S4:E41AI RECAP 🎙️LIVE with Peter Cline

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Welcome to the Leadership and Success Podcast with your host, Coach BZ. If you need to develop into a better leader, this podcast is for you. If you want to achieve a greater level of success, this podcast is for you. His mentor, Dr. John C. Maxwell, said it best: everything rises and falls on leadership. We hope to inspire you today and provide you with an insight that has the potential to positively impact the trajectory of your life. Welcome to the Leadership and Success Podcast. Imagine gaining the leadership skills that could redefine your career. Join Coach BZ on the Leadership and Success Podcast, where each episode delivers practical insights from world-class speakers, military leaders, and industry experts. We dive deep into what matters most: building resilient teams, leading through uncertainty, and navigating complexity with clarity and confidence. Every conversation is crafted for aspiring leaders like you who are ready to grow, lead, and make a lasting impact. Don't miss our powerful live sessions and recent highlights. Michelle Hayward on building diverse, high-performing technical teams. Ann Leslie on leading through global complexity and cybersecurity risk. Ron Carpenter AI exploring faith, resilience, and AI-powered leadership. Colonel Michelle G.I. Gardner-Intz on commanding influence from the battlefield to the boardroom. Chris Robinson on shifting from drift to drive in life and leadership, and Coach Enrique Acosta Gonzalez on mentorship, legacy, and heart-centered leadership. Ready to level up your leadership journey? Tune in on Spotify, Apple, Audible Podcasts, YouTube Live, and LinkedIn Live. Join the movement toward leadership excellence. Listen now and start transforming your success.

It makes it easy for folks who are busy and obviously have a ton going on like you do, but also want to step in and make a difference. So when you connect your calendar, you can say, I only want to take 1 or 3, however many requests a week, and I need 7 days to respond. You can set all these toggles very easily so that being a mentor works around your schedule. And then you get this aggregated report about the impact that you've made, be it reviews, number of hours, all these things. So, wow, that is amazing. Always be free.

So I guess most of the mentee like Viterelli would be transitioning military veterans. So they were on active duty or reserve and now they are trying to join the industry. Now, what about mentors? I guess a lot of the mentors would be veteran like myself, but what about industry leaders? People who have no experience in the military but who may be, you know, CISOs like I am or CIO or whatever, be corporate leaders in corporate America. Why should they consider becoming a mentor for Male Mentor?

Yeah, well, I'd have two big things to say to that. The first is people who have no connection to the military community are very, very much encouraged to join. It's actually our biggest priority right now is mentors. And we've gotten a lot, we've made really good progress, but we want a ton more. Because if you're trying to transition from military to civilian and you only talk to people in the military, it makes no sense. They need to connect with their future coworkers, folks in industry. And so just by connecting on a phone call for 15 minutes and saying, hey, this is what my day-to-day tasks look like as, you know, as an IT architect or whatever it is.

Yes.

You can really help somebody define the career they want and totally change their life. I mean, we're seeing the reviews validating that every day.

Wow.

Sign up. I'll say the reason you should is because it makes making a serious difference in someone's life and advancing the future of your industry easy. It works on your schedule. And when you chat with these folks, that is the biggest impact you can make. It's helping them land a great career and start in a new industry. So the impact is huge. And then the second thing— that was one big block. The second thing would be if you work with a company or you're running a company or, you know, you're an executive at one, companies can participate for free. We're not adding a cost to this whatsoever. And so I won't go super into detail here, but I'll say if you're a company who wants to have a page there and be able to track all the mentors from your company's impact, give them a really easy way to sign up, it's totally free. We want to encourage mentorship programs, and we have A couple Fortune 500s and then some companies kind of all down the size chain and some government contractors signed up that will go live, I think, at the end of next month. And so that's your great advice.

Now, you've also been awarded the Entrepreneur of the Year and the Presidential Volunteer Service Award. How do you define legacy at this stage of your journey?

Um, I mean, I Uh, that's a good— that's definitely a good question. I mean, I think if I, um, my, my hope and the thing that will make me extremely, extremely happy is if Mill Mentor continues to grow like it has. I think the, the best thing that any of us who are doing some form of trying to help folks reach the next stage in their life, the best thing that we can get is seeing a lot of people do that, um, and knowing that you played some part in it. And so I think right now I'm really, really focused on seeing No Mentor reach 10,000 people by the end of the year, which is a goal we've been really open with, and I think we're going to smoke. Um, nice. And so maybe we'll move the goalposts a little bit just to make it harder on ourselves, but, but that's where it's at for now. Um, and so that's the goal now, is reach that many folks while maintaining the underlying quality of the connections and the impact it's having on people. We said yes, we will build it. And so we built this in just a few months, uh, and have continued to build on it since. And now it is just this really, really kind of beautiful platform. And what it allows job seekers to do is they create a free account with their LinkedIn profile and they can log in and scroll or search through 1,000 different mentors by job title, company name, expertise. So like ask me about resumes, interviews, starting a business, things like that. And once they find a mentor they're interested in, or several, because they can pick as many as they want and whoever they want.

