Business Podcast | Sam Conniff Allende | The Pirate Rules for How to Take on the World and Win

Show Notes

Best-selling author and serial entrepreneur Sam Conniff Allende draws parallels between modern pirates like Steve Jobs and Elon Musk and the Golden Age pirates like Blackbeard and Henry Morgan.

1. Today’s guest is a serial entrepreneur, who has 10 start-ups to his name and he’s the best-selling author of BE MORE PIRATE – Business Advice From Buccaneers. Sam works as a public speaker on innovation, entrepreneurship, marketing, and leadership.
2. Sam Conniff Allende, welcome onto The Thrivetime Show! How RRRRRRR you sir?!
3. Sam Conniff Allende, throughout your career you’ve been able to achieve massive success, but I would like to start today’s interview by learning about your background and how you grew up?
   1. My dad died when I was 5 years old.
   2. I started businesses in my teenage years
   3. I became a social entrepreneur before I knew what that even meant
   4. When my daughter was born, I was able to look at life in a completely different way
   5. I asked myself, “what is wrong in the world that we can make right?”
   6. In the early years I had a banner of making a positive impact
   7. In my teenage years I was managing DJs and bands touring around
   8. Pre social media we built a youth media empire
   9. I woke up one day realizing that I was a quarter of a million pounds in debt because I was not running the business right
   10. There were many tough decisions early on in the business
   11. LIVITY is the business I ran in the past
4. Sam, your book was released by Simon & Schuster / Touchstone and your career is really thriving to the point that I think it could almost be overwhelming for some of our listeners. I’d love for you to share an abbreviated timeline of where your career began and where you today?
   1. We now work with large companies like Playstation and Netflix
   2. I started in my mid 20’s and focused on the youth since then
   3. I had founder syndrome where I never knew when to step away
   4. I have had many obstacles such as dyslexia
   5. I acted as my own agent, author and publicist. What I realized is that – writing a business book is running a business
5. How did you come up with the name “Be More Pirate”?
   1. I was 20,000 words into my last book.
   2. I looked at the book and it was the most boring book on earth
   3. I sat down to run a group of entrepreneurs and they looked at me like “what is wrong with you?”
   4. They asked “where are all of the pirates?”
   5. This caused me to throw the whole thing out.
6. Sam, you are known as being a serial entrepreneur with 10 startups to your credit. In your mind, what has been your most successful venture to date and why?
7. Sam Conniff Allende, I have found that many people with ambition struggle with consistency and bringing a great work ethic every day. When did you first gain the rise and grind work ethic?
8. Sam, throughout your career, you’ve probably encountered countless setbacks. What do you say to yourself or what’s going on in your head when something really bad or negative is happening to you?
9. Sam, I would like to talk about your new Simon & Schuster / Touchstone book, Be More Pirate or How to Take on the World and Win. Sam, what first inspired you to write this book?
10. Sam, what did your process for writing Be More Pirate look like?
11. Sam Conniff Allende, I watched a video on the Penguin Books Youtube channel where you explain the 3 of the 5 Steps to Be More Pirate:
    1. Step 1 – Break a Rule – What is this step all about?
       1. Professional rule breaking is the next 21st century skill
       2. How can you keep up with the rest of the world, moving as fast as it is, without breaking a rule?
       3. We are so hard wired to wait for permission instead of making a move when we have the opportunity. When we know it is ethical and the right time to make the move, we should make the move.
       4. Clay’s 3 examples:
          1. First Optometrist to be open 7 days a week
          2. DJ Connection did the first event for $1
          3. The mindset you have when waiting for a table
             1. Asking for a different seat or tipping to get a table
    2. Step 2 – Rewrite the Rules – Why is this step important?
       1. It’s not really about progress, it is about confidence and pushing boundaries.
       2. We are talking about the golden age of pirates.
       3. They didn’t just break the rules. They rewrote the rules.
    3. Step 3 – Reorganize Yourself – What is this step about at its’ core?
       1. This is a lesson that the pirates taught us.
       2. Even at their peak. They were communities of 2,000 tops.
       3. They were fighting huge nations and often outnumbered 45 to 1.
       4. The wind is in the sails of the little guys.
       5. Big is becoming a liability.
       6. Having a small workforce enables you to build rapport with your employees.
       7. The times that we are in, we can network and collaborate. This provides a real opportunity for us.
       8. There is no certainty whatsoever with the rise of the little guys.
12. How many people worked within your organization before you left?
    1. When I left, I wasn’t the best leader. I was causing more trouble than I was actually helping the company.
13. Sam, your book is broken up into 3 different parts, what made you decide to title Part 1 of your book as Control. Alt. Delete. Pirate? And what is this section of the book all about?
    1. Everybody thinks that they understand pirates but they don’t.
    2. Pirates didn’t have hooks, crazy accents, parrots on their shoulders or anything else that culture believes they had.
    3. Pirates invented the first meme and the first cocktail. They were so far ahead of everyone else in terms of innovation.
    4. Part 1 is talking about re-educating culture on what pirates actually are.
    5. Pirates are role models.
14. Sam, Chapter 1 of your book is titled, Here Be Dragons. I’d love for you to share with our listeners what this chapter is all about?
    1. In the times of pirates, there were maps but they were not very accurate.
    2. When someone didn’t want someone else to go to a specific spot, they would write on the maps “Here be dragons”
    3. We tend to do this to ourselves when we see an unknown area of our life
    4. We tell ourselves that the unknown is dangerous and even deadly.
    5. We should learn to break some rules and push past the state that we are in. We will have to look past the edges and look past the area of the known.
15. Sam, Chapter 2 of your book is titled, Enemies of Humanity. This chapter sounds pretty intense. Walk our readers what they can expect to find in this chapter of  the book?
16. Sam Conniff Allende, Part 2 of your book is called, Making a Pirate. I would love for you share what this section of your book is about?
17. Sam, Chapter 6 of your book is titled, Reorganize Yourself. I would love for you to share why this so important for all of our listeners to do?
18. Sam, you come across as a very well read person, I would love for you to share with our listeners, what book as influenced and impacted your professional career most throughout the years?
19. What will people get out of your book if they decide to invest in buying it?
    1. They will realize that values are one of the most important decision-making tools. What three items would you fight for?
    2. You will learn about the pirate code.
20. How did you typically organize the first four hours of your day?
    1. When you had 10 employees or less:
       1. Sometimes I would be up at the office until 3:00 am
       2. I would start quite late
    2. These days:
       1. I get up at 5:30 am
21. What are 2 books would you recommend and why?
    1. Perennial Seller: The Art of Making and Marketing Work that Lasts – Ryan Holliday
22. Hooked onto pirates…I saw what you did there.

ACTION ITEM: In what areas in your life are you stuck or “treading water”? Where do you need to be pushed?