S4:E67AI RECAP 🎙️Live with Eddie Bright, Jr.

Hi, I'm John Maxwell. When the top companies in the world are looking for trainers, speakers, and coaches, there's one name that stands above the rest, and that's Maxwell Leadership. Our certified team members have gotten proven results for companies all over the globe, and our reputation, I'm proud to say, is second to none. Some of our members have risen to the top of their profession, including the one you're going to meet today. I proudly introduce you to my friend, Bob Fabien Zinga.

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.

Welcome back to another episode of the Leadership and Success Podcast with Coach BZ. I'm so glad you're here because today we have a very special guest, someone whose leadership journey spans the Marine Corps, global business, ministry, and mentorship. My guest is Eddie Bright Jr., the global CEO and partner of APTASK and APTASK Global Workforce Solutions. Under his leadership, APTASK has grown into a worldwide leader in staffing, executive search, and workforce solutions with operations in India, Germany, London, Canada, Mexico, and across the US. Eddie is a veteran certified and minority-owned business leader who has proven that diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging aren't just ideals, they're a recipe for measurable business growth. In fact, he's shown companies how truly inclusive ecosystems can be 35% to 42% more profitable. He's been recognized by staffing industry analysts as one of the top DE&I influencers for 3 years running, honored as a top Black business visionary by Bizalight Review, and named Executive Member of the Year by ITSMF. The leading organization for Black technology executives. But Eddie's story goes far beyond the boardroom. He's a former U.S. Marine Corps officer, a minister at Community Baptist Church, and the co-founder of sports university team IZOD, where he and the late NBA legend Darryl Dawkins mentored young athletes like Karl-Anthony Towns, Kyrie Irving, and Naz Reid, helping them develop life skills that that last far beyond the court. Most importantly, Eddie is a man grounded in faith, family, and service, recently celebrating 27 years of marriage with his wife Kay and raising their son Brandon. Today, Eddie is here to share his wisdom on leadership, workforce transformation, DEI as strategy, mentorship, and legacy. So buckle up because this conversation is going to challenge the way you think about leadership and inspire you to take action in your own journey.

I call personal branding what people say about you when you're not in the room. When we think about the interviewing process and that company that you really want to go work for, what have they been left with from the interview? Most important thing that a candidate can ask during the interviewing process are the right type of questions. What are you looking for, Mr. Interviewer or Miss Interviewer? Why haven't you filled this role? How long has it been open? What are your expectations for the right person? And then at the close of it, when it's all over, why do you believe that I would be the right person for this role? Now, many times, conversely, the company is doing those type of takeaways on you, but you can reverse that. Number one, it shows insight. Now, you only ask these questions after you've collectively shared insights, so it's a logical question. But it also shows how you have that level of accountability. Listen, you know, the early bird, the early bird gets the worm. Everybody else gets dirt. I mean, yes, we, you know that I'm sure better than I do. Coming out of the Navy, first one in, last one out. I once heard a story. And I'll share it. There was a, there was a farmer who was looking for someone to take care of the farm and the barn. You may have heard this before. And he did a lot of interviewing, a lot of interviewing, a lot of interview. Couldn't find anybody. I mean, he interviewed 20-something people, couldn't find anybody. And he was getting desperate because he needed someone good to watch the barn, watch the animals, and to keep it safe. So, um, he interviewed a gentleman, and this gentleman that he interviewed had good experience, but he— but he wasn't like the other people trying to get into the bits and bites and talk about what he'd done. So he said, why are you qualified to take this job? And the gentleman said to him, sir, I sleep very well at night.

Wow.

Now, the, the farmer was like, okay, that's a weird answer. He says, well, I sleep very well at night. And he had interviewed a lot of people. And he just, he had felt something about this guy, didn't know what it was. He had a good background. But he said, okay, I'm gonna give you the job. Week later, a big storm came, a big storm, Bob. I mean, like, you know, torrential rain, borderline hurricane, twisters. And so he gets up, and the first thing is he tries to wake the guy. And he, while waiting for him to wake up, he was like, you know what, forget that, let me get to the barn. And when he got to the barn, everything was locked down. All the animals were where they were supposed to be. Everything was positioned just right. And he understood what the guy said.

I sleep—

when he said, I sleep well at night.

Wow.

So when I talk about my journey in leadership, I have tried my very best to be the best at what I do. It's part— it's, listen, it's just part of who I am. I— now, there may be some things that go into that. Obviously, I've been in settings where, um, as far as the demographic, I was the only African American. Yes, obviously I've got a military background, first one in, last one out. Um, obviously, I—

this—

there's a—

how I say take this plan down in the next 5 minutes. Is there one thing when you wake up in the morning that you really would like to solve? One problem?

