strong, skilled, the whole package. But he kept telling me he wanted to dominate at the highest level, while his preparation was sitting at about 70%. Training was optional. Recovery was inconsistent. Film study was when he felt like it. And finally I got him, told him straight up, “You can’t fake all-in energy, bud.

Your opponents may not see it yet, but your habits are already telling the truth.” Once he made the decision to truly commit, sleep dialed in, training dialed in, mindset dialed in, everything changed. His co- confidence went up, his performance went up, and suddenly the results started matching the talents.

‘Cause when you’re truly all in, [00:02:00] something powerful happens. Your standards go up, your execution gets cleaner, and the people around you start trusting you at a different level. And you wanna talk about going all in, squad. I got my guy here. We’re friends every single day of the year except for December 12th this year, 2026- Right

the Army-Navy game. When we were leveling up with a man who has led at the highest levels when the stakes were real and the margin for error was zero. Major General Robert W. Mixon Jr., US Army Retired, commanded the legendary 7th Infantry Division and helped prepare and deploy tens of thousands of soldiers during the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

After his military career, he transitioned into the private sector, leading manufacturing and nonprofit organizations, and helping companies navigate transformation and uncertainty. Today, he advises leaders across the country through Level 5 Associates, which we’re gonna dive into here, squad, and teaches executive leadership at Washington University and SMU’s Cox School of Business, and is the bestselling author, which stick around for a free book giveaway-

of The Power of Being All In. So varsity squad, get ready. This [00:03:00] is a master class in leadership from the battlefield to the boardroom. Thank you for com- coming on here, General. Thanks. And real quick, though, I need to know your favorite color and why. 

Speaker 2: My favorite color is blue. 

Coach Fergie: Blue. Okay. 

Speaker 2: And, 

Coach Fergie: Navy 

Speaker 2: blue?

Not the navy blue. No, we’re not going there, Fergie. Not the navy blue. But I would say blue, a, aqua blue. I don’t know where I got that from, ’cause I’m largely color blind. That’s why I couldn’t go to flight school, but that’s another story. Oh. 

Coach Fergie: Yeah you have a, one of your offspring’s a pilot, right?

Right now? 

Speaker 2: Yeah, my younger son- Yeah … of the two sons, Good … he and his wife, he met her at West Point, they went to flight school and flew helicopters for eight years in the Army in combat, led soldiers, and real proud of them. 

Coach Fergie: Love it. So I send out kind of a, a message out to my list, which you talk about.

I’m blessed to have a sizable list, and I was like- … “What question do I have to ask Major General,” right? And he said- Okay … this is what I picked out of it. All right? The icebreaker question. Okay. I always do this- Okay … with all my interviews. So what is one moment from your Army career that was so ridiculous or unexpected that people would never believe it happened unless they [00:04:00] were there?

Speaker 2: Oh, that’s a very good question, Fergie Can you think off the top of your head? There, there’s a whole list of these of these circumstances. I remember one night in a forest in G- in West Germany. I was a platoon leader in the 11th Cavalry Regiment back in 1975, ’76. And, that was after the Vietnam War.

But with the war the Third World War, people still thought was gonna happen in the Fulda Gap- Sure … in Germany. And so I was over there patrolling the border. And I had 42 soldiers, 10 vehicles, tanks and carriers. And I was 22 years old, and I didn’t even know enough to be dangerous. But anyway, I had given them instructions on this border mission and they’d all circled up in the dark, in the rain, in the German forest.

And, I tried to be a leader presence and all that- Sure … that I had been taught, which another story, too. But anyway, I s- said to the leadership, my sergeants, tank commanders, I said, “Okay, everybody got it? We’re gonna go north. We’re gonna set up here, orient east, ’cause the Russians are out there, and all of our guns are loaded, and so we could have gunfight at the OK Corral pretty soon if we screwed this up.”

“Oh, yes, sir.” And they all saluted. I said, “You got it?” “Yes, [00:05:00] sir.” And they all went on and got on their vehicles and took off in different directions. So nobody was going north, where, we were supposed to go. And I stood there feeling pretty stupid, and then I had to realize that how am I gonna stop these tanks in the dark, in the woods- Right

right? In the rain. 

Coach Fergie: In the rain. 

Speaker 2: You don’t holler. You don’t yell at them. The roar of a tank, as Fergie, that’s pretty loud. Sure. Am I gonna run around in front of them? No, I don’t think so. That would hurt. We’ve seen circumstances where that can be hazardous. Yes.

So I pretty much had… I couldn’t hope they ran out of fuel, but I tried desperately. That probably would’ve happened if otherwise. I tried desperately to circle up these tanks before we had World War III. Because if they drove up into the Russian minefields and, boom, here we go- 

Coach Fergie: Right

Speaker 2: now World War III is happening because Robert Mixon gooned up this mission. And his folks went all different directions. So- 

Coach Fergie: It’s something that’s funny now, but in the minute, you’re probably pooping your pants going, 

Speaker 2: oh- Oh, yeah … we got troops that are scattered around here. I literally was wetting my wetting down my pants.

