IAM1227 – Special Throwback Episode [CEO Hack]: Speaking 1 Million Cups with Donnell Johns Sr.

About 1 Million Cups: Based on the notion that entrepreneurs discover solutions and engage with their communities over a million cups of coffee, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation developed 1 Million Cups in 2012—a free program designed to educate, engage, and inspire entrepreneurs around the country. Through the power of volunteers, 1 Million Cups has grown to more than 180 communities.

As a program of the Kauffman Foundation, 1 Million Cups works with entrepreneurs, empowering them with the tools and resources to break down barriers that stand in the way of starting and growing their businesses. Mr. Kauffman believed it was a fundamental right for anyone who had a big idea to be able to bring it to life—and we're here to fulfill that mission.

About Donnell E. Johns Sr., Command Sergeant Major Retired, CEO of Avision Worldwide Leadership Consulting Firm is a Certified Business Coach (C.B.C.), Lean Six Sigma Black belt. He is also an innovative, strategic thinker with proven success in executing critical business objectives, making organizations successful, and facilitating collaborative decision-making and planning. He has an intense focus on recruiting and retention, human capital improvement, performance, and organizational development with over 26 years of experience in a variety of market sectors.

Donnell harnessed his training, education, experience, successes, and failures to go from Private to Command Sergeant Major in the Army and now as Chief Executive Officer in corporate America. He believes that the most powerful asset of any organization is its people. Each organization is a sum of all parts working together to achieve results and is comprised of individuals with their own gifts and talents achieving results.

As the CEO of Avision Worldwide, he assists individuals and organizations to enhance their hiring process, and manage strategic change, innovation, cultural transitions, and goal achievement.

Website: www.1millioncups.com/fairfax

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Transcription

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00:04 – Intro

Hello, hello, hello. This is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast, CEO Chat podcast, and everything from CB Nation that we're doing. This is going to be a little bit more unique of an episode, a special episode where I'm going to do a throwback to a unique episode I did with one of the founders of the Fairfax, Virginia 1 Million Cups chapter. So sit back and enjoy. This is a little bit more of a CEO hack. This is a resource that makes you more effective and efficient. If you haven't heard of 1 million cups, definitely check it out. I'm an ambassador for the Fairfax, Virginia chapter, so please check out and enjoy this episode.

00:43 – Donnell Johns Sr.

Hello, hello, hello.

00:44 – Gresham Harkless

This is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast CB Nation and Blue 16 Media. And I have a special guest on the show today, Donnell Johns. And he is the founding person, the founding person behind Avision Worldwide, and also one of the founding members of the 1 million cups Fairfax chapter. Donnell, is super awesome to have you on the show.

01:01 – Donnell Johns Sr.

Hey, man, it's definitely an honor for me to be on this show and you also to be a member of our 1 million cups. So this is going to be a great conversation.

01:12 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, definitely. I'm super excited to kind of get the opportunity to hear a little bit more and tell people who have not heard about the amazingness that is 1 million cups and I had the opportunity to present thereon and for my Imco podcast. But this is kind of just an opportunity to talk about some resources, things that, that people may not know about in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area. So before we jump right into that, I wanted to hear a little bit more about you, your background, what let you get started in business, what led you to 1 million cups, and just tell us a little bit more about Donnell.

01:41- Donnell Johns Sr.

I spent 26 years in the army. I know I look 26 years old. People always ask me when they hear my age, they're like, you spent 26 years in the military?

01:54 – Gresham Harkless

They start counting on their fingers.

01:56 – Donnell Johns Sr.

Yeah, I was just good, you know, I was just blessed with good genes and I just had a great, I had a great time while I was in the military. My sole role in the military was human resources and recruiting and retention. And so I've been in a people business for a long time. I retired as a command sergeant major, which was the highest rank in the military. And I wanted to do what I did in the military. My job as a command sergeant major was to teach, coach, mentor, and train individuals to become leaders.

I had a great time doing that because I love to watch people grow from a person that doesn't know what they want, to watch them become a leader,s and lead people effectively. It was amazing. And so as I was retiring, I said, you know what? I want to be an executive coach, which is basically the same exact thing. You teach, you coach, you mentor, you train, you use all of those things. And I realized that being a coach allowed me to ask those questions, to steer people in the right direction. And I had to do the same thing in the military because I found that when you tell people what to do, they don't want to do it.

03:12 – Gresham Harkless

Right. Better off not knowing. Right, exactly.

03:16 – Donnell Johns Sr.

But if you guide them through questions, they usually, they usually make it to where they want to be. So I started my business, with a vision worldwide, because I felt like leadership started with a vision. You have to know where you want to be. And so I started my business, and I was like, yes, I'm going to make all of this money. And then I realized I didn't know the business side, right? And I was just like, I was out here just floundering. I was introduced to 1 million cups from another 1 million cups members of the 1 million cups of Prince William.

