Chase, like many other successful risk-takers, was confident that he would just know when the time was right. He would feel and intuitively know that he could not wait a second longer, and it was the research and data points he had collected that gave him the confidence to take the leap.
He describes his process as small, little bits of critical information that he accumulated over time. Pulling out his iPhone, Chase points to several hundred entries in "Notes" that contain more than five years of ideas, thoughts, and suggestions to himself. "This was my constant thinking process. I wanted to do it right, and not rush this. I keep these notes with me to this day. They remind me of the process and the time I took to make this right. I keep scrolling and I bet there are more than 50 screens full of notes here. And some of these ideas are going to be part of my next watch."
THE COACH
For Chase, his support team began with his family. His wife and his father were huge advocates for his success. Support is crucial to the success of any risk-taker. Your immediate family, mentors and others will guide you along the way. The best success stories always have an amazing team behind them.
In addition to the emotional support from his family, he found technical support from craftsmen who specialized in the unique elements of watchmaking. "What I think I was really good at was building the team that helped create the watch. I started a watch company, but I was smart enough to know that I'm not a 'watchmaker.' I found the right people who were great at the different elements of the watch process and brought them together.
"I did this to respect the art of horology as a whole. I want to be part of that. I wanted to create something amazing, that people in the industry would respect. I'm not in it to do a marginal watch. They realized that I'm exceedingly honest about who I am."
Sekou Andrews
“Do what you have to do, to do what you want to do.” –Denzel Washington
Sekou Andrews
Who: Sekou Andrews
What: Owner, SekouWorld, Poetic Voice & Stage Might
Where: Los Angeles, CA
Previous: Law student/hip-hop artist/middle school teacher
sekouworld.com
@sekouworld
"You have to be bold enough, daring enough, risk-taking enough, disruptive enough, and playful enough to believe in yourself enough to say, 'That is there for me. I'm taking it!'"
- Sekou
TL;DR SUMMARY: Sekou is the product of a strong upbringing that stressed arts, education and entrepreneurial spirit. After college he clerked in a law office and then was a substitute teacher of fifth graders in a rough part of Los Angeles all while attempting to lift his hip-hop career off the ground. Eventually he found his voice with Nike and Microsoft and reinvented himself while redefining an entire speaking category allowing him to take control of his future.
As hundreds of sales people slowly drift into an extra-large conference room at one of the largest and most expensive hotels in Atlanta, GA, it was clear that this was not an ordinary corporate sales conference. Sure, it was the last day of an annual rah-rah event staged to motivate a team of sales folks and send them out into the world with renewed energy. But somehow, this one just felt different. The set was a bit larger. The screens were bigger. The lights brighter. A quick Google search of the host company revealed a worldwide organization that wasn’t a common name to most people, but was an 800-pound gorilla in the banking industry.
I was here to chat with the speaker after his presentation, and his team offered me a front row seat to the show—literally. The “speaker” in question is Sekou Andrews. I had been reading a lot about him the past several weeks, and was super curious to hear him present. Honestly, though, I really wasn’t sure what to expect from the concept of “poetic voice.” Then the lights went down and the session started with the standard corporate sales achievement awards. There was some polite applause, followed by a few yawns and lots of bloodshot eyes checking phones for final flight arrangements. As I looked around, I began to worry a bit for Sekou. It seemed unfair to put him in this position, as last speaker of the conference when everyone wanted the gig to be done.
A standing ovation
In the end, there was never any need to be concerned for Sekou. He certainly was not the least bit fazed. And by the time 35 minutes passed and he was finished with his presentation, the entire sales group was on their feet and looked genuinely ready to go out and change the world. As he left the stage to a standing ovation, the smile he let loose was a clear indication that he enjoyed the performance as much as the audience did.
Most importantly, the people paying him to speak were thrilled. They swarmed him backstage to thank him and let him know what a great response they were already getting. It was Sekou’s ability to deliver the company’s authentic message and important content, as well as the ability to entertain the crowd with his poetic voice style, that won the audience over.
As I observed all this, it was easy to discover the true magic of Sekou Andrews and his approach to corporate speaking. His combination of rap, hip-hop and spoken-word poetry—all with the custom content of the client—was distinctive and engaging. Actually, it was a bit intoxicating. And when you combine that with a truly caring and engaging personality, you’ve got a unique speaker.
A bumpy ride
But getting to this point was not a simple or quick journey for Sekou. It was the path you might imagine it would be—bumpy, messy to navigate, and a lot longer that he first thought. In fact, the journey he thought he was taking when he first held a microphone was to be the next big hip-hop artist.
“If I think about this journey, I didn’t set out to be about poetic voice. This was not what I was planning on doing,” Sekou admits as he looks around the empty conference room. “I was going to the open mics as [a hip-hop] artist.” He laughs as he begins to tell the story of a young man fresh out of college who was writing his own music, being rejected by record labels and feeling an obligation to earn a reluctant living as a law office clerk and part-time substitute teacher.
To really appreciate the way Sekou locks onto his personal perspective, it’s important to check in to his earliest days of the journey. Growing up, his parents were an eclectic combination of art and science and instilled a pride in his skin color and heritage. While they split up early on in his life, they both spent quality time shaping his character to be responsible, embody a sense of adventure and be accountable while showing an appreciation for his gifts.
“With both Mom and Dad being educators and artists, I got to see both sides of the equation,” Sekou admits. “They stressed the arts and liberal side, but also instilled a work ethic and appreciation for formal education. If you think about my business and my work, it’s a hybrid of education, artistry, and entrepreneurship.”
The end result was an appreciation for the artistry, the entrepreneurship, the education and his heritage. “Because all that was inside my parents, it was natural that it would be nurtured in me.” It was also clear that he received a healthy dose of drive, passion and willingness to take risks. Both in high school and college there was an equal emphasis put on the arts and a more traditional education.
After high school Sekou landed at Pitzer College, a private liberal arts college in southern California. While he declared a pre-law track, he was attracted by the opportunities to act and focus on his music talents during non-class hours. “I created a play that focused on race relations that was really popular. I had this breadth of experience that really crossed through education, entrepreneurship and artistry.”
Teaching