And fortunately, my platoon sergeant, [00:06:00] Sergeant Mack Allen, who is a candidate for sainthood like my spouse, he, He managed to round up the troops before we got, into a combat- Wow … operation, but it scared me. It scared the hell out of me. 

Coach Fergie: It’s great 

Speaker 2: to have him And I felt like a fool. And I don’t think my boss Captain David M. Robinson, God rest his soul, I don’t think he ever found out unless somebody mentioned it by rumor, that his lieutenant was out there about to cause global conflict. 

Coach Fergie: That, that’s, that was a, a little bit more serious than what I thought, but it was, like I said, we can look back now and laugh- Now

but man. Yeah, Fergie, yeah … that’s crazy. That’s awe- thank you for sharing that, man. So- it goes- I want to get to your roots. Kinda your, are you a n- ’cause now you have another generation after you that was military. Are you- Yep … a generation of military? 

Speaker 2: My father was a Marine, and I think you’re always a Marine, right?

Yeah, absolutely. That’s pretty, yeah. In the Korean War in the First Marine Division. And I, he served his hitch and came back home, and I think he probably had PTSD all of his life. 

Coach Fergie: That’s it. 

Speaker 2: Those guys went through hell. Yeah. Many of them like at Chosin Reservoir, for [00:07:00] example, had no winter gear.

Yeah. They were sent into the fight woefully unprepared for it. And but he did have that, that military culture that was part of our family. I was the oldest of six kids. Oh, wow. And we didn’t have much growing up in Georgia and North Carolina, but my father had the values of a Marine, and that was imprinted on me early on.

Coach Fergie: Absolutely. And they don’t leave you, either, ’cause, my, my father was Vietnam, my uncle was Vietnam, and I kinda had with my circumstance, I had to live back and forth. Yeah. And living under the Marine was a lot different than living under the Air Force. Yeah. Love ’em- yeah … but- Yeah

and so- 

Speaker 2: Yeah … 

Coach Fergie: when you have commanded, thousands of soldiers in your lifetime, which is a blessing for you, in environments where hesitation would pretty much c- cost lives, so the pressure, is that real, General? What separates leaders who step up, and perform, from the ones who kinda quietly crumble?

Speaker 2: They say that, luck favors the prepared mind, and I think in the military we in- have internalized that, [00:08:00] that notion. Leader development is a core part of our culture for non-commissioned officers as well as commissioned officers. Yes, sir. In my 33 years of service, I spent seven years in leadership development training.

So the idea is when you get into that, that crunch point, that you default to your training. And you default to that prepared mind concept and you say, “Okay do I know enough now to act?” 

Coach Fergie: Yes. 

Speaker 2: Decide and act. It’s like the OODA loop. You remember? Observe, orient, decide, and act. That’s 

Coach Fergie: right, yes.

Speaker 2: Y- you gotta get that OODA loop, and you gotta be inside the enemy’s OODA loop. And so you’ve got to have that situational understanding of seeing yourself and seeing the enemy and seeing the environment in real time or near real time. And then your training kicks in and you say, “Okay, I have enough to act.”

And you’re willing to take risk, but you’re not taking a gamble, and there’s a big difference there. And so that’s why all leadership 

Coach Fergie: is art- Unpack that. Sorry to interrupt, Major- 

Speaker 2: Yeah … 

Coach Fergie: Major General, but what did you just say there? The risk and [00:09:00] a gamble. Unpack that a little- Yeah … because I think the squad needs to hear this.

Speaker 2: There is a huge difference between risk and a gamble A risk is a calculated move or decision based on a set of parameters that, that you process. Process them carefully. But it’s not a certainty. The only guarantees in life are death and taxes. That’s true. And I’m not sure about the taxes are going.

But, that’s the only certainties, right? A gamble is really where you roll the dice. That’s right. You don’t know as much as you need to. You’re gonna, double down, bet the hard ways and hope they come up. Hope is not even… it is a method. I’ve tried it, and as my father used to say, “Yeah, hope is a method, but it sucks.”

Coach Fergie: That’s 

Speaker 2: right. And gamblers hope. Risk-takers make calculated decisions. 

Coach Fergie: That’s right. 

Speaker 2: Yeah. And there’s a huge difference here. And as leaders, we need to understand that. Those we serve as leaders don’t expect us to be gamblers. But they do expect us to be risk-takers. 

Coach Fergie: So true.

Speaker 2: Calculated risk-takers. 

Coach Fergie: Yes. And it goes back to [00:10:00] preparedness with what you were talking about, where I’m a big believer within, my coaching world that goals are nothing but byproducts of your standards, right? You hold yourself- … your high standards, the goals are gonna meet themselves.

