Find Success in Your Business Life
Get advice from Kelly Perdew on how to find success on the job, plus get additional tips and information on how to improve your life from all of our AOL Coaches.
- Listen to Kelly's Interview Podcast
- Buy Kelly's Book, 'Take Command'
- More Business, Career & Self-Help Interviews
More Tips and Advice from AOL Coaches
Bethanne Patrick: How did you manage to write this book while working for Donald Trump? He must keep you pretty busy.
Kelly Perdew: He definitely kept me busy, but he's also very much of an entrepreneur and he encourages that inside the organization. One of the first questions I asked him was: 'What extracurricular activities am I allowed to be involved in?' And he said: 'elly, go for it. You're going to reflect well on the organization, on me, and on the Apprentice brand.' So I've really been able to do a lot of different things while also still getting everything done for him.
Bethanne Patrick: Now let's just recap for a moment: you won 'The Apprentice' in:
Kelly Perdew: It was in December of 2004, so all of 2005 I basically worked with Donald. And I finished working with him at the end of February.
Bethanne Patrick: So what are you doing now?
Kelly Perdew: Well I'm in the process of raising a $100 million dollar venture capital fund to invest in early stage companies across the United States. And it's called Angel-Led.com.
Bethanne Patrick: And the other thing we should mention, of course, is that you're the apprentice known for graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point. What year did you graduate?
Kelly Perdew: I graduated in 1989, I was a Military Intelligence officer, Airborne Ranger
Bethanne Patrick: The ten principles that you outline in your book, did they all appear in every aspect of your military education, or were they cumulative?
Kelly Perdew: It was definitely cumulative. And I want to make it clear that my book isn't just for ex-military people. I really wrote it to let everybody understand that they can continue to develop their own leadership principles, and they don't have to believe just me. I went out and interviewed some business icons who put these business principles to work very successfully; people like Roger Staubach, Ross Perot, Jim Kinsey who founded AOL. Pete Dawkins, who's the Vice Chair of Citigroup, but also happens to have been a Rhodes Scholar and a Heisman Trophy winner out of West Point. Just some amazing individuals that I was fortunate enough to sit with and have them give some of their anecdotes and stories and challenges they overcame relying on these leadership principles.
Bethanne Patrick: Tell us what the leadership principles are, if you don't mind listing them fairly quickly.
Kelly Perdew: Not at all:
Bethanne Patrick: And what is 'impeccability?'
Kelly Perdew: I look at impeccability as always wanting to put your best foot forward. I mean, if you're going to do something, if you're going to expend your energy and allot a certain amount of time for your day or effort in your life on something, you might as well do it the best you can. And there are great examples of that. The best thing that I like to use is: if you start acting with impeccability in all that you're doing -- if you put your best foot forward every time, it's going to become a habit, and you're going to see it not only impacting success for you, but it's also going to impact all those people around you and really raise the level of their game too.
Bethanne Patrick: What does it mean to 'take command?' How do you define that?
Kelly Perdew: It's leadership. I think Pete Dawkins said it best when I interviewed him, he said,' Leadership is the ability to motivate others to action.' And 'Take Command' really is a play on words. It's very difficult to actually take command but I think one can. You earn the respect of the people that you work with and for. I think it's not always about leading; it's also about understanding how to follow.
Bethanne Patrick: One of the unofficial slogans at West Point is 'Cooperate and Graduate.' How did that apply to your team experience on 'The Apprentice?'
Kelly Perdew: Absolutely. Well, 'The Apprentice' was an unusual situation in that it is a zero-sum game. Although you're operating in teams, only one person comes out on top in the end and that's always an underlying factor and stressor. My focus during that exciting 16 weeks was to make sure my team won. I looked at it as: you know what? Not only am I interviewing with Donald Trump, I'm interviewing with every future employee, investor, partner in any of the businesses I run, you name it. It's kind of a resume for the world now. And I want to put my best foot forward so how do I do that? Well, I don't get fired. And I don't get fired by staying out of the boardroom. And you stay out of the boardroom by making sure your team wins. Not positioning to not get fired when, you know, in case you think you're losing. But really, the whole time, focusing on getting the most out of your teammates and pushing them to beat the other team at whatever the task is.
Bethanne Patrick: You played the game, I think, according to all of your fellow contestants, with a lot of integrity, which is a very important part of your leadership principles. How do you feel about that now?