And Commander Zinga is one of those mentors, by the way.

There we go. That's awesome. I'm so happy you're on. Folks can click this mentor's profile and the mentors have already connected their calendars and said, hey, this is when I'm willing to talk with mentees or get requests.. And so for a job seeker, you just pick a time that the mentor has already provided and request a time to chat.

Wow.

And it eliminates all the kind of 101 LinkedIn message back and forth. Hey, do you have a time to chat or do an informational interview? In this case, all of these 1,000+ people have already raised their hand and said, yes, I would love to talk to military-connected job seekers or founders. Just book a time within these windows that are automatically pulled from my calendar. And so it makes it really easy if you pick a phone call, which is option number 1 to connect, we call you automatically. And so at that scheduled time, you get a call from us. It hides both cell numbers. It's, you know, me on the phone basically. Hi, press 1 to connect. Yeah. And then there's a, you can also do a Zoom call and that just sends you a calendar invite and you meet via Zoom. And then for mentors, like obviously you, It makes it easy for folks who are busy and, and, you know, obviously have a ton going on like you do, but also want to step in and make a difference. And so when you connect your calendar, you can say, I only want to take 1 or 3, however many requests a week, and I need 7 days to respond. You can set all these toggles very easily so that being a mentor works around your schedule. And then you get this aggregated report about the impact that you've made, be it reviews, number of hours, all these things. So wow, that is surprising. Always be free.

So I, I guess most of the men like Vitor would be transitioning, um, military veterans. So they were on active duty or reserve, and now they are trying to join the, uh, uh, industry. Now what about mental—

Welcome everyone to our podcast. Today we're diving into a journey that blends military grit with boardroom brilliance. Imagine starting as an enlisted infantryman and evolving into a visionary entrepreneur, uh, who's built ventures that touch everything from upskilling veterans to leveraging AI.

Mm-hmm. That transition is incredible. What really stands out is how the early days in the infantry, starting at the very bottom, instilled values like hard work and showing up where it's toughest, right?

Absolutely. It really is like, uh, A classic boot camp of life. Peter Klein's journey reminds us that leadership starts with service. Imagine leading teammates older than you because you simply showed up, and then realizing that genuine credibility comes from doing the hard work first.

Yeah, I get that. I mean, that's a fundamental lesson, isn't it? Great leaders earn influence through competence and care. But tell me, how does that military discipline translate into the corporate world where well, boardroom strategies and billion-dollar deals are the norm.

It's like, um, having two different playbooks that somehow merge beautifully. After the military, Peter dove into the corporate realm, handling massive M&A deals that pushed him to think analytically. His experience in strategic decision-making, like dealing with complex transactions, built a robust toolkit for later ventures such as Boots to Books and InstantGroups.ai.

Right, exactly. So he leveraged not just military resilience but also corporate savvy, which must have been quite the culture shock. Was there any part of his leadership style that really surprised you?

Well, um, one key insight is how he blends humility, starting at the bottom, with a relentless pursuit of excellence. Many would assume that someone with his corporate success might become detached, but he remains grounded. For example, his recent work with Mill Mentor emphasizes mentorship on a massive scale. It's like his military foundation drives a genuine commitment to empowering others.

Mm-hmm. That's interesting, though I wonder, don't you think sometimes the emphasis on servant leadership might risk being too soft in environments that demand tough decisions?

Great point. But you know, Peter's approach is about striking a balance. While he champions humility and mentorship, his experience in high-stakes corporate deals also taught him to make tough decisions when needed. It's a duality that works. Show up for your team, yet hold firm when circumstances require a decisive, strategic mindset.

Yeah, that makes sense. What stands out too is his concept of "fail forward." It's a refreshing take, using every setback as essential feedback rather than a defeat. I mean, that sounds a lot like what the military teaches, right?

Exactly. Failure isn't fatal, but rather a stepping stone. It's like, if you're 10 failures away from your big win, then every stumble is, um, an opportunity to learn and pivot. This mindset, deeply ingrained in military training, served him well as he transitioned to entrepreneurship, and even when his startups didn't take off as planned.

Right. And then there's his recent venture with InstantGroups.ai. It's fascinating to see a military veteran embracing cutting-edge AI for scheduling and improving productivity. How do you see AI playing into this broader leadership narrative?