So when you have to take those risks, to be, have your standards, how you have to be prepared. Yep. Which means you’re drilling, you’re doing the stuff that’s monotonous. It’s grit, right? It’s like grit’s a monotonous activity. Yep. So it’s just, yeah, so that, that’s a… I love the way that you put that difference between risk and gamble, is risk is calculated parameters that you’ve processed.

Yes. Did I say that right? Love that. You hear that, Scott? Yep. Calculated parameters that you process. Yeah. That’s the difference between risk. And gambling’s just rolling that dice, yeah. 

Speaker 2: And u- and using hope- … as a method, and it’s a lousy method. 

Coach Fergie: Yeah, 

Speaker 2: and even lousy- Fergie-

Coach Fergie: souls. Sorry, go ahead. Sorry. 

Speaker 2: Fergie, I think 90% of leadership is learned. And just because you don’t have s- the, the pr- opportunities in the military of seven years out of 33 being in formal- … leadership instruction doesn’t mean you can’t develop your own [00:11:00] roadmap- 

Coach Fergie: Yes, sir

Speaker 2: and a leadership pathway to become more competent- … on a daily basis. That’s one of the reasons I think for you and I have followed a coaching pathway. Is because I think many executives, in fact, most, need a trusted advisor to help them- Yeah … along the way. 100%, yeah. So we help them understand the difference between risk and gamble- to establish the parameters for risk-taking, for prudent risk-taking. 

Coach Fergie: Yes. 

Speaker 2: And be able to execute those decisions in time. Inside the OODA loop of their competition. And we do it in the military. I think we do it in every profession where there’s leadership required. And of course, the first person you have to lead is you.

Coach Fergie: No, 100%, yeah. That person in the mirror you have to take care of him and, or her, you know- Yeah … first. And then there’s a time to be selfish for yourself, but then it’s because you’re pouring into others. And when you’re talking about risks and gambles, there’s thousands of souls that were under your command, and how would you…

Like, how the parents would [00:12:00] feel. Oh, you just took gambles, right? So it’s like you got a lot riding on that. You’ve led… Okay we’ve, w- you’ve led the military manufacturing, nonprofits, and you probably still do a l- quite a bit of that or at least a lot of mentoring in those, but, now you are advising executives.

The people- Yeah … at that, the high end, the C-suites and stuff. Where do you see leaders in business today falling short compared to some of the standards that you saw in the Army or in the military in general? 

Speaker 2: I think one of the areas that corporate leaders tend to fall short is they don’t understand the importance of loyalty.

And I don’t mean that to be dismissive. But I do mean that in the military, you’ll recall, the band of brothers and sisters is real. 

Coach Fergie: Yes. 

Speaker 2: Oh my gosh, yes. And we do not let our battle buddies down. 

Coach Fergie: Yes. 

Speaker 2: In the armored force we had the term wing man. Your wing man was the tank beside you, and if he didn’t cover your six- where you couldn’t see, then you got shot and killed. I think in the corporate world, we [00:13:00] need executives to be more cognizant of the loyalty factor- 

Coach Fergie: love that … 

Speaker 2: in building that commitment you were talking about earlier. I grew up in the military in an evolution from the culture of compliance to the culture of commitment.

I talk about it in The Power of Being All In. You mentioned it earlier- Yes, sir … in the broadcast. Culture of commitment is where we are all in. That all in comes from loyalty, and loyalty is a two-way street. And in many, the case with so many corporate executives, I think sometimes they’re t- they’re too transactional.

We don’t nurture. We don’t nurture the bonds of belonging, and that’s what creates the loyalty. Yeah. 

We’re tribal creatures. We wanna belong. 

Coach Fergie: Yes. 

Speaker 2: And executives who don’t realize that and think this is a transaction, action pla- passed, action completed, do this ’cause I said so- 

Coach Fergie: Right

Speaker 2: not, we’re not gonna talk about why I’m- I’m not invested in you as an individual. You’re a member of the organization with this position and this name tag, make it happen. We need more loyalty in [00:14:00] our corporate ranks- … more understanding of that loyalty, buy-in, commitment. 

Coach Fergie: Where do you find the pushback when you’re coaching these executives? Where are you seeing anything, if any, because… Okay, here’s a question I like to ask people that, wi- with companies. You’re going in, it’s usually a CEO, maybe the HR person- Yeah … is saying, “Hey, Major General, makes another be great.

Okay, let’s do it.” And then you have that one guy that’s like, “I don’t need a freaking coach. I’m like, ‘What’s this?'” And it becomes a cancer throughout. Like- 

Speaker 2: Yep … 

Coach Fergie: how do you address that person? 

Speaker 2: I don’t think everybody is going to become all in- … right away. I think some people will gravitate towards it because others that they respect are all in.

We emulate the behaviors of the ones we respect. Yeah. There are gonna be some portion of people who just aren’t gonna go… They’re not gonna buy in. They’re gonna insist on being outliers. And we have to accept that fact and move on. Now, do we accept that fact by voting them off the team?