And the thing that I really liked about it was it was a tribe, right? It was a group of people that wanted to see people do well, and they helped each other out. And it reminded me of the military. You know, the military is this family of people that wants everybody in there to be great. Our job in the military is to grow our leaders and make sure that everybody wins. There's not a lose-lose situation. There's a win-win situation there. And that's what 1 million cups is to me, is my tribe of individuals that I can go to every Wednesday, you know, and learn and grow with them.

04:30 – Gresham Harkless

That makes perfect sense. Yeah. And that's what, it's funny because I actually presented initially to talk about my blog at the Prince William chapter, and I had no type of awareness about what meeting cups were. And, you know, I just basically was invited to present. I went there and presented. It was just like a firehose of information. There were so many questions and everything that people had the expertise and they were trying to help out, but it's just so much information in a short period of time. But for those that may not know about 1 million cups, can you give us an overarching view of exactly what it is, why it was found, and what exactly it does?

05:03 – Donnell Johns Sr.

So 1 Million Cups is a Kauffman Foundation organization, and it's a mastermind group. And this mastermind group helps entrepreneurs with their issues, opportunities, or challenges that they're having. They have a group of entrepreneurs, from 15 to 30 entrepreneurs in the audience to help you out with whatever your issue, opportunity, or challenge is. For instance, a business can come in there and say, hey, I'm starting. I have this new idea, but I don't know who my customer is. Or they can say, I have this great idea, but how do I market and advertise it?

Where do I find my customers? Who is my customer? Or they can say, I have this team of individuals. How do I motivate them? I've never done this before, so there's so many different questions that they could ask, and then the audience is there to help you through that. And it's 100% free. Like you said, they get a bunch of information back. And that's probably the hardest part because you get all of these great ideas. Now, how do you implement them once you get those ideas? But it's a free mastermind group set up by the Kauffman Foundation, where an individual gets six minutes to tell their story and then present the group at an issue, opportunity, or challenge.

06:22 – Gresham Harkless

That makes perfect sense. Yeah. And that's what I liked about the very first time I did it. I wasn't really aware of everything or how the process worked or anything, but when I got the opportunity to talk about the podcast, I really loved kind of, like, the format of the Fairfax chapter, the way that you guys set it up, because I was trying to. I remember, like, when I. When I presented at the one in Woodbridge or in Prince William, I should say I was trying to figure out, like, all these great ideas, like, how do I implement all of them?

And I couldn't even remember them all. But I love the fact that you guys record them so that somebody can go back. And I think you even said you try to do, like, a follow-up just to break down and desensitize and figure out what is something that you can kind of attack and take advantage of today versus, like, maybe, you know, a year or two down the line.

07:06 – Donnell Johns Sr.

Absolutely. And, you know, there's a couple of things that we implemented that we learned from the Prince William chapter. And so, like you said, we record it. The other thing is we give the audience members three by five cards so they can write down any ideas that they have, you know, that they've come up with, so you don't have to stand up there with a notepad and try to remember everything. Number two, we've asked them to put their name and phone number at the top of the page because they can write something down, but you need to be able to follow up with them to figure out exactly what they want, you know, the information that they wanted to give you, number three is we take that information and then we give it back to you.

Then we like to do one follow-up coaching session with you to say, okay, what was your challenge question? And did this answer your challenge question? And then you want to look at it and break it down into three categories. You know, what do I want to implement, what don't I want to implement and what can I use later? And when you take that information and combine it and then, you know, put it in a category and say, okay, from one to end, what am I going to do first?

And then you just put it on your calendar and knock those things out. It's important, you know, as an entrepreneur to have a plan. And with the great ideas that you get from the individuals in the audience that can help you put your plan together.

08:31 – Gresham Harkless

Right. That makes perfect sense. And so it sounds like it's beneficial not only, and I know I've been, you know, someone that presented that, you know, got tremendous value from being able to present, but I've also gotten a tremendous value from being able to come in the audience. So that's, they're both open to anybody to come to. Is that correct?

08:49 – Donnell Johns Sr.

Absolutely. So it's free to come. And I like that you mentioned, you know, being a part of the audience. That is one of my favorite parts is showing up and being in the audience. Even though that business isn't in your same industry, we're going down the same path. And so any ideas that you can put out there, usually help your business.

I remember one business was presenting a couple weeks ago, and I gave them an idea and I was like, I could use that. And it was a totally different industry. And so you get to hear ideas from other, other people out there, and then you also have a tribe of individuals that are there to help out other people. And so it's networking as well as education.

09:38- Gresham Harkless

Yeah, yeah. And I think, yeah. Being able to, what do they say? I guess the way to achieve greatness is sometimes to stand on the shoulders of giants. So being able to tap into so many different, you know, walks of life, expertise, people that have built businesses that are real estate agents that have started tech companies, all these things, you get that firehose of information that you can kind of implement whether you're presenting or you're not even presenting.

10:03 – Donnell Johns Sr.

Absolutely. Absolutely. And you get to know people by the questions that they ask. You get to know people by listening to their stories. And we just become this big community because you know their story, because they tell it to you and you get to help them along that path. And, you know, that's, as human beings, we're here to help each other. We're a pack. And so creating that pack as an entrepreneur, because being an entrepreneur is probably the loneliest, hardest thing that you can do. And coming to 1 million cups and having that tribe of individuals that are there to help you, it keeps you going, you know, for that next week.