This political madness. This political madness isn't good for us. It has literally become an issue of national security, our extreme ideologies right now. It's made America very vulnerable.

True.

And we have more income.

I don't know if I can solve it, but that's what I would like to solve. I would like to be able to go to the hard right and go to the hard left and say, this isn't— we're hurting being a great nation, even with our original sin is slavery and things. Obviously, everyone wants to talk about that anymore. And that's crazy. That's crazy because we can celebrate where we are. And where we can go, you know. Uh, some people don't want that over their children. Well, your children didn't do it, but it's good that they understand it, you know. And then this new generation, uh, um, doesn't have the same hangups that us baby boomers have. We should celebrate that. There's just— there's a lot. There's a lot. Yes.

Wow. Okay, so, uh, toward the end now, uh, what could we do to make a difference for you? How can we add value back to you?

Thank you so much. You've been extremely generous with your time. A a wonderful platform. It's been a wonderful morning, uh, Coach Bob. And, and I just want to, you know, I'm like anyone else. I want to see you be successful. Uh, I want to see you have help for your journey. And, um, if there's anything we can do for you here at Aptest Global, I want to make sure that, that we do that. And for all your listeners, um, you know, obviously we're a service provider. Obviously we provide quality talent quickly around the world. We're doing business and we're able to do business in 120 countries.

All right.

This is Coach Bizzy. Thank you so much for being with me today. I must tell you, the leadership conversation I had with Eddie Bright Jr. was definitely one of the most fascinating I've ever had on this podcast, like ever. I must say, I had a list of maybe what, 20, 25 questions or so. I barely scratched the first 2 questions and we were completely out of time. I am so grateful to Eddie for allowing us to go 30 minutes longer. So the full interview is about 1 hour and 30 minutes. That's the longest I've ever talked to anyone. And still, I feel like we just scratched the surface. He was so full of insight and wisdom. And I really love talking to people like that. So please go watch season 4, episode 67. Watch the full episode. This one here will be a truncated episode just to give you the highlight of what we talked about, but I'm hoping you are going to be inspired to go back to the full episode and watch the entire thing. And also, most of the time when I have a conversation with people, I get about 5 clips from the entire conversation that have the, according to AI, that have a tendency to go viral, usually 5, 3 to 5. But with Eddie, And when I ran him through my algorithm, my AI tool came up with 15. So 3 times as much as I normally get from most of the people I interview. I mean, every single word that came out of his mouth was really a blessing full of wisdom and something we could have unpacked, right? I could have talked to him pretty much all day and all night, but you definitely need to watch the full episode. So you are not going to be disappointed. So Eddie was my friend in the spotlight this week. And yes, again, I am saying, please consider watching the entire episode, season 4, episode 67. Okay. That's all I'm gonna say. Let's start with our moment of gratitude. So every day in the show, we like to think about one thing that we are grateful for. What are you grateful for today? What are you grateful for today? And the reason why we do this is because it's not possible to be grateful and anxious at the same time. Not possible to be grateful and suicidal at the same time. Not possible to be grateful and depressed at the same time. Your mental health is important. Your mental health is your business. So if you would please close your eyes, put yourself in a happy place. Forget about all of your trouble. Take a deep breath. Think about one thing you are grateful for this Sunday. What are you grateful for today? I think for me, time and time again, I'm always grateful for life. I'm grateful I'm still alive today. For those who know my story, when I was a kid, so many times I got so close to death. I've been sick with so many sickness and disease and all kinds of things. My doctors told me I would never live beyond 17 years old when I was a kid, and I am in my mid-40s now. So every day I am alive, I am grateful that I am alive. I am so grateful for life and have a chance to be alive and to make a difference. So what are you you grateful for? If you would please write it down in the comment, and also please let us know where you are joining us from. If you are in the US, what city, state, and if you're outside of the US, what country. Let us know where you are joining us from, and thank you so much for being here with us. And also, if you would please tag someone in your personal sphere of influence. If this podcast is adding value to you, please tag someone within your network or repost this feed and like it and engage. Tell us where you're coming from, what you are grateful for. And as you listen to the 10-minute recap, also type in what you are learning, right? What are your takeaways? What insight are you going to be able to apply? This coming week. And if you have a question, go ahead and type it as well, and I'm going to be back in about 10, 15 minutes. All right, so let's go to the AI recap of the wonderful, insightful conversation I had with the one and only Eddie White Jr. So grateful, so thankful. As a global CEO, he took 90 minutes to talk to me and to talk to our audience, our community. So grateful, grateful for that.