Some cases, yes. Yeah. 

Do we accept that fact by [00:15:00] limiting the amount of responsibility we give them and the amount of ownership that they can have in the organization? I think we can do that, too. 

Coach Fergie: Sure. 

Speaker 2: It’s just the reality of human interaction that some people are not gonna buy in.

But we can make a huge difference when we get the vast majority of the tribe to buy in. Yeah. And so I think that’s the… Again, that’s the risk that we take. Part of our risk-taking- Right … is that we’re gonna invest in those that have the highest potential to be all in. Love it. I spent a lot of my time in military and corporate journey at the back end of the pool, trying to get the 5 or 10% who were never going to get it- 

Coach Fergie: Right

Speaker 2: to get it. And, with the best and brightest I didn’t do my duty. I didn’t invest in them as heavily as I should have. We used to call them fire and forget people. Sure. Like officers in… Non-commissioned officers. Fergie’s fire and forget, so I’m not gonna give him any guidance.

I’m not gonna help him. I’m not gonna nurture him. I’m gonna go chase Robert, who’s at the [00:16:00] back end of the pool and he’s probably drowning and gonna drown anyway. But I’m gonna try and salvage him.” Meanwhile, Fergie could go from good to great, but I’m not investing in him. And that’s where a lot of- Those leaders

I think leaders fail. Yes. We fail because we don’t invest- Yes … in the highest potential and the highest payoff- … for the culture of commitment, for the o- being all in. And we don’t take our company from good to great 

Coach Fergie: Yeah. I love that you said that i- in Scribd you should hear that, invest in the culture of commitment.

It’s just it, you get the mo- more people to buy in, the, the smoother the ship sails. And then also when the rough times come, you can build a different sail with those people. Yeah. And, flatten that water out. So what do you feel, then, makes a great coach? 

Speaker 2: I think a great coach is one who listens, as, as Stephen Covey says, listens with the intent to understand.

Coach Fergie: Yes. 

Speaker 2: And not the intent to reply. I hate advisors who are, always cutting off the people they’re working with, always interjecting a good idea. Yeah. They’re not listening. They don’t follow what I [00:17:00] call the two-second rule, Fergie. Love it. In my big six leadership principles, one of them is listen.

Because mom told me, and still does at age 93. Yep. Robert, God gave you two ears and one mouth for a reason.” Did I pay attention? No. Nope. I’m still learning, and she’s still coaching me. 

Coach Fergie: But, 

Speaker 2: having said that, I think executive coaches who are not as effective are those who don’t listen with the intent to understand.

And so here’s a tool I use called the two-second rule. Before I respond to someone who’s talking with me about a, a answer to a question or an issue or a problem, I wait two seconds. Now, I don’t count out loud ’cause I don’t recommend that tool. But, I do wait two seconds, and what I find out is m- many times they have more to say.

Many times I can process what they have said- Yes … more effectively. Even in that two seconds, yes. In that two seconds. Yeah. But I think one of the biggest coaching failures that we have in the profession is that failure to listen with the intent to understand. Ooh. And to do it habitually, not just for today or next week or next month.

Yeah. 

Coach Fergie: With your spouse, with your friends, with everything. 

Speaker 2: Oh, 

Coach Fergie: yeah. 

Speaker 2: As well. Oh, yeah. This is life [00:18:00] lessons. The, you know- … leadership is a lifelong journey. 

Coach Fergie: So are you coaching… Like, when you coach companies, do you coach some of the C-suite or executives one-on-one? 

Speaker 2: I do. 

Coach Fergie: Okay. I’ve got six right now. So maybe you’re sitting, maybe you’re sitting in a discovery session with them, making sure you’re the right horse for their course, right? And you’re kinda like going back and forth, and is there any good question that you wish that they would ask you but never do?

Speaker 2: Yeah. My favorite is, “Where do you think you can make a difference in my journey?” 

Coach Fergie: Ooh. 

Speaker 2: Oftentimes we try to tell them where we could make a difference. 

Coach Fergie: Yes. 

Speaker 2: Yeah. So again, we’re not listening with intent to understand. Let’s l- let’s answer… let’s be the aspirin for their headache. Not the aspirin for our headache- … or the aspirin for somebody else’s headache. 

Coach Fergie: Absolutely. Oh, 

Speaker 2: yeah. Let’s be the aspirin for their headache and ask ’em where can I make the most difference in your journey?” 

Coach Fergie: Yeah. A- and when you have the people out there that [00:19:00] actually- Ask for their journey.

See I’m a coach, I’m not a consultant. Like there’s- … some friends of mine that are great and they’re coachsultants, right? Where they can- … coach and consult. Me, I’m a coach. I believe everyone knows what they want, they just don’t know how to talk themselves into it. And I believe that every challenge you have in there, the answer’s there.