Kelly Perdew: Absolutely. 'Take Command: Ten Leadership Principles I Learned in the Military and Put to Work for Donald Trump,' and winner of 'The Apprentice' was recently interviewed by Bethanne Patrick. Here are excerpts from that interview:
Bethanne Patrick: How did you manage to write this book while working for Donald Trump? He must keep you pretty busy.
Kelly Perdew: He definitely kept me busy, but he's also very much of an entrepreneur and he encourages that inside the organization. One of the first questions I asked him was: 'What extracurricular activities am I allowed to be involved in?' And he said: 'elly, go for it. You're going to reflect well on the organization, on me, and on the Apprentice brand.' So I've really been able to do a lot of different things while also still getting everything done for him.
Bethanne Patrick: Now let's just recap for a moment: 'Take Command' -- chapter 10 - the tag line for the Integrity chapter is: 'Take the Harder Right Over the Easier Wrong.' And it's difficult to do and it's a personal choice, especially when you're in a large organization. I realize that some of these leadership principals sometimes have somewhat of a tension, like Loyalty. Organizations expect you to be very loyal to them if you're an employee. Well, that loyalty should not come at the cost of your integrity. So if you're asked to do something unethical, illegal, immoral, whatever... you need to think long and hard about whether you're going to do that. And I understand real life definitely can throw you some curve balls, but I would offer that, over the long term you're going to be a lot more satisfied with yourself and your life if you maintain your integrity.
Bethanne Patrick: And that's really what taking command is all about. It's about taking command of your self.
Kelly Perdew: Absolutely. You have to be responsible for your actions -- you know, the duty concept comes into play; you can't blame anybody else for anything that's going on. You really do need to take command of yourself, your life, your business.
Bethanne Patrick: What else comes next for Kelly Perdew? You mentioned the 'GI Factory.' Tell us about that.
Kelly Perdew: Absolutely. I'm going to be hosting a show that airs in the Military Channel, and it's called 'GI Factory.' The Military Channel used to be called Wings; it's one of the Discovery Network channels. I basically take the viewers into the factories across the United States where they're building all the US Military equipment, weapons and vehicles. We show you from raw materials to finished product, everything from Abrams Tanks, M16's, Kevlar Helmets, miniguns, you name it. It's pretty exciting.
Bethanne Patrick: So you're back on TV?
Kelly Perdew: I am back on as a host this time, so we'll see what happens.
Kelly Perdew: He definitely kept me busy, but he's also very much of an entrepreneur and he encourages that inside the organization. One of the first questions I asked him was: 'What extracurricular activities am I allowed to be involved in?' And he said: 'elly, go for it. You're going to reflect well on the organization, on me, and on the Apprentice brand.' So I've really been able to do a lot of different things while also still getting everything done for him.
Bethanne Patrick: Now let's just recap for a moment: you won 'The Apprentice' in:
Kelly Perdew: It was in December of 2004, so all of 2005 I basically worked with Donald. And I finished working with him at the end of February.
Bethanne Patrick: So what are you doing now?
Kelly Perdew: Well I'm in the process of raising a $100 million dollar venture capital fund to invest in early stage companies across the United States. And it's called Angel-Led.com.
Bethanne Patrick: And the other thing we should mention, of course, is that you're the apprentice known for graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point. What year did you graduate?
Kelly Perdew: I graduated in 1989, I was a Military Intelligence officer, Airborne Ranger
Bethanne Patrick: The ten principles that you outline in your book, did they all appear in every aspect of your military education, or were they cumulative?
Kelly Perdew: It was definitely cumulative. And I want to make it clear that my book isn't just for ex-military people. I really wrote it to let everybody understand that they can continue to develop their own leadership principles, and they don't have to believe just me. I went out and interviewed some business icons who put these business principles to work very successfully; people like Roger Staubach, Ross Perot, Jim Kinsey who founded AOL. Pete Dawkins, who's the Vice Chair of Citigroup, but also happens to have been a Rhodes Scholar and a Heisman Trophy winner out of West Point. Just some amazing individuals that I was fortunate enough to sit with and have them give some of their anecdotes and stories and challenges they overcame relying on these leadership principles.
Bethanne Patrick: Tell us what the leadership principles are, if you don't mind listing them fairly quickly.
Kelly Perdew: Not at all:
- Duty
- Impeccability
- Passion
- Perseverance
- Planning
- Teamwork
- Loyalty
- Flexibility
- Selfless
- Service
- Integrity.