Welcome to the podcast. Today we're diving deep into some truly transformational leadership principles that trace a path from a Marine Corps background all the way to becoming a global CEO. It's an inspiring journey that melds service, purpose, and a ton of heart.

I'm excited to get into this. What's the core idea driving this discussion?

Well, one of the first things that stands out is the idea of gratitude as a superpower. Imagine someone who, amid high-stress negotiations and personal trials, anchors every decision with a grateful mindset. That's a lesson that's not merely personal, it's a strategic leadership tool.

Yeah, that's powerful. It's, um, almost like turning every challenge into, like, It's like an opportunity to appreciate what you've got, isn't it?

Exactly. And you know, Eddie Bright Jr. captured that so well when he said, my superpower is gratitude. I keep gratitude in my attitude. It's like, rather than focusing on what's going wrong, he's honed in on what fuels him to push forward. It's a mindset that transforms obstacles into, you know, driving lessons.

I love that. Now, he also mentioned something about having two hearts. When it comes to leadership. Can you unpack that a bit?

Sure.

Eddie frames leadership as having two essential hearts, one for the cause and one for the people. Essentially, it's a balancing act. On one hand, you've got a mission, a clear vision or objective, and on the other, you've got the people who carry that mission out. Without both, leadership fails. Exactly. When you only focus on the mission, you risk burning out your team. And if you only care about people without a clear goal, things can spiral without direction.

That duality is pretty fascinating. Almost like you need both the engine and the driver to really set off on the right journey.

Absolutely. It's like— it's like having the horsepower and the fuel. You need the technical efficiency of a well-oiled machine, but also a team that feels truly taken care of and inspired.

That makes a lot of sense. And then there's the whole power of why. I mean, how does asking why transform leadership according to his insights?

Great question. Eddie really emphasizes that true success isn't measured by wealth or titles. It's defined by understanding why you do what you do. He quips, he who knows how will always have a job. He who knows why will always be his boss.

Right.

It's about diving into purpose rather than just following a checklist of actions.

Hmm. So you're saying that there's a difference between mastering the techniques and truly connecting with your purpose?

Exactly. It's like following a recipe versus understanding the flavor behind every ingredient. Knowing "why" makes all the difference in aligning your team with the mission and creating a narrative that inspires real commitment.

Interesting perspective. So then, how does servant leadership fit into this mix?

Well, Eddie's journey is full of examples of servant leadership in action. He doesn't just lead from the front. He celebrates the wins of his employees even more enthusiastically than they celebrate them for themselves.

Mm-hmm.

He's built institutions like sports university Team IZOD in collaboration with sports legends and has mentored top athletes. It shows that true leadership is about serving others, not just leading them.

I get that. I mean, some might argue that in high-powered business, you have to make tough decisions, and sometimes that can seem to conflict with servant leadership. What would you say to that?

That's a fair point. But I'd respectfully counter that servant leadership isn't about being soft. It's about empowering people to perform at their best. When you genuinely care about the people behind the titles, your decision-making becomes more inclusive and sustainable. It's the idea that leading by serving ultimately creates a stronger, more dedicated team. It's a win-win.

Exactly. Okay, so moving forward, another major theme here is DEI— Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion— as a driver of profitability. Can you dive into that?

Certainly. Eddie firmly states that truly diverse and inclusive companies can be 35% to 42% more profitable. And I think that's a game changer. It's not just about ticking boxes. It's about leveraging the power of diverse perspectives to foster innovation and drive business results.

Mm-hmm.

This is about using DEI as a strategic advantage, not a mere compliance issue.

Right, it's like saying that when everyone feels valued, the collective ability to solve problems skyrockets.

Exactly. It's simple. Diverse teams bring in, um, a broader range of ideas and insights, which makes them more adaptable and ready for, you know, the challenges of modern business.

And it sounds like Eddie's been a pioneer in tying that directly to ROI, which is frankly hard to argue with.

No doubt. Now, add on to that his reflections on failure and resilience. Eddie has been quite transparent about facing failures, including business setbacks and personal losses. Yet he believes, "Your blessing is on the other side of your pain." Right. It's about seeing failure not as an end but as a transformative stepping stone toward greatness.

I love that. It's like when you're climbing a mountain, Each stumble is part of the climb, and the view at the top makes it all worthwhile.

Exactly. And this resilience mindset is crucial, whether you're a military officer or a tech innovator. The idea is to view setbacks as necessary pauses for growth, to learn, and then to push forward with even more determination.