My superpower is curiosity. I’m gonna ask. I kept you off mic today for 15 minutes just- … peppering you, right? Yeah. So it’s like a, it’s a curiosity to see where we could, take our conversation today- … even in a different direction. I had an idea, but it actually branched off in another way, which to me- Right

is exciting. 

Speaker 2: Yeah. 

Coach Fergie: I agree. Like that’s where, people, like you said, listen with the intent to understand or to not reply or especially react. Yeah. That as well. I love- Yeah … love, love that, man. So- What if you… Okay, have you seen the movie Back to the Future? 

Speaker 2: Yes. 

Coach Fergie: Okay. Let’s get in that DeLorean with Marty McFly, right?

Let’s go back to the double deuce, the 22-year-old, which you might have been a [00:20:00] lieutenant at that time. Yep. Okay. Yeah. So what kind of knowledge nuggets might you drop on the 22-year-old Robert Nixon? Not to sh- really change much, because your journey’s been pretty awesome, but to maybe help him shorten a learning curve at that age, and what do you have listed?

Obviously if we talked about listen, Fergie. That, that was not a skill I picked up early, and according to my mom, I’m still a work in progress to a large extent. Another part of this was I didn’t understand early on, and I would tell a 22-year-old Robert, I would say, “Robert seek advice from those who have been there before you.”

Speaker 2: “And don’t simply, that decide, act. You’re not observe and orient it, you’re just decide and act.” Observe and orient by seeking some i- input from those who’ve been there before you. L- my sergeants many of them in my first platoon, in my first cavalry troop, which I commanded at the age of 24 many of them were combat veterans who had seen the elephant and they’d lost officers around them who didn’t pay [00:21:00] attention- and didn’t ask, “But where do you think there’s opportunity here?” And things like that. So I would say to a 22-year-old, think about who’s around you and who has some experience that you can draw on. Yes. And don’t be afraid to say, “I don’t know.” 

Coach Fergie: Love that. Love it.

I call it getting your asking gear. Ask. 

Speaker 2: Yeah. Ask. 

Coach Fergie: If you don’t know, ask. People will… I shouldn’t say that. It’s actually from Leah Woodford, who passed that on- Yeah … to me. I’ll give her credit with that. And she’s like, “Fergie, get your asking gear. Get out there and ask, and then become curious.”

Because once I- Yep … I started doing that everything in my life changed. And then shut up and like you said, listen. Yeah. And it’s just, that’s where the magic happens. It, it just does. It’s so dumbed down, but people wanna- … prove themselves so much, which is okay, I want those people, but it, it- Yeah

there’s a process to it. 

Speaker 2: Yeah. It’s, modeling curiosity is a powerful skill- Oh, my gosh … of a- of adaptive leadership. Yeah. I’m a huge fan of adaptive leadership. I believe we’re, the chaos we’re living in right now- … and I talk about it in, [00:22:00] in The Power of Being All In, that chaos is very real.

And we’ve got to be we’ve got to model curiosity. 

Coach Fergie: Yes. 

Speaker 2: We have to model curiosity with those we serve around us. Yeah. We have to manage up, we have to manage across, and we have to lead. Those- Yeah … with the… it, we can’t be in a bubble. And modeling curiosity you can’t fake it.

It has to be genuine. I love it. 

If you model curiosity, then people know you’re invested in them. 

Coach Fergie: Gotcha. 

Speaker 2: And they’re gonna respond accordingly. Again, we’re going back to that buy-in, to the being all in. Where do you get people to buy in? You get them to buy in because they, you care.

Yeah. General Powell w- was one of my heroes. As I had a chance to work with him when he was the chairman- Wow. That’s amazing … of the Joint Chiefs. Just an absolutely extraordinary experience. Yeah. And he would mention to me on several occasions, “Robert, I I don’t care how much you know until I know how much you care.”

Coach Fergie: Yeah. It that quote goes back but it never hits lighter. Every time you hear it, it hits the [00:23:00] same, right? Yeah. And it’s the truth because I’m thinking of some people right now that I’m like, “Do they know I freaking care?” Am I making… It’s just like a reminder to me every time I hear it.

Yeah. 

Speaker 2: And modeling curiosity- Love it … does that, Fergie. You know- Yeah … you’re spot on here in, in where we can really connect- 

Coach Fergie: Yeah … 

Speaker 2: with the people around us. That’s where we connect. 

Coach Fergie: Yeah. So how does Major General Retired Robert Mixon want his dash remembered? That little line in between your incarnation date and your expiration date, your life date and death date.

Hopefully it’s way down the line, but how does, how would you like your dash remembered? 

Speaker 2: I would like to be remembered as somebody who walked the talk- … as a leader. 

Coach Fergie: Yes. 

Speaker 2: Who did what he said he will do, and represented what he said he w- would want it to be. My personal leadership philosophy is in my book.

