In this interview segment of The Big Biz Show, host Speaker A chats with Dan Negroni, a former corporate attorney who now serves as CEO of LaunchBox 365 and author of the bestseller Chasing Relevance. Dan explains his career shift from drafting contracts to speaking publicly and building a consulting firm that trains millennials and helps corporations engage the emerging workforce. He shares striking demographic data – 83 million U.S. millennials, 40 % of today’s workforce and projected 75 % in nine years – and debunks common stereotypes (tattoos, laziness, entitlement). Dan argues that most companies (only 22 % have any strategy) are ill‑prepared to hire, train, and retain millennial talent, leading to a generational divide. The conversation moves to his book, which is positioned as a “kick‑in‑the‑butt” guide for both corporate leaders and millennials, urging readers to stop chasing relevance and instead create it. Dan also comments on high‑profile young tech founders like Mark Zuckerberg, noting the fascination and caution around treating them as templates for future leadership. Throughout, the tone is conversational, peppered with humor and self‑deprecating jokes, while emphasizing a serious call to action: empower millennials, redesign corporate culture, and adopt a relevance‑creating mindset.
Chapters
Speaking of attorneys, Dan Negroni is also an attorney. He is a public speaker. He is a keynote speaker. He is a CEO of a company called LaunchBox 365. He's a best-selling author, and he's got a great cocktail with gin. So I'm reading here. Hey, so you saw this. So you, you don't spend your life writing contracts now, but, but was it— how much of a time suck is writing as an attorney? You spend all of your life trying to keep other guys out of trouble. You don't practice law like that anymore. You've been a corporate attorney though for a long, for many years before you?
30, I think. 30, something like that.
It's fascinating for guys like us to watch you and guys like Ron.
Yeah, I just think, um, you know, it's like you said to him, how do you approach a contract? Yeah, if you're writing it or drafting it, is it really two different angles? Your favorite? Of course it's two different angles. I mean, everyone is focused on what? Themselves. Yeah, right. And so you got to look at the contract. But, um, how do you look at a contract? You read it, and then you see kind of what the whole—
it's easy for you to say. Russ, have you ever read anything cover to cover? No, I just click agree and let's start downloading the video. Hey, can you hand me that book here? This book here that Rush should be holding is called Chasing— by the way. It's time for book launch? No, no, no. We have— I say this every time he's on the air with us, OK? But the long story short is we've had hundreds, maybe, dare I say, thousands of books sent to us over the last 22 years in radio. This is physically— you'll understand in a second— the heaviest book I've ever had. Ready? I got it. Oh, Jesus, Bob. Help me here. I got it, Bob. Is that like physically— when you picked up that book, did you realize it's a pretty damn heavy book? Yes. It's a heavy book.
You know when I realized it?
It's a great book, but it's a heavy book.
I realized it when we have to pay to mail it. It's very expensive.
Okay, so yeah, I think we should have a book weighing here at some point. Chasing Relevance, fantastic book. There is a disconnect with millennial employees and customers. There's a disconnect with millennials getting hired by corporations. Dan saw this, I'm gonna say 5 years ago.
At least.
When you first came up with this. Was it longer than that when you started?
Yeah, it's about 5 years.
5 years he said, you know what? There's gonna be a problem when the entire workforce, when we are gray, is gonna be Millennials, maybe I should jump on. Give us some numbers about millennials that we may not realize.
Sure, 83 million strong, the largest generation, right behind them Gen Z, another big one, digital natives born with technology, 2.4 billion of the world's population, 60% of the world's population is under the age of 30, and they spend $660 billion on—
So we should be a little nicer. So we should pay attention to them is what you're saying. Nice tattoo.
They're 40% of the workforce today and they will be 75% of the workforce in the next 9 years, 75%.
So I think I know what you're gonna say here. What is the biggest misnomer most of us gray people have about millennials? They all have tattoos.
They don't all have tattoos, only 42%. I would say that—
isn't that great? He knows the number.
Ask me a question.
How about body piercings? How many have more than 9 holes? Well, what's the biggest misnomer?
The biggest misnomer is that they're lazy and they're entitled and they're unwilling to work hard, and they live in the bay— or they live with their Many of them, where homes are expensive and a lot of them live at home, but the truth is most of them are amazing. We've trained 10,000 of them and they deliver. Yeah. And they, they, they need help understanding who they are and having breakthroughs to create value for other people. They're young, they don't get it's not about them. They've lived in a world where college, high school, you know, first job, it's all about you. Parties going, right? It's all about you.
Facebook.
All of a sudden it's like, oh my God, it's not all about me. The secret to life is about everyone else.
So my, so my, my question, I would argue that the bigger divide is how corporations now have completely ignored this. They're looking to hire guys like you and I and Russ. Well, maybe not Russ. Guys like you and I.