Speaking of growth, mentorship plays a huge role in this whole journey, doesn't it?

Oh yes. Mentorship is a keystone. Eddie himself attributes much of his success to mentors, from family influences to business leaders. He often says, I am a compilation of many people who poured into me. It underscores the importance of building and nurturing a robust mentorship network, whether in military or corporate settings.

That's such a relatable message. It reminds me of the saying that your network is your net worth.

Absolutely. And finally, there's the foundational element of family, faith, and legacy. Even as a global CEO, Eddie places family first, dedicates time to serving as a minister, and is driven by a desire to leave a positive mark on the world.

Right.

That balance reinforces that true leadership isn't solely about professional achievements, but also personal integrity and lasting impact.

It brings everything full circle, doesn't it? Leadership becomes about shifting focus from self-aggrandizement to genuinely uplifting those around you.

Definitely. To summarize the key takeaways: start with gratitude, balance the mission with genuine care for your people, always ask why you're doing what you do, lead with a servant's heart, make DEI a strategic asset, learn from failure, Foster mentorship. And most importantly, maintain your family, faith, and legacy as anchors in life.

Mm-hmm. That's a truly holistic view of leadership. It's not just a business strategy. It's a way of being that resonates on multiple levels, from the battlefield to the boardroom.

Yeah. And it's fascinating how these lessons, though coming from a Marine Corps background, are so applicable to tech leaders business executives, and even emerging professionals in every field.

Right.

They illustrate how values like gratitude and resilience are universally transformative.

I agree. And it's interesting too, how Eddie's experience bridges the gap between the rigor of military discipline and the creative, adaptive nature of modern business innovation. It almost challenges the typical stereotypes of leadership in either domain.

Exactly. There's a respectful challenge here. People sometimes think that military rigor is incompatible with empathy or innovation, but Eddie's journey shows that it's about balance. It's like, um, you need that discipline to push forward, but you also need that creative human element to truly connect with your team.

I love that point, and it reminds me of the coaching prompts he offers. What can you be grateful for today? How can you blend mission focus with genuine care? It really turns leadership into a personal exercise in, um, self and collective improvement. Mm-hmm.

Right. And those prompts are not just for reflection; they're actionable. Write down a few things you're grateful for. Ask yourself if you're truly leading with both hearts. Challenge your team to explain why your mission matters. And invest in your mentors and those you mentor in return.

That's a lot to chew on, but it really sets a roadmap for anyone aiming to lead with both courage and compassion.

Absolutely. And in the end, the lesson is clear: leadership is not about being the hero on your own. It's about making sure that everyone around you gets to shine. Whether you're in uniform or in a boardroom, The principles remain the same.

Well put. This talk really brings a fresh perspective on how leadership can and should be an inclusive, value-driven journey. Thanks for unpacking these ideas with me.

Thank you as well. I hope our listeners find these insights as inspiring and practical as I do. Remember, gratitude, service, resilience, and legacy— they're the building blocks of truly transformative leadership.

Here's to turning pain into blessings and challenges into opportunities. Until next time, keep leading with heart.

Obviously, if I'm going along a journey, there has to be a destination that I have in mind. So success happens every day in a, uh, 100 different ways. 100 different ways. If we're going to put it within work within work, I think there has to be a sense of accomplishment. There has to be a sense of understanding what you do, understanding why you do it.

Wow. Why?

If you understand— if you operate from the why and you're achieving your why, you're successful every day of the week. Now, what do I mean by that? I have a saying that I like to share. It says, he who knows how will always have a job. He who knows why will always be his boss.

Wow, say that again. This is, this is powerful.

He who knows how will always have a job. He who knows why will always be his boss. I try as an executive to operate from the why. I operate from the why. I, you know, I already know how to do it. Now, why am I doing it? And we have to be honest in asking those types of questions, because a lot of people don't want to ask those questions. But guess what? I got a job. And I want I want to be able to move the piece of paper from one side of the desk to the other side, and I get in at 9:15, and I want to— I'm looking at my clock at 4:30 because I'm going to be figuring how can I get out of here before 5.

Yes.

Wow.

That's not— that's not me. That's just not me. That's not me.

Wow.

Success is all those things I just mentioned. Yes, all those things. And then understanding what is your why. Really, you know, that's a tough question, Ed. Why, you know, why are you asking that?

Wow, that is, that is really, really powerful. But I know the market only looks at numbers. At Uptask, you grew it from $14 million to $72 million during your first tenure as CEO, and now you've returned to lead it again. What were the key levers for that explosive growth?

