Hello Insiders! Welcome to the first Sunday exclusive.
This post explores what today’s leaders can learn from someone who never did “thought leadership,” but led with conviction, clarity, and character. It challenges the pressure for executives to perform online, and offers a smarter path: lead first, communicate with purpose, and earn trust where it counts.
Tell your friends 😉
Jim ran one of the first companies I worked at. He’d been shot as a young man, in the Territorial Army. We’d gone to the same university, years apart, but while I stumbled toward a path, he built a production company in the Scottish countryside. A company that outlived him. Years later, I joined it.
As a young producer, I’d hang back on warm evenings because I knew I'd catch Jim in his summer house drinking expensive wine as the office emptied. The “shed” sat in the grounds of his large, wheelchair-accessible home office. We got on. I’d chat football with him, so he'd pour something fancy and we’d sit with one for the road.
One quiet day, the Board were all at an off-site, it was just me and Jim on the creative floor. I dropped into his office and sat. We chatted about where everyone was... Management Training. If you can't tell yet I enjoy a bit of banter, and that opened a door.
“Jim, why aren’t you at management training? Surely you could use it?”
He rolled back in his wheelchair, propping himself against the wall, balancing on two wheels. Looked me dead in the eye and said,
"Boy... I'm not a manager, I'm a fucking leader".
And he was.
Jim didn’t do Social. Most leaders now are told they should. But let’s be clear: Social media isn’t social. It’s media. Meta products, X, LinkedIn, Tiktok. They’re advertising channels. Advertising businesses, products or people. It's Influence Media. Or Interest Media. And like all media, it relies on one thing: trust.
That’s why the most persuasive people on social fall into three categories:
Celebrity - It’s why David Beckham is used to sell things, he’s aspirational.
Experts - Influencers position themselves as niche knowledgeable, even if they’re not, and we buy it every time.
And people like us - We trust people we can see ourselves in, people who feel familiar, relatable. Ordinary people “wot made it.”
But add to that the darker truth: social media is the worst tabloid ever created. And we have built an attention economy - a system designed not to inform, connect, or enrich, but to extract, amplify, and monetize our focus.
That dad who builds a treehouse by lunchtime and makes you feel useless for taking your kids to a movie? Dad-vertising.
That perfect mom with 12 lunchboxes and an Etsy store? Mom-vertising (not as catchy).
The hustle guy, the fitness girl. It’s all advertising.
We know this. And still fall for it. That’s human.
So What Should Leaders Do?
Well if someone suggests your CEO should “get on LinkedIn” or “build a thought leadership presence,” pause.
Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.
Having an “Insta” doesn’t automatically build trust. You're taking a tool designed for advertising and using it for corporate comms. For the highly likely reason someone on that very platform told you to. Tricksters.
BUT you can learn from what works.
You can borrow the good stuff without becoming a content machine.
Use their techniques, not necessarily their channels. Apply the principles in town halls, internal interviews, boardroom speeches, cafeteria chats.
Let’s look at three influencers, not as models to copy, but as case studies in trust.
Replicate before you iterate.
Codie Sanchez: The Contrarian Capitalist
Insta: 2.4M, YouTube: 1.7M (as of April 2025)
Codie teaches people how to buy and scale “boring” businesses (laundromats, car washes, storage facilities) through her media and investment company Contrarian Thinking. She champions financial independence via contrarian paths and real-world ownership.
Alex Hormozi: The Scaling Strategist
Insta: 3.5M, YouTube: 3.2M
Known for building Gym Launch and later Acquisition.com, Hormozi helps founders scale from $3M to $100M. He’s no-nonsense, system-obsessed, and deeply transparent about wins and failures.
Myron Golden: The Biblical Closer
Insta: 975K, YouTube: 1M
From poverty and polio to seven-figure success, Myron teaches high-ticket sales through a faith-based lens. His message: business as a vehicle for purpose, legacy, and personal stewardship.
They are unique, but they are also similar. Here’s five things they have in common that you can mimic in your leadership comms to create the same feeling in your audience. Hint - it’s trust. And again, this works offline too. In investor calls. In employee briefings. In corridor conversations.
5 Things They Do That Build Trust (Without Needing “Followers”)
1. Radical Transparency - Say what actually happened, not just what looks good.
What It Means: They openly share mistakes, failures, and hard-earned lessons, making them more relatable and credible.