In that suit, maybe Russ.
But the point is that really what they should be concentrating on is the skill sets and the life experiences of those people that are going to be running these companies in the next 10, 15 years.
Only 22% of corporations have even thought about how to train and retain and hire the right type of millennials and ask the right questions. And even out of them, they kind of stink at it.
So is this a butt-kissing how-to for the corporate oldies, or is it a watch-your-step son for these little 42% attitude generation? Well put. You know what I'm saying? Those are the only two options there, by the way.
Well, is it this or is it that?
Yeah.
Hey, here's this.
Look at the book cover.
You kind of know me. It's too gay. And it is not, but I am not a butt kisser.
That's for sure.
I am a tell it like it is type guy.
Here's Dan's brand.
Yeah.
Does this dress make me look fat? No, your face does.
Right.
That's Dan Negroni's brand. It's also my brand, but yes. But for a corporate CEO to say, kid, what's with the hoodie and the dungarees?
You know. But they're not all hoodies and dungarees. Here's our brand really. Yeah. In all seriousness, being bold, being generous, and making sure that we can empower people to create impact so they can change something for themselves.. And that's what the book does for both of them. It's a kick in the butt to both sides to say, hey, stop whining and complaining about this problem. Learn how to get along, learn how to speak like a human, serve each other, create great results, create innovation, and go crush it in your businesses and your life.
And you're getting people that read it and say, you know what? That helped, dude. Well, you have to— I got a tattoo like this 80-year-old CEO. I was like, look at it. You know, he's got the 80-year-old CEO. Well, speaking of 8-year-old CEOs, as you watch Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook testify in front of Congress, you're watching a kid— and I say kid with respect because he basically changed the world— but here's a kid who is in college, who just wanted to bring together college people. Is he the template for— or is he maybe someone they shouldn't be concentrating on because look at what less than What does GaryVee say? Less than 2% are gonna actually end up there.
I mean, look, Mark Zuckerberg, I mean, amazing, right? I thought he was a little, I wanted him to be more likable. He tried.
He was on defense. I think he's quite successful.
He was nervous and he was calculated and he really wasn't himself, I think. But you know what bothers me in this country is this guy's changed the world.
Yes.
Look at what we're doing. For free. For free. For free.
What does it cost to be on Facebook?
Yeah, look at what we're doing to Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg. We're founded, this country's founded, this show's founded on entrepreneurialism, learning how to make money, all those things. And then we beat the heck out of them when they get in front of Congress and start the regulation nonsense and all this nonsense. How about being grateful for what he's done to change that?
Is that the next book? Because we need a book on that.
On being grateful.
Yeah. Let's talk about, let's talk about in the book, you talk about don't chase relevance. As a next-gen leader, you're talking about creating it. What does that mean?
Yeah, so I love George Bernard Shaw's quote, which is, "Life is not about finding yourself, it's about creating yourself." And that's what we do, and that's what millennials need help with. They need guides, they need people like you guys, they need everyone, you know, even their same age to help them figure out how to be relevant.
I'm just curious, Russ, if you were to be a guide, what would you guide millennials to do? Because you were— listen, I was a millennial when I started listening to you on the radio. Yeah, yeah, you were guiding me into a life of debauchery and douchebaggery, of which I— which, which— of which I took. Well, now you own two millennials. You own almost three millennials, right? They're in there. So I say just let it fly, man. Take care of yourself and, uh, and ignore everybody else. Be selfish. Move along. Fantastic. Come on, you missed the thing. Perfect. Way to go. That's my next book.
There we go.
And by the way, on the book I noticed there's, uh, Who did this? Next generation put a line through millennials. So I'm going to say it's Dan. It's a wider— it's a wider swath.
Here's the thing is the book is written to both sides to become next generation leaders.
Yeah.
Which is new and smart and calculated and caring. Right. And guiding and not just leaving them.
I love the COVID though.
It's for everyone.
It's one arm has a tattoo and the other one's like a business suit guy. But maybe under the business suit there's a guy with a tattoo. You're like Joe Pesci from Goodfellas. Yeah. Like the dog. One dog face it this way, one dog face it this way. What else do I got? I got people to train. I want to talk about LaunchBox 365 and their career workshops and the transformation that Dan's making with not only corporations but also the millennials that camp out there. It's really interesting because if you go by his office, there's a different group of people there every single time. He's got a basic staff there. Dan Negroni, LaunchBox 365, the author of the book Chasing Relevance in Studio. Let's, uh, we come back, we'll visit the numbers, we'll talk some more to Dan. Don't chase relevance as a next-gen leader, create it is what his moniker says. Russ is going to show you his, uh, not tattoo, but back waxing under that jacket. It's going to be the COVID of his latest book. Stay tuned, coming up on The Big Biz Show. BigBizShow.com.