10:44 – Gresham Harkless

Absolutely, absolutely. So if somebody is, let's just say, let's take it first. If they're coming for the first time and they're looking to present, what are some of the things that you think that they should do? I guess before they even think about applying or after they apply. And could you take us through how the structure of the entire program goes or a day goes? Yes.

11:04 – Donnell Johns Sr.

So initially, I do not recommend a person just applying and then coming to present because it's totally different than any other organization that you go to to present. Usually, they're going to try to pick your presentation apart or judge you and stuff like that. So first come, experience the 1 million cups ecosystem. Next. I would recommend that they apply through our system because there's some training that they send you through to make sure that, your presentation is engaging and people help you out.

And then once you go through that, you'll get a wealth of knowledge on the back end from the Kaufman Foundation that will help you through your entrepreneurial journey. Next is presenting, and we help you out there. We definitely coach you through the process, tell you, we give you a template of slides that you need to, that we recommend that you present. Not everybody does it. You don't have to, but we give you a template to set you up for success. And then also we give you feedback on how to get the most out of our audience.

You know, how to be engaging enough to get the information that you came there to get because we know that you're the subject matter expert of your business. However, you're coming to get information that you're not the subject matter expert in. And the audience, the beauty of the audience is that they, they're coming from a customer's perspective, not your perspective. The audience can help you out from a customer's perspective and give you insight that you can't even see yourself.

12:44 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, and I can't say the number of times I often hear that. I often say it to myself as well, is that a lot of times I'm so close to it that it's really hard to get that different perspective. So that's why, you know, I love the fact that you can, I guess you can come at, you know, whether you're starting something or maybe you're thinking of pivoting or you're thinking about a new service or new offering, trying out something new, bringing on a new, whatever it is, whatever your business issue is, you can kind of come and present.

13:09 – Donnell Johns Sr.

Absolutely, absolutely. And we highly recommend that you invite a friend or even a customer because if they understand your bigger vision, they're more apt to buy from you. And then this is just a place that, it's just a positive space that you really want to work with people in. And that's where you and I met, and our relationship has grown, and it's great to see where you are now compared to where you were when I first met you. So you're doing great things.

13:52 – Gresham Harkless

Thank you. Thank you. I definitely appreciate that. Thank you for welcoming me to the 1 Million Cups family and getting the opportunity to have that safe space where I can be free and talk about, you know, the ideas that I had and see how best to kind of improve them. So I definitely appreciate that tremendously. Is there, I guess, anything else that you can think of that will be good for, you know, people in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area to know about 1 million cups and, you know, how best to actually apply and come visit? Is there anything else you kind of let us know?

14:22 – Donnell Johns Sr.

Yeah. Well, you can find us at the number 1 million cups.com. forward slash Fairfax is the best way to find out more information about us because that hub right there, if you follow us, you'll get the latest and greatest information from us. And from Kaufman, we also have a Facebook page you can just put in there, one Mc Fairfax Co. I just want to, you know, say, come experience it and come multiple times and just be a part of the conversation because we need your help and we need your support if you haven't, you know, come to this event before.

14:53 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, absolutely. And I love the one big thing that I don't, I forgot to mention as well, too, is that I had the opportunity to go back and give updates. And I think that I remember your email. I was asking, I'd already come and given an update and I asked you, you know, I've already come given an update. Do you want me to give an update again? And you said, basically, yes, because your story is part of our larger story and I thought that resonated with me very, very well because it's not one of those things where just like you mentioned, you come and you present, you leave and never see you again.

The idea is that you come in and engage, you come back and you give an update so that people can see, like, the progress that has happened as a result of feedback. And I've been, you know, honored to be able to do that. I truly appreciate you for the work time and energy that you put in to start this and continue and keep it going. So, you know, thank you so much.

15:38 – Donnell Johns Sr.

My pleasure. My pleasure is awesome, being a volunteer organizer for this and it's definitely worth my time. I love it and I just love being a part of it because I get to meet awesome entrepreneurs with great vision.

15:52 – Gresham Harkless

Absolutely, absolutely. So we'll make sure to have those links and that information in the show notes as well, too. But thank you so much again, Donnell, for your time. I appreciate you. I hope you have a great rest of the day.

16:01 – Donnell Johns Sr.

I appreciate you as well. Thank you so much.

16:05 – Outro

Hello, hello, hello, this is gresh again. I hope you enjoyed that snippet from a DMV CEO resource that is actually available all across the world in the United States through the Kaufman Foundation. And definitely let us know if there's anything that we can do to help. But definitely check out 1 million cups and everything that Donnell and many other founders all across the United States and the world are doing with 1 million cups. So a phenomenal resource. I hope you learned a little bit more about him, how you can leverage that resource, and of course, the way that I even leverage it to start this podcast that you're listening to now. So signing off, this is gresh. I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.