Bethanne Patrick: And what is 'impeccability?'
Kelly Perdew: I look at impeccability as always wanting to put your best foot forward. I mean, if you're going to do something, if you're going to expend your energy and allot a certain amount of time for your day or effort in your life on something, you might as well do it the best you can. And there are great examples of that. The best thing that I like to use is: if you start acting with impeccability in all that you're doing -- if you put your best foot forward every time, it's going to become a habit, and you're going to see it not only impacting success for you, but it's also going to impact all those people around you and really raise the level of their game too.
Bethanne Patrick: What does it mean to 'take command?' How do you define that?
Kelly Perdew: It's leadership. I think Pete Dawkins said it best when I interviewed him, he said,' Leadership is the ability to motivate others to action.' And 'Take Command' really is a play on words. It's very difficult to actually take command but I think one can. You earn the respect of the people that you work with and for. I think it's not always about leading; it's also about understanding how to follow.
Bethanne Patrick: One of the unofficial slogans at West Point is 'Cooperate and Graduate.' How did that apply to your team experience on 'The Apprentice?'
Kelly Perdew: Absolutely. Well, 'The Apprentice' was an unusual situation in that it is a zero-sum game. Although you're operating in teams, only one person comes out on top in the end and that's always an underlying factor and stressor. My focus during that exciting 16 weeks was to make sure my team won. I looked at it as: you know what? Not only am I interviewing with Donald Trump, I'm interviewing with every future employee, investor, partner in any of the businesses I run, you name it. It's kind of a resume for the world now. And I want to put my best foot forward so how do I do that? Well, I don't get fired. And I don't get fired by staying out of the boardroom. And you stay out of the boardroom by making sure your team wins. Not positioning to not get fired when, you know, in case you think you're losing. But really, the whole time, focusing on getting the most out of your teammates and pushing them to beat the other team at whatever the task is.
Bethanne Patrick: You played the game, I think, according to all of your fellow contestants, with a lot of integrity, which is a very important part of your leadership principles. How do you feel about that now?
Kelly Perdew: Absolutely. 'Take Command: Ten Leadership Principles I Learned in the Military and Put to Work for Donald Trump,' and winner of 'The Apprentice' was recently interviewed by Bethanne Patrick. Here are excerpts from that interview:
Bethanne Patrick: How did you manage to write this book while working for Donald Trump? He must keep you pretty busy.
Kelly Perdew: He definitely kept me busy, but he's also very much of an entrepreneur and he encourages that inside the organization. One of the first questions I asked him was: 'What extracurricular activities am I allowed to be involved in?' And he said: 'elly, go for it. You're going to reflect well on the organization, on me, and on the Apprentice brand.' So I've really been able to do a lot of different things while also still getting everything done for him.
Bethanne Patrick: Now let's just recap for a moment: 'Take Command' -- chapter 10 - the tag line for the Integrity chapter is: 'Take the Harder Right Over the Easier Wrong.' And it's difficult to do and it's a personal choice, especially when you're in a large organization. I realize that some of these leadership principals sometimes have somewhat of a tension, like Loyalty. Organizations expect you to be very loyal to them if you're an employee. Well, that loyalty should not come at the cost of your integrity. So if you're asked to do something unethical, illegal, immoral, whatever... you need to think long and hard about whether you're going to do that. And I understand real life definitely can throw you some curve balls, but I would offer that, over the long term you're going to be a lot more satisfied with yourself and your life if you maintain your integrity.
Bethanne Patrick: And that's really what taking command is all about. It's about taking command of your self.
Kelly Perdew: Absolutely. You have to be responsible for your actions -- you know, the duty concept comes into play; you can't blame anybody else for anything that's going on. You really do need to take command of yourself, your life, your business.
Bethanne Patrick: What else comes next for Kelly Perdew? You mentioned the 'GI Factory.' Tell us about that.
Kelly Perdew: Absolutely. I'm going to be hosting a show that airs in the Military Channel, and it's called 'GI Factory.' The Military Channel used to be called Wings; it's one of the Discovery Network channels. I basically take the viewers into the factories across the United States where they're building all the US Military equipment, weapons and vehicles. We show you from raw materials to finished product, everything from Abrams Tanks, M16's, Kevlar Helmets, miniguns, you name it. It's pretty exciting.
Bethanne Patrick: So you're back on TV?
Kelly Perdew: I am back on as a host this time, so we'll see what happens.