I put it right there. I signed it, dated it, put it in the book. That’s my commitment, my statement of commitment, [00:24:00] and I wanna be that person. Yeah. I don’t know if I’ll be remembered as that person who did all that- … but certainly busted his ass to do it- … every day. 

Coach Fergie: Yeah. And it you get those calls sometimes from people that you maybe have commanded in the past, and they you get those every once in a while.

I even do. Yeah. Where they’re like- Yeah … “Hey man, thanks for this.” And it’s it, there’s, to me there’s really no better feeling. It’s like I stand taller that day when I hear it. 

Speaker 2: I do too. That makes sense. And I’m honored. I really am. 

Coach Fergie: Yes. Yes. 

Speaker 2: And you don’t know what conversation you have or what- Right

question you ask or what challenge you work in together that’s gonna have a lifelong impact- … on someone. 

Coach Fergie: Yeah. 

Speaker 2: And that doesn’t mean we should walk on pins and needles. It just means we need to understand that our impact on people can be very profound- 

Coach Fergie: Yes … 

Speaker 2: in circumstances that seem very mundane at the time.

Coach Fergie: That’s so well said. So well said. So Robert, how… Let me see. Let’s just ask you this one, ’cause I kinda saved this one towards the end, but what [00:25:00] is your definition of a life well-lived? 

Speaker 2: I think a life well-lived is when you die empty. My son and daughter, their graduation from the Ross School at m- University of Michigan, they got their MBAs.

The speaker came on, and it was virtual, and he said, “Okay, I want to challenge all you men and women to die empty.” Yeah. And I thought, “Wow, okay. This is inspiring.” Yeah. 

What he said was, “The graveyards are full of unfulfilled dreams.” 

Coach Fergie: Oh, my goodness. Yeah. 

Speaker 2: So I’m challenging you to die empty. Wow. Don’t let your bucket list be full- Yes

when it’s time for you. It needs to be empty. You need to challenge yourself to go for the, the, the goals that you want to achieve and you want others to achieve, and don’t hold back because you think tomorrow’s going to come. Tomorrow’s never gonna come. Today’s the first day of the rest of your life.

It’s… Make a commitment today- Yes … that I am going to become the leader I’d love to be. I am going to work at it diligently. I’m going to study. I’m going to model curiosity. [00:26:00] I’m going to reflect write interact with others in a learning mode. 

Coach Fergie: Yes. 

Speaker 2: One of the best leaders I’ve ever known had this kind of approach to the problems of that he faced.

He said, “Robert there’s two ways we could’ve solved this problem when the rails come off. We can say, ‘Okay, Robert, so what were you thinking?'” Or we can say, ‘So Robert, so what did we learn here?'” Think of the power of positivity that- … that second question reflects. 

Coach Fergie: Yeah. 

Speaker 2: If you’re gonna die empty- There you go

you should be the one that models that positivity- … and who’s willing to take a calculated risk to invest in others, to care about them- Yes … and to make your dreams come true. 

Coach Fergie: And I love that you said learn, right? I- Yes … I believe it might have been Gandhi that said, “Learn like you’re gonna live forever, but live for today.”

Yeah. At least, I believe it was Gandhi. 

Speaker 2: I think so. He also- Yeah … he said, “Be the change you want to see.” 

Coach Fergie: Yes. Yes, and that’s that, that’s just amazing. And I’m taking a little long here, so thank you for bearing with me [00:27:00] here- Sure … Major General. Sure.

Time to shine today. Podcast, varsity spread, we are back. And you don’t live too far from me there- No … Mr. Robert. Near Belleville. So we’re gonna have to meet up and ask you some of these questions and talk about some of these questions in person. Yeah, I’d love that. And we’ll take 15, 20 minutes on each one.

But today, you got five seconds with no expli- explanations. I promise you, they can all be answered that way. You ready to level up? 

Speaker 2: I’m ready. 

Coach Fergie: All right. All right, Robert, what is the best leveling-up advice you’ve ever received? 

Speaker 2: Listen. 

Coach Fergie: Yeah. That’s easy, right? Share one of your personal habits that contributes to your success.

Speaker 2: Exercise. 

Coach Fergie: There you go. So other than your leadership book, which we’re gonna get into here in a little bit, but what is a book that you were handed that really made you flip the script on your mindset? 

Speaker 2: I would say My American Journey by General Colin Powell. 

Coach Fergie: Oh, there you go. Love it. Your most commonly used emoji, if any, when you text.

Speaker 2: I don’t [00:28:00] know exactly what they mean. Okay. My mother uses them now all the time. I love that, man. Your mother’s awesome. 

So I will draw a blank here. 

Coach Fergie: Love it. Ni- nicknames growing up. 

Speaker 2: Bobby. 

Coach Fergie: Bobby. Love it. Which 

Speaker 2: I did not like. 

Coach Fergie: You didn’t like it? Love it. Any hidden talent or superpower that you have that nobody knows about until now?

Speaker 2: I sing well in the shower. 