Example: Hormozi openly discusses his early business struggles and financial losses, showing he’s not just selling success but has lived through failure.
Lesson for Executives: Own missteps publicly and communicate with candor. Employees and customers trust leaders who acknowledge imperfection and growth rather than only presenting polished success.
2. Consistent Value Creation - Give away the good stuff.
What It Means: They provide free, high-quality insights without immediately expecting something in return.
Example: Codie Sanchez teaches people how to buy small businesses step-by-step, even when she could charge for the same content.
Lesson for Executives: Corporate leaders must communicate value beyond sales pitches, offering genuine thought leadership, industry insights, and mentorship that fosters trust over time. And they must do it without expectation.
3. Clear, No-BS Communication - Say it simply. Say it straight.
What It Means: They simplify complex topics, cut out fluff, and speak directly in a way that makes people listen.
Example: Myron Golden distills high-ticket sales into simple, repeatable frameworks that people can implement immediately.
Lesson for Executives: Corporate messaging often suffers from over-complexity and jargon. Trusted leaders communicate clearly, directly, and memorably to create real impact.
4. Strong Convictions & Differentiated Thinking - Take a stand. Mean it.
What It Means: They don’t just repeat mainstream advice; they take bold, often contrarian positions that make them stand out.
Example: Codie Sanchez challenges the obsession with tech startups and promotes buying ‘boring businesses’ as a superior wealth-building strategy.
Lesson for Executives: Leaders gain trust when they stand for something specific, even if it’s not universally accepted. People trust conviction more than corporate neutrality.
5. Mission-Driven Authenticity - Live your values. Out loud.
What It Means: They operate with a clear personal mission, and everything they do aligns with that mission, making them predictably trustworthy.
Example: Myron Golden’s faith-based business approach makes his messaging deeply authentic to his audience.
Lesson for Executives: Employees and customers trust CEOs who show alignment between their values, words, and actions - not just those who talk about purpose in annual reports.
These five traits are what make influencers like Hormozi, Sanchez, and Golden so trusted. If corporate executives can internalize and apply these same principles, they can build trust without needing to become social media influencers themselves.
You don’t need to be an influencer, you need to be trustworthy.
Now back to me… and Jim:
Years later, when I resigned, having been promoted to run the London office, I handed in my notice to two “managers” and expected to be done. But I got a call that night: come back, work your notice, tell no one you quit.
I arrived the next morning, on time, like a good “boy.” Surprise. Jim had flown in overnight. He was already in the boardroom, waiting for me. The interaction was short. And unforgettable.
"Where are you going?"
I was going to a competitor, so I decided best to plead the fifth.
"I'm not going to tell you that, but it's a competitor".
Pause.
"Why?"
Here's where I fell short, a weak, non-committal response "It's just time Jim".
He took a moment and did the same thing with his chair, rolled back and delivered the most leader-like sendoff I’ve ever received:
"Not for us son, good luck".
He kicked me out, disappointed that I wasn't going to build with him. He wasn’t ready for me to leave, but he let me go like a leader.
Gravitas.
I think about that moment regularly. I told you Jim didn't do Social, but Jim did people. He built an army ready to go to war with him, who trusted him, respected him and still do to this day, even though he’s in a better place now.
He used every one of the things I've identified above. He delivered them in a way that was authentic to him and he was right.
Often, so are your Execs. Give them the status they deserve. Learn from the middle, but don’t copy it. Apply the lessons in a way that fits their role, their stature, and earns trust by being real.
They don’t need training in how to post. They need space to lead, guidance on stories to share, and for you to allow them, and encourage them, to be themselves.
That’s what people believe. That’s what they follow. That’s what earns trust.
That’s “a Fucking Leader.”
As you were.
MrMcK.
About the Author: Mark McKenna helps companies all over the world drive progress through strategic storytelling and content production. He has spent nearly 20 years at creative agencies serving clients at the intersection of corporate communications, advertising, and public relations. For the last decade, he has held senior leadership roles, providing counsel to the decision makers at the largest organizations in the world. Mark’s career includes time spent in London and New York, working with Fortune 500 and FTSE 100 clients on their communication challenges across EMEA and the Americas.
But, if you meet him in person, he’ll say “Hi my name is Mark McKenna. I help businesses tell their most important stories in a way that makes people want to listen.”
Social isn’t Social