In this concise interview, Professor Pete Alexander hosts author, speaker, and "elevator" Minter Dial for a rapid‑fire "6 questions in 7 minutes" session. Minter shares practical publishing advice, urging writers to focus on crafting their story rather than chasing a publisher. He introduces a "tattoo" metaphor, asking whether professionals are willing to embody their company’s brand as a personal commitment. Drawing on his experience leading Redken within L’Oréal, he outlines an "inside‑out" leadership model that ties a company’s mission to tangible improvements in employees’ personal lives, echoing the WIFM (What’s In It For Me) principle. He recounts his first job as a farmhand, highlighting the value of hard work, physical labor, and balancing cognitive and manual effort. Minter also recommends fellow leader Sam Sethi and mentions his own podcast, The Minter Dialogue, while providing his online handles and where to find his books. The episode blends actionable business insights with personal anecdotes in a brisk, conversational style.
Chapters
This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast, where business leaders share their insights. It is 6 questions in 7 minutes because successful business leaders are busy and rarely have more time to spare. So let's get to it. Question number 1: In a few sentences, please tell me who you are and what you do.
My name is Minter Dial. I'm a speaker, author, and an elevator.
Well, Minter, it's great to have you on the show. Question number 2: What is something that makes you smile and/or laugh about working in your industry?
Well, the first thing is, as an author, everyone comes to me and says, "Well, how did you get the publisher?" And I ask, "Well, why do you want a publisher?" because they're great at publishing, but they certainly aren't great at selling. So in general, the, the real— everyone seems to have a book in them, but don't get stuck up on the publisher. Just go out and write your story.
That's very wise. Thank you for that. Question number 3, speaking of a book and author, I have a fictitious book with all the answers for business. What chapter would you think most companies should read?
Well, I, I have so many chapters. I love to read. I read about a book a week. The chapter I think is most important, um, is, are you prepared to wear a tattoo for the thing you do at work? And the tattoo must be something representative of the company for which you work. And if you're not prepared to have tattoo— and that's independent of whether you actually believe in tattoos— then the question I have for you is, why not?
I love that because, yeah, if you're— it's a matter of commitment to what it is that you are working towards or believe in.
Is that the meaning?
Exactly.
Yeah, what you stand for. And so many things— we go to jobs and where you can have different desires, but you obviously know you're never going to stay there forever.
And it's because you're not staying there forever, sometimes you kind of feel like, well, it's arm's length. But our life is short. Our life is every day, including at work. And so the question then becomes, knowing that you're going to leave, what part of this company, what part of this brand resonates with you at a personal level, not just a professional level?
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Yep. And that, that works really well because it's on the personal level. It's not just about the paycheck. So it's very, very insightful. Thank you for that. Question number 4: Other than the generic work harder, have a great attitude, and care for customers, what advice would you give to other business leaders?
Well, I preach this idea of an inside-out model, and I had the chance of running a company worldwide called Redken. Beautiful hair that you have. The idea was, it's for professional hairdressers, and, and so often in companies and brands, we talk about creating a mission and being customer-centric. But the question I have for you is, How does that resonate and make your employees' lives better? And it has to be beyond the paycheck. So I'm going to take a little company that lives outside of your place, Pete. They, they claim that their mission is to be the Earth's most customer-centric organization. And my question for every Amazon employee is, how does that make your life better? The point at some level has to be that it has to make your personal life better, whether it's within your family, within your health, whatever. And, and Redken's mission was earn a better living, live a better life. And so our challenge, even though we were within the L'Oréal organization, was making that happen with L'Oréal employees. How can they earn a better living? How can they live a better life despite the fact that we're working for a corporation? You need to make it come alive, your mission. Inside out.
I love that. And you know, it reminds me of what you shared about my days in marketing where they used to talk about WIFM, what's in it for me, when you're talking to a potential customer. And what you were saying about, you know, what does it mean for you personally and stuff is very similar to that. Am I correct in my thinking?
Absolutely. I mean, it's the WIFM, right? I mean, when you're an educator, you need to be thinking about what are these people in the room or listening to you, what are they going through? And maybe they need to go pee. So that's life, that's what they need. Don't just think about what you want. And then, I mean, really actually even as a leader, are you living it? Is it something that's more important for you? Are you just doing a job? Are you just so proud of your title or is it gonna contribute to your personal legacy?
I love that. So, so insightful. Thank you. Question number 5: What other business leader like yourself would you like to acknowledge and invite to be on my podcast?
Well, you mentioned podcast, and I have a lovely, wonderful network, but the person I'm going to identify sometimes says he has a face for radio, and that's because he's great at radio and podcasting, and he's a wonderful friend. His name is Sam Sethi. And Sam and I, with another chap, Andrew Grill, co-launched the podcast festival last year. Great fun, great success. And Sam just launched a radio, crazy experience in the middle of all this. Sam is a great guy, army, from the British Army, and lots to say, lots to share.
Oh, I'm looking forward to talking to him. Thank you so much for that referral. And our final question, question number 6, please tell me about your first job.
Well, I, I get some level— I was wondering, what is my first job, you know, being a son, being a child? Now, my first job was when I was a farmhand, and it was— I was going to school in the most public of British schools in England, and I would come home to Philadelphia where my mom was, and I had to get up at 5 I'd go down and drive this diesel truck with gear shifts that only had 3 gears. So there was the smell, there was the work, the hardness of it, and hanging out with the team, none of whom really did universities or any of that kind of stuff, but just lived life. It showed me the value of the dollar because I was earning minimum wage. It showed me the value of hard work. And what it is to do things with your hands. And my wife would tell you immediately, well, I'm not exactly a handyman around the house, but I think that there's something beautiful about using your hands and being physical in your work, not just cognitive. You need to make sure you balance the cognitive with the body.
I totally agree with you. I found the same thing because mostly I use my mind for work, but things like around the house, etc., there's just some sort of additional reinforcement of being this can-do when I'm actually doing physical work. So I totally relate to that. So thank you so much for that, Minter, and thank you so much for being on the show. How could people find you?
Oh, well, I hide. I'm very— I'm a butterfly on a wall garden.
No, so my name is Minter Dial, which is also the name of my site.
I'm strange for Google because I'm the only one.
I do @mdial on Twitter.
I'm available.
My books are available on all those wonderful retailers, including the one in Seattle. I would like to point out bookshop.org. I think that's a great site supporting independent bookshops. Otherwise, I have a podcast as well called The Minter Dialogue, where I have fun guests once a week, and I've been doing that for over 10 years. Otherwise, yeah, connect any way you can.
Perfect. This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast. Thanks for listening.