Coach Fergie: All right. Love it. Chess, checkers or Monopoly? 

Speaker 2: Monopoly. 

Coach Fergie: Monopoly, all right. Headline for your life. 

Speaker 2: I wanted to be all I could be and did my best 

Coach Fergie: Love it. Love it. Sounds like an Army commercial. 

Speaker 2: It is, yeah. 

Coach Fergie: From start to finish, love it. It was. Go-to, go-to ice cream flavor. 

Speaker 2: My, say again?

Coach Fergie: Go-to ice cream flavor. 

Speaker 2: Chocolate. 

Coach Fergie: All right. The, y- there’s a sandwich called the Anti-Bobby. Build that sandwich. What are we eating? 

Speaker 2: Anti-me? 

Coach Fergie: Yeah, Anti-Bobby. You said you didn’t like Bobby, so- 

Speaker 2: Okay … i’m convinced [00:29:00] you can make a sandwich with that … Anti-Bobby 

Coach Fergie: sandwich. The impatience anger. No, we’re talking food.

Let’s build a sandwich. 

Speaker 2: Oh, food. 

Coach Fergie: Yeah. 

Speaker 2: Okay. Ketchup. 

Coach Fergie: Okay. 

Speaker 2: Ham. 

Coach Fergie: All right. 

Speaker 2: Rye bread, tomatoes. 

Coach Fergie: Love it. There you go. Simple. It sounds like we’ve been in the rations- … in the field some time. 

Speaker 2: I think we’ve 

Coach Fergie: eaten- But 

Speaker 2: I love it … some bad food Fergie? Yeah. 

Coach Fergie: Yeah. Favorite charity and/or organization you like to give your time and/or money to?

Speaker 2: The Warrior Salute Foundation- … that CDS Life Transitions sponsors in Webster, New York. Okay. It’s a life and job transition program, community-based for veterans- Okay … with TBI and PTSD. Beautiful. Now 15 years in the making, has a 90% success rate of successful transition. 

Coach Fergie: Okay. 

Speaker 2: And that’s my passion as a, a, an organization to support.

Coach Fergie: Love it. And where are they located? 

Speaker 2: They’re in Western New York. 

Coach Fergie: Okay. 

Speaker 2: Gotcha. They have two homes there where veterans live, Nice … full-time. Good. And they are now actively [00:30:00] seeking to establish a Warrior Salute here in Florida- Okay … and we’re gonna make it happen, Fergie. 

Coach Fergie: Yeah, let me know when that, when you’re trying to put that in place.

I 

Speaker 2: will do that. 

Coach Fergie: Absolutely. And last question, let’s elaborate on this one a bit. What’s the best decade of music, ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, or ’90s? 

Speaker 2: The best decade of music? 

Coach Fergie: Yes, sir. ‘

Speaker 2: 60s. ’60s And I’ll say, I’ll tell you why. That’s when not only rock and roll really blossomed- Sure … but R&B and soul really blossomed. Yeah, it 

Coach Fergie: did.

Speaker 2: Yeah. And I will tell you that I had 15-year-old, me and my best buddy went to a Sam and Dave concert, and I s- sang Soul Man, I’m a soul man. Love 

Coach Fergie: it. 

Speaker 2: In the shower for years after that, and I’ll still do a rendition every now and then. That’s beautiful. Again, for my audience of one. 

Coach Fergie: So how can we find you, Agent General?

Speaker 2: You can find me pretty easily. You can… robert@levelfiveassociates.com is my email address. 

Coach Fergie: Okay. 

Speaker 2: And spell out the five. And if I don’t [00:31:00] respond to you, then you’ll know that I’m very ill or have d- have died. 

Coach Fergie: Okay. 

Speaker 2: We have your value and your leadership. My website is www.levelfiveassociates.com. Okay.

There’s an unretouched photograph of me there, All right. Love it … with body fat and all that. Love it. And my Substack account is robertmixon.substack.com. Beautiful. Please join me- Yes … in our Adaptive Leadership Legion that we’re building. Love this. And let’s be the force for change.

Coach Fergie: Love this. You also had a nice little LinkedIn and YouTube. Yeah. And also- Yeah … let’s get to the nuts and bolts here. The Power of Being All In, the book. 

Speaker 2: Okay. Yeah. This is my most recent book. It’s a story about adaptive leadership. Basically goes back to the time of COVID. 

Coach Fergie: Okay. 

Speaker 2: And what, what happened to us in this chaotic world that descended on us- Wow

and now is magnified. I interview 14 other executives about what they went through and what they learned. And then I say, “Based on what we learned, what are we gonna do with it?” Oh, yeah. And that’s where the big six principles come in, where you employ them to change your [00:32:00] culture- Love this … for the better.

And the, the big six principles are set the azimuth, listen, trust and empower, do the right thing, when in charge, take charge, and balance. 