It's like merging human judgment with technological efficiency. Peter asserts that AI shouldn't replace people, but Um, should empower them. Think of it this way: AI handles repetitive tasks while leaders focus on the human element—guidance, empathy, and strategic decision-making. This is a winning combo that's especially crucial in today's fast-evolving tech landscape.

Yeah, absolutely. It's an elegant strategy. However, I'm curious, does this constant push for efficiency ever risk stripping away the personal touch that's so vital in mentorship and leadership?

I appreciate that challenge, and you're not wrong. The key is balance. While technology can ease administrative burdens, nothing replaces the value of personal insight and presence. Peter's ventures, like Service to Success and Mill Mentor, are built on the premise that the human connection is irreplaceable. So yes, there's a risk, but his approach ensures that AI augments rather than overshadows genuine mentorship.

Yeah, I really like that. It's reminiscent of a sort of tech with a heart philosophy. Shifting gears a bit, what about his corporate M&A experiences? How do you think those experiences influenced his later entrepreneurial ventures?

Oh, it's like mixing two worlds. On one hand, you have the disciplined, detail-oriented environment of military leadership. On the other, the high-stakes, data-driven negotiations of billion-dollar deals. That corporate background honed his analytical abilities and financial acumen, which are critical when scaling mission-driven ventures. It taught him to navigate complexity and, believe it or not, to be agile in a bureaucratic landscape.

Yes, I follow. That agility is crucial. Also, his ventures like Boots to Books have, um, created significant social impact by supporting veterans and military spouses in upskilling and employment. It's inspiring how his personal journey translates into tangible benefits for others. Would you say that his story is also a call to action for leaders everywhere?

Definitely. It's like his journey tells us, lead by example. Whether you're in the military or the corporate world, leadership is about consistently showing up and Um, investing in others. The call to action is clear: mentor, guide, and always be willing to do the hard work. Every leader, regardless of rank, is responsible for elevating those around them.

Mm-hmm. That really encapsulates his philosophy. Now let's talk about legacy for a moment. How does building a sustainable model, one that continues to flourish long after you're gone, play into his overall message?

Legacy, in Peter's view, is all about, um, building something that lasts, a continuum of mentorship and impact. He emphasizes creating systems that are self-sustaining, where the influence multiplies with each person mentored. By laying down principles of hard work, collaboration, and constant learning, he ensures that the organizations he builds continue to serve the mission even beyond his direct involvement. Exactly.

I love how that ties back to his humble beginnings, where every small step has big consequences. It's almost as if his journey is a blueprint for modern leadership. Start at the bottom, learn from every failure, leverage tech, but never lose sight of the human element. Right.

And what's more is, through ventures like Mill Mentor, he actively challenges us to think, Who can you mentor today? It's a cycle that sustains leadership across generations. His narrative is like a, um, blueprint, a mix of military toughness and entrepreneurial vision, with a strong emphasis on service and, uh, innovation.

Yeah, speaking of innovation, it's interesting how his companies also address very practical problems, like coordinating group meetings across time zones via AI. It shows that innovation doesn't always have to be about groundbreaking tech. Sometimes it's about making everyday life easier while staying fundamentally human.

Would you agree? Totally. It's like, technology should elevate human capabilities. InstantGroups.ai is a clear example. Using AI to solve a universal pain point without losing the human touch. It's a reminder that whether you're streamlining scheduling or mentoring the next generation, technology is just a tool to amplify the best in us.

Indeed. Let's not forget the emphasis on resilience. From surviving grueling infantry training and competitive NCO contests to navigating the unpredictable waters of startup failures, his story underscores that adversity is just the training ground for future success. How significant is that mindset in leadership? It's enormous.

The idea of failing forward that Peter embodies, using setbacks as feedback, is a core tenet for any leader. In the military, every challenge prepares you for the next. In entrepreneurship, each failure molds you for the win. That persistent mindset where every setback is a step toward growth Absolutely. It's fundamental.

I appreciate that perspective because honestly, failure often gets a bad rep, but in this context, it's celebrated as a critical part of evolution as a leader. It's like embracing the grind rather than shunning the missteps.

Exactly. And tying all of this together is his promotion of continuous learning. Work extremely hard, surround yourself with the right people, and always learn from your mistakes. He doesn't see these as abstract ideas; they're daily habits that anyone can cultivate.

Yeah, that really inspires action. Before we wrap up, let's hit on one more key point—mentorship. Peter calls for more mentors in every arena. It's a powerful, almost emotional appeal for leaders to give back and multiply their impact. How do you see this resonating with today's aspiring leaders?

It's, uh, transformative. Mentorship multiplies impact. When you guide one person, that person goes on to influence many more. For both military folks transitioning to civilian life and tech professionals seeking to lead in an AI-dominated world, mentorship is the cornerstone. It not only strengthens communities but also embeds the values of hard work and resilience at every level. Mm-hmm.