Relationships.

Yes, tremendous relationships. If that's— if I have any gift, that's my gift. No, I'm being very, very transparent. I service the hell out of my relationships. And my relation— and watch this— my relationships know this is more than just a job. I think that when we think about leadership, we always think that leaders are out here doing great and tremendous things and they're they're rallying the cause. And, um, we paint in our minds David slaying Goliath for, you know, uh, World War II, or, or if there was a battle and we needed to overcome this, you know, we see the things in the movies where the leader rises and the leader is the least one you would expect to be. That's not life. That's not life. I had to realize, first of all, you want to realize what your gifts are. Wow. You have to grow into your gifts. Now, there's one thing between having your gifts and growing into your gifts. So, so I, I'll get to your question in a sort of roundabout way. First of all, a leader has to be someone who's not afraid to take up the cause. Now, I say that because you can be taking up a cause and you can be very talented but you don't necessarily have what I call the heart. And there's two types of heart. There's a heart for the cause and there's a heart for the people that you serve. Wow. If those two hearts are not working, you will never be an effective leader.

Say that again, please. Say that again. This is powerful.

There is heart for the cause. There's that. Yeah, let's go.

Yes.

But the bigger heart has got to be for the people you serve. Wow. You've got to want to see them be successful too. You've got to take the time to invest into their cause, why they're here, what is their why.

Yes.

If both those hearts come together, then you can— I've had times I've failed so, so hard I felt like my head got kicked in.

Yes.

Um, I once heard a mentor tell me something. I was going through a rough patch, rough patch. Things weren't going right, you know. Um, she didn't know if the company would make it, you know. I booked a business, sucked the whole bit, but I was fighting. I was swinging from the ankles to make it work. And I had someone I really respect tell me, Eddie, your blessing is on the other side of your pain.

Wow.

I've only heard that told to me twice in my life. Once with that business failure and my younger brother when he passed some years ago. And I was devastated. My younger brother was my heart. I mean, that was my little brother. I did everything in the world that I could do as a big brother for him, and I was hurting. I was hurting. I was hurting. I was devastated. He died suddenly and I was hurting.

Sorry, Darren.

Yes, but I had someone tell me your blessing is on the other side of that pain. Wow. And what was the blessing? The blessing that I was able to give back to people who were suffering from the same things he was suffering from. Yes. I was able to speak from a place of intimacy and pain, and I had to get to the other side. Still going on the other side.

Yes, yes.

So I would share that with those that really are going through a tough patch, that if you really want to bring good out of this, then your blessing is on the other side of the pain.

It's on the other side.

You're going to get there. You know, we always hear the, the cleave, the, the the cute clichés, you know.

All right, I believe that's probably the greatest lesson, insight I received from Eddie Bryant Jr., who spent again an hour and 90 minutes with us, um, an hour and 30 minutes with, with us on this podcast last week, when he said, your blessing is on the other side of the pen. Sometimes we go through pain, but you need to put in your mind that this is going to be temporary, right? It doesn't define you. You don't have to stay there for the rest of your life. Sometimes you may have something to learn from that experience, but, uh, remain positive, right? Because there is a blessing on the other side of that pain. I think that's very encouraging and that's very, very powerful. Some of you may have lost a loved one like Eddie did. I know when I lost my mother, it was very, very difficult for me. For almost a month, I really couldn't function. But what Eddie says is so true. My blessing is on the other side of that pain. So keep moving forward. I believe tomorrow belongs to you. Your tomorrow can be much different than your today. Hopefully this encourages you and Uh, this is it. So we are done with the recap, and I'm gonna be back here tomorrow, Monday. I'm gonna be at 6:30 AM Pacific Time, California, so that's 9:30 AM Eastern Time, Washington, DC, New York. So I hope to see you here. I'm gonna be having an AI recap with the conversation I had with Leda Citroën, personal branding reputation management expert. She helps executives and entrepreneurs influence positive perception. Keynote and TEDx speaker, executive coach, LinkedIn Learning instructor, 7 times author, and she's a military veteran mentor. So she does so much, and she's sought after by all of the medias all around the world. And she took time to spend an hour with us and teach us from her wisdom. You're gonna be learning about a lot, uh, wisdom on influence, reputation, and servant leadership. If there is a scandal, how do you handle that? How do you protect your reputation? How do you grow your brand? So be here with me tomorrow, 6:30 AM California time. I don't see any question on LinkedIn or YouTube. All right, until tomorrow, have a wonderful Sunday, and thanks again for being with me today. Bye.

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 B.