Coach Fergie: Love that. And squad I’m gonna… Actually, I’m gonna do a three book giveaway to the first three people this, that send me a text at 561-440-3830. Email us. Drop the look below the, all the show notes.

Any of those social platforms, if you put all in there, I’ll know that you’ve listened this far, and I will get you a b- a book on Time to Shine Today Dime mailed out to you I can’t wait to dig into. I’m ashamed to say I haven’t read it yet. It’s okay. But I cannot wait to, to dig in. And also get on his Substack.

Like Substack’s kind of the new thing. Back in the 2000s and 2010s they had this thing called Ezine, which I know- Yeah … Substack bought out Ezine and made it a better platform. But a lot of you old-schoolers, if you wanna get back into the blogging world, into the writing world, and follow some awesome [00:33:00] content, especially by my good friend Robert Mixon here, hop on Substack and hop on his.

Yeah. His page will be down below here. And- Thanks. Thanks, brother … hey, Phil, if you could do me one last solid and leave us with one last knowledge nugget we can take with us, internalize, and take action on 

Speaker 2: Make a commitment today to build your personal leadership philosophy, write it, sign it, and start having people hold you accountable to it.

Coach Fergie: Yes. That, I love that, when you said accountable, right? ‘Cause that’s all I am really as a coach is, again, I know you already know what you have to work on. I’m gonna hold you accountable. Just the way I do it, you might not like it, but I do it I love, right? Yeah. And another thing you said earlier about, winners, to me, they make adjustments.

Losers, or I’m sorry, mediocre people, I might offend some people with that, they make excuses. I love that you said adapt, because that’s what they do- Yeah … to adjust and adapt. My pro athletes, I’m like, “Listen, man, we’re gonna breathe. We’re going to, attack, adjust, adapt, throttle our [00:34:00] opponent, and have fun,” right?

That’s the- Yeah … those two A’s are in the middle, though. 

Speaker 2: Adaptive leaders master the skills that matter. 

Coach Fergie: Yes. Yes. They 

Speaker 2: master the skills that matter. 

Coach Fergie: 100%, man. 

Speaker 2: And, with the big six, you can do this. Yes. You can take those principles, you can put them with the tools we’ve talked about in the toolbox, like the two-second rule.

You can make them habitual, and they will change your life- Oh my gosh … and those around you. Absolutely. It works. It works. Yes. And squad, I, we just had… i’m sorry I took you usually a little long. I’m sure you’re probably sitting in your car on your drive to work saying, “Hurry up and finish, Fergie.”

Coach Fergie: I get that joke sometimes from my listeners, which I love it, ’cause that means he- he’s kept you here and kept you enthralled with this. But just he dropped some serious knowledge nuggets on us, right? In the crunch times we default to our training, so make sure your standards are high during those trainings, okay?

Because, again, s- goals are nothing but byproducts of your standards, so you gotta keep those standards high. He reminded us that the difference between the, there’s a difference between a risk and a gamble. The risk is calculated parameters that you process. I’m taking that to bed with me, man. That is something that I’m gonna [00:35:00] take in with my coaching clients as well now.

The, he reminded us that, 90% of leadership is learned, so get your asking gear. Stay open. Learn something every day. I know my coaching clients have to send me something they learned every single morning by 9:00 AM, in, in their Google Doc. So just, this is gonna be the kinda comfort.

The, the, remember the importance of loyalty. Do not be dismissive of that. He, Robert said, the culture commitment all comes from loyalty. So remember to stay loyal to your friends. I know I have friends to the end, and I’m sure that Major General does, too. Oh, yeah. He has friends that I know he could call in a pinch, and he has friends that will listen with the intent to understand, not react.

And that’s something that- Major General just said, and I can just see him listening with his clients. He’s listening with all of his senses. His neck, I call it listening with your neck. He’s leaning in and really n- getting this. Find out where you can make a difference for someone’s journey, a positive difference for them.

Be good aspirin for their journey. I love that. Seek advice from those who have been there before you, he reminded us. [00:36:00] And e- a w- life well-lived is where you die empty, okay? Not that the, like he mentioned, that there’s so many graveyards out there and so many dreams. I do not wanna be on my deathbed saying, I wish.”

I wanna say, “Dude, I went through it. I got the bumps and bruises, slid across home plate. I finished the race.” Like Paul said in the Bible, I ran the good race and it finished well.” And make a t- commitment today to build your personal leadership about yourself. Be curious. Lean into curiosity.

Make it your superpower, ’cause that’s what made, my guest here just a phenomenal leader that so many people respect. I immensely respect him. Thank you so much for coming on. You earned your varsity letter here. It’s time to sign it. Thanks. Thank you so much- Thanks, Fergie … Major General. I’m proud.

Appreciate you, brother. 

Speaker 2: I’m proud. Really enjoyed it. Thanks a lot, and I wish you and all the people listening in all the best. 

Coach Fergie: Appreciate you. Chat soon. 

Speaker 2: All right. Thanks.