That's a potent call to action. It makes me think about the long-term legacy we all aspire to leave. If every experienced leader took even a small step to mentor someone, the ripple effects would be tremendous.

Absolutely. It's a reminder that leadership is not about personal accolades, but about building a future where your influence endures. And for those listening, consider this a nudge: reach out, Volunteer your time and be the mentor you once needed.

Yeah, couldn't agree more. Before we close out, any final thoughts on how Peter's journey might inspire someone just starting their leadership path?

Well, it's like this. Whether you're starting at the bottom or already in a position of influence, Peter's journey teaches us to never be afraid to start small, to learn from every mistake, and to always lead with integrity and service. It's about taking the shot, even if you're not 100% sure you'll hit the mark. Right, that's so true.

No matter your background, it's the courage to take that shot and the willingness to learn that defines real leadership.

Exactly. And remember, the world needs leaders who not only drive success but also, um, build sustainable legacies by empowering others. In essence, leadership is about transforming failure into fuel and challenges into opportunities.

Yeah, exactly. This has been a rich, thoughtful conversation, blending raw military discipline with entrepreneurial grit and a passion for mentorship. Thank you for breaking down these deep lessons with such enthusiasm.

Thank you as well. It's always invigorating to explore how a journey from infantry to impact can reshape our understanding of true leadership. Let's all take a page from that playbook. Step up, work hard, mentor, and lead with heart. Absolutely.

For our listeners, remember, the next step is to ask yourself, "Who can I mentor today?" and "How can I lead from the front?" Thank you for joining us.

Thanks for listening. Until next time, keep leading, keep learning, and embrace every challenge with, um, a fearless spirit.

It's the best worst thing ever. That's an interesting way to put it. But I, uh, I talked to somebody on the phone the other day and they were talking about somebody who was— had a startup idea that they were just closing down and it didn't work out. And, you know, I said, that's, that's really sad. I'm sorry for the person, but that, that pain is going to be good for them. Um, you know, like, it's— that sounds so like David Goggins-esque, and that's not the angle I'm going about it, you know. Like, I don't even respect him, but I'm not saying like stay hard, pain's good, but like failing is a good thing. You know, there is a, there's a quote I heard. I think a good way to put it is, and I forget whose quote it was, but you know, if you were 10 failures away from your big win, how fast would you try and get through failing 10 times? And you know, how excited would you be about failing each time? Um, and I think about that a lot of like, that is the case, you know, if you were really thinking through and putting effort into these ideas you have and doing research and truly giving it your best efforts for several months at a time, uh, you know, eventually results will come. Sure, you may have to pull the plug on, on a lot of ideas, but, um, I mean, there's countless stories of like the Airbnb founder Brian Chesky, who was, you know, Airbnb was startup number like 10 or something for him, and it worked out. And so it's, uh, pushing forward, and that worked decently well when most of the things you're doing are like physical challenges. Um, but that's kind of a shift post-military that I've had to do a lot more reflection when things don't work out, especially, you know, starting business. I've tried to start so many businesses that didn't work, all kind of unrelated to the one I'm doing now, like travel apps and things like that. Yes. Um, but each one failed, and for good reason. But each time I learned something, you know, like, okay, this time I learned I probably shouldn't try and build a business where the co-founder is just like so, so not committed. It's incredible. Um, I shouldn't try and build a business where, you know, I can't really figure out who the target user is going to be. It just sounds like a really cool idea, or like, you know, nobody signs up for a waitlist first. I just start building it immediately. Um, or like, you know, you learn how to use Google Ads or run a cold email campaign. It's like each one adds, but it's important for you to say like what didn't work and what did. Wow. And kind of use that and pull it all into the next one, because if you are kind of naturally entrepreneurial and want to keep building things, it's important to do that. And, uh, so that's helped a lot. Those are, I think, the three things. So no, that is very powerful.

Like we say on the Leadership and Success podcast, you know, we need to fail forward, right? Don't let failure go to waste, right? And, uh, in my own experience, I've learned so much more when I failed than when I succeeded. I think it was JFK who said that success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan. But when you do fail, you are not a failure, but you need to learn from the experience so that you don't repeat.

Thank you for listening to the Leadership and Success Podcast with your host, Coach BZ. If you like what you heard, please subscribe to our channels and come back for more wisdom nuggets on how you may develop into a better leader and achieve greater levels of success. Leadership is the most critical skill. The world will always need leaders to lead others, deploy the next disruptive technology, or execute a business strategy. You may as well decide on counting yourself among the 21st century leaders. See you right here next time on the Leadership and Success Podcast with Coach BZ.