Interview at Startup Grind Los Angeles on July 21st, 2015 at Expert Dojo's 3rd story deck on 3rd Street Promenade in front of a sold out crowd. Gary discusses his childhood, early career, angel investing, hiring & firing, owning & playing for the Jets, immortality, and much more. Gary also takes questions from the audience. The interview is conducted by Startup Grind LA Director Joe Famalette.

#QOTD: How do you celebrate victories?

#LINKS
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#CONTESTWINNER
Congratulations to Anthony DeNardis! You won a jersey. Email India to claim your prize.

#QOTD: How bad you want to work at VaynerMedia?

The transition from being a "doer" to becoming a leader can be very difficult. Quite frankly, it scares the crap out of me. It's hard to go from "execution-mode" to then becoming a manager of a team. These are two very different things that can cause some issues if not handled properly. 

When you're a leader, you have to be the bigger man/woman in any given situation. You can't simply impose your will because you're now the "boss." A leader listens. They swallow their pride and work to make sure the team is executing as needed. A leader needs to empower those around them to do their jobs but they also need to be able to take the hit, and eat crap, because things won't always be easy, and at the end of the day, they're the ones leading the charge.

I firmly believe that the transition from doer to leader is the same as the transition from leveraging your EQ rather than your IQ. Leaders need to listen and empower their team to become leaders themselves and take ownership of the work they're given. Leaders need to understand who they are as a person and relay that emotional understanding to those around them. As I've said many times before, it all boils down to self-esteem and self-awareness. If you can understand who you truly are as a person, and as a leader, then you'll be able to instill the same understanding in the team around you. 

In this episode I talk about the importance of my wife, my health, and the fact that Brett Favre had a brief stint as a NY Jet. I also ask the most important question of all: Are you actually bringing value to your consumers?!